HEBREWS 6:11

The Bible says in Hebrews 6:11-12, “And we desire that everyone of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end. That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” In the previous verse we are told of the love that these believers had. It is always best to start with love when you are thinking about the important qualities that a Christian should possess. If you have love for other Christians, then you can work on adding the other things. In these two verses are mentioned hope, faith, and patience.

The hope that is spoken about is the great Christian hope about the future and what Christ will bring. This hope is not the human hope of a better life in this world. This is the Christian hope of a better life in the next world because of what Christ will do. Jesus promised the resurrection from the dead. Jesus promised that He would bring the Kingdom of God. When we have the Christian hope strong within our hearts, the things of this life should fade away in importance. We have the things that are really important through Christ. It is a wonderful thing to think that we will be with Jesus forever in the beauty and the bliss of heaven. What a great future He has reserved for His believers. In this world the flower will fade, and the vine will wither. Everything and everyone will grow old and die. But Jesus has promised us immortality. This corruptible shall put on incorruption.

In Hebrews 6:12 we are told of the importance of having faith. To have faith means to trust in Christ. Everyone trusts in someone or some thing. Some people trust in human beings. We call them humanists. Some people trust in money. We call them materialists. Some people trust in themselves. We call them egotists. Those who trust in Christ we call Christians. If you call yourself a Christian, make sure that you are trusting in Christ and not these other things that non-believers trust in. It takes an effort to watch your own mind and heart and to make sure that you are trusting in Christ concerning each of the events and circumstances of your life. That’s why Hebrews 6:12 says, “Be not slothful.” Don’t be a lazy Christian who approaches life the same way that the unbelievers do.

Christians should have faith, and they should also have patience. God has a will, and He also has a time when He brings to pass His will. One thing is for certain. He is not going to do things on our time-table. He does them on His own. “My ways are not your ways, saith the Lord.” The word that is translated “patience” in this verse means “to suffer long.” When things are happening that are painful, Christ is the answer. But, He is going to answer in His way and in His time. Trust in Him and rely upon Him, be willing to suffer until He gives His answer in His way and in His time. There is a result for those who have this kind of faith and patience. Hebrews 6:12 says that those who have faith and patience will “inherit the promises.”

Abraham is used as the example of someone who had faith and patience, and who therefore inherited a promise. The Bible says in Hebrews 6:13-15, “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. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” The promise was that Abraham would have a seed, a descendant. And that seed would be the beginning of a great people. And that seed, which is Christ, would ultimately be a blessing to the rest of the world. What greater blessing could there be than a Savior sent to save all who believe. It was a great promise that God made to Abraham, but there was one problem: both Abraham and Sarah were very old and had no children. That which is impossible with man is possible with God. Abraham believed that. God made a promise to Abraham, and Abraham believed the promise. But Abraham had to wait. God made a promise, but God did not fulfill the promise immediately. As it says in Hebrews 6:15, “after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.”

The Bible says in Hebrews 6:16-18, “For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 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 is the basis for faith and hope? What is the reason that believers can be confident? Faith is based upon promises: promises made by God and Christ. For example, Jesus said in John 14:2-3, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” That is a promise.

Does God lie? Of course He does not lie. Does God always tell the truth and always keep His Word? Of course He does. Because God keeps His Word, we have a “strong consolation,” and we can “lay hold on the hope set before us.” There are thousands and thousands of promises that God has made. They are recorded in the Bible. Always look for the promises when you read the Bible. Stand on the promises. Be comforted by the promises. If you do, you will have a strong faith. Your faith will not be based upon your circumstances, but your faith will be based upon the promises of God who cannot lie.

Concerning the hope that we have because of God’s promises, the Bible says in Hebrews 6:19, “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” These words are very strong words and very comforting words. “anchor of the soul,” “sure,” “steadfast.” Not many things are certain in life. Some people like to say that the only things that are certain are death and taxes. But there is one other thing that is certain: the promises of God. They are “immutable.” That is what it says in Hebrews 6:16. If you are an heir of the promises, then the promises are going to happen to you. There is no doubt about it. If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, all of the promises that Jesus made to His believers are promises that He has made to you. You will be with Him forever in the glory and beauty of heaven because God cannot lie. You have “an anchor of the soul.”

The phrase that is used at the end of verse 19 is symbolic of being as close to God as one can get. It speaks of entering “into that within the veil.” In the temple was set aside a place called the holiest of the holies. It was separated from the rest of the temple by a veil. Inside the veil was represented the very presence of God. Only the high priest could enter the veil. No one else was permitted. But when Jesus died on the cross, one of the miracles that took place was that the veil was torn, indicting the fact that now we all have access to the very presence of God. All of this comes by faith in Jesus. All of this is a promise. We enter into the blessings and the benefits of the promise by believing the promise. If we believe, we are “within the veil.” Hebrews 6:20 makes it clear why we have such a great privilege. It says, “Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.”

Jesus is the “forerunner.” This word means that He is the first to go to a certain place and everyone else will follow after. All of us have access to the very presence of God because we are followers of Jesus. We go where He went. We are strangers and pilgrims on the earth because He was. We have access to the holy presence of God because Jesus does. We share with Him what He accomplished. That’s grace. We do not deserve this access, and we have not earned it. But it is given to us anyway. Notice that Hebrews 6:20 says that Jesus went into the holiest presence of the Father “for us.” That means that He did something there on our behalf. He made reconciliation for sin.

Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchisedec. Concerning Melchisedec, the Bible says in Hebrews 7:1-3, “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation king of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without Father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God, albeit a priest continually.” The life of Melchisedec was in several ways symbolic of Christ. It is interesting to note that he is mentioned in just two places in the Old Testament, but his life is very important as being symbolic of Christ.

Genesis 14:18-20 tells when Melchisedec met Abraham, and it says, “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand. And he gave him tithes of all.” The fact that Melchisedec was symbolic of the Messiah is said clearly in Psalm 110:4, “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” There are several things to notice about Melcisedec. The first is that he was both a king and a priest. That is also true of Jesus Christ. Nothing about Melchisedec’s lineage is given to us. We are not told who was his father or his mother. In the Old Testament he just appears on the scene. This is symbolic of Christ’s eternal existence. Jesus speaks in Revelation 1:8 and the Bible says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

The end of the life of Melchisedec is not recounted for us in the Old Testament. God did not tell us when Melchisedec’s life ended. Even this was symbolic of Christ being a priest forever. This theme will be expanded later in the chapter. It speaks of eternal security. It declares the fact that Jesus is always in the presence of the Father speaking on behalf of His children. God will never forget that our sins have been paid for already. God will never demand another sacrifice or another remedy or another punishment. If Jesus is your Savior, He is also your high priest “continually.” For those of you who think you are not much of a sinner and have already arrived to where you need to be in the Christian life, this may not mean much. But for those of you who know how great your sins are, this is a wonderful truth that speaks of forgiveness and mercy and love and acceptance and blessings every day from God on your behalf.

In Hebrews 7:4 the writer goes into much detail explaining why it is better for Christ to have been a priest after the order of Melchisedec rather than a priest of the tribe of Levi. Evidently this explanation is meant for Jews who had become Christians or for others who have diligently studied the Old Testament and who might have questions about the Levitical priesthood. When we understand all of Hebrews chapter seven, we can also understand why the temple, the sacrifices, and the priesthood were set aside in the first century. Jesus did it all. Jesus paid it all. Jesus is the greatest and the last of the priests because there is no more priestly work to do. He has taken the work of the priest upon Himself, and He does it continually in the presence of the Father. There is no more sacrifice for sin, because Jesus sacrificed once for all. Hopefully you have trusted in Christ and in His sacrifice for you.

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