It is impossible for God to lie about these two things- Heb 6
We are continuing our Epiphany sermon series where we are dealing with questions that have been submitted by our congregation. Today’s question is:
“In Hebrews 6 there’s a verse about it being ‘impossible’ for God to lie about ‘these two things’- and I’m not sure- what are these ‘two things’?”We heard this part of Hebrews read today for us. We are looking specifically at Hebrews 6:17-18. The New International Version (NIV) says,
“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. 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.”
We want to know what these two unchangeable things are.
It might be helpful to start by saying something about the letter to the Hebrews, in general. … We don’t know who the author of this letter is. They seem to be a skilled preacher and interpreter of Scripture. The author says that they heard the Gospel from those who heard Jesus (2:3), so the author is a second-generation believer, and has very good Greek.
The letter was probably written between 50 and 70 AD. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD and it would be incredibly strange for the author to not include that event, given the kinds of things the author is speaking about in the letter. In our reading from John, Jesus is symbolically destroying the Temple, and he will replace the temple as the place where sin is dealt with and at the place where human beings come to meet with God. This is very much in line with what we read in Hebrews, and we would think that the destruction of the Temple would be a very prominent theme if this was written after that destruction. So, this letter is likely written within 20-40 years of the death and resurrection of Jesus, by someone who knew the original disciples of Jesus.
It seems to have been written to Jewish believers in Jesus (as the Messiah). They have a thorough understanding of the Old Testament. The name of the letter tells us that it was written to people who are of Hebrew ancestry. It is assumed that they are very familiar with the stories about Abraham, the creation of the nation of Israel, the covenant with Moses on Mt. Sinai, the wandering in the wilderness, and the priestly sacrifices in the temple. … This group seems to have been distancing themselves from the broader Christian community. They have been enduring suffering and persecution, and seem to be doubting whether Jesus really dealt with sin. So, they may have been considering walking away from the way of Christ.
The letter is written to encourage this community that God has spoken his ultimate and final word in His Son, Jesus. To abandon the Son, is to walk away from God. The author wants to show that Christ is superior to all that came before and to encourage them to remain faithful. … The letter shows how Jesus is superior to all the previous ways that God has revealed Himself- superior to the angels who delivered the Law to Moses on Sinai; superior to Moses who built the tabernacle in the wilderness; Superior to the priests and sacrificial system that offered sacrifices to deal with the sins of the people.
The author also highlights a number of faith heroes, or examples of faithfulness, found in Scripture- These are people who trusted in God. Abraham, for example, trusted in God’s promise that he would have a Son with Sarah, even though he had to wait many years for that promise to be fulfilled. Likewise, the readers are then encouraged to remain faithful to Jesus even though they are dealing with hardships, and the promise isn’t being fulfilled as soon as they hoped. … The message is, God's people can have full confidence in God's son, the perfect high priest, who gives all people access to God. …
So that is an overview of what is happening in the letter to the Hebrews. And now we want to Zoom in on the section that is connected to the question we are dealing with.
The section we are looking at is speaking about God’s trustworthy promises in light of Jesus as the greatest high priest. The author references Psalm 110 to talk about this, especially the mention of Melchizedek. … Melchizedek is a mysterious figure from Genesis 14. He is both king of Salem (Future Jeru-salem) and priest of God, who brings out bread and wine to Abraham and blesses him (Gen 14:17-24). … Psalm 110:4 is seen in reference to the Messiah, and says,
It might be helpful to start by saying something about the letter to the Hebrews, in general. … We don’t know who the author of this letter is. They seem to be a skilled preacher and interpreter of Scripture. The author says that they heard the Gospel from those who heard Jesus (2:3), so the author is a second-generation believer, and has very good Greek.
The letter was probably written between 50 and 70 AD. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD and it would be incredibly strange for the author to not include that event, given the kinds of things the author is speaking about in the letter. In our reading from John, Jesus is symbolically destroying the Temple, and he will replace the temple as the place where sin is dealt with and at the place where human beings come to meet with God. This is very much in line with what we read in Hebrews, and we would think that the destruction of the Temple would be a very prominent theme if this was written after that destruction. So, this letter is likely written within 20-40 years of the death and resurrection of Jesus, by someone who knew the original disciples of Jesus.
It seems to have been written to Jewish believers in Jesus (as the Messiah). They have a thorough understanding of the Old Testament. The name of the letter tells us that it was written to people who are of Hebrew ancestry. It is assumed that they are very familiar with the stories about Abraham, the creation of the nation of Israel, the covenant with Moses on Mt. Sinai, the wandering in the wilderness, and the priestly sacrifices in the temple. … This group seems to have been distancing themselves from the broader Christian community. They have been enduring suffering and persecution, and seem to be doubting whether Jesus really dealt with sin. So, they may have been considering walking away from the way of Christ.
The letter is written to encourage this community that God has spoken his ultimate and final word in His Son, Jesus. To abandon the Son, is to walk away from God. The author wants to show that Christ is superior to all that came before and to encourage them to remain faithful. … The letter shows how Jesus is superior to all the previous ways that God has revealed Himself- superior to the angels who delivered the Law to Moses on Sinai; superior to Moses who built the tabernacle in the wilderness; Superior to the priests and sacrificial system that offered sacrifices to deal with the sins of the people.
The author also highlights a number of faith heroes, or examples of faithfulness, found in Scripture- These are people who trusted in God. Abraham, for example, trusted in God’s promise that he would have a Son with Sarah, even though he had to wait many years for that promise to be fulfilled. Likewise, the readers are then encouraged to remain faithful to Jesus even though they are dealing with hardships, and the promise isn’t being fulfilled as soon as they hoped. … The message is, God's people can have full confidence in God's son, the perfect high priest, who gives all people access to God. …
So that is an overview of what is happening in the letter to the Hebrews. And now we want to Zoom in on the section that is connected to the question we are dealing with.
The section we are looking at is speaking about God’s trustworthy promises in light of Jesus as the greatest high priest. The author references Psalm 110 to talk about this, especially the mention of Melchizedek. … Melchizedek is a mysterious figure from Genesis 14. He is both king of Salem (Future Jeru-salem) and priest of God, who brings out bread and wine to Abraham and blesses him (Gen 14:17-24). … Psalm 110:4 is seen in reference to the Messiah, and says,
“The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek.’”
God’s promise about the messiah’s priesthood (Psalm 110:4), is confirmed by his sworn oath in the same verse, which makes his promise absolutely guaranteed. (So, not only does God say it, but God also swears it). … Jesus’ priesthood is explained to be of a higher order- that of the order of Melchizedek, who was a king and priest. …
It is probably worth saying something about this reference to swearing an oath. This is a different order of speech. I can make a passing comment that I’ll come by and shovel your sidewalk when it shows, and if something comes up and I don’t do it you might be a bit annoyed at me, but it is probably not a big deal. But, if I swear an oath that I’m coming to shovel your sidewalk when it snows, in a sense, I’m signing on the doted line. It’s something you could bring me to court over. My trustworthiness is on the line, and there are consequences if I fail to keep my word. … Our Hebrews reading is saying that God swore an oath (Gen 22:16; Ps 110:4)- God made this higher level of speech where people are held accountable for their words. God’s trustworthiness is on the line regarding this oath. …
So, God swears an oath that He wants to be clear to those who would inherit the promise. The readers are among those who inherit this promise. … A promise was given to Abraham, which was conformed by an oath, which said that he would eventually have a son who would become a nation, and this came to be (Gen 22:16-17). We read God say there,
“By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, … I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars …”… The author of Hebrews sees this as being the same kind of promise and oath given to the Christian community regarding the high priesthood of Christ in Psalm 110:4 where we read,
“The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek.’” (see Heb 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:17, 21, 28).What does Jesus do as a priest of the order of Melchizedek? This is the promise of the New Covenant, where Christ is the inheritor of all things, Where God speaks to his people through His Son (1:2), and he has achieved redemption and purification (1:3) for his people through his own blood. …
So, this is the answer to the question that was asked today. … There is the promise, and there is the oath that conforms the promise in this higher order of speech. The promise and the oath are both unchangeable and irrevocable. For God to break the promise or the oath would be for God to be a liar, which is impossible. The promise and the oath are in reference to the high priesthood of Christ in the order of Melchizedek.
The passage goes on to talk about hope. Our hope is synonymous with God’s promise regarding what we have been given and will be given through the redemptive act of Christ. This hope is an anchor of the soul. An anchor gives stability to a ship- it holds it in place and keeps the ship from being smashed against the rocks. Our hope is in Jesus, our high priest. … The earthly high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies (behind the curtain) in the Temple once per year. The Holy of Holies was considered to be the holiest place on earth. Jesus, our high priest, has entered into the heavenly Holy of Holies on our behalf, and is in the direct presence of God and he is our anchor.
So, imagine everyone who believes in Jesus has a rope that they are holding onto, and those ropes lead all the way into the heavenly Holy of Holies and are tied around Jesus, who is our anchor. He anchors us to the presence of God. And he will even lead us into that most holy Presence. … We might be in the midst of a storm, but if we hang onto that rope we will not be smashed against the rocks. … How do we know the anchor will hold? God has sworn by an oath that Jesus is our High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. According to the author of the letter to the Hebrews, for Jesus to not be a trustworthy anchor would mean God is a liar. So, either Jesus is able to anchor us to God in the storms of our life, or God is a liar, which is impossible.
What the author of the Hebrews would want us to walk away with is a strong sense that God is trustworthy. Christ anchors us to God. Keep holding onto that rope, no matter what storm you’re facing. … There were times when our ancestors in the faith failed to trust God in the wilderness after being rescued from slavery. They grumbled, even wanting to return to Egypt. Let’s not be like them. … At times, we may be impatient for the promises to be fulfilled. But God is not a liar. God will do what He says. AMEN
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