OBTAINING THE PROMISES

Heb 6:9-12
But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation,
though we speak in this manner. 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, which
you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we
desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that
you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
NKJV

Most of the time we think of salvation only in terms of when we die, that it is our great reward we
receive when we get to the gates of heaven. However, when we read this passage we come to
understand that there are things that accompany salvation. The word salvation comes from the Greek
word soteria (so-tay-ree'-ah), which is a noun, meaning it is something of substance, something we can
take possession of. The word means, deliverance, healing, safety, preservation, prosperity and
salvation.

If these are the things that accompany salvation, why is it that most Christians are not living in the
fullness of this salvation? We know that Rom 2:11 tells that, “There is no partiality with God”. This
would indicate that what God has provided for one of His children, He has for all His children. Could it
be that the reason most Christians are not living in all of the provision’s of salvation is that we have
failed to fulfill the rest of what is written in this passage from Hebrews. Can we become sluggish, and
thus waver in faith and patience? The author of Hebrews states that it is his desire that we do not
become sluggish. This would indicate that if we do become sluggish, then we do not inherit the
promises of what accompanies salvation.

So what does the word sluggish mean? Sluggish comes from the Greek word nothros and it means to be
slow, sluggish, indolent, slothful, lazy, dull, or languid (Thayer’s). It stands in contract to the word
diligence or spoude (spoo-day') in the Greek, which means to make every effort possible to do one’s
very best.

Our diligence is to be like those that have gone before us. Those that have inherited the promises. That
brings us to the question. How did they obtain this inheritance? Through faith and patience they
inherited the promises. Most of us know that faith is simply believing God with our whole heart, soul
and being. But what part does patience play in having this faith? In this passage, we learn that
Patience is the instrument of measurement by which we know whether we are in faith or not. However
the word patience is not a good translation of the original Greek word used in this passage. The
original Greek word used here is makrothumia (mak-roth-oo-mee'-ah) and it only translated twice as
patience, but twelve times as longsuffering. The reason that it is important to note the difference is that
the word most related to and translated as‘patience’ in the New Testament is hupomone (hoop-om-on-
ay'), which means hopeful endurance, or constancy. Hupomone is used thirty one times in the New
Testament.

So why would the Holy Spirit instruct the writer of the Book of Hebrews to use the Greek word
makrothumia, rather than the word hupomone? While the word makrothumia connotes, endurance,
constancy, steadfastness, and perseverance (Thayer's), it goes further in that it also addresses the
attitude by which these things are achieved. Makrothumia represents a high degree of passion,
fierceness or zeal during this time of steadfastness. Our zeal or passion is something we can all
measure. We know to what degree we have zeal and passion.

When the Apostle Paul tells us to “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test
yourselves” (2 Cor 13:5), we have a way to do that. Maybe you have stood in faith for one of God’s
promises in the past or you are believing God for one of His promises today and have become
discouraged because it has not manifested as quickly as you would like. Measure your faith; examine
your zeal and passion for what God has promised. Only you and God will know the results of the test.
Only you and God will know if you have become dull or sluggish in your zeal and passion.

When we know what we believe to be true, we will not be moved by what we see or hear. God’s word
and His promises are true. Let us keep the zeal and passion to obtain those promises!

Love and blessings to all,

In His Service,

Dr. Rod and Maggie

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All scripture references are taken from the New King James Version unless
stated otherwise