Hold on firmly!
It is very easy for us to get discouraged. After falling in sin again and again, a completely pure life can seem impossible. But God doesn’t want us to become discouraged. Not at all!
The author of Hebrews writes: “Let us hold firmly to the hope that we have confessed, because we can trust God to do what he promised.” Hebrews 10:23 (NCV). And in 2 Corinthians 4:13,16 (NCV) Paul says: “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘I believed, so I spoke.’ Our faith is like this, too. We believe, and so we speak … So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day.”
A hope for what we don’t yet see
We have to hold on firmly to the hope we have confessed and to the hope of the gospel. What we hope for is a life where we will always overcome, and that we become totally holy, pure, and good, that we grow in wisdom and all the fruits of the Spirit and will be ready to be taken up when Christ comes. This is our hope, if we believe the gospel.
It’s written that we do not hope for something that we can see (Hebrews 11:1), we also do not hope for something that we already have. That wouldn't make any sense. We hope for what we do not see and for what we do not yet have - that which is still far away. We are fully convinced that what the gospel promises is possible, and if we fulfil the conditions, those things that we hope for will come, completely and certainly! We must hold on firmly to this!
If we fall and sin, which is very common in the beginning, we must jump up again and confess our hope. We shouldn’t try to explain away our sin, but say, “True, I have sinned, but it makes no difference, because what the gospel promises is true, even if I’m not there yet. I will do what the Bible says and pay the price, and it is absolutely certain that I will reach the goal!”
“But you have fallen again,” says Satan, “and it hasn't been long since the last time you fell.”
“It doesn't make any difference,” you say. “The gospel is true!”
We easily lose courage
As people we easily lose courage when we have fallen. According to human reasoning, we should be a little discouraged and downcast. But this is completely wrong! Even if I have fallen, God's promises are still true. God's Word is still true. God knew how weak we were when He called us. He knew that it was easy for us to lose courage and to lose faith. He knew all of this perfectly well! He also knew that He has more than enough power to strengthen us in faith!
Even if, humanly speaking, it looks like I won't reach the goal, I must still hold firmly on to God's Word; then I will reach the goal!
It is exactly why Paul tells us to hold on firmly to the hope we have confessed. It is for a reason that Paul said it! What did he say? What was it that we should do? We should hold on firmly to the hope we have confessed! We should never let go of this – not even just for a second!!
Hasn't He chosen that which is looked down upon, rejected, seen as nothing, foolish, and sinners in all their foolishness? Hasn't He chosen such people? Isn't it clearly written in the Bible? God certainly wouldn't choose those kinds of people—such miserable creatures—in which to do such a great work if He couldn’t complete it. That would be foolishness.
God is faithful
There are two important things here: The first is that it is extremely important that I receive a living faith and a living hope that God can do the most wonderful things with me, even though I am wretched and weak. The second thing is that after I have received this hope and faith, I should hold on to it, and never let go, even when it seems like I have totally failed!!
When someone speaks as if he has achieved great things spiritually, or if people get the impression that great things have been done in him, but he still often falls in sin, he behaves wrongly. But if he loses courage when he falls in sin, that is also wrong. He must keep up his courage, and confess his hope without giving up. He must hold on firmly to it, and never stop! You should not lie and say things are going well when they are not, but you should confess that you have the hope that things will go very well for you! That is perfect, right, Biblical, healthy, and good!
In everything we must take God's Word as it is and not change it. “Let us hold firmly to the hope that we have confessed, because we can trust God to do what he promised.” God is faithful, we can trust Him to do what He promised! He will finish the work – even if it takes a long time. He sees everything and will certainly plan all things so that He has enough time to complete the work. Praised be God!