The Lord has given us His promise and a solemn oath of our eternal hope laid up for us in heaven. We don’t have to live in fear and doubt, but can trust He will surely bring it to pass!
The Absolute Certainty of Our Eternal Hope
Hebrews 6:11-20
Can a Christian have certainty regarding his eternal hope of heaven? Can he be sure He will spend eternity in the presence of God? That’s what this passage addresses. If you have ever wondered if there is any way we can be sure we will experience everlasting life in the presence of God, this message is especially for you.
The word “hope” and the word “promise” appear again and again in this passage:
6:11 “the full assurance of hope until the end”
6:12 “so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises”
6:13 “for when God made the promise to Abraham…”
6:15 “And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise”
6:17 “in the same way God, desiring even more of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath”
6:18 “to take hold of the hope set before us”
6:19 “this hope, we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil”
So, I hope it is clear to you that this passage in Hebrews, addresses God’s promise to us of a hope.
Now, in Scripture, “hope” does not refer to a wish, something flimsy which probably won’t come to pass, like “I hope I become a billionaire.” Instead, it refers to something in the future that is certain to come to pass.
I examined all the NT passages in which the word “hope” appears and its meaning became more and more clear to me. Let me share some of those with you.
Acts 24:15 “having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.”
Romans 5:2 “through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
Romans 8:20-21 “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
Gal. 5:5 “For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.”
Col. 1:5 “because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel”
1 Thess. 5:8 “But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.”
Titus 2:13 “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,”
Titus 3:7 “so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
1 Pet. 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
1 Jn. 3:2-3 “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
- Okay, let me summarize what these NT passages indicate what our hope includes: the resurrection,
- the glory of God,
- creation being set free from corruption,
- righteousness,
- heaven,
- salvation,
- the second coming of Christ,
- eternal life,
- our future inheritance,
- being like Christ, and
- seeing Christ just as He is.
As you can see, our eternal hope is many-faceted. It includes a lot of different things.
Now, why is the author of Hebrews taking so much time to focus his readers on their hope? Remember their historical situation. They were Jews who had come to profess faith in Jesus. They had joined the church, were probably baptized, partook of the Lord’s Supper, heard the gospel preached, and experienced the supernatural working of God. However, they were facing persecution. Heb. 10:32-34 tells us of their conflict of sufferings, being made a public spectacle through reproaches, showing sympathy to prisoners and accepting joyfully the seizure of their property. Because of these severe hardships, some were considering leaving Christianity altogether and going back to the familiar rites and ceremonies of Judaism.
The author is desperately trying to get them to see how deadly that decision would be. So he says, in 6:11, “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end…” Some of them were losing sight of the glorious eternal future hope of the Christian in heaven. In order to help them to be diligent and persevere in faith to the end, the author is trying to get them to see the absolute certainty of their glorious future, if they will just persevere in faith. That’s why he spends so much time here in chapter 6 exhorting them to persevere in faith, and not leave Christ.
Now, as we approach this passage, three lines of truth emerge:
- The conditions of our eternal hope
- The certainty of our eternal hope
- The illustrations of our eternal hope
1. The Conditions Of Our Eternal Hope
The author mentions both conditions in 6:12 “who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
The first condition is faith. If you are going to spend eternity with God in glory, the first condition is faith. If you are in the Orthodox or Catholic church and some Protestant denominations, they will emphasize baptism, the sacraments, giving to charity, prayers, fasting, etc. as being very important to experiencing this eternal hope. However, the Bible lays the emphasis on faith.
Acts 16:30-31 “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…”
Acts 15:9 “God made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.”
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Romans 4:5 “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness…”
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life…”
Now, when a person has a living faith in Christ, many things will begin to happen as a result. He will repent of sin, confess Jesus as Lord, get baptized, join with a local church, begin to obey Christ’s commands, continue in the Word and prayer, make disciples, etc. But all of those things result from faith. Faith is the starting point. And according to Hebrews 6:12 it is a condition of inheriting God’s promises.
What is the other condition? Patience. What does that mean? It means that you continue to believe, you continue to persevere in faith throughout your life. You patiently wait for the consummation of your salvation in heaven. Your faith is not a flash in the pan – here today, gone tomorrow. It is a permanent abiding faith that you possess for the rest of your life. There is no promise of experiencing God’s eternal hope to the person who does not persevere in faith. If you turn your back on Jesus Christ, and reject the truth about Him, you will not experience eternal life in heaven.
Sluggish. Hebrews 6:12 says, “so that you will not be sluggish…” Remember, that in Hebrews 5:11 that was the problem with some of these Hebrews. The Greek word for “sluggish” is the same word for “dull”. It only occurs two times in the New Testament. The author doesn’t want them to be spiritually lazy and dull, but diligent and zealous in their relationship to Christ.
Imitators. The author wants them to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Who are they? Well, the example he gives in 6:13-15 is Abraham. God gave Abraham a promise that He would have a son and heir in Genesis 12. It took 25 years before Abraham saw that promise fulfilled! He had to wait patiently for the promise to come to pass. And so it is with us. God has given us the promise of eternal glory with Christ. However, we only inherit that promise through faith and patience. Notice 6:15, “And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.”
2. The Certainty Of Our Eternal Hope
The absolute certainty of our hope rests in two things: God’s promise and God’s oath.
God’s Promise. In Genesis 12:2 God told Abraham, “I will make you a great nation.” Well, of course that implies that God would give Abraham a son, through whom this nation would come. That was a promise from God. God appeared again to Abraham in Genesis 15:4 and told him, “Eliezer will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body shall be your heir.” Then God took Abraham outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Again, God makes a promise to Abraham. Again in Genesis 17:4 God told Abraham, “You will be the father of a multitude of nations.”
Again and again and again God came to Abraham and promised him a multitude of descendants. Was that promise certain? Absolutely!
Hebrews 6:18 says that “it is impossible for God to lie…” Why is it impossible? Its impossible because lying is contrary to God’s nature. God is a God of truth and faithfulness. God can only choose that which is according to His nature. Therefore, when God makes a promise, you can take it to the bank. It may take time for it to come to pass, and you may have to wait a long time, but it is absolutely sure to be fulfilled.
God’s Oath. Notice in 6:13-18, “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.” And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. “For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”
Notice that God has given us two unchangeable things: His promise and His oath. Both of these things are unchangeable. Once God has promised or sworn, there is no going back on it. It can’t be changed.
The Scripture mentions God swearing in verses 13 and 16. It mentions God’s oath in verses 16 and 17.
Swearing is what God does; the oath is the result. Of course, who would God swear by. Men swear by someone greater than them. That’s why when someone is put on the witness stand they are asked, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God.” By saying “Yes I do,” the person has bound himself to an oath and sworn by God. This why little kids will say, “I swear to God”, or “I swear on a stack of Bibles” if they are trying to get someone to believe them. Verse 16 says “with them an oath is given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.” In other words, once a person takes an oath, his word can be trusted, and there is no more reason to wonder whether such and such is true any longer.
Well God had no one greater than Himself to swear by, so He swore by Himself. The author quotes Genesis 22:17 where God says to Abraham after He had been willing to offer Isaac in sacrifice, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.” In Genesis 22:16 God says, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son…”
So, in the Hebrews 6, Abraham is brought forth as an example where God swore by Himself that He would surely bless and multiply his seed. But what about us? Do we have any strong encouragement to take hold of our eternal hope?
Absolutely! Verse 17 says, “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”
Well, who are the heirs of the promise? God has not given us a promise that He would multiply us, like He did for Abraham. But He has promised us eternal life! 1 John 2:25 says, “This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.” So, believers are heirs of that promise.
But how do we know we will actually experience eternal life in all of its fulness? Sure, we have begun to experience it in our new birth, but what about our eternal future? Can we be sure about that?
This passage tells us that God has made a promise and He has sworn by Himself with an oath. Both of those are unchangeable things. It is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. In verse 19 we are told that our hope is both sure and steadfast!
3. The Illustrations Of Our Eternal Hope
In verses 18-20, the author gives us three different illustrations to encourage us to realize that our hope is sure and steadfast.
Cities of Refuge. Verse 18 speaks of “we who have taken refuge.” Most translations put it as “we who have fled for refuge.” That is actually closer to the definition of this Greek word. Now, can you think of any where in the Old Testament where a person fled for refuge? Remember, this book is written to Jews who would have known the Old Testament. Of course, the cities of refuge!
Numbers 35 tells us that God told the people to select six cities, three on this side of the Jordan River, and three on the other side. These six cities would be places where a person who unintentionally killed a person could flee. When he had gotten inside the city, the avenger of blood could not get at him to kill him. But if he ever left the safety of the city, he was fair game, and if the avenger found him outside the city, he could legally kill him.
May I submit to you that Christ is our City of Refuge! We have all committed great crimes against heaven. God’s justice pursues us like the avenger of blood. But as long as we are “in Christ” we are safe eternally. Our eternal hope of everlasting life is absolutely guaranteed if we have fled to Jesus for safety!
Anchor of the Soul. The purpose of an anchor is to hold a ship firm in a violent storm. Likewise, our eternal hope keeps our soul steady when life brings pain, confusion, and doubt. However, this is a very different kind of anchor. Sea anchors go down to the bottom of the ocean, but this anchor goes upward and lodges securely in heaven.
The text tells us that this anchor enters within the veil. That is a reference to the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament, the place of the immediate presence of God. Our eternal hope anchors us to God Himself, and tells us that we will be with Him, in all of His glory for all eternity!
Jesus the Forerunner. Jesus as our high priest, is our forerunner. Now that is an odd thought. The high priests in the Old Testament were not forerunners. No one followed them into the Holy of Holies. If anyone tried to follow them, they would be instantly killed by God’s divine justice.
This is the only verse in the New Testament which uses this word “forerunner.” The word was used for scouts that went ahead of an army and cut a path through untamed territory so that the rest of the army could follow them. So too, Jesus has blazed a trail to heaven. But He didn’t just do it for Himself. He ran before us, but we will run after Him. And just as He successfully entered behind the heavenly veil into the Holy of Holies, so will we. Jesus didn’t just enter heaven to represent us from a distance. He blazed a trail for all believers to follow Him into heaven itself. Where He is now, we are guaranteed to go. Do you see why Jesus as our Forerunner gives us a hope that is both sure and steadfast?!
Conclusion
Do you struggle with doubts and fears when you consider your eternal future? Are you afraid you might end up in Hell? This passage was written for people like you!
Consider the conditions of your eternal hope. Faith and patience. Have you met the conditions? Do you possess faith? Are you patiently enduring the trials and sufferings of this life? Have you fled to Christ for refuge from the wrath of God against sin? Then you should have strong encouragement!
Consider the certainty of your eternal hope. The Bible doesn’t present heaven and eternal glory as an unlikely wish, like winning the lottery. The Bible presents heaven as something absolutely guaranteed to those who are in Christ. God could not have made this promise any stronger. He swore by Himself so that you would have strong encouragement, and that your hope would be sure and steadfast.
Consider the illustrations of your eternal hope. Your hope of eternal glory with Christ is as sure as the safety of the man that got into the City of Refuge. He was invincible. Your hope of eternal glory is like an anchor that fastens to Christ with the heavenly veil where God’s immediate presence is. Your hope of eternal glory is tied to Jesus your Forerunner. He blazed the trail into heaven so that all of us would know that we will follow Him there.
Heaven and eternal glory are not just a vague uncertain wish, but a certain promise from God.
My friend, let your faith rise to lay hold of God’s promise. Let your fears and doubts vanish away as you put all your trust in Jesus Christ. Yes, if you trust in yourself, you have great reason to fear. But if your trust is all in Jesus, you cannot fail! Let’s pray.
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