# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_2016_S86
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

doesn’t use this exact grammatical formula. He uses
an exhortation to encourage his readers, which biblical scholars refer to as a hortatory subjunctive: “Let
us hold fast the confession of our hope.”
However, each case of encouragement is tied to the
good news of what God does for us. Because Jesus is
our great High Priest who gave His flesh and blood
for us on the cross, therefore we will confidently enter
God’s presence now and for eternity. Because our
hearts and bodies were washed clean by the pure waters of Holy Baptism, therefore we can draw near with
a true heart to God our Father. Because the Day of the
Lord is drawing near when Christ will return and we
will be raised bodily unto eternal life in heaven, therefore we won’t want to forsake the gathering together
with other Christians, as is the habit of some. Because
God is faithful in all His promises to you, therefore
you can hold fast to the confession of your hope without wavering.
Over 30 years ago, I served as chaplain for the 3/24
Marines, a reserve infantry battalion, and we were
sent to Bridgeport, Calif., for mountain warfare training. This is fairly close to Yosemite National Park in
the High Sierras. I had never done any rock climbing
before, and neither had many of the Marines in our

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U P O N T H I S R O C K • Sermon

battalion. To build our confidence in the belaying
ropes, the training gunny had each of us rappel
halfway down a 100-foot cliff, tie off, and hang upside
down. Then we were to do 10 sit-ups with our head
hanging 50 feet above rather sharp rocks. After that,
we practiced climbing up the cliff with the belaying
rope attached. We could confidently hold fast because
we were securely held fast.
The author of Hebrews exhorts and encourages us
to “hold fast the confession.” He is using the Greek
word homologian, which literally translates as “same
words”—the same words of our hope in Jesus Christ.
These are the same words by which God has faithfully
promised our forgiveness and salvation through
Jesus’ death and resurrection, the same words by
which God has faithfully provided our purification
in Holy Baptism, the same words by which God has
faithfully promised our deliverance and eternal life
in heaven. We can hold fast in faith without bending
or wavering because God holds us fast through His
Word and Sacraments. We can hold fast in boldly
confessing this faith before a fallen world because
God so faithfully holds us fast through Jesus Christ,
our solid Rock. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria

“Held Fast to Hold Fast”