[Transcript represents full sermon's text]

       Hebrews chapter 6, starting in verse 13: “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise” (ESV).

       Presented before us at our start today is an Old Testament picture of God making a promise, and the person who is receiving this promise is Abraham. Coming immediately to our minds is likely the scene of God making a promise to Abraham that he will have a son. That’s the famous promise. That’s the one we are probably remembering. That situation in Romans chapter 4 mentioned by the Apostle Paul. Yet, in this text, in Hebrews, it’s more likely that the author is speaking of another promise made to Abraham. Yes, indeed, another promise. This promise comes to us in Genesis chapter 22. If we turn back there, we can read, starting in verse 17:

“I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:17, 18, ESV)

Of course, the background to why God made this promise was because of the scene that had just taken place. It was in this passage where the Lord tested Abraham to see what was in his heart—to see where he stood. To sacrifice his son Isaac on the alter is what was asked. His only son to be exact, the one who had been the subject of that first promise that he would have a son. And now, now God was asking him to sacrifice his son. The thing is, God needed to see where his heart stood—he needed to see if Abraham really loved God more than everything else, or whether he actually didn’t.

       The whole reason the writer of Hebrews brings up this subject matter is because he is building off the last section wherein he said he hoped his listeners would be “imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (ESV). It’s an interesting concept, interesting ideals, interesting goals we might say. It’s a timeless point, relevant to all Christians in all times. No matter who we are, no matter what time period we reside in, in our Christian walk we are going to have to wait. In the most basic sense, we wait to be with God—to be physically with God. From the moment we become a Christian to the moment we die, we wait. For most of us, that might be 60 or 70 years. 60 or 70 years of living life on the earth, going through the ups and downs, the successes and the struggles, the friendships and the betrayals, whatever we want to consider, we have to navigate through all of that believing that God is by our side without even seeing him. It is as the Apostle Peter stated to his listeners in his first epistle: “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8, 9, ESV). To reverse the order of what he said, let’s now read the proceeding verses, where he said, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7, ESV). Indeed, we, just like Abraham, have our faith tested. We go through things just like anyone else.

       The truth of the matter is, and we can see this if we examine Abraham’s story, is that he had two dramatic events by which he had to work-through. God had promised him in Genesis chapter 22, specifically in verse 17, in saying, “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore” (ESV). Familiarity resides in us as pertains to these trials, if we want to call them that, that Abraham went through. First, he had to wait for Isaac to be born. Recall, both Abraham and Sarah were old in years. It didn’t look like it was going to happen. It looked like God forgot or something. And when Abraham offered for the promise to be fulfilled through his servant Hagar’s child, God thought that too easy. So, Sarah would become pregnant and have the child at a very old age. If that wasn’t enough, then as Isaac was growing up, one day God asks Abraham to sacrifice him on an alter, like an animal sacrifice. It goes all the way to the point where the child is about to sacrificed, the child of the promise, but God intervenes. Thus, God tests Abraham’s faith to see if it’s genuine—to see where he stands. To see if Abraham really believed him, or to see if even after having the child at an old age, Abraham’s commitment to God was still lacking in faith.

       It is good to examine the response of Abraham to the angel of the Lord there in Genesis 22. After the whole event of Abraham getting ready to sacrifice his son Isaac, if we go to verse 12, we read: “He [the angel of the Lord] said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Really, these words are more likely God’s words, since the sentence ends “you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Nevertheless, that was the point of the test, so it could be seen what was actually in Abraham’s heart, and to use twenty-first century language, to see where he was on this path of growth. What did he really value? Did he love God above everything else? Was his heart at such a place that nothing was loved more than he loved God? Interestingly, God ended up demonstrating the same kind of love. We know that. That is, God showed that he loved us so much that he wasn’t even willingly to spare his own life for us—he loved us more than himself. Christ demonstrates this in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Apostle Paul talks about it in Ephesians 5 when he says a husband should love his wife. In point of fact, what is fascinating about the whole thing is what? What’s fascinating about is that when we love others like this, we win, we gain. We don’t lose, as the mind naturally is inclined to believe. Paul stated there in Ephesians 5: “He who loves his wife loves himself” (28, ESV). This is the ultimate love we can show for ourselves, if we are married.

       Verse 16: “For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 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, 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” (ESV).

       The dialogue continues as pertains to the speaking of the use of oaths, and what is compared is how God used an oath with how people use an oath. Really, and intriguingly, what God seems to intend with using the oath is that what he is saying to Abraham is irreversible. He’s basically saying, “No matter what happens, no matter what you do or what anyone else does, this ‘thing’ I am going to do.” In the modern church world, we call that an unconditional promise by God. It’s something unconditional in that God is going to accomplish whatever it is no matter what. From a time-based perspective, we might call it fixed. God has fixed whatever it is to happen. People, on the other hand, truly do not have this ability. Whatever our hearts are, no matter how meaningful they are, we cannot actually guarantee anything. Two individuals, for instance, get married. When they take that oath before God at the alter, they are promising to love each other to the end. However, we know in 50 to 60 percent of cases that that doesn’t happen. Persons fail at keeping their oath. Even if one person fails, it causes the other person to fail in that the other person leaves the marriage and they cannot fulfill what they said they were going to do to the fullest.

       Does God really need to provide an oath? Well, again, what God was trying to show was that he was fixing something as permanent. Understanding is present, for instance, that in some cases people do not receive what God promises. An immediate example that comes to mind is Moses not entering the promise land because of something incorrect he did. We are aware of that instance. We are also aware that God stated, for instance, in Jonah chapter 3, that he was going to destroy a great city called Nineveh. But the people repented of their sins, and then God decided not to destroy it based on the people’s response. Thus, we are familiar with the fact that God can say something but that our actions can in fact change the outcome—by responding positively or negatively to what God has said. This doesn’t mean that God is a lair because he didn’t do what he said he was going to do. That’s not the way God operates. God is reasonable, and he’s willing to work with persons. But he also doesn’t want individuals to blatantly disobey either. We believe in the Scriptures that God has provided us with a plan of what he’s going to do in the future. Our “strong encouragement” this becomes, as the writer of Hebrews phrases it, which we can hold fast to in our minds. Familiarity resides in us that God is trustworthy, and that he will fulfill what he says he’s going to do. This is why it would be pointless, as we discussed last week, for these Hebrew Christians to leave the ‘believing in Christ’ aspect of their faith, and simply go back to only Judaism. A fear that the Christian stuff isn’t true is an unnecessary fear because God will come through with what he has promised.

       Let’s consider the familiar phrase, “it is impossible for God to lie.” “It is impossible for God to lie.” This would be reiterated in Titus chapter 1 by the Apostle Paul as well as in 1 John 2 by the Apostle John. As Christians, we probably came to understand this truth early on—came to understand that our Bibles were trustworthy, to be depended on, and that we can build our whole lives around them. A stark contrast this is with those who don’t know Jesus yet, who are out of a personal relationship with God. Many of us can remember what it was like back at the time when we didn’t know God. Yet, we came to trust in God at a certain point, and we were told that the Bible, indeed the ‘Holy’ Bible as we call it, contains the truth by which we are to live by. Very fortunate we are, as Christians, to have this ultimate truth in our hands. People of other religions often have religious books that they follow. While some of that might align with what God tells us in his Word, a lot of it doesn’t align with it. So, those people have a mixed bag of truth—and a mixed bag of truth won’t lead to the best life possible on the planet earth. It seems we often take it for granted of what we have, but that is because we’re so used to it. We’re so used to even having multiple translations, multiple wordings, by which we can thumb through. Yet, if we zoom out and consider what we have, from a big picture perspective, it’s a pretty amazing thing. Our conviction is that all the words spoken in the Bible are the highest truth there is, and many of us have built our lives around those words. If we follow the Word of God, we know that we can make the best choices possible. Others around us might not, and it can even negatively affect our lives, but we are responsible for our individual characters.

       Notice the author states, “we who have fled for refuge.” “[W]e who have fled for refuge.” That’s the case for every one of us, as Christians, whether we are Jewish or not. All of us who have come to know God through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for us, all of us have fled from this present world—fled from this present world. Indeed, that’s the nature of the situation. It’s not that this world is bad—then again, it is affected by the curse. It’s affected by people’s sin-natures, and it’s affected by demonic beings who have a negative influence on it. Thus, when we come to come God, we are fleeing all of that. Fleeing the evil of this present age. The situation on the earth is such that God’s going to have to refurbish the whole thing, and after that Christ will reign as King, that which was promised to the Israelites in the Old Testament, and reiterated in the New Testament. Speaking of promises, these Jewish listeners of this epistle could look to what God had promised in the past, to Abraham, and choose to believe that since that promise was true, God was going to stay true to his Word as pertains saving them through the Christ, both spiritually and eventually with a physical kingdom. Yes, God promised a physical kingdom for them, and he’s going to fulfill that promise sometime here in the future. Yet, at the same time, the Messiah was more than that. He’s more than simply an earthly king that’s going to reign someday. He’s the solution to their sin problem. He’s the solution that brings them back into right relationship with God so that they no longer need to perform animal sacrifices. He’s what guarantees for them Heaven, being with God, after this life is over.

       Moving along. Verse 19: “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (ESV).

       Belief is present among us that when God promises something, when he says he’s going to accomplish something, he does it. That’s the beautiful thing about God is that his Word can be taken to the bank. It’s this truth that prompts the writer of Hebrews to say “We have… a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.” For a group under persecution, for a people under pressures, it was helpful to the psyche to know one could be grounded in the truth they believed. What is trying to be emphasized to these Hebrew Christians is that which they have believed in, that Jesus is the Christ, that which they have staked their lives upon, isn’t for nothing. It’s not in vain. Their belief is something that they can rest and have their peace in, all the way to the core of the soul. It goes that far in. And it’s no different with us, in America, in the twenty-first century. No matter what we are going through, whether life goes the way we want to go, whether other individuals do what we want them to do or not, we always can have peace at any time we choose to. Even if our surroundings are seemingly falling apart, God is stable. He can be counted on. Eternal life waiting for us in Heaven. Waiting for us whenever we depart this world. Of course, we don’t know when that’s going to be. Departure can occur at any time, so having the entirety of our thoughts focused on the here and now is pointless. Persons come and go, and things get old and break. Possessions are destroyed and can even be stolen. Not in Heaven. Our favorite people will be there. Our possessions there won’t go anywhere.

       Just as the Israelites held to the promise that God gave to Abraham back in the past, and saw that he had accomplished it, so these current Christian-Israelites could do the same in that they could know for sure that God has brought them their Messiah in Jesus. Indeed, when Jesus died on the cross and rose from death back to life, when he returned to Heaven, back from where he came, he entered into God’s presence. This was what the high priest used to do, during the times of the Old Testament (and really even during these listeners’ time), when he would go into the Holy of Holies in the Temple of God to sprinkle the blood. This was part of the Jewish ritual. Back then, even the Ark of the Covenant was there, with the cherubim on top of it, pointing toward each other. The blood would be sprinkled on top of the ark. Nevertheless, the high priest was in the very presence of God, for that is where God dwelled on the earth. It was “the inner place behind the curtain” as the writer calls it. It was necessary for all people’s sins to be atoned for by blood. That animal blood could only cover sins—it couldn’t take them permanently away. But when Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice on our behalf—his offering of human blood was sufficient to take away our sins. He lived a perfect life, and therefore his blood was perfect, human blood. This action is what makes Jesus a high priest forever.

       It is also stated that Jesus has “become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” “[A] high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” What does that mean? Sounds pretty foreign to us, obviously, and really it sort of was to the Hebrew Christian audience. They had accepted Jesus as the Messiah, and they were counting on him as saving them from their sins. But, the writer of Hebrews is tackling some of the logistics behind how this works from a Jewish perspective. It’s good for us to breakdown what the meaning behind bringing up this person named Melchizedek is because he’s going to be talked about at length in the next chapter, in chapter 7. We want to understand what is going on here, and what the background story is. The story of Melchizedek comes to us in Genesis chapter 14. In reading that chapter back there, we will see that it contains the story of Abraham meeting him after completing a great battle. This man Melchizedek is king of a city called Salem. Interestingly enough, he wasn’t only a king of his people, but he also served as their high priest. What is absolutely curious about the whole thing is that it appears these individuals aren’t part of God’s original chosen people (though this is before God delivered the Law to Moses). Anyway, this group of persons are already serving One who they’ve identified as God, and the have a high priest by which to relate to God. Abraham in speaking with Melchizedek, realizes that the God they are associated with is the same God that he’s associated with. This is demonstrated when Abraham gives Melchizedek a tenth of the best parts of their war-spoils.

       Certainly, there is a lot of mystery behind this man named Melchizedek. From a Jewish person’s perspective, what is particularly interesting is that the writer of Hebrews, as well as Moses back in Genesis, do not give the readers any kind of idea as pertains to this person’s linage. Of course, that was important for a high priest, as the Law prescribed that a high priest be from the line of Levi. In fact, in the Old Testament, outside of Genesis chapter 14, the only other place Melchizedek is mentioned in is Psalm 110, particularly in verse 4, where David says, “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (ESV). This is a prophecy about the Christ, that though the Jewish people knew he would be a king, he would also be their high priest, just as Melchizedek occupied both roles. And this ties in the with the fact that Jesus comes actually from the line of Judah, which is the incorrect line again prescribed under the Law. Yet, Melchizedek also wasn’t from the Levitical line. Remember, Melchizedek was a high priest before the Law was laid out, making him a forerunner and superior high priest. So, Christ is superior in that being a king, he is also granted the high priesthood. Nevertheless, while we as twenty-first century American Christians might not find these things all so important, to the Jewish mind these types of things mattered.

- Daniel Litton