First Mennonite Church
June 21, 2026
We Are A Hopeful People
Text: Hebrews 6:13-20
In the passage we considered last Sunday, Paul says that God made those who are in Christ “heirs of the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7). Paul says this is a trustworthy word from God, which every believer should speak of with great confidence. That is, we who are followers of Jesus should not be shy about the hope we have been given. We have, not only the privilege of being heirs of hope, but also the obligation to speak of this hope with confidence and openly. Speaking confidently about God’s hope is not boasting, but being grateful of what God has given us.
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews agrees with Paul about the trustworthiness of God’s promises and explains it furthermore. God’s eternal promises to every believer find their origin in the promises he made to Abraham. God promised to bless all nations through Abraham. God promised to create a people for himself from the children of Abraham. God promised to redeem his people through a Savior that would come from the seed of Abraham.
So, let us read Hebrews 6:13-20.
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”[d] 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
When someone makes a promise, the one receiving the promise expects some kind of guarantee that the promise will be fulfilled. To that end, oaths, swearing, and pledges become necessary. As verse 16 says, People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. When there is a swearing ceremony, people swear by something greater than themselves. Some place their hand on a Bible. In non-legal settings, people swear by whatever is most valuable or sacred to them. But in the case of God, and because there is no one greater than God, God had to swear by his name, says the writer.
In this chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews, the author explains why all of God’s promises are steadfast and trustworthy. In verses 10 and 18, says that God is not unjust. God will reward everyone according to their deeds. God will vindicate the innocent who suffer abuse and injustices. God will also punish those who do wrong, no matter how much they justify their actions. God knows the intentions of the heart of all men and women.
The writer also says that God’s faithfulness is based on the fact that “God does not forget.” God’s faculty to remember never dims nor lapses. We forget things, names, and even information we try so hard to retain. However, God never forgets. He will not forget what he has promised. He will never forget the good works we have done. When all humanity stands before God, everything about our lives will be brought up. And we will have to give an account for them.
The third basis for God’s faithfulness, say Hebrews, is that “God does not lie” (6:10, 17 and 18). James, the brother of the Lord Jesus, says in his letter: Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:16, 17). We can count on the word of God. We can trust in every word that God has spoken. Jesus was the embodiment of God’s essence when he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” God is truth.
Therefore, when God made these promises to Abraham, he also made them to Abraham’s heirs and spiritual descendants. Now, we are heirs of God’s promises. As the writer says, we are urged and encouraged to seize, to take hold of the hope set before us. So then, what is the hope that is set before us?
We need to realize that the word “hope” is generally defined from two different perspectives. In New Testament times, the word “hope” was not necessarily part of the religious vocabulary. For instance, when Peter wrote about the “living hope we have through the resurrection of Jesus,” the concept of hope as something definite and reliable was an entirely new concept (1Peter 1:3). Seneca, the Roman Philosopher contemporary of Paul, wrote that hope “At best, assigns the possibility of good things.”[1] Hope was an attitude of expectation for either good or bad things to come. Hope guaranteed nothing. Therefore, the people in those cultures saw divination as a necessary tool to know what the future held for them. Sacrifices were offered to placate the forces people believed controlled their fate. People relied on dreams for direction and guidance before they started major projects or engaged in wars, or embarked on journeys.
Today, hope, in the secular world, is often described as the ability to look into the future with a positive attitude. Hope is the ability to see the possible good in future events, especially when those events are potentially detrimental. Again, this way of defining hope depends on the person’s ability to remain optimistic. This understanding of hope leaves the person at the mercy of fate or chance. Many who see hope in this way also resort to things they believe can improve their chances for achieving their pursuit in life. So, they rely on their luck charms, amulets, rabbit’s foot, horseshoes, lucky numbers, or four-leaf clover shamrocks, among others. That is why we often hear people say, “We just do what we can and hope for the best.” There is no guarantee there will be a good outcome.
For us, as God’s people, our understanding of hope is different from that of the Greek and Western cultures.
God’s steadfast love and faithfulness is our source of hope. God is not unjust. God does not forget. God does not change. And God does not lie (6:10, 17 and 18). And Jesus is the embodiment of our hope. Jesus is God with us—the Emmanuel. Jesus said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
He is by our side, knows our story and life’s journey. He holds us close to his heart. He comforts us in times of trouble. He provides us when we are need. He is our source of peace and joy.
It is clear that when the author of the letter to the Hebrews urged his readers to take hold of the hope given to them by God that he was referring to Jesus, the radiance and full embodiment of God. Thus, he says, This Hope has become the sure and steadfast anchor of our soul seated at the right hand of God interceding for us day and night.
From this perspective, hope is not only a posture we have before God or a kind of comfort dangling before us and beckoning to us to keep pushing towards into the future. Hope is not something dependent on how we feel. Hebrews speaks of hope as an anchor, a nautical instrument that secures a vessel even in the midst of a stormy sea. This hope is firm and secure in the presence of the God. It is Jesus Christ who is seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding and pleading on our behalf. Jesus is the anchor of our soul, therefore, no matter how rough the seas of life are around us, we are secure in his loving and caring hands. We are a people of hope and heirs of hope.
And the Lord wants us to be that people that inspire hope and bring hope to the hopeless. We are a people of hope, but that does not mean we do not take reality seriously or cannot be affected by what’s happening around us or are indifferent to the suffering of others. It means, however, that our soul remains unmoved from the promise of him who has promised to walk with us in the darkest valley. It means we trust in him who said he will walk with us when we go through the fire. It means we have entrusted our lives to the one who said, I am the resurrection and the life.
So, when among your friends, be that ray of hope, not a cloud of gloom. Do not let the hopeless spirit of the world overshadow the hope that lives in you. Speak confidently of Jesus, our living hope. Spread the hope you have in the Lord.
Let me close with Paul’s blessing to the Christians in Rome: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:7-12). Amen!
[1] Esperanza. Diccionario Teológico del Nuevo Testamento (Eds. Coenen, Beyreuther, Bietenhard) Sigueme Salamaca 1990 p. 130