A strong encouragement

Hebrews 6:18 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. This verse tells us why God swore that He would bless Abraham—to encourage us to take hold of the hope we have in God’s promises in Christ. When God made the oath to Abraham, He added a second reason for Abraham to trust Him. First, God cannot lie, so if He says He’s going to do something, then we can confidently expect Him to do it. Second, to add additional encouragement, He made an oath. He didn’t have to swear He would do it. His word should be sufficient for hope to give birth to faith. He did it out of love so everyone who takes refuge in Christ would be encouraged to hold fast with all the strength and diligence they have to God’s promised Sabbath rest. Let’s not miss this important concept: To take refuge in Christ is the same action as drawing near to the throne of grace upon which Jesus sits. When we draw near to the throne of grace for mercy and grace to help in times of need, we are taking refuge in Jesus. If we practice drawing near to Jesus on a daily, moment-by-moment basis so we can love with Him, there’s a hope that comes with that constant and persistent abiding in Christ. It proves we are His! It proves we are in His house! It proves God has justified us in Christ, and we will forever be with Him in glory.  That’s the kind of love we have dwelling in us. If we are His, our purpose is to love like He loves us. The marriage vows are meant to give assurance and a strong hope to the couple. Traditional Protestant Christian Wedding Vows: “In the name of God, I, Norm, take you, Alma, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.” Our word to our spouses to love them until death parts us is an expression of His kind of love. It’s meant to give our spouses hope. She or he should think that my spouse has not lied to me when she or he vowed to love me until death parts us. My guess is that most of my listeners made similar vows to the one I just read. What if after the vows, someone swore to keep their vows? After saying, “This is my solemn vow,” they said, “I swear in the name of God that I will keep this vow.” Why would they do that? It would be to give additional confidence to their spouse that the vows will be kept. I hope that helps us get God’s point and the author’s point. Anytime you need grace to love, draw near to God and hold fast to His character and His promise so you can receive and give His love. Living to love depends on faith in God, who cannot lie and has given us access to all the grace we need through His Son, Jesus Christ. So we have strong encouragement today from this verse to do just that. Draw near and take hold of the hope of future grace based upon the character of God, who has given us His word, His Son, and His access, and His grace.