The Certainty of God’s Promise

Jordan West
Aug 22
3 min read

Hebrews 6:13–20

I. The Promise By Himself (vv. 13–18)

“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.” (Hebrews 6:13–15)

When God made a promise to Abraham, He swore by Himself. There was no one greater to appeal to, so He gave His oath on the basis of His own nature.

Abraham was literally, the Bible says, so old that he was good as dead. That’s how the Scriptures describe both him and his wife. And yet he was told in his old age that he would have a son—and he still had to wait. For us, when life is turbulent, when things feel unclear, we look to Abraham’s example and imitate his patient waiting.

“So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” (Hebrews 6:17–18)

Why would God give an oath when His word is already unshakable? Because He knows our weakness. He knows how storms shake us. So He confirmed His word with an oath, doubling down on His faithfulness, to give us “strong encouragement” to hold fast.

II. Fulfilled in Christ (vv. 19–20)

The promise to Abraham wasn’t ultimately about Isaac. It was pointing forward to a greater Son, Christ Himself.

“Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ.” (Galatians 3:16)

Jesus is the true Seed of Abraham. He is the fulfillment of every promise.

“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Abraham’s blessing reached beyond his generation, because the real blessing would come through Jesus. All the promises find their Yes and Amen in Him.

And now we see that our High Priest has gone before us. Hebrews tells us that Jesus is our forerunner, our advocate, and our intercessor. In Luke, we even hear Jesus praying for His disciples. Isn’t that amazing? God is not only saving you, He is advocating for you. He is praying on your behalf.

III. Anchored in Heaven (vv. 19–20)

“We have this as a 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.” (Hebrews 6:19–20)

Think about being out at sea. When everything looks calm, it’s easy to think you don’t need much. But when a storm hits, when life collapses, tragedy strikes, or heartbreak sets in, what do you need most? You need an anchor.

Our anchor is not drifting in this world. It is secured in the very presence of God. Christ has gone “behind the curtain” as our forerunner. He has entered the heavenly throne room on our behalf, interceding for us even now.

The threefold anchor is this:

God’s Word – His promises never fail.
God’s Character – it is impossible for Him to lie.
God’s Son – Jesus has gone before us into heaven as our forerunner.

Death is uncharted for us. None of us have died. And that’s why it is so frightening. But the best thing when you face something you’ve never done before is to have someone who has already done it and can walk you through it. Jesus has tasted death. He has ascended into the very presence of God as our forerunner. He has gone before us, and He is our anchor.