LET US BE THE SORT THAT HAVE FAITH

Express Confidence in One Another

The first thing we might note is Paul's positive attitude toward his audience. He wrote: "Now we are not the sort that shrink back to destruction, but the sort that have faith to the preserving alive of the soul." (Hebrews 10:39) Paul thought the best, not the worst, of his faithful fellow Christians. Notice, too, that he used the expression "we." Paul was a righteous man. Yet, he did not speak down to his audience, as if he were on a lofty plane of righteousness far above them. (Compare Ecclesiastes 7:16) Rather, he included himself with them. He expressed heartfelt confidence that he and his faithful Christian readers would all face the daunting obstacles looming before them, that they would courageously refuse to shrink back to destruction, and that they would prove to be of the sort that have faith.

How could Paul have such confidence? Was he blind to the faults of the Hebrew Christians? On the contrary, he offered them specific counsel to help them overcome their spiritual shortcomings . (Hebrews 3:12; 5:12-14; 6:4-6; 10:26, 27; 12:5) Still, Paul had at least two good reasons for having confidence in his brothers. (1) As an imitator of Jehovah, Paul endeavored to see God's people as Jehovah sees them. That was not merely in terms of their faults but in terms of their good qualities and their potential for choosing to do good in the future. (Psalm 130:3; Ephesians 5:1) (2) Paul had implicit faith in the power of the holy spirit. He knew that no obstacles, no human frailties could prevent Jehovah from imparting "power beyond what is normal" to any Christians endeavoring to serve Him faithfully. (2 Corinthians 4:7; Philippians 4:13) So Paul's confidence in is brothers and sisters was not misplaced,unrealistic, or blindly optimistic. It was solidly based and Scripturally founded.

Surely, the confidence Paul displayed proved infectious. It must have meant a great deal to the congregation in Jerusalem and Judea to have Paul speak so encouragingly to them. In the face of the withering scorn and haughty indifference of their Jewish opposers, the Hebrew Christians were helped by such expressions to resolve in their hearts to be the sort that have faith. Can we do the same for one another today? It is all too easy to see in others only a long list of faults and personality quirks. (Matthew 7:1-5) Yet, we can help on another far more if we take note of and value the unique faith that each one possesses. With such encouragement, faith is more likely to grow. -Romans 1:11, 12.

Next time: Fitting Use of God's Word

Watchtower, 1999