Hebrews 6:16 says: “Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.” In Bible days, the swearing an oath in the name of a higher being confirmed a promise or a will just as a notarized promissory note is legally binding today. Paul says, in the same way the promise of salvation made by God in Christ was also accompanied by an oath. He did this to remove any shadow of a doubt about our salvation in Christ. We read in Hebrews 6:17: “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.” Verse 13 also said this: “When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself.” In the days of the Bible, and oath was taken by someone higher than the person but since there was no one higher than God, He swore by Himself. Verse 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 offered to us may be greatly encouraged.” The two unchangeable facts about our salvation are: (1) The promise of God, which never fails because God never lies. God has promised our salvation in Christ. This is guaranteed. He never fails. (2) The oath of God which guarantees that He will keep His promise. The writer of Hebrews says both these facts must keep believers greatly encouraged to not give up their hope, to endure unto the end. Now, note how Hebrews 6 ends. Verses 19 and 20: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary (the very presence of God) 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.” Paul is using this illustration to tell us that the anchor of our salvation must be based, not on our promises or successes in Christian living but on the promised Word of God and what God accomplished for us in Jesus Christ. Further, our faith must not be limited to what Christ did in His earthly mission, wonderful and complete as it may be. In His earthly mission, by His birth, life, death and resurrection, Jesus did obtain for mankind, salvation full and complete. But our faith must also go beyond that and look at Christ in the heavenly Sanctuary where He is sitting in the very presence of God representing us as our High Priest. Jesus is on our side from beginning unto end and all this must become the source of great encouragement to us Christians especially as we become discouraged and are tempted to give up our faith and say, “What is the use.” Continue…
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 08:20:19 +0000
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