Welcome back to our study of the book of Hebrews. We are in Hebrews 6, starting in verse 16, but let’s go back to verse 11, where we read…
11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. 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.
Speaking to those who were true believers (see vv. 9-10), our author wants them to stick it out, to persevere in “faith and patience” so that they may inherit the promise of salvation. He then shows that Abraham believed God’s promise for an heir, in fulfillment of the promise of a seed as numerous as the sand on the shores or the stars in the skies, but had to wait 25 years for Isaac to be born. Although it was difficult, Abraham, “having patiently waited, obtained the promise.”
The only way these Jewish Christians could remain steadfast through persecution and the only way any of us remain steadfast, is to develop the virtue of hope.
Back in 6:11, notice that our author wanted his readers to “show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end.” In other words, they had shown zeal in pursuing the virtue of loving and ministering to one another (Heb. 6:10), now show that same earnestness in pursuing hope.
The cultivation of hope is the key to the ability to persevere. The ability to hold on to a confident expectation that God will reward us with the fulfillment of His promises of future grace enable us to be steadfast.
How do we cultivate hope? Our author provides two means of cultivating and strengthening our hope. The first we share in common with Abraham, the second is distinctly ours who live in light of the resurrection and are beneficiaries of the new covenant.
Now, let me ask you a question. To what lengths do you think God might go to provide you with rock solid proof that he loves you and will fulfill his promises to you? How extravagant might his efforts be? Is there a limit to what he might do or say in order for you to be encouraged and reassured that his promise to save you cannot be broken?
The point I want to make today is that God has already gone to extreme limits to assure you that His promises to you are rock solid. And that is what our hope is based upon.
First, Christian hope is strengthened by fresh consideration of the integrity of God’s Word.
Before the author really gets to the point he wants to make, he draws upon a correspondence from human experience.
In verse 16 he writes, “For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.”
In recounting this Old Testament account of Abraham’s trust in God’s promise, he makes mention that in Genesis 22, where God added to His promised word an oath, “since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself” (Hebrews 6:13; referring back to Genesis 22:16).
Why did God make an oath to Abraham? It was certainly not due to any unreliability on God’s part. Rather the oath was due to the sinfulness of man. Philip Hughes rightly comments, “That God should bind himself by an oath is a reflection not on the divine credibility but on the perversion of the human situation” (The Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 229). In other words, it wasn’t because of any deficiency on God’s part, but upon ours—because we have a tendency to doubt and twist.
Abraham already had God’s promise; that in itself should have been good enough. And we see that it was not Abraham who asked God to swear to him; rather God chose to do it as an encouragement to Abraham.
The strength of an oath is found in the character of the one offering it as well as the value placed upon that oath. If a habitual criminal or liar makes an oath then you would likely discount their reliability. But if he makes an oath on the Bible (as in our court system) or swears by something he holds valuable (like his mother), then you might have more cause to believe him.
It is obvious, isn’t it, that the reason people use oaths to end disputes, is because of the unreliability of the human heart? Why is it necessary to swear an oath to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” before entering the witness stand? Why do we hold the threat of prosecution for perjury over the heads of witnesses?
Because without it, under pressure they will lie and not tell the truth, or they will break their promises. That is human nature.
It is amazing to me, that our entire judicial system is built upon the recognition of the concept of our human depravity—that our hearts truly are deceitful and desperately wicked.
Regarding human oaths he says, “For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation” (v. 16).
Sinful people are by nature liars. That was true in the ancient world and it is true today. So, to lend credibility to one’s testimony or to bring a dispute to an end, to confirm something as genuinely true, people would swear by someone or something greater than themselves. They wouldn’t swear by something less than themselves, for that would lend no strength to the argument.
In the context of ancient culture (when people generally feared God), swearing by a greater thing helped assure truth. And if one swore by God, it served to end an argument. This was especially true in Hebrew culture where lying while making an oath was a transgression of the Third Commandment against misusing the name of God and so deserved the punishment of God (cf. Deuteronomy 5:11). Therefore, we see that human oaths were a powerful assurance of carrying out one’s word.
Of course, in choosing to make an oath, he could only choose to swear by himself because there was nothing or no one higher to swear by. To swear by anything lesser would have the effect of making his oath less permanent. In a different context, Rabbi Eleazar stated the principle this way:
Lord of the world, if thou hadst sworn by heaven or by earth, I would have been able to say: As heaven and earth shall pass away, so also thine oath shall pass away. But now that thou hast sworn by thy great Name (by thyself), as thy great Name lives and abides eternally, so shall thine oath continue secure in all eternity. (Berakhot 32)
Most often a person would swear by God and in so doing, called upon God to do two things: (1) to witness to this oath, and (2) to personally punish the person who makes the oath but doesn’t keep it.
Once the oath is made, two consequences follow: The oath confirms what is said as true or valid and it puts an end to all argument.
The author moves from the lesser (human courts) to the greater (or greatest:
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.
The writer, in other words, said that God did two things in this covenant He made with Abraham: First, he gave His promise and then He confirmed it with an oath. This two-fold assurance—promise and oath—should settle the argument once and for all.
Does God need to reinforce His promise with an oath? No!
He is always true and faithful to keep His promises.
But in an act of condescension, God did that very thing. He pledged himself in an oath. Not to bind himself in any greater way. God always keeps His Word. But to strengthen the frail hope of His friend.
It was an expression of incredible love and affection to Abraham.
Now, there are three things we need to understand about this business of oath-making much more personally.
First, this two-fold assurance of His Word, His promise and His oath, is for the benefit of all believers. All I’ve said about Abraham is not merely to give us a history lesson. Let me connect the ends of your Bible together, and to understand that the beginning of your Bible is just as pertinent as the end. This promise God made to Abraham, and confirmed with an oath, was made for you. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are part of the family of Abraham by faith. Galatians 3 tells us Jesus was the “seed” and all those who believe in Jesus become “children of Abraham.” We are not ethnic children but spiritual children, or covenanted children.
Hebrews 6:17 tells us why God made, renewed, repeated and confirmed with an oath this covenant to Abraham:
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
For YOU!
Galatians 3;29 says, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
The promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12, 13, 15, 22 is not just for Abraham, but for us as well. It’s not just history, but your biography, if you believe.
Second, we see that this two-fold assurance given to us is bound up in God’s own character. Maybe you noticed something a little unorthodox about this oath God made. Notice in verse 13 that when God made his promise, “since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself.”
Seems a bit out of the ordinary, doesn’t it, a person swearing by himself.
But what are the alternatives? To swear by someone other than himself would imply one of two things: either the other person was greater than He was, making Him actually less than God and His Word less certain OR that the person is really less than himself, but then the promise wouldn’t be strengthened; it would be weakened.
But God is the greatest and the most faithful, dependable being in the universe!
So what does God do? He puts Himself in two roles—the one swearing the oath—but then He steps off His throne, turns around, “looks up,” and swears by His own eternal being. “You be my witness, and tear me to pieces like this animal we have cut, if I fail to keep my word.”
He swears by His own eternal character and makes himself accountable to His own integrity.
The particular character that he holds himself accountable to is what theologians call his veracity, his complete truthfulness.
In verse 18 our author affirms “it is impossible for God to lie.” That is one thing God cannot do, is lie.
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? (Numbers 23:19)
And in the New Testament, Paul says in Titus 1.
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began…
Thus, when He makes a promise, He keeps it. It would go against His very nature to fail to keep a promise or to lie to us. But here, God goes beyond that and makes an oath.
God would have to be un-deified to break a promise. He would have to become less than God to break His promises to you.
So here was what God was telling Abraham (and us). He would be more likely to despise himself (to stop being God) than the break the promise He made to Abraham.
Thirdly, this two-fold assurance of God’s Word is intended to stimulate necessary hope.
Again, look at verses 17 and 18.
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.
God wants to encourage us. He wants to. Notice that v. 17 starts “when God desired…” That word has the idea of an intense passion, and put in the present tense it signifies a constant, intense passion. This is no passing thought or wishful thinking with our Lord. God deeply wants us to be encouraged and thus it is the “purposeful, deliberate exercise of His will” (Kent Hughes, Hebrews, Volume 1, p. 176).
Second, notice that God desire to show more convincingly. This text assumes that God had already said enough to give us encouragement. But God is not a God of minimums. His aim is not to speak as few encouraging words as possible. The NASB says “even more convincingly,” a superlative adverb expressing the idea to the utmost extent. Yes, God worked in Abraham’s behalf and gave him great encouragement to put His hope in the divine promise and continue pressing on. But even more so, God has resolved to give your greater encouragement so that you might persevere.
He moves from simple promises (which are infallible and infinitely trustworthy!) to oaths. And not just any oaths, but the best and highest kind—oaths based on himself. Why? Not because his word is weak. But because we are weak, and he is patient.
He desires to “show…prove…demonstrate…point out…represent…display…reveal… drive home” the hopefulness of our future. He really wants us to feel this. He goes the second (and third and fourth) mile to help us feel encouraged. This is what he wants. This is what he really wants. “When God desired to show more convincingly…”
Thirdly, we see why God was doing this—making unbreakable promises and unmistakable oaths—“that we might have strong encouragement.”
How encouraged does God want us to feel? He said, “Strong encouragement!” Note the word! He might have said, “great encouragement” or “big encouragement” or “deep encouragement.” They would all be true. But the word is really “strong.” Encouragement that stands against seasonal downers. Preach this to yourself: “God desires me to have strong encouragement!” “God really desires me to have strong encouragement!”
And that is so that, fourthly, we might “hold fast to the hope set before us.”
There are good times in this life. But let’s face it: the days are evil, our imperfections frustrate us, and we are getting old, and moving toward the grave. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ we are of all people most to be pitied. There are good times yet to come in this life. But even these are rubbish compared to the surpassing worth of gaining Christ. Even here we can rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. But only because there is a “hope set before us.” Reach out and seize it. God encourages you to. Take it now. Enjoy it now. Be encouraged by it now. Be strongly encouraged. Because your hope is secured with double infiniteness: the promise of God (in which he cannot lie) and the oath of God, the greatest thing in all the universe.
Grace Still Amazes 