Heb 6:13-14 | KingComments | STEP | . In the previous section the writer demonstrated insistently and seriously how terrible it is to belong to the Christian company outwardly, without being born again inwardly. Having read it, you would begin to doubt about yourself if it is all true.. You might be going through the same as those to whom this letter was addressed originally. After all, they were facing so many difficulties, there was a lot of resistance and the promised blessing seemed so far away. But now you suddenly hear that the writer, as far as the readers of his letter are concerned, was convinced that he was dealing with true Christians. The reason why he had written that way, was because of the dangers of apostasy under the pressure from outside. With his warning he was considering the few who were in danger of falling away. Still he gave his warning in general terms because everyone should know that he is addressed. It should also make you deeply conscious that you will never make it by your own strength. After the warning he now speaks about the fruits of the new life that were visible in the lives of these Jewish Christians. His conviction toward the genuineness of their faith was not because of great deeds they had done by faith, but because they had ministered to their fellow believers in simplicity. Others will notice that with you too. He calls them “beloved” to make them feel his love for them. Even though he had to address them seriously about the fate of the apostates, as far as they were concerned he is convinced that they were connected to “better” things. The ‘better things’ are all things that are related to the heavenly position that the Messiah now takes. Likewise he is, concerning them, convinced that they would surely reach “salvation”, that is the final goal of the journey that a Christian makes on earth. In that way he focuses their eyes on the liberation from earthly circumstances to partake of the kingdom at the side of the Messiah in heaven. . It may be that the Hebrews were afraid that God had forgotten what they had shown toward His Name, i.e. what they had done to His honor. After all, they saw so little of His approval. It was appropriate, according to their Jewish way of thinking, that being faithful to God and defending the honor of His Name are rewarded by Him. But instead of the rest and welfare what they possibly were expecting, their life became even more difficult. The writer assures them that God is not unjust. He rewards what is shown toward His Name, although the reward can be postponed for a while. They had ministered to His saints and in that they had ministered to Him and they were still ministering to Him. God is not unjust to forget that ( ). . What matters now is to persevere in this with the same zeal they had shown at the beginning. They became dull of hearing ( ). Therefore there could perhaps be also a danger of becoming dull of their works. The exhortation for perseverance comes to each of them personally, “each one of you”. It is wonderful to begin well, but there has to be shown the same diligence “until the end”. Again the attention is focused on the time that “the full assurance of hope” will be fulfilled. The end is the appearance of Christ for the establishment of His kingdom of peace, when He will reign as the true Melchizedek, the King-Priest, and will bless His people. . Therefore they ought not to become sluggish, what happens if earthly things will replace the heavenly ones that once filled their heart. Particularly by returning to a tangible religion the spiritual growth will be enormously delayed. In order to exhort them to go on with zeal on the path they had chosen, the writer points them to become imitators of those who had been in the same position like them. They knew the Old Testament, didn’t they? Well, there are enough examples there of believers who inherited “through faith and patience … the promise”. God had promised them something and they had trusted God that He would give what He had promised. And despite the time was expiring they remained to trust patiently on the promise. They received that promise as an inheritance, while they held on to the promise that God was surely going to fulfill it, even beyond death. . The great example of a person to whom God promised something and who was strengthened by God in his faith, is Abraham. The Jewish Christians were in the same position as he was. He also had to rest in the promises without possessing what was promised. God even confirmed His promise by swearing an oath to give Abraham full assurance. It indicates that God surely knows how hard it is for His own to continue to trust patiently on the fulfillment of the promises. In order to empower further the assurance of the oath, the writer points out that God swore “by Himself”. There is no higher authoritative source. The highest authority Himself acts as guarantor for the execution of the promise. . You see that every possible doubt is excluded. God already had promised a son to Abraham when he was still childless. Then Abraham had believed God ( ). That faith in God sustained him when God asked him to offer his only son ( ). For this reason God gave Abraham a new promise, that of a rich blessing and countless descendants ( ). God supported that promise by the most powerful oath. Abraham has not seen that fulfillment, but the promise and the oath were sufficient for him to go on living and dying in faith, with the assurance that the fulfillment comes. . God makes every effort to convince His people that He will really do what He says. He adapts to what is common among people by swearing an oath. Among people an oath is an end of all dispute (cf. ). In everything you see the extent to which He meets His people. . You see that again: He calls them expressly “heirs of the promise”. As if it is not enough that He as the almighty God has promised something, He confirms His promise with an oath. A promise is a declaration of purpose. An oath draws the attention to the person who puts himself openly and seriously behind the declaration. Because He knows how hard it is for His people to wait patiently for the fulfillment for a long time, He makes every effort to show “even more … the unchangeableness of His purpose”. . And as if all that is not enough yet, the writer points out that God cannot lie ( ; ; ). God does not commit perjury. Therefore promise and oath are the “two unchangeable things” that guarantee the fulfillment of God’s counsel. From this knowledge and assurance “a strong encouragement” comes forth. They were in danger to lose courage and to give up. In that situation encouragement is needed ( ). Then it is necessary to get your mind focused on the heavenly Lord and on the assurance that everything that is related to Him, will be fulfilled (cf. ). The Jewish Christians had fled for refuge to the Lord Jesus; they had themselves been baptized and had condemned the sin of the people in the rejection of their Messiah. By doing that they took hold of the hope set before them and were looking forward to the coming of the King-Priest to establish His kingdom of peace. He is the hope of the glory to come ( ). . This hope is like an anchor, keeping the ship amidst the turbulence firmly in its position. The anchor is behind the veil in heaven. Here the most vulnerable believer finds the strongest assurance of his faith without seeing anything of the fulfillment of the promise on earth. In heaven you see the Lord Jesus Who already entered there as the Forerunner of a long line of believers who will follow Him there. Where He has already entered as the High Priest, we may already follow Him in spirit now, and will soon follow Him literally. To the Jewish Christians the ‘forerunner’ is a totally new thought. In the Old Testament the high priest never entered into the sanctuary as the forerunner, but as the representative. He entered into a place where no one could follow him. But Christ entered into the sanctuary and those who are His, follow Him into the sanctuary. It is also encouraging while thinking of the anchor behind the veil, to think of the connection that you, who are on earth, do have with the Lord Jesus in heaven. Our hope is like a reliable and sure anchor for our souls, reaching beyond the veil, where Jesus, as forerunner, has already entered, for our benefit: He is High Priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. The assurance that we will enter heaven is the fact that the Forerunner is already there. That is confirmed in the last line by again quoting from Psalm 110 ( ; ). In that way the attention of the Jewish Christians remains focused without diminishing on the Lord Jesus in heaven and on the future, for He is forever connected to the heavenly sanctuary. By seeing Him continually in that way the Jewish Christian will be delivered from Judaism and be strengthened in the heavenly character of Christendom that he accepted. Now read Hebrews 6:9-20 again. Reflection: Write down all assurances that are written in this section, regarding the promises that God will fulfill and thank Him for that.

‏ Hebrews 6:13-14

God’s Promise Is Sure and Steadfast

Heb 6:9. In the previous section the writer demonstrated insistently and seriously how terrible it is to belong to the Christian company outwardly, without being born again inwardly. Having read it, you would begin to doubt about yourself if it is all true.. You might be going through the same as those to whom this letter was addressed originally. After all, they were facing so many difficulties, there was a lot of resistance and the promised blessing seemed so far away. But now you suddenly hear that the writer, as far as the readers of his letter are concerned, was convinced that he was dealing with true Christians.

The reason why he had written that way, was because of the dangers of apostasy under the pressure from outside. With his warning he was considering the few who were in danger of falling away. Still he gave his warning in general terms because everyone should know that he is addressed. It should also make you deeply conscious that you will never make it by your own strength.

After the warning he now speaks about the fruits of the new life that were visible in the lives of these Jewish Christians. His conviction toward the genuineness of their faith was not because of great deeds they had done by faith, but because they had ministered to their fellow believers in simplicity. Others will notice that with you too. He calls them “beloved” to make them feel his love for them. Even though he had to address them seriously about the fate of the apostates, as far as they were concerned he is convinced that they were connected to “better” things. The ‘better things’ are all things that are related to the heavenly position that the Messiah now takes.

Likewise he is, concerning them, convinced that they would surely reach “salvation”, that is the final goal of the journey that a Christian makes on earth. In that way he focuses their eyes on the liberation from earthly circumstances to partake of the kingdom at the side of the Messiah in heaven.

Heb 6:10. It may be that the Hebrews were afraid that God had forgotten what they had shown toward His Name, i.e. what they had done to His honor. After all, they saw so little of His approval. It was appropriate, according to their Jewish way of thinking, that being faithful to God and defending the honor of His Name are rewarded by Him. But instead of the rest and welfare what they possibly were expecting, their life became even more difficult. The writer assures them that God is not unjust. He rewards what is shown toward His Name, although the reward can be postponed for a while. They had ministered to His saints and in that they had ministered to Him and they were still ministering to Him. God is not unjust to forget that (Mt 25:40).

Heb 6:11. What matters now is to persevere in this with the same zeal they had shown at the beginning. They became dull of hearing (Heb 5:11). Therefore there could perhaps be also a danger of becoming dull of their works.

The exhortation for perseverance comes to each of them personally, “each one of you”. It is wonderful to begin well, but there has to be shown the same diligence “until the end”. Again the attention is focused on the time that “the full assurance of hope” will be fulfilled. The end is the appearance of Christ for the establishment of His kingdom of peace, when He will reign as the true Melchizedek, the King-Priest, and will bless His people.

Heb 6:12. Therefore they ought not to become sluggish, what happens if earthly things will replace the heavenly ones that once filled their heart. Particularly by returning to a tangible religion the spiritual growth will be enormously delayed.

In order to exhort them to go on with zeal on the path they had chosen, the writer points them to become imitators of those who had been in the same position like them. They knew the Old Testament, didn’t they? Well, there are enough examples there of believers who inherited “through faith and patience … the promise”. God had promised them something and they had trusted God that He would give what He had promised. And despite the time was expiring they remained to trust patiently on the promise. They received that promise as an inheritance, while they held on to the promise that God was surely going to fulfill it, even beyond death.

Heb 6:13. The great example of a person to whom God promised something and who was strengthened by God in his faith, is Abraham. The Jewish Christians were in the same position as he was. He also had to rest in the promises without possessing what was promised. God even confirmed His promise by swearing an oath to give Abraham full assurance.

It indicates that God surely knows how hard it is for His own to continue to trust patiently on the fulfillment of the promises. In order to empower further the assurance of the oath, the writer points out that God swore “by Himself”. There is no higher authoritative source. The highest authority Himself acts as guarantor for the execution of the promise.

Heb 6:14-15. You see that every possible doubt is excluded. God already had promised a son to Abraham when he was still childless. Then Abraham had believed God (Gen 15:1-6). That faith in God sustained him when God asked him to offer his only son (Heb 11:18). For this reason God gave Abraham a new promise, that of a rich blessing and countless descendants (Gen 22:16-17). God supported that promise by the most powerful oath. Abraham has not seen that fulfillment, but the promise and the oath were sufficient for him to go on living and dying in faith, with the assurance that the fulfillment comes.

Heb 6:16. God makes every effort to convince His people that He will really do what He says. He adapts to what is common among people by swearing an oath. Among people an oath is an end of all dispute (cf. Exo 22:11). In everything you see the extent to which He meets His people.

Heb 6:17. You see that again: He calls them expressly “heirs of the promise”. As if it is not enough that He as the almighty God has promised something, He confirms His promise with an oath. A promise is a declaration of purpose. An oath draws the attention to the person who puts himself openly and seriously behind the declaration. Because He knows how hard it is for His people to wait patiently for the fulfillment for a long time, He makes every effort to show “even more … the unchangeableness of His purpose”.

Heb 6:18. And as if all that is not enough yet, the writer points out that God cannot lie (Num 23:19; 1Sam 15:29; Tit 1:2). God does not commit perjury. Therefore promise and oath are the “two unchangeable things” that guarantee the fulfillment of God’s counsel.

From this knowledge and assurance “a strong encouragement” comes forth. They were in danger to lose courage and to give up. In that situation encouragement is needed (1Thes 5:14). Then it is necessary to get your mind focused on the heavenly Lord and on the assurance that everything that is related to Him, will be fulfilled (cf. 1Thes 4:18).

The Jewish Christians had fled for refuge to the Lord Jesus; they had themselves been baptized and had condemned the sin of the people in the rejection of their Messiah. By doing that they took hold of the hope set before them and were looking forward to the coming of the King-Priest to establish His kingdom of peace. He is the hope of the glory to come (Col 1:27).

Heb 6:19-20. This hope is like an anchor, keeping the ship amidst the turbulence firmly in its position. The anchor is behind the veil in heaven. Here the most vulnerable believer finds the strongest assurance of his faith without seeing anything of the fulfillment of the promise on earth. In heaven you see the Lord Jesus Who already entered there as the Forerunner of a long line of believers who will follow Him there. Where He has already entered as the High Priest, we may already follow Him in spirit now, and will soon follow Him literally.

To the Jewish Christians the ‘forerunner’ is a totally new thought. In the Old Testament the high priest never entered into the sanctuary as the forerunner, but as the representative. He entered into a place where no one could follow him. But Christ entered into the sanctuary and those who are His, follow Him into the sanctuary.

It is also encouraging while thinking of the anchor behind the veil, to think of the connection that you, who are on earth, do have with the Lord Jesus in heaven. Our hope is like a reliable and sure anchor for our souls, reaching beyond the veil, where Jesus, as forerunner, has already entered, for our benefit: He is High Priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.

The assurance that we will enter heaven is the fact that the Forerunner is already there. That is confirmed in the last line by again quoting from Psalm 110 (Psa 110:4; Heb 5:6). In that way the attention of the Jewish Christians remains focused without diminishing on the Lord Jesus in heaven and on the future, for He is forever connected to the heavenly sanctuary. By seeing Him continually in that way the Jewish Christian will be delivered from Judaism and be strengthened in the heavenly character of Christendom that he accepted.

Now read Hebrews 6:9-20 again.

Reflection: Write down all assurances that are written in this section, regarding the promises that God will fulfill and thank Him for that.