1/10/16 Hebrews 6:13-20 “We
have strong consolation in God who cannot lie”
After looking at where this whole argument in Hebrews is
leading, it becomes clear that a major discussion point found throughout
Hebrews deals with the problem of apostasy. Apostasy is defined as the
abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief or principle. Synonyms
include renunciation
of belief, abandonment of belief, recantation. The word “apostasy” comes from
the Greek word ἀποστασία
apostasia –
a falling away; defection; apostasy. It is used only twice, translated as (a)
to forsake (Acts 21:21), and (b) falling away (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
2 Thessalonians 2:3 – Let no man deceive you by any
means: for [that day shall not come], except there come
a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition;
Hebrews
exhorts us to “hold fast” (3 times), and 2 more times (to “hold” and “hold
upon”). We are also warned about falling away, plus many other references to
what would happen if we did indeed fail to hold on, that is, fall away, or let
slip what we should be keeping a hold onto (Hebrews 2:1).
However,
concerning the free will we might have in holding on to our salvation is shown
clearly in Hebrews 10:26 – For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge
(epignosis)
of the
truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, where the
word “wilfully” means “voluntarily; willingly; of one’s own accord; to sin
wilfully as opposed to sins committed inconsiderately, and from ignorance or
from weakness.”
Note also
that word “knowledge” (epignosis)
which has the idea of knowledge being focused upon a particular point of
understanding, and is used by Peter to demonstrate a saving knowledge in Christ
Jesus.
2 Peter
1:2 – the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our
Lord
2 Peter 1:3 – the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory
and virtue
2 Peter 1:8 – the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ
2 Peter 2:20 – the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
Thus, in
Hebrews 10:26, the writer is declaring that if we sin of our own free will
after we have received a knowledge of the Saviour, Jesus Christ, then there is
no more sacrifice that can be offered as a free gift. What all people are
offered is the free gift of salvation from the one perfect sacrifice, and if
that were not sufficient, then no further sacrifice can better that perfect
sacrifice already offered for all sins. No further sacrifice can be more
sufficient than the one already offered freely to all.
It is
clear that the sin spoken of here defines a falling away, an apostasy, and that
it is by an act of the will of man to choose such. Also, such a free will
choice, once made, cannot be reversed, nor can the free gift be claimed a
second time unto salvation. Thus, the lack of sufficiency can only result from
a failure to fully accept such salvation in the first place. That is, such
people have let slip their salvation (Hebrews 2:1), rejecting it because the
world offered them a better “salvation” than the sacrifice of Jesus on the
cross. They have rejected the pearl of great value for the lusts of this world.
Hebrews 6:13-14 – 13 For when
God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 14
Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply
thee.
Genesis 22:16-18 – 16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith
the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son,
thine only [son]: 17 That in blessing I will bless
thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven,
and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall
possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all
the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Surely – assuredly; most certainly.
Genesis 22:16, in saying “have
sworn” is probably relating to the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12:3 – And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that
curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the
earth be blessed.
The strength of a promise is in
what it is sworn by. Eg, if you swear by promising
something of little value if you should break it, then the promise is of little
value. The greatest promise is the one that will cost the most if you should
break it. And God’s name is of infinite value to God Himself. There is none
greater, none at all! If God should break His promise, then the integrity of
His great name is at stake.
Isaiah 42:8 – I [am] the
Lord: that [is] my name: and my glory will I not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images.
Philippians 2:9-11 – 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him
a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in
earth, and [things] under the earth; 11 And [that] every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God
the Father.
Isaiah 45:23 – I have sworn by
myself, the word is gone out of my mouth [in] righteousness, and shall
not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
Acts 4:12 – Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved.
Even if God should swear by heaven
and earth, because they will perish, so might His promise. Only by swearing by
that which is eternal and unchangeable (that is, by God Himself), can we have a
promise which is as enduring and unbreakable.
Thus, God’s promise to bless
Abraham and multiply his descendants was as eternal as His own eternalness.
This is why Israel will never be cast aside forever, because God has sworn to
bless and multiply them with a promise that is as enduring as Himself. And,
even if Romans makes the point that there’s a difference between the physical
descendants and the spiritual descendants of Abraham, nevertheless, Romans also
says that Israel will be returned to God’s favour after the times of the
Gentiles (the Church) have been fulfilled.
Romans 11:25-27 – 25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of
this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in
part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the
Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as
it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this [is] my covenant
unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Hebrews 6:15 – And so, after he had
patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
After Abraham had patiently
endured what would have been trials and testings, he was granted the outcome of
the promise made to him by God. The promise here would have been at least
partially realised during his lifetime, through Isaac, but the major part of
this promise would still have been accepted by faith by Abraham as yet to come.
Hebrews 11:12-13 – 12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as
dead, [so many] as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand
which is by the sea shore innumerable. 13 These all died in
faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and
were persuaded of [them], and embraced [them], and confessed that
they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Hebrews 6:16 – For men verily swear
by the greater: and an oath for confirmation [is] to them an end of all
strife.
So often we hear of people
claiming that they are speaking the truth, such as being innocent of a crime,
backing it up with a statement that says that God knows they are innocent: “As
God is my witness!” they might claim. Most of these people don’t have a clue
concerning the One by whom they are swearing, and many also are probably
actually guilty. Others swear by another, usually influential, person, claiming
their acquaintanceship to be their bond of truth or innocence. Such people
might know someone higher up who can twist a few arms or otherwise apply pressure
to ensure that their truth will be accepted. As the saying goes, it’s not what
you know but who you know that so often makes the difference.
Often people will make seemingly
extravagant claims as to the truth (eg evolution) and
attempt to back it up by claiming the support of a supposedly absolutely
reliable and knowledgeable source. Such statements are supposed to settle the
issue, that if a great scientist says something is so, then it must be so. That
is, it “is to them an end of all strife”. By swearing an oath by a greater one,
you are trying to make your argument stronger and thus more unassailable. The
one with the greatest “expert” is therefore the winner of the argument; he/she
has put an end to the argument (strife).
And, if you can claim God to be on
your side, then you have sworn the ultimate oath. Of course, it doesn’t always
seem to matter if God has agreed to this swearing; note how many nations have
gone to war claiming that God was on their side!
Hebrews 6:17 – Wherein God, willing more
abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel,
confirmed [it] by an oath:
heirs of promise – literally “heirs of the promise” which was made to
Abraham. Here, in the context of 6:18 these heirs are the spiritual descendants
of Abraham, that is, Christians.
immutability – not transposed, not to be transferred, fixed,
unalterable
counsel – counsel; purpose
In this fashion, God wanted to
give the most abundant assurances to Christians of the unchangeability of His
purpose or intentions for them, so He confirmed this by the swearing of an
oath. If oaths are sworn by one greater than the person making the oath, then
God cannot swear by any greater than Himself, so He must by logic swear by
Himself, thus this is the greatest of all promises. God is guaranteeing by His
own oath that His promises to His people are unchangeable.
This relates to the
unchangeability of God in
Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Malachi 3:6a – For I [am] the
Lord, I change not;
Hebrews 6:18 – That by two immutable
things, in which [it was] impossible for God to lie, we might have a
strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set
before us:
We have two unchangeable things,
the promise and the oath. God’s promises are sure, and He backs this up by
swearing an oath guaranteed by Himself. God can neither lie in His promise, nor
can He lie in His oath.
Expositor’s commentary – It is impossible for
God to break His promise, impossible also for him to falsify His oath.
Numbers 23:19 – God [is] not a
man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he
said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make
it good?
consolation – paraklesis
(exhortation; admonition; encouragement; consolation; comfort; solace) Note
that the Holy Spirit is called parakletos – “Comforter” but probably more correctly used as
“Advocate” for Jesus Christ in 1 John 2:1.
strong – strong; violent; forcibly uttered; firm; sure. It
suggests the hard blows of a mighty man upon his enemy.
Thus we (Christians) who have fled
for refuge to lay hold of the hope in the promises that God has set before us
should be strongly comforted or encouraged by the strength of God’s truth. Titus
says that the hope is of eternal life.
Titus 1:2 – In hope of eternal
life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
Also, once again, Christians are
depicted as laying hold upon the hope set before us, that is, something which
we must grasp hold of, and thus something presumably we shouldn’t let go of,
such as letting it slip from our grasp because presumably we weren’t paying
attention.
Hebrews 6:19 – Which [hope] we
have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast,
and which entereth into that within the veil;
It is that same hope of eternal
life that we have laid hold of that anchors our soul in safe harbour, that is,
our Sabbath rest as already discussed in Hebrews 4:9. The writer regularly
encourages us to seek to enter that Sabbath rest by holding fast to that hope
or, as in the following, to labour to enter that rest.
Hebrews 4:9, 11a – 9 There remaineth therefore a
rest to the people of God.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest,
The anchor (which is dealt with in
more detail in Vs 20) is both sure (certain, true) and stedfast
(stable, firm) and is placed within the veil, that is, within the Holy of
Holies. That veil separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
Exodus 26:33-34 – 33 And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that
thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark
of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy [place]
and the most holy. 34 And thou shalt put the mercy seat
upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy [place].
It was that same veil that was torn
from top to bottom when Jesus died, thus opening up the way for others to
follow.
Matthew 27:51 – And, behold, the veil
of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did
quake, and the rocks rent;
Hebrews 10:19-20 – 19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the
holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way,
which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
This anchor, based as it is upon
the unchangeability of both the promise and the oath, is as sure and stedfast as the One who has made both promise and oath, the
One who has already entered in behind the veil ahead of us – the forerunner. “captain”
in the following has the idea of one who goes ahead, leading by example.
Hebrews 2:10 – For it became him,
for whom [are] all things, and by whom [are] all things, in
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation
perfect through sufferings.
Hebrews 6:20 – Whither the
forerunner is for us entered, [even] Jesus, made an high priest for ever
after the order of Melchisedec.
C. Stanford D.D. – The
idea appears to be this: — A ship shattered with" the battle and the
breeze," at length gets near the port; but owing to the shallow waters, or
the sweeping tempest, or the temporary prohibition of the authorities on shore,
she is not permitted at once to enter the harbour. The sailors then heave out
the sheet-anchor, and by means of the boat it is carried within the royal lock;
and though the ship cannot herself get in, she is thus prevented from being
drifted away into the deep sea. To enter into that within the veil, is to enter
within the harbour of eternal repose — this may not at present be permitted, but
we may cast our anchor there, and meanwhile wait in safety here. To convey the
whole of the idea which the apostle has in view, two images are combined. Let
us forget the nautical allusion, and think only on the image which is borrowed
from the Temple. "The veil" is that which divides earth and heaven; and
our anchor "entereth into that which is within
the veil."
Here Jesus is pictured as that
sure and stedfast anchor of our souls, One who has
already entered into that safe harbour behind the veil (which may be seen as
the eternal world that we may not see because it is presently hidden behind the
veil).
2 Corinthians 4:18 – While we look not at
the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things
which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are]
eternal.
Jesus is not only the Author
(Leader; Captain – Hebrews 2:10 – One who leads by example) of our salvation,
but the Finisher (Perfector; Completor) also.
Hebrews 12:1-2a – 1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which
doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is
set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher
of [our] faith;
Although note that Hebrews 12:2
really reads “the Author and Finisher of faith” – “the” isn’t in the original.
And being made a high priest after
the order of Melchizedek brings this section of Hebrews back to where it
started, with the admonition that they (the listeners) were being told great
truths (concerning Christ who was a priest after the order of Melchizedek) that
they were not understanding because they were “dull of hearing”.
Hebrews 5:9-11 – 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal
salvation unto all them that obey him; 10 Called of God an
high priest after the order of Melchisedec. 11
Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye
are dull of hearing.
We have spent the past three
lessons looking at the problems associated with a possible falling away if they
remain at the new-born stage of being a Christian (“the first principles of the oracles of
God” – Hebrews 5:12). It is clear that many of
the listeners to this epistle may have been shallow in their understanding,
remaining so because they probably lacked the deeper teachings that would be
able to take them on toward perfection and away from the danger zone where they
were greatly at risk of falling away again (and thus never to be renewed again
unto repentance). The writer has now warned them of their shallow understanding
and its possible consequences, and the need to understand more fully the great
extent of their salvation.
Hebrews 2:3 – How shall we escape,
if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the
Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard [him];
They now need to understand that
God’s sure promises are backed up by His absolute oath, that nothing has
changed since they first believed. What they believed regarding God’s promises
then still applies to them later on. Salvation has been assured and guaranteed.
Why should they want to fall away?
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