Unchanging

Introduction

This morning we are continuing our study in the book of Hebrews.

We ended our study last week with .

Hebrews 6:11–12 NIV84

We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

We talked about the fact, that when we stop loving people, we end up becoming lazy in our spiritual life.

The author wants us to follow the example of those who went before us—because with their patience they inherited what was promised. When we come to verse 13 the author tells us how the promise came about.

Hebrews 6:13-

Hebrews 6:13–15 NIV84

When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

Trusting God’s Promise

Now the key is this: Because there is no one greater than God, He swore by himself when He made the promise to Abraham. God said, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” ()

I’ve you’ve read the full story in Genesis, you will discover that Abraham really did wait a long time. In fact, he had to wait so long that he couldn’t understand how God was going to be able to make sense of His own promise.

You see both Abraham and Sarah were well past the age of childbearing! Humanely speaking there was no way they could become the ancestors of a great nation!

But, according to verse 15 “after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.”

KEY—Like Abraham, we too must wait for God’s promise. In our world of instant gratification it is often difficult for people to understand waiting. We want everything, NOW! But so many times we must wait for God’s plan to unfold.

To help us understand this idea of waiting, the author reminds us of the greatness of God.

Hebrews 6:16-

Hebrews 6:16–20 NIV84

Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 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. 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 offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

The Greatness of God

When men make an oath they will swear by someone higher than themselves. When we testify in court we say, “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.” We swear by God, because there is no one greater.

God swore by Himself for a couple of reasons. First, there was no one greater by whom He could swear.

God also wanted His heirs—His people—to know and understand His unchanging nature.

At the same time, God wanted His people to understand His purpose. So God confirmed His plan/purpose with an oath.

In this plan/purpose, God wanted His people to know for sure that they could trust Him. So He demonstrated his trustworthiness by two things. First, by the oath He made.

Now an oath is like a “contract.” In this case, the oath showed exactly what His people could expect!

The second demonstration was based on a character quality of God. That quality is the fact that God cannot lie.

God offered this “hope” (which is an expectation for the future) so that we would be encouraged.

It is this “hope” or expectation for the future that keeps us anchored in our faith so that we are firm and secure in what we believe.

Yet this hope does something else. Because our hope—our expectation for the future in in God we are allowed to enter into the presence of God!

Jesus now dwells in the presence of the Father. He is there on our behalf.

Through His life, death, burial, and resurrection Jesus has become our High Priest forever! He is a high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

So What

God has given us His promise. This promise is in His Son, Jesus the Messiah.

There is no one, or anything greater than our God.

God never changes—so He is always dependable!

And God CANNOT lie!

God has a plan/purpose for each of us!

We can anchor our hope in God’s plan/purpose.

We have a personal relationship with Jesus, and we have a personal relationship with the Father.

Jesus is our High Priest.