VII.
We have read this passage paying attention to the encouragements and warnings it puts in front of us.

Notice the writers closing words to us –

Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. (Hebrews 10:35-36)

Today I invite you to read the entire passage again and let these words serve as a means to hear what the writer desires for us.

VIII.
Hebrews 10:23-36

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy “on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who have spurned the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting. Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

IX.
Initially we read,
Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23)

And the closing word here is,
Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
(Hebrews 10:35-36)

“ … hold fast … he who has promised … do not … abandon that confidence that is yours … reward … you have done the will of God … receive what was promised ….”

X.
Do you ever feel “stuck in the middle”?

I wonder if that is something of the place the community who initially received this letter found themselves? It seems to me that is where our writer saw them.

And they were having a hard time going on toward the “reward.” Some of them, a very hard time. Hard enough they thought the journey should be abandoned?

But, they were reminded they were not alone. The God who called them to the journey, the God who promised them a life and future that was God breathed was still journeying with them and would not abandon them.

What words of encouragement come to you today to stay on the journey with God?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}