Anchor your hope in God's unchanging purpose!
Hebrews 6:13-20 (NIV)
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, 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, we who have fled to take hold of the hope 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, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Canons of Dordt
Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election
Articles 1-10
Article 11: Election Is Unchangeable
Just as God is most wise, unchangeable, all-knowing, and almighty,
so the election made by him can neither be suspended nor altered, revoked, or annulled;
neither can God’s chosen ones be cast off, nor their number reduced.
Summary
Although it's fallen out of fashion, there was once a day in which if you really wanted to add weight to a commitment or add credibility to a claim, you might throw in the phrase on my honor! The value of this phrase, of course, would depend upon the value of your honor. If you'd lived a life of morals and integrity, then people would be encouraged to accept the proposal you were offering, but if you had a shady past, your honor wouldn't be worth much.
In other words, past performance is often an accurate predictor of future results. But it's not a guarantee. As an honorable person, you might make a promise with the best of intentions, but be kept from fulfilling it by forces outside of your control. Even though you desperately want to act in accordance with past behavior, you can't.
God can certainly point to His past performance as an accurate predictor of future results. But unlike anyone else, God can guarantee the future results He promises because they're based on the unchanging nature of His purpose. His purpose, just like God Himself, exists outside of time, so its very nature is nonnegotiable (literally: impossible to change its stand - it can't be knocked down!).
As if the unchanging nature of God's purpose wasn't enough, our passage today throws in another unchangeable attribute of God: It is impossible for God to lie (literally: God does not have the power/ability to lie).
Dig Deeper
The author to the Hebrews understands the practical significance of God's unchanging nature. We have this hope, he writes, as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Maybe you might find it difficult to trust in God's promises because you live in such a tumultuous world, and every day you feel slammed by monstrous waves of change and hurt by people who didn't keep their promises.
But notice what this hope you are promised by God is anchored in! It's not just loosely tied to a future result that may or may not come to fruition. No, it's solidly rooted in the accomplished work of Christ, who has already become your high priest forever (remember, a priest is one who represents people to God).
Over two centuries ago, Edward Mote captured this concept poetically in verses that we still sing today:
When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, his covenant, his blood
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who can not lie or change;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will be encouraged as you take hold of this hope set before you;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Hebrews 6
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