It is easy to start almost anything, but it is an entirely different thing to finish well. The author of Hebrews does not want his readers to miss out on this “so great a salvation,” and he gives a warning to them of that possibility. From these verses, there are at least two things we can recognize...first, we must heed the call to “take care,” this means we must do something to prevent this hardening of heart. And, secondly, we must remember that this warning simply for those who don’t profess to know Christ, but it is a warning to people who do profess to know Christ, who have seen the work of God. We must be realistic and open about our sin, and we then must come alongside each other, in gospel community, to equip and prepare ourselves to fight against it.
Faith is not about believing so strongly that God will give us what we want. That is the prosperity gospel—a lie. Instead, faith is believing and laying hold of the things God has already promised. Like Sarah, who considered God faithful even when she doubted and laughed at His promise, we must repent of cynicism and hold fast to the promises guaranteed at the cross.
Faith is the marriage of our soul to Christ. It is walking in the humility and dependence that recognizes we are not our own and that our lives were bought with a price. We must strive to do everything in faith, whether in word or action, not to earn favor, but as a reasonable response to glorifying God in our bodies.
