Hebrews 6:7

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify for themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

For the earth, which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated; it receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation. Though we speak in this manner, for God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown towards His name, and that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. We desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing, I will bless you, and multiplying, I will multiply you." And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them the end of all dispute. Thus, God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath. By two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

This hope we have as an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Father, Your word is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Sometimes there are challenging and heavy passages that cut deep. And yet, Lord, we need...

Those things cause us to grow and become more fruitful in You. We pray that God, by Your Spirit, would speak to us through what is a challenging passage of Scripture, continuing to grow us to maturity. Lord, may our lives be fruitful for You. We pray that, just as You promised Jesus, You would give the Spirit of Truth to guide us in all truth and to teach us all things this morning. We ask that we would be able to make application from this passage and that our lives would grow more for Your glory. So speak to us, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

A farmer went out to plant seed, said Jesus. As the farmer was scattering the seed, some fell on a footpath by the wayside. Birds came and snatched away the seed that had been scattered there. As the farmer went along, some more of the seed fell on shallow, stony ground that had very shallow footing. The growth sprang up quickly, but because there was no depth of root, the sun came and caused all that new growth to wilt and die.

Then, some of the seed fell among thorns, among weeds. As it began to grow, the weeds and thorns choked it out, and it never became fruitful. Finally, there was some more seed that fell on ground that had been prepared and was ready. It brought forth fruit, growing up and producing fruit some thirty times that which was planted, some sixty, some a hundred times that which was planted.

This, of course, is one of the parables of Jesus, maybe the most famous of His stories. In Jesus' life and ministry, as He would go about teaching around the Sea of Galilee, He often taught in stories and illustrations. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in the sections that present all of those parables, this one always appears as the first and is one of the longer ones that Jesus shared. Most certainly, it was one of the only ones that He explained, thankfully. You see, His disciples...

His closest followers, when they heard Jesus tell this story, sensed that this first of Jesus' parables was not just about farming. Something about the way he told it and the story itself clued them in that this wasn't merely an anecdote about planting on good ground. They came to him, and the Gospel of Luke records that they said to him, "What do you mean by this story? What does it mean?" Thankfully, Jesus answered their question and began to explain it.

It's recorded in Luke's Gospel, chapter 8, verses 11 through 15. You don't have to turn there; I'll just read it. Luke 8:11 states, "Now the parable is this," Jesus said, "the seed is the Word of God. Those that are by the wayside are the ones who hear the Word of God. Then the enemy, the devil, comes like the birds and takes away the Word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

But the ones on the rock, the shallow ground, are those who, when they hear, receive the Word with joy. It instantly springs up and begins to grow. However, because there is no depth of root, they believe for a little while until the sun comes. The sun, like temptation or trials, burns it out and causes it to wilt and fall away.

Now, the ones that fell among the thorns are those who, when they hear, receive it with joy. But their growth is choked out, he says, by the cares of this world, the desires for riches, and the pleasures of this life. As a result, no fruit comes from their growth.

Finally, the ones that fell on good ground are those who, having heard the Word with a good and noble heart, receive it, keep it, and bear forth fruit. They bring forth fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, some a hundred times.

As we continue to progress through these hard passages of the book of Hebrews, we just dealt with verses 4 through 6, which we considered together last time. If you weren't here, you can find it on our website, lifeinconnection.com. We were going through a passage of Scripture that dealt with the hard truth and the difficult challenge of the issue of apostasy.

Now, as we come into verses 7 and on through chapter 6, we encounter a metaphor that is used quite often throughout the Scriptures. It is used by Jesus, by the apostles in their letters, and even by some of the prophets in the Old Testament. This metaphor serves as a word picture that the writers of Scripture employ.

Constantly, we go back to the idea of farming and fruitfulness as it relates to the Christian life, faith in God, and faithfulness to God. This illustration, this word picture, is used quite a bit. Jesus used it in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 8. It's also seen in Matthew, chapter 13, and in Mark's Gospel as well. Jesus returned to this teaching frequently. Farming and fruitfulness are related to our Christian life and our faith in God.

The author of the book of Hebrews has dealt with that hard truth, that hard teaching, which cautions against apostasy—rejecting your faith in God and turning away from it. Now, he moves immediately into the same illustration, dealing with fruitfulness. In verses 7 and 8 of Hebrews chapter 6, he says, "For the earth which drinks in the rain..." We couldn't have a better illustration for us today on a rainy day here in San Diego County. The earth, which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, bears herbs useful for those by whom the earth is cultivated. It receives a blessing from God. I think we all acknowledge that rain is a blessing from God. Amen? It's a wonderful thing, and we most certainly need it.

Even though we've had a really rainy season, I'm sure your yard, my yard, everything quickly started to turn brown. The hills are quickly starting to turn brown as well. So, it's a wonderful thing to see the rain come back again, although it's a little bit cold. I've been freezing! For those of you who are not from around here, you might think this is not rain and this is not cold. I know. But for us who grew up here, this is like breaking out the fleece jacket and bundling up because it's cold. I mean, half the church stayed home to bundle up today because this is like storm watch May 2017, right? They are going to be out there in full force.

But the rain that comes upon the earth is a blessing. God causes the rain to come and waters the earth to bring forth, to produce. However, as I think we all recognize, among the good things that are watered when the rain comes, there are some things that we would rather not be watered. Look at verse 8: "But if it, the earth, brings forth thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned." I'm sure that some of you, like me, have been cursing some growth in your yard. In my backyard, the last third is kind of a bank that goes down. You know, in the middle of last year, I got it all prepped and just dirt only. I had plans...

You always have plans for what you're going to do there, but of course, I didn't quite get to it. By January of this year, there was some little green growth, some little weeds. By the beginning of March, it was waist high. I was cursing the ground, cursing the weeds and the thorns. I was out there trying to pull some of them. Finally, I just went to Home Depot and got something to burn it all—some good chemicals to eliminate it, and now it's gone.

However, there's that part where the water comes as a blessing from God. It waters everything. That which is cultivated and planted and ready produces good things. But in some other areas, we have thorns, briars, and weeds that come up—those things that are rejected and really not useful. So, they are cursed; they are to be burned.

This illustration is one we come back to quite a bit in the Scriptures. Jesus gives it, and the apostles in their letters refer to it as well. We see this metaphor used frequently to describe the Christian life, particularly with the picture of farming and fruitfulness. In several places in the Bible where this imagery is used, God is often seen as the tender of the garden, the keeper of the garden, the farmer. He is the one who graciously pours out water upon it.

In another passage of Scripture where a similar illustration is used, Jesus speaks of God as the keeper of the vineyard in John's Gospel, specifically in John chapter 15. You could turn there if you'd like. It's just to the left in your Bibles. Turn past Hebrews, and you'll go through Corinthians, Romans, and Acts, and then you'll come to the Gospel of John—John chapter 15.

Jesus begins here with one of what are called the "I am" statements. The Gospel of John is built around seven statements that Jesus made, beginning with the words "I am." You see it right there in verse one of John chapter 15: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser." He is the keeper of this vineyard.

Every branch that is in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes so that it may bear more fruit. Clearly, in a number of these passages, God is interested in fruitfulness—in the life of the branches and in the growth of that which is planted. We, you and I, are the branches. We are the planting of the Lord, and God wants to see fruit come in our lives.

Here, Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches, while God the Father is the vine dresser. He comes into His vineyard and looks for fruit. That is what He longs for: fruitfulness. Where there is no fruitfulness, He prunes the branches so that they may bear more fruit. Jesus says, "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you."

Abide in Me. Stay plugged in as a branch into the vine. Abide in Me, and I in you. The branch cannot bear fruit of itself. You cannot produce fruit on your own. You need to be plugged into Jesus, into the vine, as we are told in this passage. So, abide in Me, because you cannot bear fruit by yourself. Unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me.

In verse five, Jesus states, "I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for without Me, you can do nothing." This is a really important truth for all of us to meditate upon and remember. Without the Lord, we can do nothing—not just a few somethings, but nothing. Apart from Him, we can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in Me, note this: he is cast out as a branch, and it withers. They gather them up, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. These are striking words. Once again, we come back to this idea. We find it in Hebrews chapter six, as well as in John chapter fifteen and a number of other places. Where there is no fruit, the vine dresser, the keeper of the garden, surveys what is planted. Where there is no fruit, he lovingly, carefully, and wonderfully prunes it, tends to it, waters it, and fertilizes it to promote growth and fruitfulness.

However, where there is no fruitfulness, he takes it away, and it is burned. We have this idea connected with the apostasy passage we considered previously in verses four through six. Apostasy leads to unfruitfulness, and this unfruitfulness leads to a place of judgment. That which is unfruitful is cut off and cast into the fire.

Point number one on your outline: Don't be burned by unfruitfulness. It's challenging. It's a heavy truth, and it's even a hard point for us to sometimes struggle with.

To stand under the weight of it, do not be burned by unfruitfulness. This picture of unfruitfulness being dealt with and burned is throughout the Scriptures. Every time we come to it, we should key in on it and take careful note of what is being said. Even though, just like you, I don't like cautions and warnings, I prefer passages of Scripture that are encouraging and happy. But it's a rainy day, so let's get right into the cautions and warnings.

This same idea of an unfruitful vineyard or field being dealt with in this way is not only found in the New Testament; we also see it in the Old Testament. One really clear section of Scripture is in the book of Isaiah. You can turn there if you'd like. It's right about the middle of your Bible. You'll find the Psalms, and if you go to the Psalms and turn to the right, you'll pass Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, and then you'll come to the book of Isaiah. It's a big book; you can't miss it.

In Isaiah chapter five, God is speaking through a prophet who lived 2,700 years ago. I'm sure you can tell by the name of the book that his name was Isaiah. Isaiah is picturing the same thing that we find in the Gospel of Luke, chapter eight, where we looked at the planting of the Lord passage, or in the Gospel of John, chapter 15, or here in Hebrews chapter six.

Isaiah chapter five, verse one states, "Now let me sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved regarding his vineyard." Isaiah is giving this song about his well-beloved God and God's vineyard. So here is Isaiah's song about the vineyard of the Lord: My well-beloved God has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He, God, dug it and cleared out all the stones, preparing the land. He planted it with the choicest vine. He went out and found the best vines for his vineyard to plant in this vineyard that he purchased, procured, and readied.

Now he is planting it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in the midst of this vineyard for its protection. He also made a wine press there, so he is going to be gleaning the grapes. From those grapes that he takes in, he is going to press them into wine. He put a wine press in it, so he expected it to bring forth good grapes. Here, God, the vine dresser and vineyard owner, purchases this land and makes it ready. He removes all the stones and weeds, creating the perfect land on this hillside for this great vineyard. He wants it to be a beautiful and choice vineyard.

Best vines are planted, and a hedge of protection is placed around them. It’s all ready, equipped with every possible blessing it could ever have. This is not just ground out there in the hills that no one has ever cultivated; this is the perfect land for this purpose. The owner sought it out, expecting it would bring forth good fruit, good grapes. However, at the end of verse two, it brought forth wild grapes. Despite having every possible blessing, it produced pitiful grapes—sour grapes that are not useful.

In verse three, the Lord speaks: "Oh, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge please between me and my vineyard." God asks for a judgment call between Himself and His vineyard. He questions, "What more could have been done to my vineyard than I have done to it? Is there some more blessing that I could have brought upon it? Did I do something wrong in the midst of this? What more could have been done? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?"

God continues to explain what He will do to His vineyard. Since it brought forth these wild grapes, He declares, "Here’s what I’m going to do. Even though I previously blessed it and poured out everything possible upon it to make it the perfect vineyard, I will take away its hedge." In the middle of verse five, He states, "It shall be burned." He will remove the hedge of protection surrounding this vineyard, and it will be burned. He will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. He will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or dug, and briars and thorns will come up. He will also command the clouds not to rain upon it, effectively removing His blessing from it.

Now, is Isaiah and God just speaking about an actual, real vineyard? In verse seven, we find the answer: "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, His own people, and the men of Judah, His pleasant plant." God says, "I procured a choice vine. I selected you, redeemed this land, prepared it, and placed you there in this promised land. I poured out blessings upon you and put a hedge of protection around you."

Yet, the outcome of their lives is that the same people—Judah and Jerusalem—walked away from God. They forsook Him and began to worship and bow down to idols. The book of Isaiah is all about how these people, redeemed by God and planted in a good land with blessings poured out upon them in abundance, turned away from Him.

How they turned and walked away from God. Then God says, "Well, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to step back, and I'm going to remove my protection, and I'm going to allow judgment to come in upon you." These are sobering words. They are heavy things that we come across in the Scriptures, in Isaiah 5, John 15, and Hebrews chapter 6. They remind us and challenge us with this point: Don't be burned by unfruitfulness.

God is the one who has redeemed you and me, and He has planted us in this land of blessing, in this place under His blessing. He is looking for and desiring fruit from our lives. Where there is no fruit, He lovingly cares for us and tends to us. The Scriptures say in John 15 that He comes in and prunes the unfruitful branch. In another one of Jesus's statements, He tells a story about a fig tree that is unfruitful and how the master of this land is going to come and uproot the fig tree. However, the one he had hired to oversee the tending of the land says, "Let me have just one more season. I'm going to plow a trench around it, put fertilizer there, and we'll water it to see if we can't get some fruit out of this fig tree."

God is always graciously and mercifully tending to my life and your life to see fruit come in our lives. He doesn't just quickly come in and say, "Cut that thing down, throw it in the chipper." He wants to see fruit come from our lives. But where there is no fruit, after He continues to look for it, He cautions us with these challenging passages of Scripture that deal with judgment and the burning that comes through. These are sobering metaphors, and yet they are present in the Scriptures, even though we would rather they not be. We cannot overlook them; we cannot just quickly run over them. We have to look at them carefully and take care to understand them.

In light of such warnings, what should we do? Well, point number two on your outline: I think they should challenge us to make your call and election sure. Back to the book of Hebrews chapter 6, look at verses nine and ten. The author of the book of Hebrews says, "But beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you."

Yes, things that accompany salvation. Though we speak in this manner, God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, which you have shown toward His name, and that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. Now we need to make our call and election sure. We need to make it sure to us and make it sure to others that God has called us and has set us apart. He has elected us.

Even in the midst of these challenging cautions, Hebrews chapter six, verses four through eight, that we've been looking at, the author of the book of Hebrews, whom I think was Timothy, encourages his readers. He says, "Listen, I realize that I'm giving you some really heavy, strong warnings." Hebrews chapters three, four, and six contain very hard-to-bear passages with cautions and warnings. I understand that I'm putting this on you, but I want you to know that we see in you fruitfulness. We see good things in your lives, the things that accompany salvation. Not only do we see these good things in your life, but God sees them as well. What an encouragement to know that God sees the good fruit in our lives.

Hebrews chapter six, verse 10 states, "For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, which you have shown toward His name, and that you have ministered to the saints and do minister." God sees our service; He takes careful note of it. We see the fruitfulness in people's lives. The author of the book of Hebrews is saying, "I want to encourage you. We see great fruit in your lives." Even though I'm giving you these warnings, cautions, and heavy passages to bear, I want you to understand that we still see great things in your lives.

In verse 11, Hebrews chapter six says, "We desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end." Listen, we see the fruit now, but we want to continue to see that fruit. That's why He gives these challenges. We see the way you serve, the way you love, and the expressions of your faith as you trust in God and follow Him. We see fruit in your lives, but we want you to show the same kind of diligence, the same full assurance of the hope that you have of eternity in heaven. We want you to show that same full assurance of hope until the very end.

Because apparently, the end just hasn't happened yet. We're not there yet. Maybe it might be just around the corner, but we're still here. So it's not over. And so God says, "I want to see you continue."

To press on and move forward with full assurance of faith until the end, we must do well to keep doing well. Keep pressing on. As the author of the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul says in Galatians chapter six, "Do not grow weary in doing the right thing. Don't grow weary in doing good, for in due season, you shall reap a harvest if you don't faint."

How many of you have ever planted some sort of vegetables or fruit, perhaps in a garden? Any of you planters in here? A few of you? I'm really good at killing things, but I've had a gardener too, and some of them actually produce some stuff. However, it takes work and time.

When I was about 14 years old, I decided to get a job. I went down the street from my parents' house to a farm stand. I approached them and said, "I'd like a job." They said, "Okay, we'll hire you." They explained that there was about an acre and a half of land right behind the farm stand that they wanted me to farm. I replied, "I don't know anything about farming." They reassured me, "Don't worry. We'll teach you."

So, they had me out there weeding, getting everything ready, digging trenches, planting, and setting up irrigation for about four to six months. That was my work through the spring and summer when I was 14 years old. I can tell you, it's hard work. I have a lot of respect for people who do that for a living. I was just trying to make a little bit of money on the side.

You plant all those things, and then you have to wait. You have to wait and wait, while also weeding and watering. Then, you see some sprouts come up, and you get really excited. But then, you know what you have? More weeding, watering, and waiting. Yet, there is the joy of the harvest when something actually starts to come, and the joy that all that work was not in vain.

So, Paul says, "Do not grow weary in that day-to-day weeding, watering, and waiting." Let me tell you, for some of you who may not realize this, the Christian life involves a lot of weeding, watering, and waiting. Perhaps you've been in a season of weeding, watering, and waiting. In the midst of that, there's the temptation to say, "This is not worth the $4.25 an hour that I'm getting paid for the weeding and the watering." That was my pay rate at the time. To a 14-year-old, that was a lot, but still, there comes a point.

At times, you may feel uncertain about whether you want to continue weeding, watering, and waiting. Paul reminds us not to grow weary in doing good, for in due season, we shall reap if we do not lose heart. So, what does that weeding, watering, and waiting look like in the Christian life? In my life and your life as followers of Jesus, we are seeking to make our call and election sure, as point number two suggests.

When I mention making your call and election sure, some of you might recognize that phrase because it is found in the Bible. Specifically, it is in the book of Second Timothy. If you are in Hebrews, just turn to the right a few pages, and you will arrive at the book of Second Peter, chapter one.

Beginning at verse five, Peter says, "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence," speaking to Christians, "add to your faith." Here is the weeding, the watering, and the waiting: add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness. We should be building these qualities in our lives. To godliness, add brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love.

Why should we keep weeding, watering, and waiting? Verse eight states that if these things are yours and they abound, you will neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who lacks these qualities is short-sighted; he does not see the big picture or the long game. He is even blind and has forgotten that we were cleansed from our old sins.

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure. If you do these things, you will never stumble, for an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

What is the long game? What perspective should we maintain to avoid being short-sighted? The long game is eternity and the blessing and wonder of eternity with God. That is the vision we need to have, but it is so easy to become short-sighted, to grow weary in doing good, and to simply give up. The people to whom the author of this book was writing...

They are in that place of weariness and ready to give up. They are ready to just throw in the towel and give up on this whole Jesus thing. The author of the book of Hebrews says, "No, no, don't do that." We desire that each one of you would show the same diligence, the full assurance of hope until the end, that you would not become sluggish. In verse 12 of Hebrews chapter 6, it says, "Don't become lazy, but instead imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." Be an imitator of those who, through faith and patience, receive this great blessing of promise.

Point number three on your outline: Faith toward God produces confident hope for eternity. Faith toward God, trusting in God, produces in us a confident hope for eternity, leading to patient perseverance here and now. I know there's a lot there, but I think it's a really important truth. My trust, your trust in God will give to you and give to me a confident hope for eternity with God. That confident hope is the very thing that should lead us, or will lead us, to a patient perseverance here and now.

Now, by this time, as we are going through Hebrews chapter 3, Hebrews chapter 4, and Hebrews chapter 6, the apostasy passages, the warning passages, and these hard things in the book of Hebrews, I could not fault you for beginning to think, "Well, it seems like the author of the book of Hebrews, it seems like you, Pastor Miles, are saying that my salvation, my hope of eternity, is dependent upon my works. I was saved by grace, but now I'm sustained by my works." That's what it seems like you are saying here in this passage.

This is the objection that some who would follow the Calvinistic teaching on a passage like this might bring. Therefore, we have to have an answer to that objection. Notice that the author of the book of Hebrews, in the last words of verse 12 of Hebrews chapter 6, says to imitate those who, through faith and patience...

inherit the promises. As we get into verse 13, the author gives us an illustration of someone who, through faith and patience, inherited the promise. Who was that? Look at Hebrews chapter 6, verse 13. For when God made a promise to Abraham, it is the normal method of the author of the book of Hebrews to refer back to Jewish teachings, traditions, and history, especially since he is writing to a group of Christians who came out of Judaism.

In verse 13, he says, "For when God made a promise to Abraham," who is mentioned at the very beginning of the Bible, specifically in Genesis chapter 12 and onward. Abraham is the father of the Jewish faith and the Jewish nation, but he is also the father of all who believe in God. The verse continues, "because God could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself."

When someone makes a promise, they often say, "I promise to do this." To emphasize their commitment, they might swear on something significant. In Hebrews chapter 6, we see that when making an oath, one must swear by something greater than oneself. In the time of Jesus, people would swear by the temple, saying, "I swear on the temple, I will keep my word." This would elicit a reaction, as swearing on the temple was considered a serious commitment. However, if someone broke their word, they might then swear by something even greater, like the gold of the temple, which seemed to carry more weight.

Verse 16 states, "For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them the end of all dispute." If someone swears by something greater, it lends credibility to their promise. But here lies the problem: if God is going to make an oath and swear by something, what does He swear by? Since God could swear by nothing greater, He swore by Himself.

So, God tells Abraham, "Listen, I'm going to make a promise to you. How do I know that you're going to keep this promise? I swear by myself, Abraham, that I will do this." God, who is revealed in the Bible as immutable and unchangeable, does not change. If He says He is going to do something, He is going to do it.

To do that, he never changes. He says, "I swear by myself," in verse 13, or verse 14, saying, "Surely, blessing, I will bless you, Abraham; multiplying, I will multiply you." After Abraham had patiently endured, he obtained the promise, as noted in verse 15.

There is an interesting dynamic at play here. God promised by Himself that He would fulfill His promise. However, Abraham inherited the promise only after he patiently endured. So, did he receive the promise because God promised it, or did he receive the promise because he patiently endured? Yes. It may seem like double speak, but it is both.

For men, indeed, as stated in verse 16, they swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute. Thus, God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the unchangeability, the immutability of His counsel and His word, confirmed it by an oath. By two immutable things—His oath and His promise—in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

Abraham, God says, "You come follow me. You trust in me, you follow me, and I am going to bless you." Abraham was 75 years old, had no children, and his wife, Sarai (later named Sarah), was ten years younger and barren. God promised, "You come follow me, and I’m going to bless you. I’m going to make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. You’re going to have descendants as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore."

Abraham responded, "Okay, well, how do I know?" God replied, "I swear by myself that I’m going to do it." Abraham found that sufficient, so he followed Him by faith.

Twenty-five years passed, and the promise was not yet fulfilled. Yet, Abraham patiently endured and continued to follow, trusting God through all that time because God had made a promise. His hope was built on the promise of God, not merely on his perseverance in continuing to follow. He followed because God had promised.

Made that promise, and he trusted. You made that promise. You're unchangeable. You will fulfill that promise, even though in the moment it doesn't look like it's quite possible. Because, you know, I'm 99, and my wife, she's 89. I think she's a little beyond those years of childbearing. Could you imagine having a baby at 90, ladies? Wow. That's faith.

So, no wonder he's called the father of faith. What was it that motivated Abraham to persist in his trust of God? It was the fact that God had made a promise, that God had sworn an oath. By swearing on His unchanging, immutable nature, Abraham said, "I'm going to trust you because you said you'll do it. I'm going to continue to follow you."

Now, don't misunderstand. During that time of Abraham following God, he still fell into sin. If you read through the book of Genesis, chapters 12 through about 30, you'll find that Abraham messed up. But he persisted in trusting in God and ultimately obtained the promise. We'll talk more about Abraham in Hebrews chapter 11 because he's listed in what we sometimes refer to as the hall of faith. He trusted, even when it seemed impossible that God's word would come to pass. But he trusted, "God, you said it. You're unchangeable. You swore that you would do it. So I'm going to persist in following you."

Point number four: God's unchanging oath and promise are the basis for our confidence and hope. This is so important, church. God's unchanging oath and promise are the basis for our confidence and hope. My hope is not built on my perseverance. My perseverance is built upon my hope. My hope's not built in my perseverance that if I just keep persevering, if I keep following, then I'm going to get the promise in the end. No, my perseverance—I'm going to keep following. I'm going to keep pressing on because I have hope because He promised it.

This is why Abraham persisted. This is why he persevered. Because God, who does not change, swore an oath and a promise and said, "I will do this." And Abraham said, "Well, you said you'll do it. So I'm going to keep following because you'll do it," even though it seems impossible. Then, at 90 years old, Sarah conceived and bore a child to Abraham, who was 100. And God made good on His promise.

God's unchanging oath and promise are the basis for our confidence and hope. Look at Hebrews chapter 6, verse 19. This hope, along with God's promise and God's oath, comes from the unchanging God who has promised to you and to me. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we will have salvation in Jesus Christ as we trust in Him. This hope we have is an anchor for our soul, both sure and steadfast, which enters the presence behind the veil where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

What is the author saying here? He said, "Listen, Jesus died on the cross for you and for me. God gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes and trusts in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." Even though some may say that sounds far out or seems too good to be true, the unchanging, immutable creator of all things swore an oath and gave a promise to you and to me. If we trust in Jesus and His death on our behalf there on the cross, He will give us salvation.

Therefore, the author of the book of Hebrews says, "Don't turn away from that. Persist in following and have that sure hope." We have an anchor for our soul. This hope is that anchor for our souls. It's anchored to Jesus and the finished work that Jesus accomplished on the cross. My salvation does not depend on how well I persevere; rather, I persevere because I hope in the salvation that Jesus earned for me and for you on the cross.

Point number five: our confident hope of salvation in Jesus will produce the fruit of faithfulness to Jesus. The extent to which you are faithful and persevere as a follower of Jesus is the extent to which you have hope in His salvation. Do you have a sure and steadfast hope? Do you have a hope that is the anchor of your soul, anchored to Jesus and Him alone? Or do you have the kind of hope that I've heard from...

A number of people over the years have faced a heavy question: "Hey, listen, if you died tonight, do you think you'd go to heaven?" They often look at me with a little bit of despair on their faces and respond, "Well, I hope so."

How about you? Do you have that hope? I have an absolute certainty that I will be with God in eternity in heaven. Why? Because Jesus, who died on the cross for my sins, told me that if I trust in Him, He will give me that salvation. So, when I ask someone, "If you died tonight, would you go to heaven?" and they say, "I hope so," I follow up with, "What's the basis of your hope?" They often reply, "Well, I'm a pretty good person."

Listen, if you're basing your hope on being a pretty good person, you have every reason to question that hope. But if the basis of your hope is the sure rock of our salvation, Jesus Christ the Righteous, you can stand with total confidence that you will be with Him in the end because He promised it and swore an oath to you. That's good news! Amen?

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer?

Jesus, we come before You today, the author and finisher of our faith, the high priest after the order of Melchizedek, which we'll delve into to understand a little bit more in the coming weeks. But Jesus, I thank You that You offered the sacrifice once for all. We don't need to perpetually try to muster up some new sacrifice to cover all of our failures. We all fail all the time. Yet, Jesus, what You did is sufficient. It's enough to give us steadfast and enduring hope, an absolute certainty that we will be with You—not wishful thinking, but certainty.

We thank You, Jesus. As we stand here now, maybe you don't have that absolute certainty. You hope that you'll get there, but you kind of hope to get to heaven like you hope to win the lottery, knowing that the odds are stacked against you. But if you want the absolute certainty, the hope that Jesus alone gives, I want to give you a chance to put your trust in Him today and to have that hope as an anchor for your soul. If that's you...

Today, would you lift up your hand high so I can see it? Anyone here? I see you in the back. God bless you. Anyone else? Do you want to receive that hope for salvation from Christ? Just lift up your hand.

Jesus said, "Whosoever comes to me, I will give him the opportunity to drink of living water." All you have to do is come and put your trust in Him. Ask Him to come into your life and to forgive you of your sin.

If that's you, I want to lead you in a prayer just where you're at. Pray out loud with me.

Dear Jesus, I know that I need You. I cannot save myself, but I trust that You died to save me. I pray that You would come into my life, that You would forgive me of my sin, and that You'd help me to follow You by faith. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.