God Keeps His Promises

Hebrews 6:9-20, “God Keeps His Promises”

When courts swear in witnesses, they take an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, “so help me, God.” Ideally, this is exactly what happens; experientially, we know it does not. Witnesses sometimes tell partial truths, often share biased perspectives of the truth, and other times they lie outright. We even have a label for the crime, because happens so often: perjury. Men and women might verbally swear to tell the truth, but it is rare to receive a guarantee that they will actually do so.

With God, things are different. God always tells the truth, because He is God. This is part of His basic character and nature. This was known even by the pagan prophet Balaam, who was hired by the king of Moab to prophetically curse Israel, but was unable to do so because of the heavy hand of God upon him. Of God, he said, “God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num 23:19.) Our God speaks the truth. Why? Because our God is the truth. Remember how Jesus described Himself: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” (Jn 14:6). God is the truth – the very concept of truth finding its definition in God. We know what truth is by looking to Him, and whatever opposes Him is false, by definition.

With that in mind, what does it mean when God swears an oath? People swear oaths to specifically confirm something as true (a point made by the writer of Hebrews in v16). It is as if we say, “You might not be able to trust anything else I just said, but you can trust this because I guaranteed it with an oath!” (BTW: Christians should always tell the truth. We should let our yes be yes, and our no be no.) People have problems telling the truth; not God. Everything God says is already true. So, what happens when He swears an oath? It is as if He declares something doubly true, being especially true. Any promise of God can be taken to the bank. But a promise that God seals with an oath is something safer than any safe-deposit box at Fort Knox. It is as firm as it can get.

This is the certainty of our promise of salvation in Jesus Christ. As the writer of Hebrews demonstrates, this is not only an assured promise of God; it is one confirmed with an oath. It could not be any more trustworthy…because nothing is as worthy of trust than that.

The assurance was needed because the writer of Hebrews had just taken his readers through some pretty troubling theological waters: the doctrine of apostasy. The issue that brought it about was the occasion for the letter itself. Many Christians of Hebrew backgrounds were facing the temptation of going back to their temple roots. Instead of resting by faith in the finished work of Jesus, they were looking again to the things with which they had an extensive cultural background: angels, Moses, the Sabbath day, the priesthood, etc. The writer of the book systematically addressed each one, showing Jesus as superior to all of them.

As he did, the author also raised a concern. Everything addressed so far in the book had been relatively basic. He needed to move to some more advanced theological topics, but he wasn’t sure if he could due to their spiritual immaturity. And as bad as immaturity was, the potential for apostasy was much worse. What would happen if a born-again Christian left faith in Jesus, falling by the wayside? The result would be eternally tragic. The person would be lost, impossible to renew to repentance. It was a stern warning…a hypothetical one, being that he didn’t accuse anyone of actually engaging in this – but it was still something to which his readers should pay close attention.

Any talk of apostasy tends to unsettle us. Even when we deal with it in hypothetical terms while imagining various theories, it leaves people a bit shaken. Christians already tend to struggle with the idea of eternal security. Although we want to believe that we are saved and that nothing can rip us out of the hands of Jesus, many of us are unsure. How can we know? How can we be sure that all that we claim to believe about our salvation isn’t a lie?

Such is the topic of the writer in the latter part of Hebrews 6. Even when imagining a scenario of apostasy, he didn’t believe it to be the case for his readers. They had been given the promise of God, and God’s word is trustworthy.

Christian: Do you live with doubt about Jesus’ promise to save? Doubt no longer! Find comfort in the sure, unwavering, truthful promise of God. He hasn’t only spoken of your salvation; He has sworn it with an oath. And that is as good as it gets.

Hebrews 6:9–20

• Confidence in salvation (9-12).

9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.

1. “Beloved.” How good and welcome this word must have been to the original readers! The writer had just come out of his discussion of apostasy and the accompanying illustration of the blessed plant vs. the cursed plant. One bore fruit for its master and was blessed; the other bore thorns and was burned. No doubt, some of the original readers were frightened, wondering into which category the writer would place them. Thankfully, they were not to be burned; they were “beloved.” Recall from earlier in the letter how the writer referred to these people as his “holy brethren,” (3:1), including them among the “partakers of Christ,” (3:14), trusting that they would hold fast their confidence to the end. Here, their faith in Christ is reaffirmed. They are beloved, having received blessing from the Lord, blessing that was directly related to the Christian fruit in their lives (v10). As to the immediate point, these readers could rest easy because they were clearly beloved by God.
   1. Never forget how much God loves you! His love was proved for you through the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross. There, on that piece of Roman cruelty, was the ultimate demonstration of the love of God (Rom 5:8). You, who have believed upon Jesus by faith – who have asked Him to forgive your sins and have received Him as Lord… Do you honestly believe God loves you less as a Christian than He did when you were unbeliever? Jesus loved you so much while you were in your sin (because He did not want you to perish in your sin) that He died for your while you were yet a sinner. Dare you think He loves you less, now that you believe? As if He wants you to be frightened, never knowing if you are truly saved – never being able to rest in His promise of eternal life? Heaven forbid! He loves you! And He wants you to know that He loves you, so that you might rest in His love.
2. This was why the author could be so “confident” of the “better things” concerning their “salvation.” He was persuaded that his readers had faith in Jesus, being those who were enlightened, tasted of the heavenly gift, partaken of the Holy Spirit, etc., in truth. They were the plant that bore herbs for the God who cultivated them (v7), the plant risen from the good soil in which the seed of the word of God was sown, producing 30-60-100-fold fruit (Mt 13:23), the branches that abided in the vine of Jesus (Jn 15:5). They belonged to the Lord, the evidence being plainly visible. The writer saw the “things that accompany salvation” in their lives.
   1. Question: Are there “things that accompany salvation” in the lives of born-again believers? Of course. Some of the more visible evidence will be examined in v10, but look for a moment at the most obvious: faith. Faith is most certainly something that accompanies salvation, for no one is saved apart from faith. Amazingly, not everyone believes this. There is at least one Christian sect that believes so strongly in the doctrine of predestination/election that they believe a person can be saved all his/her life without ever having faith. Biblically speaking, the theological description for that is “bunk.” [Or worse!]. Faith is the essential evidence of salvation, the very first thing that accompanies salvation, which is the catalyst for salvation. 
   2. The question for you is if you have faith. As the writer of Hebrews will later say, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him [God], for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,” (Heb 11:6). Without faith in Jesus as Lord, having believed upon Him as your Savior, it won’t matter a hill of beans what else you do for God. Salvation requires faith. Without that, nothing else matters.

10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

1. There was grand evidence of faith among these believers. Like the good plant in the illustration, there was good fruit in the lives of these Hebrew Christians. They had love toward the saints (the church) that was visible. They lovingly served other Christians in the past, and they continued to serve in the present. What exactly this was, we don’t know. Maybe like other Gentile churches had taken up a collection to help the church in Jerusalem, these Hebrew Christians had done something similar for Gentile congregations. Perhaps there was some other ministry they performed. Whatever it was, God saw it, and God would not “forget” it.
   1. It is an interesting perspective to take: that it would be “unjust” for God to “forget” (overlook) their “work and labor of love.” If God forgot their deeds of love toward the church, potentially declaring them apostate (based on vv6-8), it would be an act of unrighteousness…and God is not unrighteous. He is just. Everything He does is right. We get indignant when we see earthly judges pass biased sentences, treating one person harsher than another for some reason other than the fair-application of the law. Partiality in the legal system is wicked, unjust. But that isn’t God. God is just. God is without partiality, never altering His perfect standard of righteousness. And that includes the way He remembers His people. He will never forget the things we do for His name’s sake. When we each come to the future judgment seat of Christ to be judged for the things we’ve done while in the body (2 Cor 5:10), God will not neglect a single thing we did for Jesus. Even a cup of cold water offered in the name and grace of Christ will be remembered (Mt 10:42). Why? Because our God is just.
2. Question: Does this mean that these Hebrew Christians had earned their salvation? As if it was something rightly owed to them by God, since it would be unjust/unrighteous for Him to neglect the things they did? Not at all. Two things can be true at the same time. Salvation is indeed the free gift of God, totally independent of the works of those who believe. Even so, God is not ignorant of the works of His people. By no means does God forget/neglect what we do for Jesus. The key is to keep these things in the proper order. Nowhere in his letter does the writer imply that God saved these people because of their works. They believed upon Jesus and were saved…and because they were saved, they now did good works in the name of Jesus. It was this body of work that God would not forget. Nothing is said of any attention that God paid to their pre-salvation religious works. Those things were like filthy rags, rightly forgotten by the Lord. But the works done by these born-again Christians…this was seen by God, who rightly remembers them.
3. Don’t miss the connection between Jesus and His church. The work and labor of love of these Hebrew Christians was “shown toward His name,” meaning the name of God expressed either as YHWH or the Lord Jesus Christ. At the same time, the nature of this work was ministry “to the saints,” i.e., those saved and set apart by the grace of God. Put it together. When the Hebrew Christians served the saints, they served Jesus. The pre-converted Saul of Tarsus learned this connection from the opposite direction. When he persecuted the church, he found out he was persecuting Jesus (Acts 9:5). Consider how Jesus will judge the nations at His 2^nd Coming based on how they treated believing Israel and the Tribulation saints: “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me,” (Mt 25:40). How we treat the people of God, matters. How we treat the church, matters. What we do to the church is as what we do to our Lord Himself.

11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

1. Put it another way: the writer’s exhortation to his readers was for them to keep doing what they were already doing. He wanted them to stay the course, to persevere in faith. This isn’t the Calvinistic doctrine of perseverance of the saints, in which true born-again Christians persevere in their faith in Jesus until the end of their lives (which arguably leaves open the possibility of a last-minute apostasy, revealing a false conversion all along). That isn’t the author’s point. He wasn’t telling the Hebrew Christians to keep pressing forward in perseverance in order to somehow ‘prove’ their continued faith in Jesus. He wanted them to keep pressing forward because it was the right thing to do. It was the best thing for them to do not only for the benefit of others in ministry, but also for themselves in their own spiritual growth. (And goodness knows they needed to keep growing in spiritual maturity!) In this case, it would keep them from becoming “sluggish,” (lazy). The same word was used in Ch 5 when the writer chastised his readers for becoming “dull of hearing,” (5:11). If they pulled back at this point – if they stopped their labor of love in ministry, they would do more than merely settle into a rut; they would get bogged down, eventually satisfying themselves with little-to-no progression in their discipleship and maturity. Obviously, sluggishness would not cost them their salvation (for we are saved by Jesus’ work and not our own), but it might well cost them later maturity, opening the door to problems down the line.
   1. Too many born-again Christians are lazy Christians, sluggish saints. They are like the dull knives in a kitchen drawer: not effective for good work, and potentially dangerous to the user. Chefs know that the sharper the knife, the better. You don’t want to try dicing an onion with a dull knife…you might just end up with a trip to the ER. Christians can potentially get dull as well. We get sluggish and bogged down in ourselves, becoming the spiritual equivalent of couch potatoes, rather than the active disciples Jesus wants us to be.
2. How would these Christians keep from becoming sluggish? (1) By being diligent to continue doing what they were doing. They were already headed down a good road of faithfulness. They needed to keep on keeping on. (2) By paying attention to the spiritual growth and good works of others, then doing likewise. They could “imitate” (mimic) other faithful Christians. Who did the author have in mind? It is impossible to say. Paul told the Corinthians to imitate him, as he imitated Christ (1 Cor 11:1). He was surely a Christian worth imitating. But there were other faithful, mature Christians that they could mimic. We know of a few faithful names: the apostles, Timothy, Apollos, and others. But they weren’t the only mature Christians of the day. Any number of other mature disciples could teach something to these Christians. We can all learn from each other.
   1. Moreover, it is a responsibility for us to help one another grow in Christ. Faithful Christians help other Christians be/become faithful. 
3. Once again, we need to be careful not to interpret the writer’s words as promoting a works-based salvation, as though it was through the imitation of the other saints (born-again Christians) that we are saved. Not at all! Salvation does not come through works, even works of godly mimicry. The promises of God come “through faith and patience.” What is the difference between them? It is unlikely the author intends to split them up. We might say faith is our access to God’s promises, while patience is how we receive them, but even then our patience is exercised in faith.

• Certainty of God’s promises (13-20).

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

1. If the example of Abraham is well known to us, consider how beloved it was to the Hebrew Christians originally reading this book. Their entire culture, not to mention their covenant relationship with God, went back to the foundation of Abraham. And if there is anyone in history who patiently trusted the promise of Almighty God, it was him. Abraham’s faith is so much a part of his story that he is known as the father of faith. This was a man who believed the initial promise of God when called to leave his country, and he left. Though he was 75 years old, he wasn’t ‘too set’ in his ways to step out and trust God. He had some bumps along the way (particularly when it came to his wife Sarah), but Abraham fundamentally believed the Lord’s word to him, even when God’s promise seemed impossible to come to pass. How long did he wait? 25 years. He was 75 when he left Ur of the Chaldees to go to the promised land; he was 100 when Isaac was born. 25 years waiting on the promise of God. 25 years learning not to jump ahead of what God said He would do. 25 years, leaning upon nothing but the word of God. – But that is precisely the point. Abraham had nothing but God’s word along with God’s oath. And that was more than sufficient! 
2. First, note that God did make a promise to Abraham. This itself is an act of grace. God has no reason to make promises to anyone. But He does. He knows us, loves us, and wants us to know and to love Him. He makes promises that He alone can keep, and when He inevitably keeps them, we give Him the glory that He deserves.
3. Second: In the case of Abraham, God swore an oath. It wasn’t every time. God first declared His covenant promise to Abram in Genesis 12, and no oath is mentioned. Likewise in Genesis 15, 17, and 18. Isaac was born in Genesis 21, and it isn’t until Genesis 22 that Abraham’s faith was confirmed by God through the test of putting Isaac on the altar, and that was when God swore the oath quoted in v14. Genesis 22:16–18, “(16) and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—(17) blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. (18) In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”” Question: Hadn’t Abraham already seen the fulfillment of God’s promise? Why did God make it again, swearing by an oath? Because Abraham had only seen part of God’s promise. Yes, Abraham had a son (technically, he had two sons but only one son was according to the promise of God), but he had not yet been blessed with offspring to the point that his descendants would be as the stars of heaven. He had not yet seen how all the nations of the earth would be blessed in his seed. Those things had not happened yet…but they would. Why? Because God said that it would. And more than saying it, He swore to it.
   1. How did God swear it? He made an oath according to Himself. He had to! There is no other way for God to swear, for there is no authority higher than Himself. We swear, “So help me, God,” because we will be accountable to God if we lie. To whom is God accountable? Who can judge the Lord? He must judge Himself if He does unjustly…and God never does what is unjust. It is the highest oath one can make, and when God makes it, there is no firmer guarantee.
4. Third, the writer of Hebrews said that Abraham “obtained the promise.” Did he? In this, the writer likely looks back over the entire life of the patriarch. There was much that Abraham had to look forward to in faith. For instance, he would never see his offspring grow to the numbers of grains of sand on the shore. But he would see his offspring grow beyond two sons (the sons of Keturah, his second wife). He did live to see Isaac take a bride, knowing that the covenant lineage would continue, eventually leading to the promised blessing to the world (the Messiah). In fact, earlier in his life, he actually did see the promised Messiah, although Jesus was in His pre-incarnate state. Abraham conversed with the Angel of the Lord when interceding for Sodom (Gen 18), and he quite possibly saw the preincarnate Christ even earlier in the mysterious person of Melchizedek (Gen 14). – The point? Abraham’s inherited the promise given to him by God, confirmed with an oath. His fundamental faith in God, exercised through patient endurance, was rewarded with fulfillment. God proved Himself true (just like always!).

16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

1. From a human perspective, the purpose of oaths is straightforward: confirmation. People have a rough relationship with the truth. Even the most well-intentioned people don’t always keep their word. This is the entire reason contract law exists. It serves as a written form of an oath, legally binding two or more people to actually do what they promised they would do. Should a question or dispute arise, an arbitrator or judge can just look at the written agreement and enforce what everyone supposedly agreed to at the first. – That’s for people. What about God? Why would God swear an oath to us? The all-righteous God obviously does not need to be forced to keep His word. The oath He swears isn’t for His benefit; it’s for ours. Because oaths confirm promises between men, God gives us oaths to confirm His promises to us. It’s a way of doubling-up His word. In a sense, it’s like saying “infinity-squared,” as if infinity can get any larger than it is…but from our perspective, it seems bigger. God’s faithfulness is already as good as it gets. It is accurate to say that He is infinitely faithful. For Him to swear an oath is Him telling us He is infinitely faithful ‘squared.’ We know His promise is true, because it is twice-true. It comes to us “by two immutable things,” two unchanging, unalterable things. (1) God’s promise, (2) God’s confirming oath. (You can’t get any more faithful than that!)
   1. This is how we can have such “strong consolation” when it comes to the “hope” of our salvation. The assurance of our salvation (our forgiveness and eternal life) is not based on anything we can do; it is based solely upon God’s own word supporting His promises. He is the trustworthy God. We know we are saved not because we say that we are, or because some religious person said that we are. We know that we are saved when God says that we are. He gives His salvation through Jesus by His word and by His oath. 
2. Question: Why is it “impossible for God to lie”? Isn’t He omnipotent? Doesn’t that mean He can do anything? Yes, God is omnipotent, and there is nothing too hard for Him to do (Jer 32:17). The issue is not that of ability, but of character. Because God is good – because He is truthful, He cannot do anything that contradicts Himself. He is innately good, inherently good, and thus unable to be bad. This is who He is, His spoken (and written) word reflecting His perfect character. When God speaks, truth is defined…sometimes literally. He spoke and worlds came into existence. He spoke and there was light. He spoke and life burst forth upon the earth. His word comes with divine power. What could He say as deception that would not in some fashion become reality? He defines Truth is whatever He determines that it is. Lying is thus impossible for Him.
   1. When human beings attempt to redefine truth, they attempt to usurp the position and authority of God. This is precisely why so many in the world actively try to define terms to fit their own preferences. “Pride” in perversion becomes something to celebrate. A baby is no longer a baby worthy of the protections afforded life, but is relabeled as a clump of cells, a parasite. Men are labeled as women and vice-versa. Even marriage is redefined as whatever relationship people want it to be between two consenting adults. (And who knows how long “adults” will be required?) Truth is thrown out the window because this pagan culture wants to throw God out the window. If they can define truth, setting the standard for truth, then they no longer need the real God because they can become their own ‘gods’ (and force their idolatrous religion upon the rest of us).

19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

1. Our hope is an anchor. The picture of hope (or better yet, Jesus) as an anchor for our souls is beautiful. Ancient Christian catacombs are often decorated with images of anchors, perhaps in reference to this particular verse. Anchors provide stability in an inherently unstable environment. What is more unstable than water? Small boats are often tossed to and fro upon the waves, even in the confines of a lake. Larger ships are not immune, experiencing buffeting when on the open waters. Yet what stops a craft from drifting? What keeps a boat from being swept away? Its anchor. The anchor drops to the sea floor, and as it catches hold, it brings the ship to a stop. Though the current continues to flow and the waves roll by, the anchor holds the ship firm. – The sworn promise God that we have in Jesus Christ concerning our salvation is that we have an anchor. Jesus Himself is our anchor. He holds us fast – He keeps us secure in the safety of God. He grounds us in the sure promise of God’s deliverance. He grabs hold of the foundation of God’s grace, being our guarantee of forgiveness. He is our hope, our anchor.
2. Our hope is our High Priest. This isn’t a new concept for the author of Hebrews. He introduced it in Ch 2, describing Jesus as our “merciful and faithful High Priest,” who makes “propitiation for the sins of the people,” (2:17). He introduced it again in Ch 4, showing Jesus as our sympathetic High Priest who compassionately understands our weaknesses (4:15). In Jesus’ role as our High Priest, He invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace in our time of need (4:16). And of course, the author spent a great deal of time on the qualifications of priesthood in Ch 5, showing that Jesus fits every qualification perfectly. He was appointed by the father, compassionate in His sufferings, and effective in His work. It was in this discussion of Jesus being a High Priest of the order of Melchizedek that the author took this brief digression into other matters. But as he considers the marvelous hope that we have in Jesus, how we are anchored in hope and grace because of Jesus, the author cannot help but see this rooted in Jesus’ effective work of priesthood, described at the end of v19 and into v20. He specifically labels Jesus as our “forerunner,” meaning that He went somewhere ahead of us. Where did He go? According to v19, He went “behind the veil,” referring to the heavenly sanctuary. Let that sink in for a moment. In the Israelite temple system, who alone was able to go beyond the veil/curtain of the sanctuary into the holy of holies? Only the high priest, and only during certain ceremonies at certain times of the year. (This is a point the writer will describe later in Ch 9.) So, in the past, only the high priest could go, and that is where Jesus did go, acting in His own role as our High Priest. But remember, He is our “forerunner.” He will not be the only one to go there. As the one going ahead of us, He opens the way for us to do the same.
   1. Can you imagine? Because of the work of Jesus Christ, who at His crucifixion, rent the earthly veil in two, went beyond the veil into the heavenly holy of holies…and there, He paved the way for us to do the same. Somehow, someway, someday, we as mere human beings will do the same. If not literally, then surely there is an aspect of this in the picture of us going boldly to the throne of grace (4:16). Remember what was in the earthly holy of holies: the ark of the covenant, with its mercy seat on top…the earthly representation of the throne of God. Because of Jesus, we can and do go to God’s throne in prayer. Because of Jesus, we can and do go past the temple veil into the holy of holies. Every time we pray, we experience that marvelous privilege. Might we one day literally do it in either the Millennial Kingdom or in our eternal life? Perhaps…but let us not diminish the incredible privilege we have in Christ, that we spiritually pass through that veil every day!
   2. The key word: privilege. Who are we, that we can enter the temple of God at all, much less the most holy place where God’s throne sits? We are but poor sinners, wretches in dire desperate need of forgiveness. If all we received from Jesus was His word sparing us from eternal hell, it would be enough. In fact, it would be more than we could imagine or hope. But He gives us more than that…far more. The blessings we have in Jesus are massive: we have new and eternal life – we have the sealing of the Holy Spirit, as well as His indwelling, as well as His empowerment – we are born again into the family of God, given the Spirit of adoption to the point of sharing in Jesus’ eternal inheritance. We have blessing after blessing, grace upon grace. We can hardly imagine the scope of the grace that we have in Christ. But then on top of it all…He gives us access. Access to the throne of God, to the presence of God. Access to the place where it was forbidden for anyone to go. Simply from an earthly perspective, access to kings and rulers is highly restricted. Although the US President is elected by the people, it is impossible for the average citizen to stroll into the Oval Office. In ancient days, unless you were invited by the king of Persia, you might easily be killed just for showing your face in the throne room. When it came to the earthly throne of God, that was something people did not put to the test. Nadab and Abihu were struck dead when offering strange fire at the tabernacle; Uzzah was struck dead for putting his hand to the ark of God. Surely someone strolling past the veil into the holy of holies would have incurred a far worse judgment. But that is exactly what we are privileged to do. This is what Jesus blesses us with: a marvelous privilege of His grace, to go boldly and peacefully into the very presence of God the Father.
   3. Regarding the Melchizedekian priesthood, the concept is only briefly reintroduced at this point, to be discussed in Ch 7. For now, the only issue is that Jesus is our forever High Priest. This was why He could go beyond the veil, being our forerunner to invite us to do the same. — This too underscores the certainty of God’s promise regarding our salvation. The grace we have in God has come via His word, been confirmed through His oath, and has been clearly exampled by Christ. He doesn’t leave us in the dark as to whether we are saved. He doesn’t leave us in a nebulous, guessing state. He brings us with Him to the throne of God, Christ Jesus Himself paving the way for us. Think of it in terms of invitation. It’s common to receive invitations through email or the postal service. The grander the event, the more uncommon the invitation, and the more nervous you might be about showing your face at the door. Yet what if the host personally came and escorted you inside? There would be no question about you being there. That is what Jesus does for us. As our forerunner and High Priest, He personally escorts us inside. Even if you question whether you should be there, He does not. He has invited you to the throne room of God and He ensures that (by His grace) you belong.

Conclusion:

So many Christians question their salvation, wondering if they truly are saved and if they will remain saved at the end of their lives. As a pastor, I’ve lost count of how many people have asked me about eternal security over nearly 20 years of ministry. This is a true fear for many. They are unsettled, worried, constantly trying to do more and more to ‘prove’ themselves saved.

That isn’t what God desires for you! God wants you to rest in His promise, to enjoy the peace, comfort, and hope that comes from Jesus. Moreover, He wants you to trust Him. You say that you believe in Jesus by faith, that you’ve trusted your life to Him to forgive you and save you for eternity? Then believe Him at His word when He says you are saved! Should God’s word be disbelieved? Is He unworthy of trust? Surely not! God is the most trustworthy in all the universe. The God who created the universe with His word can surely be trusted with His word regarding our salvation. You, who say you trust Jesus as Lord…now trust God to be good to His word. What He says, He does…without exception.

That isn’t to say that some people should be made to feel comfortable in their false faith. Paul was clear to the Corinthians in their ongoing sin that they should examine themselves to see whether they were in the faith, if Jesus Christ was in them (2 Cor 13:5). But that deals with the exception; not the rule. A man or woman who pretends faith, claiming God’s grace as permission to sin…that is someone who should certainly examine him/herself. But that doesn’t describe most of us. Most Christians who struggle with assurance of their salvation aren’t trying to excuse their sin; they are all too aware of their sin. It’s because they stumble and feel so much guilt over their sin that they wonder if God’s grace is enough to save them. That is why they live in such a state of uncertainty – it is why they’ve lost the joy of their salvation – it’s why they have little to no peace, despite believing in Jesus as Lord.

Beloved, if that is you, know this: your salvation has never been dependent upon you; it is solely dependent upon God. It is dependent on His work and His word. For most of us, the work of God isn’t in doubt. We truly do believe that Jesus is God in the flesh who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave. We do believe that all who call upon the name of the Lord can be saved. Where we have difficulty is the word of God (His promise). Let those doubts be put to rest! The surety of God’s word is just as certain as the existence of the universe – it is just as sure as Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. It is sure.

Do you believe it? Maybe you’ve struggled with doubt for years. It hinges on this simple question: Can God be trusted? If He can, then make the decision to trust Him. Stop your doubting, for at some point, natural doubt and questions cross over to sin. At some point, we have moved from ‘normal’ doubt to impugning God’s character. That is something we need to stop, a sin from which we need to repent. And as we do, we make the conscious decision to trust God and His word.