Hebrews; Chapter 6
UNDERSTANDING OUR HIGH PRIEST!
Part III
{Verses 13-20}
[9-5-10]
Review:
Hebrews 6:12) [GNB] We do not want you to become lazy, but to be like those who believe and are patient, and so receive what God has promised.
12) [GNB] Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and patience.
Hebrews 10:35-36) [GNB] So don’t lose your confidence. It will bring you a great reward.
36) [GNB] You need endurance so that after you have done what God wants you to do, you can receive what he has promised.
QUESTION: What do these passages tell us about faith?
ANSWER: Faith has to be mixed with patience in order for you and I to receive the promises of God.
NOTE: Don’t let anyone tell you that you shouldn’t pray for patience because it will bring you trouble [Romans 5:3; James 1:3]. WE NEED PATIENCE!! If we don’t ask God for patience we won’t have it [James 4:2].
On To This Week’s Lesson:
Hebrews 6:13-14) [GNB] When God made his promise to Abraham, he made a vow to do what he had promised. Since there was no one greater than himself, he used his own name when he made his vow.
14) [GNB] He said, “I promise you that I will bless you and give you many descendants.”
Genesis 22:16-18) [GW] and said, “I am taking an oath on my own name, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not refused to give me your son, your only son,
17) [GW] I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of their enemies’ cities.
18) [GW] Through your descendant all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
QUESTION: What did God do to emphasize that He was going to do for Abraham what He said He’d do?
ANSWER: He confirmed His promise with an oath.
QUESTION: God always tells the truth; so why did He feel the need to make a vow?
ANSWER: God made the vow to encourage faith in an unbelieving man; in other words, we all struggle to believe what we can’t see.
Hebrews 6:15) [GNB] Abraham was patient, and so he received what God had promised.
QUESTION: What does this verse remind us of?
ANSWER: We have need of patience!
Hebrews 10:35-36) [GNB] So don’t lose your confidence. It will bring you a great reward.
36) [GNB] You need endurance so that after you have done what God wants you to do, you can receive what he has promised.
QUESTION: What does this passage imply?
ANSWER: We must mix endurance/patience with our faith to make certain we don’t miss out on what God has promised.
Hebrews 6:16) [GNB] When we make a vow, we use the name of someone greater than ourselves, and the vow settles all arguments.
QUESTION: What have you based a promise on?
ANSWER: I promise you, in the name of God Almighty, I will do it!
James 5:12) [GNB] Above all, my friends, do not use an oath when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Say only “Yes” when you mean yes, and “No” when you mean no, and then you will not come under God’s judgment.
NOTE: God prefers that we don’t make oaths, but rather, by example, teach those around you that you are a person of your word.
Hebrews 6:17-18) [GNB] To those who were to receive what he promised, God wanted to make it very clear that he would never change his purpose; so he added his vow to the promise.
18) [GNB] There are these two things, then, that cannot change and about which God cannot lie. So we who have found safety with him are greatly encouraged to hold firmly to the hope placed before us.
QUESTION: What amazing thing do we learn here?
ANSWER: God’s Word is absolute! Therefore, we can trust it. However, we are creatures of little faith. So, to humor Abraham, or to meet him where he was, God added an oath to His promise.
Hebrews 6:19-20) [GNB] We have this hope as an anchor for our lives. It is safe and sure, and goes through the curtain of the heavenly temple into the inner sanctuary.
20) [GNB] On our behalf Jesus has gone in there before us and has become a high priest forever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:19-20) [NLT] This confidence is like a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain of heaven into God’s inner sanctuary.
20) [NLT] Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the line of Melchizedek.
QUESTION: What is this hope/confidence that we have?
ANSWER: God’s promise, and His vow to fulfill that promise, is our certain anchor that will cause us to weather the storms of life.