HEBREWS 3:6,14 -- FAITH OR WORKS?

It always amazes me how much time and effort Bible scholars expend over what to us seems like rather trivial and abstruse points of interpretation. But, on the other hand, I am certainly glad when such knowledgeable and dedicated people do put their training to work in that manner because it gives us more confidence that the Bible translations and commentaries which they produce have not just been dashed out without much careful thought first, whether or not we may agree with their final conclusions.

As a simple case in point, I was reading in D.A. Carson's book Exegetical Fallacies and came across his short discussion regarding the two passages above.

Carson criticizes those such as I.H. Marshall, who take these two verses as saying the same thing so that “Membership of God's household is conditional upon perseverance.” Carson admits that “In one sense, of course that is correct,” although he still feels that something subtle has been lost in stating that. If you consider both of these verses as they are rendered below in the NIV, most of us would almost certainly see no problem with Marshall's position:

    “And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.” (3:6)

    “We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at first.”

(3:14)

You can see that the individual clauses in each verse line up with one another almost perfectly. And in addition, my previous literary analysis of Hebrews demonstrated that these statements are found at the exact ends of two parallel sections of Hebrews, additionally confirmed by the repeated language within them:

1. Jesus as an example (3:1-6) Brothers and sisters...partners

2. Key Verse – Ps. 95:7-11 (3:7-11)

1'. Within the Body (3:12-14) Brothers and sisters...partners

So we must look carefully at what sort of problems Carson sees with equating these two verses. Here is how he explains his position: “...close attention to the tenses in their context in Hebrews 3:14 reveals an extra ingredient in this verse. We have become (gegonamen) – past reference, I would argue – partakers of Christ if we now, in the present, hold firmly to the confidence we had at first. It follows from this verse that although perseverance is mandated, it is also the evidence of what has taken place in the past. Put another way, perseverance becomes one of the essential ingredients of what it means to be a Christian, of what a partaker of Christ is and does. If persevering shows we have (already) come to share in Christ, it can only be because sharing in Christ has perseverance for its inevitable fruit.”

My first step was to consider other English translations to see if any of them made a similar distinction in meaning between the two passages. Surprisingly, I found that some of them actually strengthened the parallels instead.

Thus, for one thing, The King James Version, Phillips paraphrase, The Living Bible, and NASB append “firm to the end” to the conclusion of 3:6 to make a close match to the identical phrase found in 3:14. It turns out that this alternative ending is also footnoted in RSV, NRSV and JB as being found in several ancient manuscripts of Hebrews. Comfort rejects this addition, even though it appears in three early Greek manuscripts and four later ones, since he feels (and probably rightly so) that it was an early attempt to strengthen the similarities between 3:6 and 3:14 by scribes who were convinced that they were expressing the same idea. Metzger rejects this reading for the same reason as well as noting that the gender in the added words does not match its referent in the rest of the verse. Despite these negative evaluations, it does demonstrate the strong feeling among some early scribes that verses 6 and 14 were saying the same thing.

Another way in which some English renderings choose to strengthen the parallels is seen in how they translate the words parrhesia in 3:6 and hupostasis in 3:14. KJV, JB and TEV render both Greek words as “confidence,” while The Living Bible and J.B.Phillips translate both as “trust.” But is it really valid to equate the two Greek words, or do they express completely different ideas? For that question, we need to consult some word study books.

Vine explains that hupostasis is “The quality of confidence which leads one to stand under, endure, or undertake anything.” Similarly, parrhesia is defined as “confidence, cheerful courage, or boldness.”

Going into a little more detail, Hahn states, “We should approach the future not in fear of judgment but in full confidence, openness to God and in the hope of the fullness of the glory of God (cf. 2 Cor. 3:11f.). Therefore, we should abide in Christ (I Jn. 2:28; Heb. 3:6; 10:35), who has already triumphed over the principalities and powers in public (en parrhesia, Col. 2:15), and made possible access into the holiest (Heb. 3:6; 10:35)...” And as to the appearance of hupostasis in Hebrews 3:14, Harder says that “the thought of the passage is that of confidence...The thought is similar to that of patience (6:12) and perseverance (12:1).”

With all the above in mind, we can confidently say that the individual clauses in 3:6 and 3:14 are closely parallel to one another as follows:

Hebrews 3:6                                                                   Hebrews 3:14

We are his house                                                            We have come to share in Christ

if we hold on to                                                              if we hold firmly to the end

our courage and the confidence of which we boast       the confidence we had at first

Next I turned to various Bible commentaries to see if any of them could confirm Carson's contention that there was a substantial difference in meaning between these two verses.

Beale: “The emphasis throughout Hebrews 3-4, as well as the entire epistle, is upon persevering until the end when the final reward is to be received (Heb 3:6,14)

deSilva: “Jesus' exaltation assists believers, who are Christ's 'partners' (metochoi, Heb 3:6,14).”

Lane describes the state of the audience for this epistle as one of crisis. The root of the problem may have been the delay of the Parousia [Second Coming], social ostracism and impending persecution...or a general waning of enthusiasm and erosion of confidence (Heb 3:14; 10:35). A significant symptom was the faltering of hope (Heb 3:6; 6:11, 18-20; 10:23-25; 11:1), and the writer sensed the grave danger of apostasy among some members...”

Fuller says that “only if they [the readers] hold fast to their courage are they members of God's household (Heb 3:6); only if they hold their first confidence firm unto the end will they share in Christ (Heb 3:14; also 4:1; 6:4-6,11; 12:14,25).”

Hodges notes that the warning to 'hold on to their courage' in 3:6 (parresian) also appears in Hebrews 4:16; 10:19,35. “Should any of his readers [fail to] do this, they would forfeit their roles in the Son's priestly house, which is only maintained by holding firmly to their Christian profession (cf. also v. 14 and 10:23-25, 35-36).”

Hawthorne: “This warning [in v. 6] is directed to those who have confessed themselves Christians. It is intended to show that true Christianity is proved by endurance, by continued confidence in and loyalty to Christ who is our hope (cf. Col. 1:27). He does not belong to God's house who merely professes to do so. He belongs who continues believing 'to the end' (6. RSV ms, a reading which, though parallel to 3:14, is probably genuine here in light of its wide textural attestation).” Note Hawthorne's disagreement with other scholars cited above.

Stibbs states that “full participation in the Messianic blessings is given only to those who are steadfast in their confidence (v. 14) from start to finish...It must be held firm to the end, in all the intensity of its first manifestation (cf. 3:6), and in the face of delay, suffering and temporary disappointment (cf. 10:35,36)...”

And Buchanan says, “Verse 14 is a summarizing sentence that refers the readers to the beginning of the chapter and picks up words from there on. Those who had become 'sharers of Christ' were the same 'holy brothers' who were 'sharers of [the] heavenly calling (3:1)'; those encouraged to 'hold fast the initial doctrine until the end' were the same ones who would belong to 'God's house,' if they would hold fast the confidence and boasting of hope' (3:6).”

I must admit that at this point in my researches, I had yet to find one scholar who even hinted that Carson was on the right track in suggesting that persevering was not a requirement of salvation, but a mere demonstration that we already (past tense) possessed it all the time. But there was one final resource I had not yet looked at, and I felt that it would probably provide that confirmation if any place could. I am talking about Paul Ellingworth's commentary on Hebrews in the New International Greek Testament Commentary series. The volumes in this series are quite thorough and have the advantage of commenting directly on the Greek text instead of on an English translation. Thus, they tend to delve more closely into details of Greek grammar than most commentaries.

Ellingworth begins with a recap of the textual problems in v. 6, most of which he attributes to scribal attempts to import language found in v. 14. But he concludes: “Textual matters apart, 3:14 is a useful guide to the meaning of 3:6b....V. 14 is so similar in content to v. 6 as to have affected the textual tradition; divergences tend to be [merely] stylistic.”

Then when it comes to the critical point regarding the verb tense in v. 14, we see that Ellingworth is the only one besides Carson I could find who even comments on the grammatical tenses involved in these verses: “If the present occurrence of gegonamen stood alone in Hebrews, it would be understood as a normal perfect, meaning 'we became' (perhaps by implication 'in baptism') and remain...This is the view of those who see in this verse an allusion to the need to hold on (kataschomen) to the baptismal confession...However, gegona is frequent in Hebrews (5:11f., 7:16, 20, 22; 23; 12:8 with espe), and may well mean no more than esmen...The implication is...:We have become and are now, partners with Christ; and we shall remain such if we hold fast to the end.”

Forgive me for being a little dense, but at this point I am afraid that I do not see any substantial difference between the two alternative understandings that Ellingworth presents above, and don't even know if either agrees or disagrees with Carson's view on the subject. So the bottom line for me is to steer away in the future from any such scholarly arguments when they involve detailed and subtle points of theology or grammar.