Having commended the readers for their good works and love, the writer of Hebrews now described what they wanted them to continue to do and not to do. The writer encouraged and warned.
The writer asked them to continue to show the same diligence so that they might make their hope sure. The strong urging here to certify their hope suggests that at the moment they lacked assurance. The writer made another positive emphasis in urging them to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit God’s promises. They needed to emerge from their spiritual sluggishness and become imitators of the heroes of the faith that we will find in chapter 11. To reach these goals, they needed to demonstrate a faith in God’s provision to them and a patience which refused to quit under pressure.
The writer also warned them not to become lazy. The writer wanted them to reflect and check their movement toward sluggishness. If they did not put a halt to their spiritual drifting, they would never reach full maturity. The author gave them warnings and encouragements to hasten their progress toward the goal of full maturity in Jesus.
11 And we desire that each one of you demonstrate the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and endurance inherit the promises. 13 For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear an oath by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “indeed I will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply you.” 15 And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. (NASB)
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- May we be examples of growth and maturity in our Christianity by showing visible examples of our faith, serving others, being bold, and enduring and persevering through all hardships
- Reflect on your life and activities regularly. See if there are areas where you are drifting or becoming lazy. Perform a self-check and see what your attitude toward God is. Are you spending time with Him? Are you asking for His help? Are you depending on Him? Are you drifting from Him? Then, let the Spirit move in you. Respond accordingly to the Spirit’s communication.
- Abraham is mentioned to show the reliability of God’s promises. If God’s promises were reliable, then His followers can claim the hope which He promises.
CLOSER LOOK:
Verse 11–12: The writer’s desire for the readers of Hebrews is stated in verse eleven. It must have been a very strong anticipation because the writer uses the verb epithumeo, which often is used in the context of sexual lusts or strong desires. With this, we can see the author’s strong desire for this diligence. If the readers would only diligently hold onto the good course they already were pursuing—and of which God was fully mindful—they would thus guarantee the hope which is duly awarded to those who so persevere.
The writer’s desire for them is a hope so pure and strong that it results in full assurance. A principle is seen here: failure to grow in grace results in lack of assurance. Also, look at the connection between hope and assurance. Hope gives us subtle confidence. The world can be coming apart and chaotic and make no sense, but Christians have an assurance. God is in control so that there is an assurance. It should be noted that hope has many fruits–endurance (1 Thess. 1:3), joy (Rom. 12:12) and confidence (Heb. 6:11). Hope causes us to endure. There are some fantastic feats of endurance because of hope. We also see joy in hope. An example is at Christmas time when the kids are looking at the gifts and wondering what they are. They try to pick it up and feel what may be inside. For older adults, think about the joy expressed when you are planning a trip. You plan or think about the food you will eat, the art you will see, the places you will get to go, or the time away from others you will have. Or with students thinking about graduating and being done writing papers and reading books. There is rejoicing in hope.
And then, there is confidence. We can be confident in our hope in God and His promises. We can also add that purity is a result of hope. First John 3:2-3 says, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope set on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (NASB). Now, when you think of Christ coming again, you want a pure life, so hope has many, many results.
What is hope? It is something that many of us struggle to truly define and we can kind of be all over the place in defining hope. Many of us can define love easier and the different types of love. Faith can sometimes be a little easier to define and usually results in trusting. But when it comes to hope, some of us, myself included, struggle to really define it. It can be a mix of different concepts. Essentially, hope is desire with expectancy. Omit either desire or expectancy, and hope ceases. When one has genuine hope, the person will also have perseverance, joy and assurance with the hope.
Let me give an illustration of this to make it easier. For those in America, we all know that tax day is generally April 15. Someone may ask me if I expect to file and pay my taxes by April 15 of that year. I will respond with “Yes, I expect to file and pay my taxes. I don’t want to, but I will do it.” That is expectancy without desire. Another person could say, “would you like to make a million dollars this year?” I say, “Sure, I would love to make a million dollars this year, but I don’t expect to.” This is desire without expectancy. Neither of these examples is hope. Hope is desire with expectancy.
In Hebrews 6:11 the desire is for “each one” to come to this hope. (Notice once again it is not a mass of people. It’s not a huge segment. It’s, again, individuals.) This, of course, involves diligence, the zeal not to lapse back into Judaism. This is why verse 12 warns against being “sluggish,” the same word used in 5:11. The writer added, “so that you will not be sluggish.” The word “sluggish” (nōthroi) is the same word rendered “poor” (or “dull”) in 5:11 in the phrase “poor listeners.” The thought is the same. Spiritual dullness may be a precursor to apostasy.
The sluggishness which marked their immaturity was to be shrugged off.[1] Their real goal should be the inheritance that is set before them. They were to be “imitators of those who through faith and endurance inherit” God’s promises. Instead of being sluggish, the readers were to be like the examples of faith yet to be mentioned in chapter 11. That Hebrews 6:12 anticipates Hebrews 11 is seen in three key words used in this verse–faith, endurance (or patience), and promise (cf. 10:36, 39; 11:9, 13, 17, 26, 27, 33, 35-39; 12:1-3). We will find these same words prominent in Hebrews 11.
The “promises” mentioned in Hebrews 6:12 (and 13) anticipate the coming of God’s kingdom on this earth. This is confirmed by the reference to the Abrahamic promise in verse 13 (cf. 4:1; 6:15, 17; 7:6; 8:6; 9:15; 10:36; 11:9, 13, 17, 33, 39).
Verse 13–15: SO, now the writer brings up the subject of Abraham and they are simply talking about the promises.Have you ever noticed the names Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and how often those three are put together? Whenever you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, think of promise because, almost always, it is emphasizing promise. It is anticipating what is going to be. It is looking back at what God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Those three are a trio that emphasize God’s giving of the covenant and the promises. That is the persuasion of better things; that you are not going to do this; you are going to go on to inherit the promises.
Now the writer begins the discussion on the certainty of the promise. If the readers are to have full assurance, they need to know the promise is sure. For this cause Abraham is brought into the discussion. Actually, three reasons may be given for introducing Abraham here: (1) He illustrates like few others the endurance of hope (v. 12). Think of how he waited and waited and waited for having his son. (2) He was associated with Melchizedek who is about to be discussed. (3) He was assured of the certainty of the promise (v.12).
The certainty of the original promise is guaranteed for us by two factors–the oath of God (vv. 13-18) and the exaltation of the Son (vv. 19-20). The oath, of course, looks back to the offering up of Isaac in Genesis 22. Then the covenant of Genesis was reenforced with God’s oath (cf. Gen. 22:16; Psa. 110:4).
If the readers were searching for models to “imitate,” there was the case of Abraham who received a promise from God, the promise that assured the multiplication of his seed. In due time his patience was rewarded in that he received the promise. Since the reference is to the promise given in Genesis 22:17 after the offering of Isaac, the author may have been thinking of the reception of the promise itself as the reward. In that case the idea is that after Abraham had patiently endured (the test involving Isaac), he obtained the promise. “Patiently waited” translates the participle makrothymēsas, related to the noun “endurance” (or some translations say “patience”), makrothymias in Hebrews 6:12. This word, common in the New Testament, refers to the ability to hold one’s feelings in restraint without retaliation against others (see Col. 1:11; 3:12; James 5:7–8, 10). A synonym, hypomonē, “endurance, perseverance,” means the ability to remain steadfast in the face of undesirable circumstances (cf. Col. 1:11; Heb. 12:1–3, 7; James 5:11).
[1] Using the NIV version, the Greek of this verse can mean, “We do not want you to be lazy” rather than “become lazy.” Zane C. Hodges, “Hebrews,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 796.