Hebrews 3:5  And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
6  But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

In verse 5 God helps us to see one of the qualities of faithfulness is to be a servant. God has already declared that man is not the ultimate end. Whether a person believes it or not, there is a God Who created all things and man is accountable to God. We talk of those who explored and discovered different parts of the world and we talk of the pioneers who opened up the land. In Canada we have an ongoing dispute between the Indians and those who came from Europe and elsewhere to settle here. That dispute will never be settled until the Lord settles it, because of the greed of man.
Moses was faithful in that he understood that he was not in charge and he needed to serve God. God had worked in a marvellous way in the early part of Moses’ life. His parents were godly people who did not kill him as the Pharaoh demanded. They did what they could to protect their infant son. God worked in the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter to have compassion on that little child that her maidens found in that ark in the river. Moses’ mother had the privilege of further raising that young son until he was weaned. Moses had some good training and he also chose to listen to that training. He chose not to adopt the paganism of Egypt but chose to identify with his own people.
At the burning bush, God revealed Himself to Moses in a greater way and Moses learned the importance of obedience in a greater way. Moses submitted to God’s will and he became the leader of a great nation, but also a stubborn people.
As a leader, the Bible tells us that Moses was a meek man. He was not a cruel dictator like the Pharaohs were. He was not a proud man as king Saul would later prove to be. Moses was a servant of the Lord and he led the nation of Israel even when they did not want his leadership. He was faithful as a servant.
Moses was careful to pay attention to the detail that God gave him regarding the Tabernacle and its vessels. All of that pointed forward to the Lord Jesus Christ. Moses needed to be careful to give correct instructions to those who would make the various items for the Tabernacle and the vessels of it. It was important that the people could see beyond the hands that made the items, to the purpose of each part of these items.
As we consider this, we gain further insight into why it was that Moses could not enter the land of Canaan after he struck the rock that God told him to speak to. Moses spoiled an important testimony. Jesus Christ would lay down His life once. He was not crucified many times. He was crucified once. That One work would provide salvation for all those who would turn to God in repentance and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. There is no need for a second work. Those who turn to God in repentance, pray to God and are forgiven by God because they put their trust in that One work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. Moses was also given many other instructions that Jesus reminded the people of while He was on this earth. Moses was truly a testimony of things spoken after his death.
In verse 6 we see that Jesus Christ is again contrasted with Moses. Jesus Christ is the son over his own house. Moses was faithful in all his house, but that house was chosen and built by God. Moses needed to be a faithful servant in that house, but he did not build the house. He needed to be a good steward of God’s possession.
We see that those who are saved are the house of God in Christ. Notice that those who make up that house need to hold fast to the confidence they have in Christ. Holding fast is not the means of salvation. It is the evidence of salvation. Holding fast is not a matter of hanging on for dear life. It is a matter of trusting in God’s gift for eternity.
Confidence means we take a different attitude to God’s Word than Adam did. Adam was told by God what he needed to do and what he needed to stay away from. Adam did not have the confidence that God was right. He allowed his wife to turn him aside from the truth.
God’s Word is truth. Those who are saved, are saved because they have listened to the Word of God as the Holy Spirit has been working in their conscience to show them the need to be saved. They have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ to save them. After they are saved, they are scripturally baptized and they join a good church where they can grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. If they are not in a good church God will work in their hearts to guide them to a right church. It is not wise to resist God’s leading. You cannot grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ if you are not taught properly. You cannot have confidence in God if you are not saved and then not willing to yield to His authority over you.
True Christians have a real hope. There is no need to doubt what God has promised. Jesus Christ proved the truthfulness of God’s Word as the son over the house. He died on the cross. People mocked Him as He hung on that cross. The religious leaders received permission to seal His tomb, and to set a watch, to make sure no one would steal His body. They did not believe He was God and would rise again. He proved them wrong. They then concocted a lie to try to keep people from believing He was alive. He showed Himself to more than 500 brethren at one time, proving those religious leaders were liars.
Christians have a sure hope. When our hope is in the Lord, it is sure. We can rejoice in that hope. We can know it is real. As we read in Hebrews 11, Abraham looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. His hope was not an empty hope. He did not see Israel with his physical eye, but he came to understand that God was true to His Word and he looked for a city with foundations.
Moses was not able to enter the land of Canaan physically because he sinned against God, but he still had his hope in the promises of God. He encouraged the nation of Israel to know the true God and be faithful to Him. He came to understand that he could not enter the land of Canaan because he sinned against God. That did not take away his hope of heaven. It simply limited his blessing while on this earth.
Some people assume that Canaan is a type of heaven. That cannot be true because we do not fight to enter heaven. We also do not need to drive sin out of heaven. Canaan is a picture of the blessings that God had in store for the nation of Israel, and by application true Christians also have great blessings in knowing the Lord and serving Him faithfully. Israel did not hold firm to the promises of God and they missed out on many blessings because of that failure. They are still missing out on the blessings of God today, because they have rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Lord. Some Jews are saved, but many are not. One day the nation of Israel will turn to God and they will recognize the One that they have slain and they will repent and be saved. That will be at the end of the Tribulation. The Bible is clear on that.
Salvation has never been by works. It has always been by faith. It is faith in the God Who is true. It is faith in the Son of God Who is the Master of the House. Jesus Christ is the only Saviour. He alone gives His children the reason to rejoice in the hope that is firm unto the end. The end for the child of God is a home in heaven for all eternity. If a person has received the gift of eternal life, then he or she can endure the sufferings of this life because they have a sure hope.
God tells us here that for those who are saved, we need to hold fast the confidence that is provided by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not saving ourselves. We are not giving ourselves assurance of salvation. We are simply trusting in the promises of God to know the blessings of God as we journey to the end. Our salvation is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not holding on for dear life. We are resting in the promises of God. We will see that further on.
Pastor Bartel