Looking at the exhortations of Hebrew concerning the perseverance of the saints and God’s use of Scripture, among other things, to accomplish this, it seems we can often find difficulty in understanding how this is so and how it even fits theologically. Perhaps, by taking a few steps back to look at the bigger picture, we can have a better understanding of this, and so, do a better job of cooperating with the Lord in the effort.
To begin, consider God’s Word. God, being righteous and without bounds in His ability, is also interestingly bound and constrained by whet He declares. Whatever He utters, stands for the duration of His existence, and cannot be changed, altered, nor amended. Consider this, for a moment, in the context of our human experience. If we say something, promise something, or even promise something as an oath or law or commitment, we are bound by our honor to follow through, or at best will be held accountable by other fallen men. Yet even in oath or in law, we find ourselves able to change or disregard our promise in some way, even if it brings consequences. The unfortunate truth is that we have the ability to swerve form what we said.
God, on the other hand, is bound in His perfect honor. Our deviation from an aoth is sin before God, yet He cannot sin, and so cannot negate what He has promised. The result is that whatever He speaks, stands for eternity. Jesus pointed to this in saying our ‘yes should be yes, and our no should be no’; that ‘not one jot or tittle of the Law would pass away, yet would be fulfilled’; and that ‘their eyes are blind and their ears are stopped, lest they hear the Word and be healed’.
The last reference might seem curious. To understand it, consider the bigger issues at hand, Scripture tells us that the elect were known before the foundation of the world, and because of this, we can see the lineage of God’s work. The typical belief seems to be that the work of Messiah began and focused on the Cross, and that it was there that everything was started and completed, as far as our Salvation is concerned. The fact of the matter, however, is quite contrary.
The Christ’s Sacrifice and Resurrection were pivotal in His overall work, but not the end of the issue by any means. In His punishment, death, and raising up by God, Jesus became eligible to begin the work He will be occupied with for the rest of our existence now, in these Last Days, until the enemy is finally put under and the Elect are finally gathered for presentation. In His sinless birth and subsequent life, He maintained and secured His qualification to become the Sacrifice Who would present the human Blood necessary to cover the sins of men, and once so, be raised to an endless human life as the One responsible for initiating and maintaining our sinless status. All of this He does now as our High Priest, the office He won by the Sacrifice at the Cross. The Cross was not the whole of his Work. It was the beginning, the qualifier responsible for earning His role now as our Mediator, a role He will continue to hold until sin is put away forever.
Major commitments uttered by God:
The Elect shall be cultivated and gathered.
Their Salvation shall come through a Man, and He will destroy the author of the rebellion they are being rescued from.
This people will be shown a facsimile of Heaven’s governance, and by it will be taught obedience and its burden.
The One to rescue them will do so through satisfying the Law, and in a new fashion under a new order, shall continue to secure them in the same way they have been shown in the facsimile.
All of these things are sure and guaranteed, and for the sake of His Name and Honor, they will not be allowed to fail.