The Passage

Taking hold of something is grabbing tight to it. Motorcyclists take hold of the handles of their motorcycles, skydivers grab hold of “steering toggles” to land their parachute properly, and rowers take hold of the oars of their skiff to win a rowing competition. And Christians? To be successful, we need to take hold of the Hope set before us (Hebrews 6:18).

But what if your church friends don’t care about a hope? What if they consider a future hope to be a boring topic? Maybe they’re entertained by their smart phones, sports, and vacations. What if they’re sufficiently occupied with the routine of work, study, and paying bills? God foresaw that worldly distractions would discourage people from taking hold of the Hope, so he has offered us strong encouragement to motivate us.

What is this encouragement? What exactly is this Hope? We’ll answer questions as we break down Bible passages, but let's start with the New Testament passage that tells us 'to take hold of the Hope set before us.'

For when God made the promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, saying, ‘I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.’ And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.

For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the Hope set before us (Hebrews 6:13-18; NASB).

Context: Genesis 22

Likely as you read the passage above you struggled to see how it's connected to your own life. You may have struggled to see how it's related to our Hope. Maybe you found it difficult to understand what God did in Abraham's life. That's because it's a complicated passage. It's theme (the Hope) is basic, but the passage is complex.

To understand any Bible passage, you should always start with the context. The context of Hebrews 6 is Genesis 22, a chapter which describes Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac and the blessing God gave Abraham for this famous deed. Let’s read it and see if things make more sense.

The Angel of the LORD called to Abraham from Heaven a second time and said, ‘I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your seed all nations on Earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me’ (Genesis 22:15-18).

Now, let's break this passage down. Five points we gather from this Old Testament passage about Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac that we wouldn’t otherwise have understood if we had only read Hebrews 6 are:

1. The one who spoke to Abraham was the Angel of the LORD, the preincarnate Christ. He spoke from Heaven twice, so he was not on Earth next to Abraham restraining Abraham from wielding the knife as many paintings have depicted (see illustration below).

2. The Angel of the LORD spoke on God’s behalf. That’s why he said thus ‘declares the LORD.’ Another hint that the Father was not speaking is Genesis 22:12 where the Angel of the LORD says 'Now I know that you fear God.' That's not something God says.

3. The reason God blessed Abraham was for Abraham’s deeds. Specifically, the deed of putting Isaac on the altar of sacrifice. It was ‘because you have done this’ and ‘because you have obeyed me’ that God blessed Abraham.

This agrees with James' argument that justification is not by "faith alone" but by works:

Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? (James 2:21)

4. Abraham’s deeds demonstrated that he was willing to give his son to God. Abraham did not withhold his only son from God. That’s why the Angel of the LORD said ‘[you] have not withheld your son, your only son.’

5. Abraham’s action of sacrificing Isaac was remarkable because Abraham believed that his descendants--a numerous people--would come from Isaac. He held on to the belief that Isaac’s descendants would form a great nation. Therefore Abraham reasoned that since God must have been planning on doing something special after the sacrifice of Isaac.

Abraham's reasoning was that if God wanted him to sacrifice Isaac, the father of many descendants, God must have been planning on bringing Isaac back from the Dead.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the Dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from Death (Hebrews 11:17-19).

So Abraham believed that God was going to resurrect Isaac right there on the spot. The clue that this was going on in Abraham’s mind was his farewell to his servants before ascending with Isaac to Moriah. Abraham said:

Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you (Genesis 22:5).  

Definition of Terms

Let’s return to our New Testament passage (Hebrews 6) now. It's rather complicated, so be patient while studying it. To understand it, you first need to define its key terms and expressions. There are at least six of those which we need to comprehend: to swear by one’s self, the oath/promise, the heirs of the promise, Abraham’s patient waiting, and the Hope.

· swear by one’s self 

God wanted Abraham and us to be certain of what God had promised, so he swore. In other words, he took an oath. Being God, he could not swear by anyone greater, so he swore by Himself, saying ‘I swear by Myself, declares the LORD.’

· the oath / promise

God’s oath to Abraham is also a promise. If you break it down, it's really a set of four promises:

1. the promise of a blessing on Abraham – ‘I will surely bless you’

2. the promise of the multiplication of Abraham’s descendants – ‘[I will] make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore’

3. the promise that Abraham’s descendants would be victorious against their enemies – ‘your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies’

4. the promise that all people groups would be blessed in Jesus – ‘… through your seed [singular] all nations on Earth will be blessed.’

The correct interpretation of promise 4 is that it's Jesus Christ.

The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ (Galatians 3:16).

· the heirs of the promise / we who have taken refuge

The blessing on Abraham affects other people like you and me--anyone who has repented of our sins, has died with Christ in baptism, and has been born of the Holy Spirit! We are the heirs of the promise, the heirs of the blessings! God's oath was for us.

The Scriptures say that God wanted to ‘show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his purpose’ so his oath and his swearing by Himself were for us. We are the people who need to know that God is faithful. Since God's words were spoken 3,500 years ago, we need confidence that what God said is true. We're still waiting for the fulfillment of his promises and we need to know that he'll bring them about.

Christians are also called ‘we who have taken refuge’ in this passage (and not just heirs). In what sense have we taken refuge? Well, the only other option in Eternity besides eternal glory in the Kingdom is condemnation in Hell. We haven’t only come to Jesus because he offers something wonderful, but because we flee from the frightening possibility of eternal damnation.

Somebody built this "refuge" high up in the Alps. It's a safe haven.

· Abraham’s patient waiting

Abraham first heard God’s promise of having a son at age 80, but Isaac was only born 20 years later when he was 100 years old. During that time Abraham waited. He sinned by obeying Sarah and sleeping with Hagar. That produced another son, Ishmael, but Abraham repented and continued to wait for the son God had promised through his sterile wife. Eventually, Sarah gave birth to Isaac.

· the Hope

The passage says that the Hope is ‘set before us’ which means that it is future. It’s something to strive for. What are the promises God made to Abraham’s descendants which have not yet been fulfilled? They are:

1. the multiplication of Abraham’s descendants – Once we are resurrected, we’ll see the total number of people (Jews and Gentiles) who have had the faith of Abraham--we'll see them in the Kingdom. That will be the fulfillment of the promise of God to give Abraham descendants who are like the stars of the sky and the sand on the sea.

2. the descendants’ victory against enemies – Our enemies are all the forces of evil in and outside the Church who wish to destroy us, including the Devil and the Antichrist. We have many battles, but the definitive ones will be Armageddon and the battle against Gog / Magog.

3. all peoples will be blessed through Jesus – Abraham’s seed is Jesus! At least some representatives from every ethnic group, tribe, and tongue will repent and trust in Jesus for salvation. Those will inherit the Kingdom.

I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the Throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands (Revelation 7:9).

God Doesn’t Lie

Now, why did God, who made such wonderful promises to Abraham, combine them with an oath? He wanted us to ‘have strong encouragement to take hold of the Hope set before us.’ In other words, God has done and said everything possible so people like you and me would grab tight to the promise.

Since the Scriptures call it a promise (singular), we can also call it a promise; and the promise can be summed up in two words: the Kingdom.

Remember: Hebrews 6 calls us heirs of the promise. That’s very nice, but it’s not the only time we’re called heirs of God’s promise. Since the promise is the Kingdom, we should take notice of the many passages which call us heirs of the Kingdom:

… the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God… And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; ESV).

… has not God chosen those who are poor in the World to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? (James 2:5; ESV)

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth (Matthew 5:5; cf. Psalm 37:11; ESV).

… you have made them a Kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the Earth (Revelation 5:10; ESV).

The point is that this Hope is something we can really latch on to, and the reason why we can latch on to it so firmly is because God swore with an oath--and oath to make his promise as firm and sure as possible. With this double surety coming from the mouth of the One who cannot lie, what more reason do we need to believe in God’s promise of a Kingdom?

God spoke to Abraham and to us through Abraham ‘by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie’ (Hebrews 6:18; NASB).

Did Abraham Obtain the Promise?

Did Abraham reach his goal? Did he see the fulfillment of the Kingdom promise? Our answer starts as a “yes” because Hebrews 6 says that Abraham ‘obtained the promise.’ But according to Hebrews 11, the answer is “no,” because Abraham did not inherit the Kingdom during his life. He was ‘commended for his faith’ but he did not receive ‘what had been promised’ (Hebrews 11:39-40).

During his life, Abraham departed from Ur, left his father’s household, and made his way to the Promised Land by faith. He never bought a piece of property to live on, but lived as a pilgrim, by faith. He bought a tomb in which he would be buried in Canaan so that he would resurrect there by faith. After 20 years of waiting, Abraham received the son God promised through Sarah, by faith. Then Abraham demonstrated his willingness to surrender that son to God, also by faith. Finally, Abraham raised Isaac in the fear of the Lord, by faith.

Can you see how Abraham was tested by God on many different levels? God tested Abraham not just once, but time after time. Abraham succeeded because he acted by faith.

Who Obtains God's Promises?

Who obtains God’s promises? Those who pass the tests he gives them by faith.

God tested Abraham. The New Testament passage about Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac begins with the words ‘when God tested him’ (Hebrews 11:17), and the Old Testament account also begins with the words ‘Some time later God tested Abraham’ (Genesis 22:1). It's never been a secret that God tested Abraham.

But let this not be a secret: You are also being tested. Let it be known that only if you pass God’s tests, will you be approved. You need to know today that only if you pass his tests, will you also obtain the promise of the Kingdom.

Have we finished our testing yet? No. The most difficult challenges are yet to come.

The Last Leg of the Relay

Abraham has passed the baton to us.

Until we finish our part of the race, neither we nor men like Abraham will obtain the promise of the Kingdom because we're all on the same team. God will allow Abraham and all other God-fearers in history to enter the Kingdom only after you and I have completed our leg of this relay race.

So keep on struggling! Keep on fighting! Others are rooting for you. They have an invested interest. They must share in your victory to obtain their own victory.

These [including Abraham] were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect (Hebrews 11:39-40).

The Resurrection only comes when God has declared the race "over." Until then, Abraham and everyone else wait in Hades. Then, together we'll meet Jesus in the clouds when he returns. Our success depends upon whether or not we'll take hold of the Hope set before us (Hebrews 6:18)!