Jesus is Better - Hebrews 7
The strength of the Christian faith doesn’t depend on the individual Christian’s level of trust in God. Faith doesn’t work that way. Faith that’s shaky or weak is still faith. The strength of the Christian faith lies in the object in which we place our faith, a God who never lies and always accomplishes His purposes.
Are there any
people in your life you know you can count on? What makes these people so
trustworthy? There’s an old expression, “You have my word.” What is your word
and why is it so important? Why is it so important you know God’s word is sure?
The Point:
God
keeps His promises, and all His promises are fulfilled in Christ by faith.
Hebrews
6:13-20
13 For when God
made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he
swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And
thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people
swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath
is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to
the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he
guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it
is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong
encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure
and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place
behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf,
having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton,
IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Heb 6:13-20.
Study Notes
WEEK 7 NOTES:
Hebrews 6:13-20
The passage in
consideration, Hebrews 6:13-20 is written to help Christians know there’s at
least one thing we can count on… God.
God, the Creator of
the Universe, the One who saves us, can be trusted. In fact, God is an “anchor
for our soul.”
To prove this
point, the author considers Abraham, the Father of the Faith. When God called
Abraham, he was seventy-five years old and childless. Yet, God made Abraham a
staggering promise. God promised he would be the father of many nations!
Abraham was probably pumped. Yet, despite God’s promise time kept passing by,
and still Abraham had no son. In fact, we get a couple of snap shots that show
us Abraham at eighty-six and ninety-nine with still no kid. Almost twenty-five
years after God’s promise and zilch, nothing, nada, no kiddos, none in the
oven, and seemingly no hope of conception. Nevertheless, Abraham believed. The
author of Hebrews tells us he waited patiently. The result? He obtained the
promise.
How could Abraham
have been so faithful, so trusting, so patient?
The author of
Hebrews tells us about the grounds for Abraham’s faith.
Abraham trusted
that God’s purpose never changes.
Hebrews points out
God made Abraham a promise, and this promise was sure because God has an
unchangeable purpose. What does this mean? Well, it means that God, in His
Sovereignty, is ruling the earth exactly to plan. There are no surprises for
God, nothing can hinder His purpose, and He never makes a mistake. Sometimes we
wrongly imagine God’s rule over the earth as something like a strategic game of
chess. He tries one tactic and maybe if that goes poorly, He tries another.
Nothing could be further from the truth. God is not playing a strategy game.
God is executing His purpose in world history for the redemption of mankind and
the glory of His name. This means that if God makes a promise, He can be
trusted to execute His promise because His plan does not change.
The unchanging
nature of God’s plan forms a firm foundation on which our faith can be built.
If the purpose of God is always the same, we can trust Him. It doesn’t matter
what is happening in the world around us, because He is always working to redeem
mankind and glorify Himself.
Abraham
trusted God’s word never changes.
The unchanging
nature of God’s purpose was not the only grounding for Abraham’s patient faith.
Abraham also knew God’s word never changes. God took an oath to Abraham. God
promised Abraham many children. God gave Abraham His word. God never goes back
on His word. God never goes back on His words because it is “impossible for God
to lie.” The one thing God cannot do is bring dishonor to His name. That’s
impossible. So, if God says something, you can take it to the bank! This is why
Christians believe God’s Word, the Bible, is inerrant and unchanging. When God
gives His word, He doesn’t go back.
The unchanging word
of God gives an additional foundation on which to build our faith. If God’s
word doesn’t change and God doesn’t lie, we can trust Him no matter what.
A Faith
Worth Imitating
The author of
Hebrews wants us to know God can be trusted completely, and because of this we
should respond with a life of faithfulness to God. What does a life of
faithfulness look like? The author of Hebrews points us to Abraham as an
example of a life of faith and trust. Abraham is brought up because the author
encouraged the people to imitate those who had gone before us in faith. (6:12).
In the very next verse, the author brings us to Abraham. The point? If you want
to know what it looks like to live a faithful life, look to Abraham. You may
not realize this, but this is a real encouragement. It’s encouraging because
you can live like Abraham. Abraham trusted God and lived faithfully, yes. However,
Abraham was not perfect. Abraham struggled to believe. Abraham sinned. Abraham
messed up many times. However, when Abraham messed up, he repented and returned
to God and trusted in God’s plan. That’s what faith looks like!
QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION
What does it mean
that God’s purpose never changes? How do we see God’s purpose going forward in
the world today?
Why is it important
to know God’s Word never changes in a world like ours?
Does it surprise
you Abraham is used as an example of faith? Who are other examples of faithful
Christians inside and outside the Bible?
What does it mean
to have an “anchor for your soul?”
END
Teacher's Notes:
Fishermen tend to
be incurable optimists.
A guy asked his
neighbor how the fishing was going. “Better,” he said. “Last week I went out
for four hours and didn’t catch a thing. Yesterday, I got the same result in
only three hours.”
Many confuse
optimism and biblical hope. Biblical hope is optimistic, but it differs greatly
from worldly optimism or positive thinking. Biblical hope is an optimism based
on certainty and truth, not upon a cheery disposition that looks on the bright
side. If hope rests on mere fantasy, it is worthless. To be valid, hope must be
based on truth and certainty. Since our God is the God of hope (Rom. 15:13), we
who represent Him to this hopeless world must be people of hope — not mere
optimists, but people filled with hope because of the certainty of God’s
promises in Christ.
Hebrews
6:13-20
13 For when God
made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he
swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And
thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people
swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath
is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to
the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he
guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it
is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong
encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure
and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place
behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf,
having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
The author of
Hebrews was writing to people who were facing hardship and persecution because
of their Christian faith. A few were tempted to abandon Christ and return to
Judaism. He is urging them to persevere by putting their focus on the
superiority of Jesus Christ and the salvation that He has provided. He is
trying to instill in them biblical hope — not just a positive, cheerful
disposition — but a steady attitude of joy based on the promises of God, who
cannot lie.
He uses a metaphor
used only here in the Bible, of an anchor. But instead of going down into the
ocean, this anchor goes up into the heavens, behind the veil, where Jesus has
entered as a forerunner for us. He has become our high priest forever, according
to the order of Melchizedek.
Here is what he is
saying,
The certain hope of
our future salvation is an anchor to steady our souls while we wait on God in
present storms.
The main reason a
ship needs an anchor is to ride out storms so that it is not blown off course
or into the rocks or reefs nearby. Even in a safe harbor, a ship needs an
anchor so that it will not drift, hit something, or sink. Whether in the storms
of life or in the harbor during the calm times of life, we all need an anchor
for our souls so that we do not destroy our lives.
Verse 19 begins,
“which we have” (Greek text). Some understand the antecedent to be “strong
encouragement”; others think that it is “hope.” Still others think that since
Jesus Himself is our hope, that He is our anchor. All these views are somewhat
overlapping and complementary. God’s sure promises give us strong encouragement
to take hold of the hope set before us. In the final sense, we do not hope in
hope itself, but in Christ, and all that is promised in Him. But it seems to me
that the anchor is the certain hope of salvation that God has provided in
Christ. In the storms of life, if we take hold of the hope of His salvation, we
will have the steadiness for our souls that we need to endure.
The hope
of our future salvation is certain.
The author hammers
home the absolute certainty of our salvation. He uses Abraham as an example of
one who through faith and patience inherited the promises (6:12). He goes back
to Genesis 22:16-17, where after Abraham displayed his faith in God by his willingness
to sacrifice Isaac, God swore by Himself surely to bless Abraham and to
multiply his descendants. Then the author applies this to the heirs of the
promise, namely, believers in Christ.
The Point:
God keeps His promises, and all His promises
are fulfilled in Christ by faith.
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