Let us hold fast, etc. As he exhorts here the Jews to persevere, he mentions hope rather than faith; for as hope is born of faith, so it is fed and sustained by it to the last. He requires also profession or confession, for it is not true faith except it shows itself before men. And he seems indirectly to touch the dissimulation of those who paid too much attention, in order to please their own nation, to the ceremonies of the Law. He therefore bids them not only to believe with the heart, but also to show and to profess how much they honored Christ. But we ought carefully to notice the reason which he subjoins, for he is faithful that promised. For we hence first learn, that our faith rests on this foundation, that God is true, that is, true to his promise, which his word contains; for that we may believe, the voice or word of God must precede; but it is not every kind of word that is capable of producing faith; a promise alone is that on which faith recumbs. And so from this passage we may learn the mutual relation between the faith of men and the promise of God; for except God promises, no one can believe. [1]

Footnotes

1 - Our version has "faith," but it should be "hope," as found in almost all copies. "Profession of hope" is a Hebraism for professed hope, or the hope we profess. He mentioned "faith" in the preceding verse, and now "hope" as being its daughter, and as that which especially sustained them under their trials. -- Ed.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering - To secure this was one of the leading designs of this Epistle, and hence, the apostle adverts to it so frequently. It is evident that those whom he wrote were suffering persecution Hebrews. 12, and that there was great danger that they would apostatize. As these persecutions came probably from the Jews, and as the aim was to induce them to return to their former opinions, the object of the apostle is to show that there was in the Christian scheme every advantage of which the Jews could boast; everything pertaining to the dignity of the great Founder of the system, the character of the High Priest, and the nature and value of the sacrifices offered, and that all this was possessed far more abundantly in the permanent Christian system than in what was typical in its character, and which were designed soon to vanish away. In view of all this, therefore, the apostle adds that they should hold fast the profession of their faith without being shaken by their trials, or by the arguments of their enemies. We have the same inducement to hold fast the profession of our faith - for it is the same religion still; we have the same Saviour, and there is held out to us still the same prospect of heaven.
For he is faithful that promised - To induce them to hold fast their profession, the apostle adds this additional consideration. God, who had promised eternal life to them, was faithful to all that he had said. The argument here is:
(1) that since God is so faithful to us, we ought to be faithful to him;
(2) the fact that he is faithful is an encouragement to us.
We are dependent on him for grace to hold fast our profession. If he were to prove unfaithful, we should have no strength to do it. But this he never does; and we may be assured, that all that he has promised he will perform. To the service of such a God, therefore, we should adhere without wavering; compare the notes on 1-Corinthians 10:13.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith - The word ὁμολογια, from ὁμου, together, and λογος, a word, implies that general consent that was among Christians on all the important articles of their faith and practice; particularly their acknowledgment of the truth of the Gospel, and of Jesus Christ, as the only victim for sin, and the only Savior from it. If the word washed above refer to Christian baptism in the ease of adults, then the profession is that which the baptized then made of their faith in the Gospel; and of their determination to live and die in that faith.
The various readings on this clause are many in the MSS., etc. Της ελπιδος την ὁμολογιαν, the confession of our Hope; D*, two of the Itala, Vulgate, Erpen's Arabic, and the Ethiopic. Ὁμολογιαν της πιστεως, the confession of Faith; one of the Barberini MSS. and two others. This is the reading which our translators have followed; but it is of very little authority. Την επαγγελιαν της ελπιδος, the promise of Hope; St. Chrysostom. Την ελπιδα της ὁμολογιας, the Hope of our Profession; one of Petavius's MSS. But among all these, the confession or profession of Hope is undoubtedly the genuine reading. Now, among the primitive Christians, the hope which they professed was the resurrection of the body, and everlasting life; every thing among these Christians was done and believed in reference to a future state; and for the joy that this set before them, they, like their Master, endured every cross, and despised all shame: they expected to be with God, through Christ; this hope they professed to have; and they confessed boldly and publicly the faith on which this hope was built. The apostle exhorts them to hold fast this confession without wavering - never to doubt the declarations made to them by their Redeemer, but having the full assurance of faith that their hearts were sprinkled from an evil conscience, that they had found redemption in the blood of the lamb, they might expect to be glorified with their living Head in the kingdom of their Father.
He is faithful that promised - The eternal life, which is the object of your hope, is promised to you by him who cannot lie; as he then is faithful who has given you this promise, hold fast the profession of your hope.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering,.... Either in the grace or doctrine of faith, or in the profession of both; See Gill on Hebrews 4:14.
For he is faithful that promised; that is God; and it is true of Father, Son, and Spirit; but God the Father may be more especially designed: he is a promising God, and is known to be so by his people; he is eminently and emphatically the Promiser; and all other promisers, and the promises made by them, signify little; but the promises of God are exceeding great and precious, very ancient, free, and unconditional, irrevocable and immutable, and are admirably suited to the cases of his people, and will be fulfilled everyone of them: they include in them things temporal, spiritual, and eternal; things temporal, as that his people shall not want, that their afflictions shall work for good, and that he will support them under all their troubles; things spiritual, as that he will be their God, which takes in his everlasting love to them, and his gracious presence with them, and his protection of them; and that all grace shall be wrought in them, and every blessing of grace bestowed on them: and things eternal; as everlasting glory and happiness; the promise of eternal life was in God's heart, made in the covenant, and put into Christ's hands before the world began, and is declared in the Gospel: now God is faithful to all his promises, nor can he fail, or deceive; he is all wise and foreknowing of everything that comes to pass; he never changes his mind, nor forgets his word; and he is able to perform, and is the God of truth, and cannot lie; nor has he ever failed in anyone of his promises, nor will he suffer his faithfulness to fail; and this is a strong argument to hold fast a profession of faith.

(Hebrews 3:6, Hebrews 3:14; Hebrews 4:14.)
profession--Greek, "confession."
our faith--rather as Greek, "our hope"; which is indeed faith exercised as to the future inheritance. Hope rests on faith, and at the same time quickens faith, and is the ground of our bold confession (1-Peter 3:15). Hope is similarly (Hebrews 10:22) connected with purification (1-John 3:3).
without wavering--without declension (Hebrews 3:14), "steadfast unto the end."
he--God is faithful to His promises (Hebrews 6:17-18; Hebrews 11:11; Hebrews 12:26, Hebrews 12:28; 1-Corinthians 1:9; 1-Corinthians 10:13; 1-Thessalonians 5:24; 2-Thessalonians 3:3; see also Christ's promise, John 12:26); but man is too often unfaithful to his duties.

Let us hold fast. The thought is, cling to the faith professed and the hope in the soul without wavering.

The profession of our hope - The hope which we professed at our baptism.