Useful Bible Studies > Hebrews Commentary > chapter 10

God is faithful

Hebrews 10:23

This verse may remind us of our study on Hebrews 3:1-2. There, we discussed how a servant or son can be faithful. A servant or son is faithful if he is loyal and responsible. But here, the meaning of faithful is slightly different. We are not thinking about God’s servant or even God’s Son now. In Hebrews 10:23, the author is saying that God himself is faithful.

Really, the word ‘faithful’ means someone whom you can trust. A master can trust his faithful servant. A father can trust his faithful son. And we can trust God, because he is faithful. He always does those things that he has promised to do.

The word ‘confession’ also appears in Hebrews 3:1, and the meaning is the same. Our confession means the things that, together, we agree as Christians. It is our reaction to the fact that God is faithful. He is faithful, so we have faith (active belief and trust) in him. We can trust him – so we do trust him. We declare our hope in him.

In the Bible, ‘hope’ means something that is certain to happen in the future (Hebrews 6:19). It is not merely a wish or a desire. We expect God to do good things for us. And we are confident about it. God has given his promise. And he is faithful.

Next part: Why Christians should carry out good works (Hebrews 10:24)

 

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© 2014, Keith Simons.