Something is a square if it is a plane figure with four equal sides. It doesn't become a square because of that. Rather it has the four equal sides because it is a square.
We do not become His house by holding fast. Rather because we are His house, we will hold fast. You can know if we are His house by our holding fast.
In fact, we are partakers in the heavenly call and in Christ if we hold fast (He 3.1, 14). We are not partakers of God's house if we make some public decision, walk down a church aisle, etc.. We can only know we are partakers if we hold fast - and the implication of course is if we are not holding fast, then we are not partakers in His house.
Also note the sequence. Because we are His, we hold fast. We do not become His because we hold fast. He must first make us His and because He has done that, we are then able to hold fast. If He does not enable us, then we cannot hold fast ... we have no hope.
Decisions to accept Christ's forgiveness and submit to His leadership are real to the degree that they beget perseverance. To the degree that they do not beget perseverance, they are false. Living the Christian life is what is important. Christian life is hell or heaven. It is not about an act or decision in a point of time.
"Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." - He 13.20-21
You cannot persevere. Rather He preserves you. Without the power of God changing our heart, we can make many decisions and even do many "right" things, but in the end, our heart is hard and we fail. If we are partakers, His power will change us into His likeness.
Israel is a picture of this. They made the decision. They left Pharaoh and the land of Egypt. But in the end, they were hard of heart and in His wrath, God did not permit them to enter the promised land.
We do not need to adjust our behavior. We need to have our hearts adjusted. It is only then that our behavior will really change.
The application for me is when I find that I am dissatisfied with the things of God. It is in those times that I need to read Hebrews and allow God to change my heart. When I cry out for manna and God provides it but then I cry out because I don't like that either, there is something in my heart that needs fixing. The solution is not for me to try to change the things around me but for God to change the things within me.
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