Our Prayer

Our Prayer

Heavenly Father, I know that I have sinned against You and that my sins separate me from You. I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my sinful past and turn to You for forgiveness. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ, died for my sins, that He was raised from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become my Savior and the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You and to convict me when I sin. I pledge to grow in grace and knowledge of You. My greatest purpose in life is to follow Your example and do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Class Lesson September 29, 2024

 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.