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Hebrews 6:13-20 gives us three tremendous confirmations for the assurance of our faith.
GOD’S PROMISES (vs. 13-15). Here we have God’s promise to Abraham as recorded in Genesis 22:16-17. In spite of Abraham’s failures and sins, God kept his promise and the promised Isaac was born. Many of God’s promises do not depend on our character but on His faithfulness. We Christians today have more of God’s promises than did Abraham. What is keeping us from claiming them? We simply do not apply ourselves to our faith. The farmer does not reap for himself a harvest by sitting on his porch looking at his seed. Likewise, the believer who ignores his Bible, forgets to pray, disregards obedience to God and neglects Church fellowship is not going to reap too much of a harvest.
GOD’S OATH (vs. 16-18). God’s promise in Genesis 22:16-17 is also the only one that is accompanied by God’s oath. When a witness takes an oath in court, he calls on the greater to witness for the lesser. None is greater than God, so He swore this oath by Himself. But God did not only do this for Abraham since He also gave His promise and oath to the “heirs of his promise” (Heb. 6:17). Abraham and his descendants are the first of these heirs but all Christians are included as “Abraham’s seed” (Gal. 3:29). So our assurance of salvation is guaranteed by God’s promise and God’s oath, “two immutable things” (Heb. 6:18). Thus we have “strong encouragement” concerning the hope set before us; and that is why Hebrews is a book of encouragement, not discouragement!
GOD’S SON (vs. 19-20). Our hope in Jesus is like an anchor for the soul. The anchor was a popular symbol in the early Church. Christians have but one anchor, Jesus our hope (Col. 1:5). But this anchor is different. For one thing, we are anchored upward, to heaven, not downwards. We are also anchored not to stand still but to move ahead spiritually! Our anchor is sure – it cannot break, and steadfast – it cannot slip. No earthly anchor can give that kind of security. The Hebrews writer clinches this reason by saying that our Saviour is the “forerunner” who has gone ahead to heaven so that we might one day follow (Heb. 6:20). We are firmly anchored to Jesus who is already in heaven. Anchored heavenward! How much more secure can we be?
