God's Unchanging Purpose

Hebrews 6 and the Unchangeable Purpose of God

We continue in our studies this evening in the book of Hebrews Hebrews chapter 6. If you were here this morning you know that we were looking at the latter half of this chapter and with the Lord's help we will finish up this chapter this evening and we'll have a number of opportunities in July to Press forward with our study of the book of Hebrews getting into some very meaty material.

I would say chapters 7 through 10 might be some of the most in-depth discussion of the High priesthood of Christ the sacrifice of Christ the atonement the effect of the atonement. It is it is going to be challenging no two ways about it.

I hope you are excited to pursue This study. We are in chapter 6 we have already looked at verses 9 to the end this morning. We'll pick up with verse 13 in our reading this evening and read to the end of the chapter.

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 for people swear by something greater than themselves and all their disputes and 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 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. 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 our forerunner on our behalf.

Having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Now we saw this morning. That's here. The writer is encouraging us and he is Encouraging us to press towards shows veal toward obtaining that full assurance of hope and to the end.

Hopefully you saw that term hope That was in verse 11 repeated just now in the reading that we had it will become very important to us and then he has once again directed our attention away from ourselves and To God as the one that is worthy of our faith worthy of our trust.

And that once we understand the character of God once we understand that he is his purposes are Unchanging then we can have true abiding faith in him that results in patience. And he's given as an example what happened in God's giving a promise to Abraham when he gave that promise to Abraham He had nothing greater to swear by than himself.

And so he made that promise to Abraham and there is a brief discussion of the fact that that people swear by Something greater than themselves and all their disputes and oath is final for confirmation.

So in verse 17 then 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. Now notice once again, we just started touching on this verse this morning.

God will to do something he will to provide a Demonstration a proof of the fact That he was the one making the promise and he wanted a certain people notice the heirs. He wanted to demonstrate this to the heirs.

Now we saw that same group up in verse 12. The heirs the promise are those those who through faith and patience Patience become heirs of the promise and so God wants to make sure that a certain people the heirs of the promise Have a clear demonstration from him that he has an unchangeable character to his purpose an Unchangeable character that cannot change and we conclude this morning by asking the question.

What would it be like if we had a God who changed? What if we had a God in whom there was Variableness and shadow of turning to use the language from James that has been enshrined in our hymns. What if we did not have any promise that our God was the same from year to year?

What a tragedy that would be and yet when we think about it That is what the vast majority of the human family has had to deal with down through history. The gods of the peoples around Israel were very changeable.

Those gods you you had no way of knowing how they were going to act. There was no standard of justice. There was no Eternal purpose that they were working out especially due to the fact that they themselves came out of the creation.

They weren't the creators of all things. They were subject to forces outside of themselves. And so they were changeable. They had to adapt. But sometimes I think especially there's there's a danger amongst those of us who Regularly hear the Word of God within a consistent context that we will Take for granted these tremendous divine truths.

That actually we have become the heirs of ourselves. The idea that God is unchanging. That he has a purpose that he is pursuing. That's not just an idea that makes us feel good. It is the very essence of the promise of the gospel.

Think about if that was not the case. Then the cross was a huge tragedy because Evidently God committed himself to a course of action there. But who knows maybe something might come up that would do it cause them to go.

Oh, you know that really wasn't the best way of doing things. Can you can we can we even begin to contemplate? Such such a thought and yet sadly there are many who Because they don't embrace the entirety of biblical revelation.

Really have no way around Seeing God in that way, but that's not what the writer here would have us to see. God Desired to give to us a clear demonstration to the heirs the promise of the unchanging nature.

The unchangeable Character of his purpose that that Greek term you've heard it used like metastasize when something Changes when something mutates they're all related to the same root. There can be no mutation of God's purpose.

There can be no change into another Direction of God's purpose. He has given us his promise in Christ Jesus and you know being 2 ,000 years down the road I'm glad it doesn't change. Because it would make a lot of people I think a lot of modern people today.

Wonder how things that were written 2 ,000 years ago can be relevant to us. Well, if you have a God who is the creator of all things and A thousand years to him as of the day and a day at the thousand years.

It hasn't been that long ago to him that he gave these promises and he has promised that his promises won't change. Notice then it also says he Guaranteed it with an oath and it's interesting. There's a there's an echo here that unfortunately We might not see in English.

This is a rather unusual term to guarantee. That actually has within it the context of a mediator. This is going to become very important beginning in chapter 7 this he's going to build on this that this Guarantee he's provided was normally one that was provided by an intermediary and that intermediary is going to become the intercessor who is Jesus Christ who becomes himself the guarantee of a better covenant and the authors moving toward the demonstration of the supremacy of the priesthood of Christ and The supremacy and better nature of the new covenant.

Remember we sometimes we get so into the text that we need to step back and go. What's what's the whole purpose here? It's really been the same from chapter 1 the demonstration of the supremacy of Christ in all things.

There's nothing to go back to. All the pressure being placed upon the Hebrew Christians to go back and offer sacrifice. There's nothing to go back to and So he is guaranteed the promise with an oath so that By two Unchangeable things.

Two unchangeable things using the exact same terminology is just talking about his is unchangeable purpose. Now it's 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 the hopes that before us.

Well, what are the two unchangeable thing? Well, the first is the promise itself and the second is the guarantee he's given of it and So it's impossible in These things for God to lie. If God could lie in these things that there would be no reason to trust any divine revelation there'd be no reason to believe that that God has given prophecy or that God has been involved in in the history of the people of Israel or any of the things that that interestingly enough the Jewish apologists might be using to try to get you back.

Try to get you to offer sacrifice. You'd have to undercut your own position to to accept those things because if God could lie at this then he could lie at anything. Maybe the entire of the Old Testament is a lie.

I mean once you admit to the character of God. Inconsistency and untruthfulness. How are we supposed to know anything? He could be deceiving anybody. But it is a very character and nature of God. It is impossible for him to lie.

He has promised and he has given an oath by himself of the validity of his promise, but notice then there is this. This interesting phrase and it sort of just pops in here. We who have fled for refuge we who have fled for refuge now that the whole discussion up to this point has been about oaths and the unchanging purpose of God and faith and and and patience and inheritance of the promises and.

Then all of a sudden we have this this interesting story this rather strange and interesting phrase the ones who have fled for refuge and this has created a fair number of interpretations. But it would seem to me.

You can go back. And and look at various Strands of the Old Testament Revelation there were the the cities of refuge those who had sought refuge in those cities from they Engaged in manslaughter. Accidentally and you had the place of refuge you could go.

The family would not be able to come after you in those specific places. Some have made a connection to that. But it also seems in light of what comes afterwards this idea of an anchor. That is within the veil within again looking at the tabernacle that we'll get back in just a moment.

That maybe it's just simply the seeking of refuge in God. Seeking refuge in him from our sins. Seeking refuge in him from the pressures of the world the flesh and the devil as we often put it. But there's a specific people.

So that we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast. To the hope that has been set before us. Refugees are people looking for hope. When you've seen the heartbreaking pictures of refugees fleeing from war.

They have almost nothing left. They're frequently carrying the entirety of their their physical possessions on their back or in their arms. Maybe pushing a cart along. They have that that dark look in the eyes.

And they're looking for refuge they're looking for a safe place. There's danger all around them, and they need a place where they can begin to rebuild hope. And so maybe this is the best description. That those who have sought refuge in God.

That they might have strong Encouragement to hold fast to the hope that has been set before us. Strong. Very same term encouragement here is the term that is used of the Holy Spirit in John chapter 14 the parakletos the paraclete who comes alongside and encourages gives guidance.

Here that we might have a strong Encouragement those who have fled to hold fast. Hold fast that hope which has been set before us. That very hope is then described in an incredible way. That I think is probably one of the most beautiful pictures in all the book of Hebrew and hence all Hebrews and hence all of the Bible that is verse 19.

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. 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? Now it's here once again I'm tempted.

I'm not sure when to do this. I'm not sure if I should maybe make it a Sunday school lesson or something like that because I'm not sure how to make a discernment. But over the next couple of chapters.

We will either have to take some time to go back into the Old Testament. I know that the next time when we talk about Melchizedek. We'll go back and we'll read in Genesis. We're reading the Psalms, and we'll look at the references to Melchizedek.

There aren't very many of them. But in this situation what we would need to do is to go back. And refresh our minds. I will use the term refresh our minds. Because certainly we've all studied at one point or another the makeup of the tabernacle the makeup of tabernacles.

The writer of the book of Hebrews uses the tabernacle rather than the temple itself as the paradigm as the example of the earthly in comparison to the heavenly and. The readers of Hebrews certainly would have understood how that was laid out where the veil was.

What was outside the veil what was inside the veil? What exactly was in there? This is a part of what any Jewish person of the day would have understood even though Almost none of them would have ever seen these things except for the high priest himself who would go in that one day on the Day of Atonement Yom Kippur.

But there was great teaching about These specific things what was what was there what its purpose was what it represented? Etc etc and this is part of the Old Testament revelation these things were built and placed where they were upon the commandment of God and so.

At some point we're going to have to look at that because at this point that is brought into The narrative because when it talks about the inner place behind the curtain. We're talking about the the holy place sometimes it's called the Holy of Holies, but that's just.

Again, because we're translating a Hebrew idiom into English in a way that isn't necessarily the proper way. That is the the Hebrew would say the holiest place by calling it. Holy twice the Holy of Holies that just simply means the holiest place and so it's talking about that place where atonement would be made where the covering would take place and.

So the writer here draws for us an unusual picture. One might say it definitely mixes metaphors. Because there were no anchors in In the context of tabernacle. But an anchor isn't necessarily just what you would have on a seagoing vessel.

Though that's the first thing that crosses our minds. We think of that huge anchor that can hold that large ship in place in the midst of the strong winds and things like that. But we use the term in other ways as well.

Someone who is a climber uses a term anchor a lot. They use them as they're climbing the rock face and and they tap them in and they put their Ropes through and they these become an anchor something very important obviously for someone who does them like that.

Which I can guarantee you that's one thing I could never do. I can't climb up a ladder to a roof let alone hang off of a rock face someplace. And I have no idea how anybody else can but be that as it may.

Here we have a description of something that holds fast that's described as sure and Steadfast sure and steadfast. Now interestingly enough one of these terms the same term that is used by Paul and Colossians when he talks about are being grounded in Christ.

There is no moving. When you when you're building stuff if you're trying to anchor something down, and you can physically move obviously your anchor is not strong and Therefore when the forces of nature come along what you're building might be in grave danger.

I had an illustration of this recently a Couple of weeks ago Kelly, and I were driving home at the same time. I looked over at our house. There's this huge gaping hole and The gable had been had been ripped off the side of our house.

You know that vent type thing that allows the air in and out that we have to have a hearing In Phoenix, and I went out there, and I'm looking at it. It's just gone. And I finally found it. It was in pieces and The metal was bent and as man I was getting ready to call the cops because What else could have done this the metals all bent up?

And if somebody had to have been trying to break in the house through the through the roof, I guess. But before I did that I decided to go over the neighbor's house and ask they had seen anything. I says oh, yeah.

Yeah, we've knocked on your door a couple times couldn't find anybody home but a few days ago a dust devil came through and It was a big one, and it just ripped that thing right off your house. My mom had just pulled into the driveway thought it was gonna hit her right in the windshield.

Just miss landed our front yard and exploded. I'm like wow it went across the street picked up the neighbors big blue Recycled bin and threw it on his roof. I don't think that's a dust devil. I think that's called a tornado personally I Mean it's sort of hard to differentiate between the two at that point when it can just rip stuff right off of your house like that.

But that's that's exactly what it did so obviously it was not anchored appropriately in the temporary one we've put in isn't very anchored very well either, but It wasn't it wasn't able to withstand now.

Now maybe it's just because it's you know almost 40 years old and things got old over time. It was no longer sure and steadfast and that force of nature came along and destroyed it. When we're talking about a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.

What a picture is presented for us here we are told that we have a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul and Clearly the writer is in is communicating to us That he recognizes that there are great forces that come against us.

And they come against our faith. The writer is not in any way Underestimating the force that could be brought against the Jewish Christians By their family members and others who would say come back come back.

Give up on this strange Christianity stuff. It's never gonna last come back. They're not underestimating the kind of force that could be brought to bear upon someone like that and I'm looking into the faces of many people who've experienced many things in their lives.

That's you never expected Could have the kind of strength to bring doubt despair confusion into your life and if we think That we are the ones Who are going to provide the steadfastness against the forces that come against our souls, then we are very foolish.

It is the scriptures that tell us God provides the sure and steadfast anchor. We don't provide it. God provides it and he provides it in the work that he has accomplished. Notice this sure and steadfast anchor of the soul is A hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain Where Jesus has gone as our forerunner on our behalf.

I hope you see my friends I hope I am making it clear to you that The sure and steadfast anchor of our soul is based in what someone else Has done it is not based in our accomplishment. It is not based in us.

It is a finished thing. Now the writer is going to expand on this in the most glorious fashion over the next couple of chapters and So we get to Rome to Hebrews chapter 9 and he talks about our intercessor Who has entered into the holy place once for all?

Having obtained eternal redemption there He intercedes in our behalf and he's able to save the uttermost because he ever lives to make intercession. Oh the the glory that is brought out but here we just start to see a part of it this sure and steadfast anchor of the soul is Intimately connected to what Jesus Christ has done in his sacrifice.

Do you see how strong an argument that would be in the context of Hebrews? For the people are being told Ah He was just a false prophet. That death he died. He died at the hands of the Romans. It was a disgusting way to go and Yet the Christian message is it was all according to God's plan.

It is the fulfillment of what the prophets had said and by that one sacrifice He has entered in you see the high priest Could only enter in Briefly once per year. Just for a moment to offer that sacrifice and then he had to come out.

He could not stay there. That repetitive nature is going to become extremely important in what's going to come after this. But instead of that high priest in and out in and out. Never staying there temporary visits.

We have a hope That enters into the inner place behind the curtain where the vast majority of Hebrew Christians could never have gone themselves. Because they weren't the high priest. But now they have gone in the place of another.

Where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our? behalf united with him. Our hope then goes into the very presence of God. You see how this is an argument of the supremacy of the Christian faith over the shadows That preceded it.

Do you see the argument? Can you put yourself in the place of these people who first heard this when they start to realize? That in my union with Christ and His having entered into the very presence of God his sacrifice accepted raised from the dead.

Demonstrating God is accepted of sacrifice. He's entered into the heavenly place into the true holy of holies of which the earthly is butter a shadow and Since I'm united with him that I have been brought in that same language of the Apostle Paul into the heavenlies itself.

Seated in the heavenly places. Is that not Paul's terminology in Ephesians 2. Yes, that's the terminology and so our hope is not in ourselves. You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Therefore think on the heavenly things because that's where your hope is a hope that enters into the inner place. Behind the curtain you're no longer left outside. I wonder how many of these Hebrew Christians had stood in Yom Kippur.

Had drawn near to worship at the temple and they had stood outside and they had watched as the sacrifice. They could smell the stench of the flesh and they see the the smoke rising and then they see the very brightly robed high priest.

Entering in to the holy place and there they stood. They could not go. He could only go as their representative. They could not enter in the Christian messages in Christ our forerunner. We have as we are united with him entered in.

That hope that is the fulfillment of God's promises is a sure and steadfast Anchor for the soul and I'm like all those who stand outside. Our anchor is rooted in the finished work that allowed him to go in and not just for a moment and come back out.

He is seated his work completed. That becomes our hope. Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf Into the Holy of Holies. Having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek now this whole section contains a foreshadowing of the arguments of chapters seven eight nine and ten in Athens is sort of a Well a trailer for those of you who see trailers of movies.

It's put it all together in one spot and that's what you're going to get. Very frequently you got all the good stuff right there and then the rest of it really wasn't worth going to see but that's how it Works, that's not the case here.

This is a brief summary. That is going to be expanded out. The whole issue of the typology of the tabernacle and then especially Having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek as I said this morning.

This signals the end of the digression I mentioned at the beginning this morning 510 talking about Melchizedek. But you've grown dull of hearing. You need exhortation you need warning and then encouragement and so from 510 till now.

Warning and encouragement now, we're back to Melchizedek. You you could read through 510 skip to here and the argument would continue. And so that's where we are. But this idea of having become a high priest forever after the order Melchizedek will become central to the writers defense of Christ's role not only a sacrifice but as high priest who then offers that sacrifice and Guarantees the application of that sacrifice for those for whom he's given himself.

Now Normally this is where a lot of modern evangelicals start becoming distracted. Because the argumentation that is going to be presented in chapter 7 and following again requires us to look at the Old Testament and See it as an authoritative revelation and follow carefully The argumentation that is being presented because it's not necessarily easy to follow but when we do We get some of the clearest most compelling Argumentation and presentation and revelation on God's purpose in the sacrifice of Christ answering the why? questions of anything in all the New Testament of Anything in all the New Testament and so it will be well worth our effort To dig in and it will take digging in to get the gold From this text, but it is there for the taking and so isn't it interesting?

It strikes me as as Very ironic that the chapter in Hebrews that is most often cited as As evidence against the ability of God In Christ to save perfectly Hebrews chapter 6 see you can be a true Christian in loss.

The very chapter that is so often used in that way is the chapter that finishes by talking about 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.

I almost never hear that discussed. I don't know why I Don't understand why I? Don't know why this isn't phraseology. It's on the lips of Christians far more often than many texts that are. Because I can't think of anything more encouraging Anything that would give more of an exhortation to godly living and to live to glorify him than to think about what? these words mean.

Certainly in the dark hours of our life. We search for that sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. But it should also be in the bright daylight hours and the days of rejoicing and happiness something that Causes a joy that the world can never understand.

These are treasures my friends that should overshadow and outshine Anything that the world could ever offer us what a tremendous promise has been given to us. Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf United with him his sacrifice accepted.

What a tremendous promise has been given to us in these words and So as we think about this You will speak to many family members and friends who? Struggle with the message of Hebrews. I couldn't help but just thinking just now I was talking about Those who misuse this text.

I remember very clearly a debate with a man. I'll be debating again three times this fall a Former Protestant now a Roman Catholic Who in one of those debates very clearly and forcefully emphasized to us?

True sons of God will be in hell. True sons of God will be in hell. And of course my response that is well. Then you have a Jesus Christ who's a failure because you have a man-centered gospel. You don't have the gospel of Jesus Christ who never fails To bring those entrusted to him to glory that is truly one of the major issues That divides the biblical gospel from all the substandard sub-biblical and anti-gospels That exists in our world today and as we dig into this text We will grow in our confidence and understanding that that is the case our confidence and understanding of the gospel itself.

It is truly exciting. I hope is exciting to you as well. Let us close the word of prayer indeed our gracious Heavenly Father we Cannot find the proper words to express Our thanks for what you have done in Christ Jesus.

We cannot find the proper words to even begin to express the joy that is ours as we contemplate the fact that we have a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul a hope that is Gone all the way into the Holy of Holies in Jesus Christ help us To find in these truths our greatest joys.

May the things of this world indeed grow strangely dim as We consider what you've done for us in Christ. May we be a people focused upon your truth Who live in light of it and as such are bold and our proclamation of those truths to others.

Thank you for this day when we have been able to meet together. Thank you for meeting with us. Be with us in this next week of service and ministry. May we bring honor and glory to the name of Jesus Christ and all that we say and do we pray in his name Amen.