AN ANCHOR FOR THE SOUL

Passage: Hebrews 6:13-20

Key verse: 19

NIV

The Certainty of God’s Promise

13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,(A) 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”[a](B) 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.(C)

16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.(D) 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging(E) nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised,(F) he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,(G) we who have fled to take hold of the hope(H) set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,(I) 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.(J) He has become a high priest(K) forever, in the order of Melchizedek.(L)

Read full chapter
Footnotes
  1. Hebrews 6:14 Gen. 22:17
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Certainty of God's Promise

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, (A)he swore by himself, 14 saying, (B)“Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,[a] (C)having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes (D)an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to (E)the heirs of the promise (F)the unchangeable character of his purpose, (G)he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which (H)it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope (I)set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into (J)the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone (K)as a forerunner on our behalf, (L)having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Read full chapter
Footnotes
  1. Hebrews 6:15 Greek he
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. The certainty of God's promise (13-17)

God promised to bless Abraham and make him a blessing (Ge 12:1-3). When God trained and tested Abraham, Abraham believed and obeyed. God confirmed his promise with an oath. He swore by himself, making his promise an unchanging covenant (Ge 22:16-18). When Abraham believed and obeyed and waited patiently, God kept his promises. God does not lie.

2. Our sure hope (18-2

)

When we believe God's promises, hope is born in our hearts. This hope is in God, who has a redemptive plan for the world and who will not change his mind. It is a sure hope. Those who hold firmly to this hope do not despair; they cannot fall into fatalistic thinking. This hope is anchored firmly in the very throne room of God. Jesus is there interceding in our behalf, and we will be with him forever in the heavenly kingdom.

Prayer: Lord, I believe your promises. Thank you for giving me a sure hope in your kingdom.

One Word: We have an anchor for the soul