God’s House

“Whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the re­joicing of the hope firm to the end.” Hebrews 3:6.

Let this word of exhortation make it clear to us that we are only His house if we carry out this word. We can be God’s house from the day we are converted if we wholeheartedly and uprightly enter into a life of judging ourselves. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. 1 Peter 4:17. The foundation has to be cleaned radically, and confidence and hope must be used right away. This is also how it must continue—warm and fervent until the end. Then we are God’s house and we are built up together with the others to be a habitation of God in the Spirit. The promises are not ours if we permit slackness and lukewarmness to enter in. The exhortation is: hold fast to the end!

We must have the attitude that Amos expresses in chapter 5 verse 24, “But let judgment run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” We need to be willing to let God enlighten us at all times so we can see more of ourselves. The waters of judgment must always run with cleansing through our heart’s temple so that we do not view the future, money, or honor as something great, but rather the fear of the Lord. We need to despise the spirit of this world with all our heart. Then we will receive great boldness, and our peace will be like a river. Firmness and endurance in such a battle of faith gives us a living hope, and we can rejoice in that. Then we are His house and He will dwell in our midst and walk among us as He has prom­ised. 2 Corinthians 6:16.

It is possible to be zealous and fervent for a time, when the cir­cumstances are favorable and God blesses us. But when God with­draws a little bit to try a person, he quite often loses both faith and hope. Such material can never be used to build a house of God, and the devil knows that. Therefore he does everything in his power to silence the believers when it concerns their confidence and their hope. If he succeeds, everything will burn up for them on the day when it will be tested by fire. This is where they risk losing infinitely impor­tant treasures. We must fight the good fight of faith with everything that is within us. The devil must not be allowed to keep us dejected for a single moment. If we have transgressed or sinned, we need to clear that up instantly. God’s Word says, “Blessed is he whose trans­gression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Psalm 32:1. The evil one has been disarmed, and we have again the right—and good reason to be bold.

God is unspeakably good; He grants us to be a house for Him. We must, more than ever before, see its greatness and its importance for time and eternity. Let us hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of hope firm to the end.