Hebrews 6:17-18 Because God wanted to show His unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
One of my favorite old hymns is "Standing on the Promises", it refers to the believer as being "safe and secure from all alarms". There are many things that may sound alarms if our lives, financial setbacks, health issues, the loss of loved ones or any number of other things. But we as Christians are to be see through-ers. We are to see beyond the current circumstances and hold to those promises. Today's verses give us the reasons that we are to have this hope, this confidence. But it is not a passive thing, it is something that is to be "seized" as stated in the HCSB. Other translations say "hold fast" or "lay hold of" this hope.
Why does the writer encourage us to hold on to this hope?
John Piper writes, the answer is this:
- What Christ bought for us when he died was not the freedom from having to hold fast but the enabling power to hold fast.
- What he bought was not the nullification of our wills as though we didn't have to hold fast, but the empowering of our wills because we want to hold fast.
- What he bought was not the canceling of the commandment to hold fast but the fulfillment of the commandment to hold fast.
- What he bought was not the end of exhortation, but the triumph of exhortation.
Whatever the alarm is that is sounding in your life today, God has given you the enabling power, He empowers our wills, to "grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go." The Message
Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, by the living Word of God I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God. (Refrain)Standing, standing, standing on the promises of Christ my Savior; standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord, bound to him eternally by love's strong cord, overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword, standing on the promises of God. (Refrain) Standing on the promises I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit's call, resting in my Savior as my all in all, standing on the promises of God.
Hebrews 6:17-20The Message (MSG)
God Gave His Word
13-18 When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, "I promise that I'll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!" Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they'll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can't break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.
18-20 We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.
No comments:
Post a Comment