Week 3
READ Hebrews 6:13-20 – “Full Commitment to Christ”
QUESTIONS:
God’s word is so perfect! After yesterday’s difficult warning and challenge to not fall away, today we will find just how committed God is to us for his glory! Today God wants you to know one thing today! That you can hold onto Him as your one hope in life, to keep you from self-destructing your faith through the temptations and trials of this world. He wants you to see that all the hope this world has to offer pales in comparison to God’s hope found only in Him.
If you are a Christian, what do you think is the only thing you need to know, without a shadow of a doubt, to make it through this world, temptations, and trials?
Read Genesis 22:17. First, describe what is happening in the story. Describe the situation and how Abraham must have been feeling emotionally. Second, describe from Genesis 22:17, how God comforts Abraham to continue on in faith. What does he say?
Now read Hebrews 6:13-15. There are 2 actions taken by two beings. First, God swore by his own name and made a promise to Abraham to “bless him and multiply him” as we saw in Genesis 22:17. What was the second action taken by Abraham? What was the result? How does this apply to your life?
If you’ve ever been accused of something that was false, you may have said at some point, “I swear to God I didn’t do it!” or “I swear on my mother’s life I didn’t do it!” Why do people sometimes say this? (v. 16)
We sometimes swear by things greater than ourselves to prove our trustworthiness. Why can’t God do this? If he swears by himself, which is the highest authority existing, what does that mean about his promise?
Read v. 17. God made an oath that he swore by his own name and a promise. This oath and promise were made to the heirs of the promise given to Abraham that he would always bless them, keep them, strengthen them, and multiply them. This unbreakable promise, again, was made to the heirs of Abraham. Who are the heirs of the promise, specifically? To whom does this promise apply? (Hint: Romans 4:16)
Read v. 18. God made an oath and a promise that we will always have hope in Him. No matter what kind of day you’ll have today or tomorrow, your hope in life rests in the fact that God has made a double pledge to you to never leave you, to work for your good, and to use you for his glory!
This is the root of your promise from God. God takes greater delight in himself more than anything else in existence. There is nothing that pleases God more than God himself. There is nothing he loves more than his holiness and glory! The value of the promise you have received as a Christian from God rests solely in this fact. God is telling you in Hebrews 6:13-20 that it is as likely that God will turn his back on you and not be your ever-present hope in all things, as it is that he will begin to hate himself. God has put the very thing that is most precious to himself, his glory, on the line, if he ever at any point in time doesn’t hold true to his promise to be your constant hope in all things. God is telling you right now, he would rather stop being God than go back on a promise he has given to you to be everything your need and your hope in life.
Everything that has just been written above, try to write in your own words below and internalize that truth.
Read v. 19-20. Let us make sure we know what “hope” means. The hope here is described as an “anchor”. Hope really has 2 meanings. 1) something you’re wishing for – ex. “I hope I get a gold watch for my birthday.” 2) something you’re trusting and secure in – ex. “I know my flight will get to San Francisco safely because all my hope is in this great pilot.” Which definition do you believe fits best? Why? Why is this important?
So imagine Jesus as an anchor set securely in the Holy of Holies. He didn’t have to cleanse himself like the priest of the OT who could only enter once a year, this anchor has the right to place himself in the Holy of Holies to stay! And now imagine a chain, as strong as the oath and promises of God, attaching you to the anchor. Now imagine that anchor that is in the Holy of Holies, is going before you preparing the Holy of Holies for YOUR arrival. And every day, no matter how bad the day or what happens to you, as long as you continue by faith to hold on to the chain, the anchor pulls you closer and closer to himself. Some days are really good, some are really bad, but above all you believe the anchor is set, never to be moved, the chain is strong, never to lose you, and as you continue in faith the chain gets shorter and shorter until the day you go to meet your forerunner, Christ. This reality is yours, the believer, who continues by faith to trust in Christ as your anchor. How can this reality help you in the hard days?