My father could scarcely carry a tune, but he loved the old hymns. He hummed the music or sang the words barely audibly as he went about his carpenter work: "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," "Just Over the Mountain in the Promised Land," "How Great Thou Art," as well as one of his favorites, "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine." These are the songs he and my mother sang every evening for worship in the months before he died at age ninety-four. His faith remained strong even as he sang in a voice that quavered:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O, what a fore-taste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of his Spirit, washed in His blood.1

For him, salvation was assured through faith in Jesus, and he fell into his last sleep knowing he would wake up to meet his Savior.

For the recipients of Hebrews, however, faith seemed to be wavering. We cannot know for certain who these people were. J. H. Davies, in his introductory comments on Hebrews written for The Cambridge Bible Commentary, suggests three possibilities: either the church at Rome or Colossae, where traditionalists might have been arguing that Christianity must be blended with Judaism, or possibly a group influenced by Essene Judaism, a complicated system that emphasized that its believers were the true Israelites. This group was also known for "its repudiation of the Jerusalem sacrifices, its belief in the angels, and its expectation of two messiahs, a priestly and a princely one."2 Though we can never be certain about the identity of the audience for this letter, we can tell from the urgent tone of Hebrews that belief in Christ is in question and thus individual salvation is at risk.

The author of Hebrews does not tackle these problems by naming individuals or referring to specific events. Instead, he launches into a formal argument—actually a series of arguments. Starting with the first chapter, he establishes the supremacy of Christ, equating him with God and asserting that he is higher than the angels, who are mere messengers. Christ is indeed one with God, enthroned with him and equally the Creator. Having begun the argument to establish Christ’s superiority, he moves into his first exhortation in the first four verses of the second chapter. He argues greater need to "pay all the more heed…for fear of drifting from our course." He poses the question: "what escape can there be for us if we ignore a deliverance so great?" Clearly, there is no escape if the readers lose faith in Christ as their redeemer.

Five more times the author of Hebrews presents the doctrine of Christ as the one and only source of salvation, and five more times he exhorts his audience to act on this doctrine, ending with Hebrews 13:1–25, in which he details how Christians must live.3 In verses 1–8 he covers the importance of love, hospitality, empathy, honorable marriage, modesty in material goods, reliance on God, and following the example of faith. In verses 9–16, he moves into more specific problems regarding those who may be swept off the "course by all sorts of outlandish teachings"; here he seems concerned with those who would dabble in the Jewish system of sacrifice, reminding his audience again that true sacrifice is the acknowledgment of Christ as Savior: "never forget to show kindness and to share what you have with others; for such are the sacrifices which God approves."

Concluding in verses 17–25, the writer ends with the admonition to obey "your" leaders, an indication that church members might have been straying from the true doctrines espoused by leaders. Further, the members are admonished to "pray for us." "I ask for your prayers, that I may be restored to you the sooner." After this personal touch, the writer again reminds the readers that Christ is the "great Shepherd," and then begs that his readers "bear with this exhortation; for it is after all a short letter." Perhaps the audience’s implied inattention to faithfulness suggests a short attention span, thus the reminder to listen with patience.

Throughout this pattern of doctrine and exhortation is woven the promise of Jesus as the one who assures salvation. In Hebrews 2: 10–18, the writer argues the importance of Christ having taken on humanity in order to become the Savior.

And therefore he had to be made like these brothers of his in every way, so that he might be merciful and faithful as their high priest before God, to expiate the sins of the people. For since he himself has passed through the test of suffering, he is able to help those who are meeting their test now. (2:17, 18)

In addition to being Christ’s brothers, the readers are assured that they are also his partners (3:14).

Furthermore, in Hebrews 6: 17–20, God is shown to have given his oath "to the heirs of his promise." This is an oath that assures salvation through Christ, who is "an anchor for our lives, an anchor safe and sure." Because "Christ was offered once to bear the burden of men’s sins" (9:28), those who believe in him will only die once. Christ will appear the second time to take away all sin. Therefore,

Let us be firm and unswerving in the confession of our hope, for the Giver of the promise may be trusted. We ought to see how each of us may best arouse others to love and active goodness, not staying away from our meetings, as some do, but rather encouraging one another, all the more because you see the Day drawing near. (Heb. 10: 23–25)

Throughout these passages the writer couples assurance with faithfulness.

In the author’s reiteration of doctrine, his exhortation to Christian faithfulness, as well as his reassurance that Christ alone is the maker of salvation, he provided a stumbling group with the means to reestablish faith in Christ, the one and only Savior who forever freed believers from all other belief systems. Though we cannot know the exact group to whom Hebrews is written, nor can we enter precisely into the minds of these Christians who appear to have been led to question their simple faith in Christ, we can today read Hebrews as a statement of Christ our salvation, an exhortation to live out his life in us, and an assurance of the eternal reward for combining belief and action. Indeed we can all sing with absolute conviction, "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine."

Notes and References

1. Fanny J. Crosby, "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine," in The Church Hymnal: Official Hymnal of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church (Tacoma Park, Md.: Review and Herald, 1941), no. 608.
2. J. H. Davies, Introduction to A Letter to Hebrews, The Cambridge Bible Commentary of the New English Bible (Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1967), 7.
3. On page fifteen of his introduction, Davies provides a complete outline of doctrine and exhortation. To fully understand the rhetorical structure of Hebrews, I recommend reading the entire book of Hebrews with this pattern in mind.

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