The following is a sermon transcript from our Sunday Service at The Rock Church in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Each week, we gather to worship, learn from God’s Word, and grow together. This transcript is provided as a free resource to encourage and equip you in your walk with Christ. While you’re welcome to read and share this content for personal use, we kindly ask that it not be redistributed or published elsewhere without prior written consent from The Rock Church.
Introduction
Twice over the past month, I stood before a bride and groom as they made solemn vows to one another before God and many witnesses. And what’s interesting about that wedding is they didn’t merely say to each other, “I love you and I hope we stay together.” They promised for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, you know how it goes, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.
A wedding vow is more than the expression of a present feeling, a warm sense of desire. It’s a solemn promise for the future. The couple is saying, whatever circumstances may come, I’m binding myself to this word. That’s essentially how an oath works, although a vow is not the same. But it solemnly confirms a promise, and what it’s meant to do is end the uncertainty around it. It gives the person receiving that promise the solid ground upon which to stand.
Now, of course, human beings are subject to break their vows. Even the most sincere husband and wife remain weak and sinful. And our promises are only as dependable as we are. But God is not like us. God cannot lie. He cannot change. He never changes. He never forgets what He has promised or discovers that, oh, I suddenly have found out, I can’t fulfill it. No, no, no. He doesn’t. His word alone is enough. If God has said it, it is certain. More certain than anything.
And yet in Hebrews 6, we see God do something that’s really quite remarkable. He not only makes a promise, but He confirms it with an oath. And the question that we have to be asking is why? Not because His word, which is the promise, or the gospel, not because His word is uncertain, but it has everything to do with our hearts being weak.
The Lord knows that waiting is hard. He knows that suffering can really make His promises feel very, very far away. He knows how quickly fear raises questions in our minds. Has God forgotten me? Will He really keep His promise? Can I be certain that He will bring me safely home into heaven? And rather than scolding us for needing reassurance, God graciously meets with us. He condescends to us in our weakness and gives us assurance, confidence for what we need. He confirms His word with an oath, so that weary and fearful believers may know that His promises cannot fail. They’re for us.
At the end of verse 12, we were told to imitate those who inherit the promises through faith and patience. Now the author points us to Abraham, a man who waited many years before receiving what God had promised. Abraham’s waiting was long, but God’s promise remains certain. The promise made to Abraham has reached its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, in whom we have a sure and steadfast hope to hold on to.
That leads us to the big idea. It’s this: God confirms His promise with an oath — why? So that we may anchor our hope in Christ. Real simple. The author takes us from promise to oath, and then from oath to hope, and lastly, from hope to Christ. He does this in three ways. The first is God’s promise is certain — why is it so certain? Why does He make it certain? So that we can patiently endure. And the second thing is, God’s oath is meant to confirm His promise — why? So that we have strong assurance, confidence in our Savior. The last is God’s Son has entered heaven, so our hope is securely anchored.
So we’re looking at promise, oath, hope, and Christ.
Point 1: God’s Promise Is Certain, So We Can Patiently Endure
Hebrews 6:13–15
Let’s begin with Abraham, and we’ll read verses 13 to 15 again together, as we consider God’s promise is certain, so we can patiently endure. “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you.’ And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.”
The author begins by answering a very important question: why should we rest upon the promises of God? He points to Abraham and shows us that God’s promise is powerful enough to sustain, really, a lifetime of waiting. Verse 12 urges believers to imitate those who inherit the promises through faith and patience. Verse 13 gives us the primary example of Abraham: for when God made a promise to Abraham.
So what do faith and patience look like over a lifetime? Well, we have to understand that the author is quoting from Genesis chapter 22, verses 16 to 17. And what was happening at that time? Well, in this case, Abraham had offered his son Isaac, but God spared him. Now, there’s a lot more to the story if you go back even further to Genesis 12, for the call of Abraham. He came, you’ve got to realize, he came from a family and a culture that were devoted to false gods. But God did something amazing with Abraham — He effectually called him out of this pagan world of idolatry, and He set him apart for Himself.
And here in Genesis 12, God promised him offspring, blessing, inheritance. But many years passed between what God said and what Abraham could see. Could you relate to that in your own life?
Well, I want you to know something important. Abraham did not earn the promise through obedience. He willingly offered Isaac, demonstrating what? His genuineness of faith. He trusted the Lord. And despite significant failures along the way, Abraham continued living upon God’s promise. How did he do that? Notice what the author says next: since God had no one greater by whom to swear, He swore by Himself. Listen — God’s promise rests on God Himself. He wasn’t searching heaven and earth. “Oh, is there anyone greater than Me? I wonder. Perhaps in the recesses of space.” No, He is the God of gods, the Lord of lords, the incomparable One. And if God’s promise depended upon Abraham’s strength, Abraham had a lot of reason to fear. But it depended upon God’s character. And God cannot fail.
Abraham was 75 years old when he received the promise in Genesis 12. And then he waited 25 years before his son Isaac was born. During those years, what do you think was happening in his life? Well, his body growing older and weaker. His wife Sarah remained barren. Their circumstances seemed to indicate that God was not going to make good on what He said. Abraham fathered a son through Hagar, attempting to secure by human effort what God had promised to provide. Galatians 4:23 tells us Ishmael was born according to the flesh.
Abraham was not a perfect man. Far from it. He was not someone that always held firmly onto God’s promises. No, no. He took it upon himself to make things happen. A story that we can all relate to. We believe God will provide, but we grow impatient with His timing and His methods. So what do we do? Well, we think we need to assist God in the process. “It’s just too hard to wait. There must be something that I need to do to contribute.”
God often fulfills His promises according to the timetable we would not choose. But that doesn’t mean He’s changed His word. His word is the same. His promises never change. He swears by Himself, by His own unchanging nature, authority, and power. So here’s what we know about faith: it doesn’t pretend that waiting is easy. It simply keeps trusting the promise that God has made even when we have no idea how He’s going to fulfill it.
Abraham waited 25 years for Isaac. But Isaac was the beginning of the fulfillment of the promise. You’ve got to remember, Abraham had a little bit of a narrow view of this promise. Galatians 3:16 tells us that the promised offspring would do what? Ultimately point to Christ. And everyone who belongs to Christ is an heir according to the promise. Even in Hebrews 11:13, we learn that the patriarchs died in faith without receiving the promise in its fullness.
Now let’s consider our own lives. We also know what it means to live between a promise and fulfillment. Praying for an unbelieving child or spouse. Enduring prolonged illness. Fighting that same sin over and over again. Just waiting for relief — it just hasn’t come. And really just wondering, God, are You going to preserve me to the end? Are You really? I don’t feel like it.
God has not promised every outcome we desire. He has not promised that every unbelieving child or spouse will be converted to Christ, or that every illness will be healed in this life. We pray earnestly for those things — don’t hear me wrong, earnestly — while at the same time we submit to God and His wisdom. But He has promised to never leave His people. He has promised to complete the work He began in us. He has promised to preserve us. And finally, finally, He will deliver us from every bit of sin and suffering.
And when the fulfillment of what God has promised seems slow, we must distinguish between God’s promise and our preferred timetable. God does not always fulfill His promises when and how we expect, but everything He has promised is absolutely certain. Abraham’s circumstances changed, his strength weakened, his waiting continued, but the promise remained, because the God who made it remains faithful. God’s preserving grace ensures that His people continue holding fast. Our confidence is not that we will always hold firmly to Him. No — it’s that God’s promise is certain, so we can patiently endure.
Point 2: God’s Oath Confirms His Promise, So We Have Strong Assurance
Hebrews 6:16–18
And that naturally leads to the next question. Why did the God whose promise was already certain choose to confirm it with an oath? The answer is found in verses 16 to 18, so we’re going to read that again, as we consider God’s oath confirms His promise so we can have strong assurance.
“For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes, it’s an oath that is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly” — notice that word — “to the heirs of the promise, the believers, the unchangeable character of His purpose, He does what? He guarantees it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, promise and oath, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have” what? “Strong encouragement” to do what? “Hold fast to the hope that is set before us.”
Verse 16 explains what we saw in the wedding vows — somewhat similar. Our 1689 London Baptist Confession, you have a copy in this seat, chapter 23, paragraph 2, really summarizes this point here of verse 16: “For confirmation of truth and ending of all strife, all division, all difficulty, an oath is warranted by the Word of God.” See, an oath solemnly confirms what has been spoken so that the matter may be what? It may be considered settled, done. Human testimony may be questioned or disputed. So an oath provides that what? Solemn confirmation, and brings the matter to an end.
But God cannot lie. So why would He add an oath to a promise that was already certain? Well, verse 17 answers that question. It was given to strengthen our assurance, our confidence. And let’s not move too quickly past that phrase, “God desired.” Do you see it there? He did not only provide — He didn’t provide the oath reluctantly. It wasn’t as if His children were coming to Him pleading, “Would You just give us something?” He desired to show the heirs of the promise, those that are in Christ, the certainty of His purpose.
Throughout Scripture, the message is very clear. God’s purpose will stand. Nothing and no one can thwart the ultimate plan of the Lord. God not only secures the salvation of His people, He also graciously provides firm ground for which they are secure. And the oath is not evidence of weakness in God’s promise. It’s the evidence of the tenderness in the Lord’s heart. Calvin captures this well. See how kindly God, as a gracious Father, accommodates Himself, condescends, comes down to us, meets with us in our slowness to believe. God does not shame weak believers for needing reassurance. He doesn’t look at you and go, “I can’t believe that you just — when are you going to get it? When are you going to really hold on to it?” No, He gives us what we need.
The heirs are all those who are united in Christ by faith. Galatians 3:29: “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring” — amen — heirs according to the promise, your fulfillment of the promise from Genesis 12 and following. God has confirmed His promise with an oath because He wanted every heir, including weak, weary, doubting believers, to know that His saving purpose cannot change. God assures the heirs of the promise by showing us that His saving purpose is immutable. In other words, it cannot change, because God is not subject to change. That is a great comfort to my soul. I’m sure it is for you, because everything in this life is subject to change.
And then he goes on — the two unchangeable things, best understood as God’s promise and God’s oath. Neither can change, because they’re based upon God’s unchangeable character. And what do we know? God cannot lie, cannot deny Himself. It is impossible. Hold on to the very character of God in both His promise and His oath. In order for them to fail, God would have to cease being who He is.
So what then is the purpose of the promise and the oath? As the author says right here, it’s for our strong encouragement. This encouragement strengthens us. It does something spiritual in us. It builds us up so that we would seize and hold on to firmly the hope that is set before us.
You remember last week? Christ alone is the ground of our assurance. Bottom line — spiritual fruit provides confirming evidence. It’s supposed to be encouraging us. But here God directs us outside ourselves, to His unchanging promise and oath. So when examining yourself leaves you discouraged, don’t go digging around inside your heart, trying to see if you’re going to find something in there to discover enough certainty within you. Look again, outside. Flip it around, up to God who cannot lie, and the Christ in whom every promise is secured. The Bible says that the promises of God find their yes in Christ.
So what is the author talking about there? He’s talking about this — “fled for refuge.” Do you see it there? To flee for refuge means you know you’re in danger and you run to the only place where it’s safe. And that refuge is a person, and that person is Jesus Christ. In Christ, we are sheltered from the wrath of God that our sins deserve, because Jesus bore the wrath that we deserved. Throughout Scripture, you will see that God is our strong tower, our righteous one, our fortress, the place where the righteous run to and are safe. We see that Jesus has made it possible for us to have fellowship with the holy God. We’ve been delivered from the domain of darkness and brought into the kingdom of His beloved Son. Listen — we do not casually wander to Christ. It’s not how it works. We flee to Him. We run to Him from the guilt of our sin and the judgment that we deserve.
So let me ask you, where have you fled for refuge? Is it your religious performance? Is it your record of service? Is it a past profession of faith? Your ability to improve yourself? Don’t say, “I want to be a better Christian” — I know you do, I understand what you’re saying, I want more of Jesus in me — or is it Christ alone? Strong assurance is not found by convincing ourselves that we are strong, but by abandoning every one of these false refuges that I mentioned and fleeing to Christ.
God’s promise and His oath — they don’t cause you to sit back in passivity. No, no. The same people whom God securely holds are commanded — we’re commanded — hold fast to the hope that’s set before us. We hold fast because God first holds fast to us. See, assurance does not make our perseverance unnecessary. We have confidence, we have assurance of our salvation, we know it in Christ alone. But that very confidence strengthens us to then persevere, to keep going, to press on in the faith.
God did not confirm His promise with an oath because His word wasn’t enough — “I guess it’s just not going to work, I’ve got to add to it.” No, no, no. He confirmed it because He knows how weak we are. His promise tells us what He will do. His oath confirms that He’s absolutely committed to doing it. His unchanging character tells us that He cannot fail. God’s oath confirms His promise so that we have strong assurance.
Point 3: God’s Son Has Entered Heaven, So Our Hope Is Securely Anchored
Hebrews 6:19–20
But what exactly is the hope we are called to hold fast? And how can that hope keep our souls steady through every storm of life? The author answers that question with one of Scripture’s most beautiful images — an anchor for the soul. And that leads us to our last point, as we read verses 19 to 20.
Most important, this point is, in fact, “We have this sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Take a quick look back to verse 18 — see that phrase, “set before us”? What is this hope that is set before us? This isn’t a fragile hope. This isn’t easily moved. Biblical hope is not wishful thinking. It’s the confident expectation of God’s promises. It doesn’t begin with something we feel in ourselves. It begins with something that God has accomplished for us in Christ. This hope is the anchor of the soul. Our hope is the anchor, but Christ is the One in whom the hope is fastened.
As one commentator was bringing the imagery here, your soul is a ship that’s moving through the seas of life. Hang with me here. The stormy seas — the sea that you’re moving through is the world. Sometimes those seas are calm, and sometimes those seas are rough. And our storms include a variety of things — a guilty conscience, prolonged suffering, unanswered prayer, the fear of death, a difficult marriage, maybe the apparent triumph of sin in your life — “I’ll never beat it.” Seasons, really, when God just doesn’t feel near. Feels distant.
But Thomas Watson says this — great, check this guy out, he’s the best on word pictures — “While he is fighting with temptation, hope is the helmet. While he is upon the waters of affliction, hope is the anchor.” The anchor of a ship is cast where? It goes downwards. But the anchor of the soul? No, no, it’s cast upwards, in heaven. In heaven.
The promise is not that believers will never feel the storm. It’s that the storm cannot carry us away from Christ. This anchor of the soul is both sure and steadfast. It’s firm. It’s certain. It’s true. And it’s stable. And it’s trustworthy. The sailors can’t see where the anchor has taken hold, but they know that they’re connected to it. In the same way, we can’t see heaven, but God’s promise and oath assure us that our hope, it’s fastened there. The anchor is upwards there, connected there. That anchor’s not affected by how stormy the seas are or how strong the sailors are. Its security rests where? On the ground in which the anchor has taken hold. But our anchor has not taken hold in the bottom of the sea. It’s taken hold in heaven. It may not keep the ship of your life from feeling every wave, getting knocked around. But let me say this — Jesus will not let the ship of your life be carried away into utter darkness.
And as Watson observed, what’s interesting about the anchor of our soul is it does not move downward. It moves upward. It goes into the inner place behind the curtain. In other words, it reaches up into what is unseen, in heaven. It’s not anchored in the things of this world. It’s not in our health or our circumstances, our emotional stability, not even the strength of our present faith. It reaches from this constantly changing world of storm-tossed seas into the unchanging presence of God.
And that’s what the author’s doing here. He’s drawing from the imagery of the Holy of Holies. You know this one — Old Testament stuff, temple. It actually, in this context, represents heaven. It’s the innermost place of the temple, the place that the high priest alone could enter once a year, carrying the sacrificial blood for the sins of the people. But guess what Jesus did? He passed behind that curtain into the immediate presence of God, opening the way for His people to draw near.
He’s gone before us as a forerunner. A forerunner is someone who goes to a place in advance of others. The spies, you know the story, they entered the land before Israel. John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord — he was a forerunner. But Jesus is a forerunner in a far greater sense. He has entered heaven on our behalf, for His people, making it an absolute certainty that we will follow.
Notice this phrase, see it in verse 20 — “on our behalf.” Jesus went to heaven as our representative. He lived for us. He died for us. He rose for us. He ascended for us. He now appears before the Father for us. It’s not only about what Jesus has already done on the cross, as important as that is, and essential as that is, bearing the penalty for our sin. It’s also about His presence in heaven right now for us, for you, for me, before the Father.
Hebrews 4:14 — we read this before — it tells us that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, through the expanse of the sky, up into the dwelling place of God. Ephesians 2:6 tells us that God has raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. When’s the last time you thought about that? You’re seated in heaven, not in New Jersey. It’s our union with Christ at the very core of our salvation, from which all spiritual blessings flow. Because we are united to Christ, His entrance into heaven is actually the pledge of our entrance into heaven. The head has arrived. He’s the head of the body, the church. And the members of His body, we will surely follow. Be encouraged by that.
Notice that Jesus has become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Aaron’s priests, they served for a time and then they died. But Jesus possesses a permanent priesthood. See, the priest who represents us before God will never die, never be replaced, and never cease interceding for His people. That’s why Hebrews 7:25 says, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him.” Why? “Since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Always lives to make intercession for you.
You aren’t walking through this life alone. As you consider your suffering and all the ways that your faith remained weaker than you want it to be, remember that your eternal high priest is for you. Your security does not rest on how strong you are, how you’re able to pull up your bootstraps. Christ strengthens and preserves His people as we do something too. What is that? We keep looking to Him. I think we got the easier part of the deal.
So when your faith feels weak, look to the One who is strong, who always lives to intercede for you. You see, we often measure our security by looking at the wrong things. How does my faith feel today? That’s a terrible question to ask yourself. How about this one? How well have I obeyed this week? Spend some time there, but not too much time there. How about how good are my circumstances? If they’re good, God loves me. If they’re bad, then God’s displeased with me. Lastly, how firmly am I holding on? But the author directs our eyes here away from the ship and toward the place where the anchor has taken hold. Your assurance does not finally rest upon the strength of your grip on Christ, but upon Christ’s unbreakable hold on you.
A calm sea is not the same as a secure soul. Someone may enjoy health and financial stability and relational peace while also remaining without hope before God. Outside Christ, every earthly anchor that seems to be holding you tightly now, it will give way.
God’s Son has entered heaven, so our hope is securely anchored. God’s promise is certain. His oath confirms it. His Son has secured it.
Conclusion and Application
So the question with which this passage leaves us — it’s not whether God will remain faithful. The question is whether we will take Him at His word and hold fast to the hope that’s set before us.
And so that brings us back to where we began, at that wedding — a husband and wife binding themselves to the vow that they made before the Lord. They promised faithfulness through circumstances they can’t predict, better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness and health. They don’t know what the years will bring. They don’t know what trials they’ll face. And even with their best intentions, as I already said in the beginning, they remain what? Weak and sinful people. But God is not like us. When He binds Himself to a promise, there’s no weakness in Him that could cause Him to fail. No circumstances are going to escape His foresight. There’s no power that can thwart His purpose. There’s no sin in Him that would make Him unfaithful. There’s nothing that can remove our high priest from His place right now. God has promised. God has sworn. And Jesus has entered heaven on our behalf.
So maybe you’ve been praying for years and haven’t seen an answer. Maybe you’re carrying a burden that has lasted much longer than you expected. Maybe even your faith feels weaker than it once did. Maybe you look at your failures and wonder, does God still love me? Will He receive me? Do not measure God’s faithfulness by the length of your waiting. Do not measure His love by the ease of your circumstances — that’s prosperity gospel, kick it out. And do not measure your security by the strength of your present feelings. Look to what is outside you. Look to God’s promise. Look to His oath. Look to Jesus Christ, who has passed behind the curtain and now stands, sits, stands in the presence of God for you. That’s the most important stuff right there.
Your hope is not anchored in your ability to understand what God is doing — sometimes we do not, most times. It’s not anchored in your ability to hold yourself together. “Just come on now, you can do this, I believe in you” — stop, stop. It’s not anchored in the strength of your grip on Christ. Your hope is anchored in Christ Himself.
And if you’re outside of Christ, I want to just be very careful here. Do not trust in the calm of your present circumstances. Just because it’s calm doesn’t mean you have a secure soul. Every earthly refuge, I’ve already said it, will eventually fail. So flee to Christ. Flee to Him. Run to Him. He receives sinners. He shelters all who come to Him. He saves to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him. And no one who takes refuge in Christ will ever be turned away.
Brothers and sisters, God has given us every reason to trust Him. His promise is certain. His oath confirms it. His Son now stands in heaven for us. And yet we often live our lives as if His word were uncertain and His grace is just not enough. We grow impatient — “Lord, I want it now.” We attempt to secure it by our own strength — “I’m just going to go get it, I don’t care, I don’t care.” We look for refuge in our performance, in our circumstances, in our ability to hold everything together.
So here’s what I want us to do now — to confess our sin and how foolish this mindset is. But we all do it, because we’re in this frame, this corrupted frame. So I’m going to lead you in a corporate prayer of confession. We’re going to confess our sins together — every unbelief, every false refuge — we’re going to confess them to God who cannot lie, and also be encouraged that He receives all who will flee to Him. So I want us to bow our heads as we pray this prayer together in your heart.
Closing Prayer
A gracious and faithful God, You have never broken Your word. You’ve never forgotten Your promises. You’ve never failed Your people. Yet we confess that we have often doubted Your faithfulness. We have grown impatient with Your timing and questioned Your wisdom. Rather than resting upon Your promises, we have tried to take control and make things happen through our own strength.
Lord, forgive us for seeking refuge in our performance, our possessions, our relationships, and our circumstances. Forgive us for measuring Your love by the calmness of the sea, Lord, rather than the finished work of Christ. Forgive us for looking inward for assurance when You’ve directed us to look upward to Jesus.
God, we confess that our faith is often weak. Our hearts are easily frightened. And our grip is not that strong. But we thank You that our salvation does not finally depend upon how hard we hold on to You, but upon Your unbreakable hold of us. For the sake of Jesus, our crucified, risen, and reigning Priest, Lord, pardon our sins. Teach us to flee from every false refuge. To hold fast to the hope set before us. And to rest in the promise and oath of the God who cannot lie. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray.
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