Hebrews 6:9-20

October 28, 2012 The reprobates who came out of Egypt were plainly seen for what they were when they refused to enter into Gods rest (Heb. 4:2-3), and in the same way, the reprobates today are made plain when they reject Christ and hold Him in a place of scorn.
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But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. We dont think youre like those briars set to be burned; were persuaded of your faith and obedience, and thats why were giving you this warning:
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For God is not unrighteous

Unrighteous is (adikos), and it means unjust. Tie it back to 4:13. to forget your work and labour of love, Labor can also mean beatings. The emphasis is on effort and fatigue. which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. Consider this in light of Matthew 10:42: And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. Matthew 25:40: Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. I Thessalonians 1:3: Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father.
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And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: Tie this back in with 3:6, 14 and 6:7-8.

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That ye be not slothful,

This is the same word translated as dull in 5:11. but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Those who believe to then end,
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For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, When God made the promise to Abraham He swore by Himself. Think about how many times youve read in the Old Testament when someone says as surely as the Lord lives I will do such and such. They swore a promise by someone greater than themselves. We put our hand on the Bible and say so help me God. But there is no higher power than God, and so when God says I will do this He says by Myself have I sworn. The example of Abraham isnt just that Abraham waited patiently in faith, but that Abraham could wait patiently in faith knowing that God had made a promise that could be counted on.
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Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. The writer calls to mind the time in Abrahams life when God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham took his son to the top of Mount Moriah, prepared the fire, bound his son and was just ready to take his life when God stopped him. And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, 16And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice (Gen. 22:15-18).
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And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

The and so is tied to the promise. God promised with an oath and so Abraham received it! It wasnt immediate, but it did happen.
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For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.

When we want to give someone assurance we say I promise, and if our word is any good then thats considered enough.
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Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: God wanted to make it exceedingly plain to the heirs of the promise that His plan would not and cannot change, so He swore an oath by His own name. To get a better understanding of the word counsel look at these verses: I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (Isaiah 46:9-10). The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations (Ps. 33:11). There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand (Prov. 19:21). As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever (Is. 59:21). This plan (this covenant) is immutable. Gods promise to Abraham and His seed never failed and there never was a plan B. Its continuing as promised even down to today. Now I could make a promise to you, but I might fail you. Thats why we should never say I will but we should say, If the Lord wills (Jas. 4:15). We should keep our promises to only yes and no (Jas. 5:12). But with God this promise is trustworthy because God cannot lie:
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That by two immutable things,

Start at verse 17 again: Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18That by two immutable things Take your pen and underline the words counsel and oath and then circle the word two and draw an arrow from there to the other two words. The two immutable (unchangeable) things are Gods counsel (plan) and His oath: in which it was impossible for God to lie,

God wanted to show the heirs of the promise that they could trust in the promise so He tells them the immutable plan and confirms it with an immutable oath so that by these two immutable things spoken by a God who cannot lie will give us great confidence that we might have a strong consolation, Gods immutable counsel and immutable promise are a great encouragement to us, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Now, within the context of Hebrews, the Israelites hope was to enter into the Promised Land, but they could not because of unbelief. We have the same promise set before us, so lets not follow their example; instead we leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ and go on unto perfection (6:1). To reject the Promised Land is to reject Christ, and to reject Christ is to reject the Promised Land therefore, cling to Christ! Abrahams hope was to see his seed: I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Gen. 22:17-18). Underline the word seed and skip ahead to Galatians 3:16: Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. The hope set before Abraham was Christ! The hope set before us is Jesus Christ, and we have fled for refuge to lay hold upon Him.
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Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast,

This word for anchor is only used three other times in the Bible (Acts 27:29, 30, 40). All three times refer to a literal anchor, and all three are in Acts 27 where we read about a ship about to be wrecked in a terrible storm: Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day (Acts 27:29). The only hope the men on board that ship had was in those anchors. They could only wish to see the sunlight, but in the meantime they could only trust the anchors to keep them from dashing on the rocks. We are the heirs of the promise and this world is our stormy sea. We dread falling upon the rocks, except the anchor of our soul keeps us sure and steadfast! He is our only hope as we wait for the day, the fulfillment of the promise. We have a hope which does this and which entereth into that within the veil;

Jesus isnt just an anchor that keeps us safe from the rocks; Hes the High Priest who enters into the presence of God behind the veil.
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Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Underline the word forerunner. If you have space in your margin you should write something like one who comes in advance to a place where the rest are to follow.1 The high priest went into the veil alone and came out alone, and he only entered once a year. No one ever went with him, and no one ever expected to do so. That would have meant certain death! But Jesus went ahead of us through the veil, not just to offer sacrifice, but to appease the wrath of God in such a way that we can come in after Him! Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us (Rom. 8:34). Rest your confidence in Him. Look at the example of Abraham and Joshua and David and all Israel. See that not one of His promises ever failed any of them and know that not one of His promises will ever fail you. Dont give up or lose heart. http://newgracebaptist.blogspot.com/

http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G4274&t=KJV