The remaining verses of the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews continue to reveal, through the lives of God's examples, the proper manner in which one is to inherit the promises of restoration. Principally it is a faith that works through obedience—a faith that exercises much patience after having done all God has commanded.

True faith obeys God and then waits patiently for the promises to be fulfilled. The grace of Divine forgiveness makes a powerful contribution toward this process but never is intended to be a substitute for it.

None of the saints attempted to manipulate the supernatural realm by saying I believe! Rather, they sought the Lord and obeyed His voice.

There is not one instance of the saints claiming to possess something they did not possess (except in the sense that one day it would be theirs according to the promise of God). When Moses and the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, Moses did not announce to the people, "We now are in the land of promise because God has said He would bring us into the land of milk and honey."

We recognize that God did not speak to the Jews of that day concerning spiritual realities as He has to us. Nevertheless there are New Testament passages that teach us to view the experiences of the Israelites as examples and parallels of the Christian discipleship:

Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. (I Corinthians 10:11)

The conditional nature of our redemption is expressed as follows:

But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. (Hebrews 3:6; see entire third chapter)

"If we hold fast"!

Notice in the above verse that our redemption, the restoration of our personality, our salvation, is treated as a "hope." We possess redemption now in one sense but not in another. If we would fulfill the vision of restoration we must recognize that the salvation we have now, as well as our future hope, depend for their permanence on our steadfastness throughout our lifetime.

We are saved by hope.

I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. (Jude 1:5)

God brought the Jews out of Egypt as a demonstration of Divine grace. He spoke to His called-out people concerning the abundance of the land to which He was bringing them.

But with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, the adults who began with such high hopes did not exercise the faith and patience necessary for fulfilling the vision of restoration. They did not inherit the promise of God.

They are an example to us.

To be continued.