Daily Devotional | Enduring Faith

At the beginning of my Christian experience, I counted the days, weeks, and months that I had been following Jesus. I thought it would be a real achievement if I could make it to the four-year mark! After forty years, I now know that it is not an achievement but a matter of grace.

In today’s passage, the author urges readers to persist in faith. “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God” (v. 12). It is one thing to struggle with sin and wrestle with our doubts. All believers face such trials. It is something else to “turn away” from God. While some turn from God by blatantly choosing sin, the author warns that some were in danger of taking a different path. They were tempted to replace Jesus with a righteousness of their own making. Anyone who would turn away from Christ’s gift of righteousness to rely on the Law of Moses rejected the very righteousness they hoped to find. Instead of honoring God, but revering the Law more than Christ, they committed the same sin as those who first received the Law (vv. 16–19). Unbelief kept them from experiencing God’s rest (v. 19).

To guard against this, the author calls for vigilance and encouragement. Individually, they were to examine their hearts and root out unbelief. Collectively, they were to encourage each other in the faith (vv. 12–13). The kind of faith God desires from those who follow Jesus is as enduring as it is responsive (vv. 14–15). It is not a momentary decision that is easily set aside but a conviction that we hold “firmly to the very end” (v. 14). It does not harden our hearts when we hear God’s voice.

Go Deeper

What keeps us on the path of following God? What things threaten to distract us and even cause us to turn away? How can we avoid those pitfalls and hold “firmly to the very end”?

Pray with Us: The book of Hebrews calls us to encourage one another in the faith and to rely on Christ, not the Law of Moses. Our prayer today is for the Jewish people who follow the Law, rejecting Christ—the very righteousness they strive to find.

BY Dr. John Koessler

John Koessler is Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology and Church Ministries at Moody Bible Institute. John authors the “Practical Theology” column for Today in the Word of which he is also a contributing writer and theological editor. An award-winning author, John’s newest title is When God is Silent: Let the Bible Teach You to Pray (Kirkdale). Prior to joining the Moody faculty, he served as a pastor of Valley Chapel in Green Valley, Illinois, for nine years. He and his wife, Jane, now enjoy living in a lakeside town in Michigan.