Faith, Hope, and Love
This passage highlights Christ as the supreme sacrifice necessary to eternal life. Two observations:
- Chapter 10 is 39 verses long…this passage can be best understood taken in small chunks, day-by-day, w/o losing the perspective of God’s whole Word inspired throughout scripture.
- The verses are split into two sections…10:1-18 AND 10:19-39. The NIV1984 identifies 19-39 as ‘A Call to Persevere’, giving readers a great clue to the meaning of this section.
Here’s a small chunk for your day today…Faith, hope, and love. These three attributes are often found linked together throughout scripture, perhaps most famously in 1 Corinthians 13:13.
Faith (v22)- a ‘sincere heart’ pledges full allegiance to Christ, a willingness to do ANYTHING the Father calls us to do. True faith in Christ finds its evidence through holiness.
Hope (vs 23)- a ‘unswervingly’ faith is modeled by one who stands firm and is steadfast in the midst of great sufferings and everyday trials. Those who fall down find the strength to get back up again and again.
Love (v24)- Believers discover God’s love as they ‘spur one another’ on towards practical expressions of God’s grace. Mutual edification builds a reliance on Christ for those who share life in Christ with one another.
Notice how faith, hope, and love are wrapped together (v. 19-24) in a plural first-person pronoun (we, us). Therefore, persevere in God’s mission of grace as you meet with other believers in the body of Christ. God’s promise of eternal life awaits those who persevere confidently in faith, hope, and love.
Jason Marshall