²³ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful …

Holding fast” is a common exhortation in the book of Hebrews (see 3:6, 3:14, 4:14) as well as the topic of hope (6:11, 6:18-19, 7:19). But, contrary to some interpreters, this has nothing to do with holding on to our salvation, in the sense that if we don’t we will somehow lose it. Not only would that thought contradict other clear passages of Scripture (see Romans 8:28-39, 1 John 5:11-13, etc.), but the thrust of the book of Hebrews is that salvation comes not through our efforts, religious though they may seem, but through simple faith in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, the holding fast without wavering has to do with maintaining our hope in the face of temptation to go back to life under the law. In reality, those who believe you can lose your salvation ironically have placed themselves back under the law, for Christ’s death would not have been sufficient. It would bring us back to Hebrews 6 and the hypothetical situation of “falling away” from faith and never being able to be renewed to repentance again because to do so would require a second sacrifice of Christ – which we saw was absolutely impossible. Christ died once for all, for all time, as the book of Hebrews makes abundantly clear. So holding fast means to hold on to the truth of Christ’s once for all death, because that is the only thing that can give us a confident, unwavering hope for the future, a hope that keeps us walking in faith today.

There is nothing sweeter to the Christian than the assurance of salvation; it is a self-authenticating truth, based on the character of our Lord, who is a promise-keeping God. It is through this confidence that we enter His presence, described as the “Most Holy Place.” We have confident access!

Notice, the wording does not specifically say to hold onto our salvation. We are to hold on to our confession. It is not as though if we stop holding on, we will lose salvation. Rather, if we do not hold onto our confession of hope, we will deprive ourselves of experiencing the “Holy Place,” that is, enjoying God’s presence and resting in His promises. The truth is this: we are enormously wealthy, so God invites us to enjoy that wealth! The most holy God, the Creator of the universe, the High Priest according to the greater order of Melchizedek, who sacrificed Himself once for all for all time, the One who though He was tempted in every way just like us, but without sin—He has invited us to enjoy His company. Let us not miss out by lack of confidence!

Lord, I accept Your invitation to enjoy Your presence. That is the only place where I find peace and rest … and joy!