Hope unto the end

Heb 6:9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
Heb 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
Heb 6:11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
Heb 6:12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

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In the past few days we've read about the admonition spoken of to those who should be spiritually growing, but aren't. Those same spiritually stunted people were also admonished to realize that they need to bring forth good fruit, not thorns. Spiritually growing is a necessity and if we think otherwise we're very wrong. The admonitions are necessary to wake us up to realize our state of being. We have a God who loves us, a God who cares for us more than we can ever imagine and He will give us warnings, He will let us know when we err, He will point us in the right direction but He will never force us to do anything, we choose our own course.


Having delivered these admonitions the message goes on to say- BELOVED (such a wonderful term of endearment) Beloved we believe that there is better in you than what you've shown us, things that accompany salvation- things that people who are truly under the saving grace of the Lord will have in their lives- even though we've admonished you, we believe in you. God will NOT forget your work and labors of love that you've done in His name. God will not forget that you've helped others that are His. We want EVERYONE to show their sure HOPE to the end and not to be neglectful, but followers of others of faith and patience inheriting the promises.


Admonished but not cast down. Admonished so that we awake to the peril of losing hope, of losing patience, of being neglectful, of losing faith. When we lose hope, when we lose patience, when we are neglectful, when we lose faith there is NO salvation. Christ is our hope. Christ has to be alive in us, alive through faith, through the belief that He is.


Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.


Our Savior is real and we have to live as though He is right beside us- not as if He is far away in some other country, some other state, another city, across the neighborhood, right next door. He has to live with us, live in us.


Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory


If we don't believe Christ is in us, that we are that close to Christ then do we even truly want salvation in Him? If we're content to just visit our Savior at a distance, go to see Him -so to speak- when we want something, or feel it's our duty to visit Him as one would a great grandparent in a nursing home, then we are not living with Christ in our lives, we are not truly living with the hope of salvation. We can't live as if our Savior is someone we see from time to time, someone we acknowledge once or twice a day, once a week, once a month… once a year. Our Savior is alive always and must be with us always. We shouldn't have to go look for our Savior as if He exists only in a church building, or only in our prayer closet, He lives always and closer than even a twin- He is with us in all things.


2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.


By the Spirit of the Lord we must live. We must behold the glory of our Lord always- from glory to glory- being changed so that Christ's righteousness is all that is seen by His amazing grace and mercy and not our own image- His image in us.


We have to spiritually grow ever growing in Christ, we have to keep the hope, the faith ALWAYS.


By His LOVE now and forever!


Amen.