THE CERTAINTY OF GOD'S PROMISES If you imagine that the awareness of daily benefits is adequate to the challenges of life, you must think again! We are not saved by daily blessings, but by hope (Rom 8:24-25)! That is, in the prospect of a glorious future with Jesus (John 14:3; 17:24), and an "eternal inheritance" (Heb 9:15), we are able to effectively "work out" our "own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12). -- Tomorrow:
"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." (Hebrews 6:13-15).
Salvation, in its ultimate sense, is not accomplished by deliverances in this world, but by hope – a hope that anticipates deliverance FROM this world. The sanctified life cannot be achieved by majoring on our experiences in this world. It takes hope to save the soul!
Believers are to be specialists in unseen things. That is where their focus is to found (2 Cor 4:17-18). The faithful servant Moses, "endured as seeing Him that is invisible" (Heb 11:27).
Speaking of hope, our text says it "entereth into that within the veil; whither the Forerunner is for us entered" (Heb 6:19-20). Hope is an anchor that is cast upward instead of downward, as with ships in the seas of earth. This is another way of saying spiritual life is maintained by heavenly associations. Living in an awareness of heaven is not simply a higher level of spiritual life – it is the ONLY way to live in the Spirit. Those who attempt to live without a dominating awareness of heavenly realms are destined to fall. They cannot survive the assaults of the evil one, or accept the challenges of faith. If it were possible to please God without the dominating awareness of which our text speaks, our anchor would not be cast into the heavenly sanctuary. That sanctuary is where Jesus presently resides. He is the "Forerunner" who has blazed the path to glory.
The purpose of an anchor is to prevent shipwreck, or drifting out to sea. If "hope" is an anchor, "both steadfast and sure," it is what keeps the soul from being dashed upon the rocks of futility. It also prevents the individual from drifting into forbidden areas, away from the haven into which the Gospel has called us.
All of that is fine enough to say, but the implications of these words are most arresting. Remember, "hope" speaks of a strong confidence. It is faith in it's forward posture. It produces a rejoicing in the heart that is not possible through any other means (Rom 12:12; Heb 3:6). The "hope of salvation" is the "helmet" that protects our minds, enabling us to survive the "fiery darts" that are hurled at us by the devil (1 Thess 5:8; Eph 6:18).
If these things are true, how people hope to survive if there is doubt concerning their place in glory? If a strong confidence is not resident in the heart, how will the attacks of Satan be repelled, and his temptations neutralized? How will discouragement and other normalities associated with life in the body be overcome?
The Spirit reminded the Hebrew believers of the powerful effect of hope upon them in their initial life with Christ. "For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, KNOWING IN YOURSELVES that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance" (Heb 10:34). Those who are not sure of a "better and an enduring substance" in heaven, are not apt to take "joyfully the spoiling," or plundering of their earthly possessions.
In my perception, the greatest deficiency of the modern church is its lack of a dominating hope. There is very little "full assurance," "confidence," or "rejoicing of the hope." In some circles, it is virtually unknown. What is more, the average fare that is being served up to the people of God is not conducive to the development of a strong hope, or the full assurance of faith. If this assessment is true, we have a most serious situation before us. People are actually being made vulnerable by their exposure to religion. Heaven is not becoming clearer to them, and earth is being accentuated. Less and less time is being spent feeding the soul and nourishing the sheep. More and more time is devoted to entertainment-like presentations and expressions that are more emotional, or soulish, than spiritual. People in this situation are not fleeing to lay hold on the hope, because they are not all that convinced it is for them. May the Lord raise up laborers for His harvest. How sorely they are needed!
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, and according to Your own word, fill me with all joy and peace in believing so I can abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom 15:13)