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16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. ~ Hebrews 6:16-20
We come back today to our study of Hebrews 6 where the writer of Hebrews has established the argument that Christianity is a personal relationship with God accessed through the Lord Jesus Christ. This was necessary due to the fact that the recipients of this letter were being tempted to go back to their previous habits of religion. Christianity is not a religion since religion is man's attempt to reach up to God in an attempt to appease Him in some way. Christianity is God reaching down to helpless and hopeless man through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, offering forgiveness of sin and a personal relationship with Him to whosoever would believe.
In v.16 of today's passage we read, "People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument."
Humans use oaths to substantiate our statements because our promises are not reliable enough to trust. This is part of the reason we need a Savior. The writer of Hebrews saw it necessary to write these words in light of the fact that he had just used Abraham as an illustration of God's truthfulness and faithfulness. He established that God can be trusted, especially since He promised by Himself, and God can not lie because He Himself is the very essence of the truth.
In v.17-18 of today's passage we read, "17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged."
The writer of Hebrews affirms that the messianic hope which He promised to Abraham included the heirs of the promise who are all of those down through the centuries who have believed in the God of the Bible. God made an oath through His Son, in order to provide a foundation for our trust in Him. He supported His promise with an oath to make His unchanging nature of no question. God’s use of an oath supplied evidence we could not doubt. Not only was it impossible for God to lie, but His ever truthful Word was supported in this case by His oath. These are the two unchangeables in this passage which encourage those who hold firmly to the hope set before us.
In v.19-20 of today's passage we read, "19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."
These first century Christians had drifted along aimlessly in the quagmire of the definitions this world offers. They needed to understand and grasp the promises the Father had offered them through His Son. Once they were defined by God's definition of things, it was then they could experience the surety of hope. They, like so many down through the ages, found the hope they needed which acts as an "anchor" for their souls. All who have ever believed have this firm anchor of hope because the Lord Jesus was faithful to the call of God on His life to be the Lamb of God who takes away our sin.
The writer of Hebrews draws our attention to our "souls" which are made up of our minds, wills, and emotions. The soul is different than the spirit for it is the spirit that is "born again" once a sinner has placed his trust in the finished work of the Lord Jesus. Our spirit is the arena of our justification, whereas our souls provide the arena of our sanctification. We get quite confused when we mix these two. It wasn't that these first century Jewish Christians were not in personal relationship with God, their problem was they had a soul problem. Their theology needed honing. They needed to be defined by God in their souls. And, of course, this is one of the biggest take aways from our study of this book.
The image suggested in v.18 by the words "we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us" is that of a fortified refuge. By use of a swift change in the figure used, the writer of Hebrews then presented a picture of a harbor where "the soul" may securely drop "anchor." It was the Lord Jesus Christ who came as the "forerunner" who has introduced us to God in that intimate place behind the curtain in the Temple. In the Old Testament, only the high priest could go into that most intimate place in the Temple. As our High Priest the Lord Jesus has changed that. When He died on the cross that massive sixty foot high veil in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. Yet again, God gives us a picture of His involvement in our salvation. The soul of the believer in Christ is anchored inside that veil. Once trained by God's truth, we will be adrift no more, we will be anchored to God's definitions of all things.
After our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ performed the perfect sacrifice, He entered into the heavenly Holy of Holies and sat down. He sat down because His job was finished. The veil was ripped from top to bottom and the Lord Jesus provided for all humble enough to believe a permanent way into the very presence of God. And now, nothing can change our disposition before God, even though we willfully sin. You see, we no longer define ourselves. We are now being defined by Him. I can say this because the moment we believed in the Lord Jesus, our past, present and future sins were forgiven and absorbed in the Lord's body at the cross.
