Verse of the Day (May 18, 2020)

Verse of the Day (May 18, 2020) #BMSeminary – This chapter is famous for its strong warning passage (vv. 4–8), and rightly so. Unfortunately, its strong preservation (“eternal security”) passage is not nearly as well known. God made promises to Abraham and fortified them with an oath (vv. 13–14). Abraham believed God and “obtained the promise” (v. 15) and the readers of this letter are to do the same. God stooped to meet us in our weakness; he added his oath to his promise (as if his Word were not enough!). Why? So that we, heirs of the promise made to Abraham and believers in Jesus, “might have strong encouragement” (v. 18). God does not want us to doubt our salvation. At the same time he spurs us on so that we might “hold fast to the hope set before us” (v. 18). Our hope is secure as an “anchor of the soul” (v. 19) that Jesus took with him into the Most Holy Place when he returned to the Father’s presence. He went to heaven “as a forerunner on our behalf” (v. 20); therefore, we will surely follow him there. Such a hope inspires us to love him who loved us like this and to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matt. 6:33). (Gospel Transformation Study Bible)