HEBREWS 6:13–20 — WHY CAN WE BE CERTAIN OF GOD'S PROMISES?
God's promises are trustworthy because God cannot lie, and our hope is secure because Jesus has gone before us.
Introduction: From Warning to Encouragement
In Hebrews 6:4–8, the writer gives one of the New Testament's strongest warnings about abandoning faith in Christ.
But he does not leave his readers discouraged.
In verses 9–12, he expresses confidence that they will continue faithfully. He urges them to imitate those who inherit God's promises through faith and patience.
Then, beginning in verse 13, he explains why Christians can have confidence in those promises.
He takes us back to Abraham.
Why Abraham?
Because Abraham's experience demonstrates that God's promises can be trusted even when their fulfillment requires patient waiting.
The writer then leads us from Abraham to something even greater: Jesus Christ, our High Priest, who has entered God's presence on our behalf.
Let's follow his argument carefully.
1. God Made a Promise to Abraham — Hebrews 6:13–14
The writer says:
Hebrews 6:13–14 (KJV)
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
The writer takes us back to Genesis 22:15–18.
After Abraham demonstrated his willingness to obey God, even when commanded to offer Isaac, God reaffirmed His promise and confirmed it with an oath.
God promised to bless Abraham, multiply his descendants, and bring blessing to the nations through his offspring.
But notice something unusual.
God swore by Himself.
Why?
Because there was no greater authority by whom He could swear.
When human beings take an oath, they appeal to an authority greater than themselves.
But God is the highest authority.
His own character guarantees the truthfulness of His promise.
God does not need someone greater to guarantee His word.
There is no one greater.
What does this teach us?
God's promises do not depend upon the reliability of human beings.
They rest upon God's own character.
When God makes a promise, He can be trusted to keep it.
2. Abraham Waited Patiently — Hebrews 6:15
The writer continues:
Hebrews 6:15
And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Abraham's experience teaches us something important about faith.
Faith does not mean that God's promises will be fulfilled immediately.
God first promised Abraham descendants when Abraham and Sarah were already advanced in age.
Years passed before Isaac was born.
Later, God reaffirmed His promise with an oath after the events recorded in Genesis 22.
Abraham's life was marked by waiting, difficulties, and occasions when his faith was tested.
Yet God remained faithful.
We should also notice that Abraham did not live to see every aspect of God's promise fulfilled.
Hebrews 11:13 explains that the faithful people described there died without receiving the complete fulfillment of the promises, although they saw them from a distance and welcomed them.
Therefore, Hebrews 6:15 should not be understood as saying Abraham personally witnessed everything God had promised.
He received genuine fulfillment and confirmation of God's word, while the greater fulfillment extended beyond his lifetime.
What does this teach us?
God's promises are not governed by our preferred timetable.
Sometimes faith requires patient endurance.
Abraham's experience reminds us that a promise is not unreliable simply because we must wait for its fulfillment.
Faith trusts God's word even when fulfillment is not immediate.
3. Why Did God Add an Oath? — Hebrews 6:16–17
Hebrews 6:16
For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
In ordinary human affairs, an oath is intended to settle a dispute or establish the reliability of a statement.
The writer uses that familiar practice to explain God's action.
Hebrews 6:17
Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath.
The word immutability means that something cannot be changed.
God wanted the heirs of the promise to understand that His purpose was unchangeable.
But why would God need an oath?
Was His ordinary word not enough?
Of course it was.
God's word was already completely trustworthy.
The oath was not necessary to make God truthful. It was given to strengthen the confidence of those receiving His promise.
Notice that the writer speaks of the heirs of the promise.
His purpose is not merely to tell us something interesting about Abraham's history.
He wants Christians to understand the reliability of God's saving purpose.
Paul also connects those who belong to Christ with Abraham's promise:
Galatians 3:29
And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
The promise to Abraham reaches its greater fulfillment through Jesus Christ.
The writer of Hebrews wants believers to recognize that their hope rests upon God's unchanging purpose.
4. Two Unchangeable Things — Hebrews 6:18
Hebrews 6:18
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.
What are the two unchangeable things?
The immediate context identifies them as:
God's promise.
God's oath confirming that promise.
Both rest upon God's truthful and unchanging character.
The writer makes a remarkable statement:
It is impossible for God to lie.
This does not mean that God is weak or lacks some necessary power.
Lying would contradict His perfectly truthful nature.
God cannot deny His own character.
The writer then describes believers as people who have fled for refuge.
That expression communicates urgency and dependence.
We have sought safety in the hope God has placed before us.
Our confidence is not based upon our ability to control the future.
It rests upon God's faithfulness.
Does this mean Christians cannot fall away?
We must read this statement alongside the warnings already given in Hebrews.
The writer has warned Christians against unbelief, disobedience, and abandoning Christ (Hebrews 3:12–14; 6:4–8).
He has also assured them that God's promises are completely trustworthy.
These teachings are not contradictory.
God's faithfulness does not make His warnings unnecessary. His warnings call us to continue trusting the God who is faithful.
The writer's purpose here is to encourage perseverance, not to cancel what he has already taught.
5. Hope Is an Anchor for the Soul — Hebrews 6:19
Now we come to one of the most memorable pictures in Hebrews.
Hebrews 6:19
Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.
An anchor holds a ship securely.
Without an anchor, a vessel may drift when wind and waves push against it.
The writer compares Christian hope to an anchor.
But there is something unusual about his picture.
An ordinary anchor reaches downward into the water.
The Christian's anchor reaches into heaven.
The writer says that our hope enters within the veil.
What does that mean?
Under the old covenant, the tabernacle contained a Most Holy Place, separated from the Holy Place by a curtain or veil.
The high priest entered that inner sanctuary on the Day of Atonement, as described in Leviticus 16.
Hebrews uses that familiar arrangement to explain Christ's greater priestly ministry.
Our hope is anchored in the heavenly reality to which the earthly sanctuary pointed.
It is not anchored in our circumstances.
It is not anchored in human institutions.
It is not anchored in our ability to predict what will happen tomorrow.
Our hope is anchored where Christ Himself has entered.
That is what makes it secure.
6. Jesus Has Gone Before Us — Hebrews 6:20
Hebrews 6:20
Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
This verse explains why our hope is so certain.
Jesus has entered God's presence for us.
The writer calls Him our forerunner.
A forerunner is someone who goes ahead of others.
Jesus has gone before His people into God's presence.
This is a significant difference between Jesus and the high priests who served under the Law of Moses.
Under the old covenant, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place on behalf of the people, but the people themselves did not follow him into that sanctuary.
Jesus is different.
He has entered as our forerunner, opening the way for His people to approach God through Him.
Later, Hebrews explains this more fully:
Hebrews 10:19–22 teaches that Christians have confidence to approach God through the blood of Jesus.
Our access to God rests upon Christ's sacrifice and priestly ministry.
We do not have to establish that access ourselves.
Jesus has accomplished what we could never accomplish.
Our hope is secure because our Savior is already there.
7. A High Priest Forever
The final words of Hebrews 6:20 introduce the subject of the next chapter.
Jesus has become:
“An high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”
Why does the writer mention Melchizedek?
Because Jesus' priesthood is different from the priesthood established under the Law of Moses.
The Levitical priests were mortal men.
Their service was temporary.
One generation of priests succeeded another.
But Jesus is our High Priest forever.
His priesthood does not end with death.
Hebrews 7 will explain this by examining Melchizedek, the mysterious king and priest who appears in Genesis 14 and is mentioned again in Psalm 110.
The writer has already introduced this subject in Hebrews 5:6–10.
He paused to warn and encourage his readers.
Now he returns to it.
The mention of Melchizedek is not an accidental change of subject. It is part of the writer's explanation of why Jesus is the greater High Priest.
8. Warnings and Assurance Belong Together
Let's return to the larger argument.
Hebrews 6 begins with a serious warning about falling away.
It ends with a wonderful picture of hope securely anchored in God's presence.
Why place these teachings together?
Because Christians need both.
We need warnings against abandoning our faith.
We also need encouragement to continue faithfully.
The warnings remind us that perseverance matters.
The promises remind us that God is completely trustworthy.
The writer is not trying to leave his readers terrified or uncertain about God's character.
He wants them to hold firmly to their hope.
Earlier, he wrote:
Hebrews 4:14
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Notice the relationship.
Because we have such a High Priest, we should hold firmly to our confession.
God's promises encourage faithfulness. They do not make faithfulness unnecessary.
9. What Does This Mean for Us Today?
Christians sometimes face circumstances that test their confidence.
We may experience illness, disappointment, persecution, financial difficulties, or the loss of people we love.
At such times, we may wonder whether God's promises can still be trusted.
Hebrews does not promise that Christians will escape every difficulty.
Instead, it points us to something greater than our changing circumstances.
God's character does not change.
His promises do not fail.
Jesus has entered God's presence as our High Priest.
And He remains there on our behalf.
We do not know what tomorrow will bring.
But we know whom we are trusting.
Our hope does not depend upon having an easy life.
Our hope depends upon the faithful God who has given us His Son.
Conclusion: An Anchor That Holds
Hebrews 6:13–20 gives Christians several powerful reasons for confidence.
God made a promise to Abraham.
God confirmed that promise with an oath.
God cannot lie.
God's saving purpose is unchangeable.
Our hope reaches into God's presence.
And Jesus Christ has entered there before us as our eternal High Priest.
The writer does not ask us to place our confidence in human strength or personal perfection.
He directs us to God's faithfulness and Christ's finished sacrifice and continuing priestly ministry.
That is why Christians can persevere with confidence.
Our hope is not wishful thinking.
It rests upon God's promise, God's oath, God's character, and Jesus Christ Himself.
Questions for Personal Study
Why did God swear by Himself when confirming His promise to Abraham?
What does Abraham's patient endurance teach us about faith?
What are the two unchangeable things mentioned in Hebrews 6:18?
Why does the writer compare Christian hope to an anchor?
Where is our hope anchored, according to Hebrews 6:19–20?
How does the assurance in this passage relate to the warnings earlier in Hebrews?
Why is Jesus described as our forerunner?
Continue Exploring Scripture
Read Genesis 22:15–18 to examine God's oath to Abraham.
Read Hebrews 4:14–16 to see how Jesus' priesthood encourages confidence.
Continue to Hebrews 7, where the writer explains the priesthood of Melchizedek.
NEXT STUDY: HEBREWS 7 — WHO WAS MELCHIZEDEK, AND WHY DOES HE MATTER?
TEXT B4 TRADITION
READ FIRST. CONCLUDE LATER.
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