Confidence
"Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward." (Hebrews 10:35)
April 4, 2025
Today I'm thinking about confidence. Namely, what am I confident about in this life? And, is my confidence placed in the right things?
The author of Hebrews uses this word, confidence (παρρησία parrēsia) four times in the epistle: "...Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence (παρρησίαν) and our boasting (καύχημα)in our hope" (3:6). And, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (4:16). And, "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus..." (10:19). And, "Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward" (10:35). The call to confidence includes holding fast to our hope in Christ, drawing near to him for grace, mercy, and help, having confidence in the atoning death of Christ (the one sacrifice for sins for all time); and having boldness rather than shrinking back into unbelief.
As used in Hebrews, the word παρρησία denotes "free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance" (NET Bible). It may be considered a synonym for faith, but a faith at the level of full assurance and outspokenness. The recipients of the letter to the Hebrews were Jewish-background believers who had come to Christ and were being pressured by their culture (family, friends, authorities) to abandon their faith in Christ, or at least, to compromise the claims of Christ. They were in danger of throwing away their bold confidence in Christ (10:35). They had need of endurance (v. 36). Confidence is related to boldness, a willingness to step out and be identified with Christ. The opposite of confidence is to "shrink back" (10:38-39) Confidence in God pleases him and preserves our souls. Examples of confident faith are given in the next chapter of Hebrews, chapter 11.
Such confidence is often seen just after conversion, when the blessings and power of Christ are being experienced. At that time we may be unusually free to speak out, and to take our stand with Christ. The author of Hebrews calls these "the former days" (10:32) One of the hallmarks of true revival is when we feel again the reality and power of the Good News of Jesus, like we did when we first believed. Over time, however, our boldness and confidence may wane or become misplaced.
We may lose our assurance of the truthfulness of the gospel. We may be less outspoken about the Lord. And ironically, we may get embroiled in secondary issues and transfer our confidence to other things. When we lose sight of the reality of God we may try to find our confidence (or competence) in other things, like our portfolio, our health, our activities, or our political opinions. We may be more outspoken on immigration or vaccination than we are for the gospel. Lesslie Newbigin writes, "Our confidence is not in the competence of our own knowing, but in the faithfulness and reliability of the one who is known." That is, confidence in God and what he has done through his Son.
We too have need of endurance, and so, we have need of the confidence which undergirds endurance. The devil would have us cower. Worldly authorities and influencers would have us conform to their opinions, or at least to be silent and compromising. Our political parties may pressure us to be 100% certain that they are right and the other side is always wrong, and as a result, we become bold and confident in wrong things. I believe it is time for Christians to be confident in, and outspoken about, eternal truth.
SO, AM I CONFIDENT ...
-- That God alone is God, and that all other claimants to ultimate authority -- whether traditions, governments, other religions, or popular culture -- are empty and false?
-- That Jesus is the one and only Son of God, the Heir of all creation, the King of glory, who alone is perfect God and perfect man in one Person?
-- That the Lord Jesus in his death has forgiven and covered all my guilt for eternity, being the single sacrifice for sins for all time?
-- That his sacrifice, and his love, are wholly free and available to all who come to Christ in repentance and faith? (Whether Democrat, Republican, Marxist, Fascist, terrorist, persecutor, or anybody.)
-- That God's Word, the Bible, is wholly sufficient for me to know and to do the will of God in this life?
-- That Christ will certainly and assuredly return, that "the coming one will come and will not delay" (10:37) and that he will reward our confidence in him (10:35)?
FURTHER, am I willing to be openly identified with Christ and his people? Am I willing to step up and stand out as a Christian, or am I shrinking back in fear of the world? As C. H. Spurgeon wrote, "No believer should be content with hoping and trusting, he should ask the Lord to lead him on to full assurance, so that matters of hope may become matters of certainty."
IN OTHER READING.
-- "All these ugly attitudes and actions that were going on every day out in the city were beginning to infiltrate into the church, and instead of the church changing the city, the city was changing the church." (Ray Stedman)
-- “Who knew that Saul of Tarsus was to be the great apostle to the Gentiles? Who knew that God would raise up a C.S. Lewis, a Charles Colson? They were unbelievers who, once saved by the grace of God, were mighty warriors for the faith.” (Carl F. H. Henry, quoted by Russell Moore)
-- "The free grace of God which Paul proclaimed is free grace in more senses than one -- free in the sense that it is sovereign and unfettered, free in the sense that it is held forth to men and women for their acceptance by faith alone, and free in the sense that it is the source and principle of their liberation from all kinds of inward and spiritual bondage, including the bondage of legalism and the bondage of moral anarchy." (F. F. Bruce, Paul Apostle of the Heart Set Free)
-- "Only now can faith risk itself in the dark. This side of eternity is the studio entrusted to us." -- Artist Makoto Fujimura, also a poet.
IN OTHER NEWS. Fifty years ago today, I stood beside Neil Damgaard and Renee English, as they gave their marriage vows at Grace Church. They are our lifelong friends, and tonight we will celebrate together with them at dinner in Roanoke. It's odd to think that between us (the two couples) we have 100 years of marriage experience. (A century of learning, but there's still more to learn!) Thanks be to God, and congratulations to Neil and Renee Damgaard!
FINAL QUOTE. "A good marriage is the union of two good forgivers." (Ruth Bell Graham)
That’s all for this week!
Sandy
Afterwords is an occasional newsletter on topics of interest to me (Sandy Young) since my retirement from full-time pastoral ministry. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.