These assume that there is a strong disposition in men to doubt the veracity of the Divine promise, and in adorable condescension God gives us ample evidence to justify our faith and perseverance. It must be confessed that the abandonment of the Jewish Law, separation from the synagogue, the surrender of earthly pleasure, and submission to manifold trials, require varied reasons to convince and to maintain the conviction of the claims of the gospel. The encouragements consist of the following facts: -

I. THE EXAMPLE OF THE PROMISE AND OATH VOUCHSAFED TO ABRAHAM AND SINCE GLORIOUSLY REALIZED. The patriarch was called by the voice of God to offer up his son on Mount Moriah. It was the highest proof of his faith in Jehovah, and although he received him back in a figure of a nobler sacrifice, "to will was present," and God accepted the purpose of his believing soul. "In the mount of the Lord it was seen" that where there was the sternest trial of his faith there came the most blessed manifestations of the Divine favor, both for himself, his descendants after the flesh, and his more numerous spiritual progeny. God said, "By myself have I sworn, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore" (Genesis 22:16, 17). He waited patiently, and obtained the promise in the birth of Isaac; and afterwards he saw the day of Christ, the seed in whom all nations are blessed. The latest portions of the New Testament verify the promise contained in the earliest part of the Old; and John said, after the sealing of the hundred and. forty and four thousand of the tribes of Israel, "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb" (Revelations 7:9, 10). "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29).

II. THE EXTENSION OF THE BLESSING CONTAINED IN THE PROMISE, AND SANCTIONED BY THE OATH, TO ALL BELIEVERS. The words of grace which were spoken to Abraham retain their force and application to all who are his children by a living faith. "The Word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto us. The patriarch was the heir of the world, a trustee for the future generations of believers. The oath is still valid, and the promise is made by One who cannot lie, and whose self-sufficiency and omnipotence raise him above the temptation and possibility of deception. The oath in human affairs is final, and is an end of all strife; and, to remove all doubt, Jehovah condescends to adopt a human form of appeal, to assure believers of the immovable ground of confidence which they possess and enjoy. The freeness of the promise tends to confirm the confidence of the righteous; for it is the unexpected, unextorted utterance of Divine love to cheer and inspire believers in their way to heaven. Both furnish strong consolation, which is adequate to disarm all earthly sorrows and assaults of their terror, and recalls those cheering images of the Divine love which ancient psalmists often introduce in their exultation and gratitude after deliverance from adversaries, and with cheerful hope of future safety; for He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress: my God; in him will I trust" (Psalm 91:1, 2).

III. THE POWER AND CONNECTIONS OF CHRISTIAN HOPE. It is not unnatural to imagine that the writer may have thought of the wild and stormy ocean, from whose waves and turbulence the mariner hastens to a port of safety, and. then drops his anchor in the calm waters of the haven. The anchor descends below and grasps the solid earth, and holds the vessel fast amid the raging of the wind and the darkness of the sky. It resembles hope in its retentive capacity, which, amid winds of doctrine, failure of some who go back and walk no more with Christ, temptations from the world, the flesh, and the devil, keeps the believer from leaving his position and surrendering his profession of the gospel. The thought of the anchor is qualified by the connection of our hope with heaven, which our Lord has entered. It attaches itself to him who has entered as the Forerunner. Here we note a striking and glorious difference between the high priest of the temple and the office of the Redeemer. The Aaronic high priest had no one with him in the holiest of all, and stood and ministered in awful solitude before God. Our Lord is the Forerunner, and awaits the arrival of his followers. He is the Captain of salvation, who will bring many sons into glory; for he is a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, who, as a sublime type of the Lord Jesus, is presented to our consideration in the following chapter. - B.

I. FOR THE NATURE OF AN OATH, AND THE KINDS OF IT. An oath is an invocation of God, or an appeal to Him as a witness of the truth of what we say. So that an oath is a sacred thing, as being an act of religion and an invocation of the name of God; and this, whether the name of God be expressly mentioned in it or not. There are two sorts of oaths, assertory and promissory. An assertory oath is when a man affirms or denies, upon oath, a matter of fact, past or present: when he swears that a thing was, or is so, or not so. A promissory oath is a promise confirmed by an oath, which always respects something that is future; and if the promise be made directly and immediately to God, then it is called a vow; if to men, an oath.

II. THE GREAT USE AND EVEN NECESSITY OF OATHS, IN MANY CASES, WHICH IS SO GREAT, THAT HUMAN SOCIETY CAN VERY HARDLY, IF AT ALL, SUBSIST LONG WITHOUT THEM. Government would many times be very insecure, and for the faithful discharge of offices of great trust, in which the welfare of the public is nearly concerned, it is not possible to find any security equal to that of an oath; because the obligation of that reacheth to the most hidden practices of men, and takes hold of them, in many cases, where the penalty of no h ,man law can have any awe or force upon them; and especially it is the " best means of ending controversies." And where men's estates or lives are concerned, no evidence, but what is assured by an oath, will be thought sufficient to decide the matter, s,, as to give full and general satisfaction to mankind.

III. THE LAWFULNESS OF OATHS, WHERE THEY ARE NECESSARY.

1. I shall prove the lawfulness of oaths from the authority of this text, and the reasons plainly contained, or strongly implied in it. — Because the apostle doth not only speak of the use of oaths among men, without any manner of reproof, but as a commendable custom, and in many cases necessary for the confirmation of doubtful matters, and in order to the final decision of controversies and differences among men.

2. The insufficiency if the grounds of the contrary opinion, whether from reason or from Scripture.(1) From reason. They say the necessity of an oath is occasioned by the want of fidelity among men; and that every man ought to demean himself with that integrity as may give credit to his word; and then oaths will be needless. This pretence will be fully answered, if we consider these two things.(a) That in matters of great importance, no other obligation besides that of an oath hath been thought sufficient amongst the best and wisest of men, to assert their fidelity to one another.(b) This reason, which is alleged against oaths among men, is much stronger against God's confirming His promises to us by an oath. For He, who is truth itself, is surely of all other most to be credited upon His bare word, and His oath needless to give confirmation to it; and yet He condescends to add His oath to His word" and therefore that reason is evidently of no force.(2) From Scripture. Our Saviour seems altogether to forbid swearing in any case (Matthew 5:33, 34).(a) That several circumstances of these words of our Saviour do manifestly show that they ought to be interpreted in a limited sense, as only forbidding swearing in common conversation; needless and heedless oaths, and in general all voluntary swearing, unless upon some weighty cause, in which the glory of God and the wood of the souls of men is concerned. For that in such cases a voluntary oath may be lawful, I am induced to believe from the example of St. Paul, who useth it more than once upon such occasions.(b) It is very considerable to the explaining of this prohibition, that there are like general expressions in other Jewish authors concerning this very matter, which yet must of necessity be thus limited: — , from the ancient rabbis, gives this rule, that " it is best not to swear at all": and Philo useth almost the same words. And Rabbi Jonathan comes very near our Saviour's expression when he says, "The just man will not swear at all; not so much as by the common names of God, nor by His attributes, nor by His works, as by heaven, or the angels, or by the law." Now it is lint imaginable that these learned Jews should condemn oaths in all cases, when the law of Moses did in many cases expressly require them. And therefore they are to be understood of voluntary oaths in ordinary conversation.(c) This prohibition of our Saviour's cannot be understood to forbid all oaths, without a plain contradiction to the unboubted practice of the primitive Christians and of the apostles, and even of our Lord Himself. and tell us that the Christians refused to swear by the emperor's genius; not because it was an oath, but because they thought it to be idolatrous. But the same Tertullian says that the Christians were willing to swear " by the health and safety of the emperor." being accused to Constantius, purged himself by oath, and desired that his accuser might be, put to his oath," by calling the truth to witness: by which form," says he, "we Christians are wont to swear." But, which is more than this, St. Paul, upon weighty occasions, does several times in his epistle call God to witness for the truth of what he says; which is the very formality of an oath (Romans 1:9; 2 Corinthians 1:18, 23; Galatians 1:20; Philippians 1:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:5). These are all unquestionable oaths; which we cannot imagine St. Paul would have used had they been directly contrary to our Saviour's law. And whereas some defend this upon account of his extraordinary inspiration, I cannot possibly see how this mends the matter. For certainly it is very inconvenient to say that they who were to teach the precepts of Christ to others, did themselves break them by inspiration. But I go yet farther, and shall urge an example beyond all exception. Our Saviour Himself (who surely would not be the first example of breaking His own laws) did not refuse to answer upon oath, being called thereto at His trial. So we find Matthew 26:60.

IV. THE SACRED OBLIGATION OF AN OATH: BECAUSE IT IS A SOLEMN APPEAL TO GOD AS A WITNESS OF THE TRUTH OF WHAT WE SAY: to God, I say, from whose piercing and all-seeing eye, from whose perfect knowledge, nothing is or can be hid; so that there is not a thought in our heart but He sees it, nor a word in our tongue, but He discerns the truth or falsehood of it. Whenever we swear, we appeal to His knowledge and refer ourselves to His just judgment, who is the powerful patron and protector of right, and the almighty judge and avenger of all falsehood and unrighteousness. So that it is not possible for men to lay a more sacred and solemn obligation upon their consciences than by the religion of an oath.

(Abp. Tillotson.)

Hebrews, Melchisedec, MelchizedekJerusalemAlways, Argument, Confirmation, Confirms, Contradiction, Controversy, Decision, Dispute, Disputes, Ended, Final, Greater, Indeed, Making, Matters, Oath, Oaths, Puts, Someone, Statement, Strife, Sure, Swear, Term, Theirs, Themselves, Verily1. He exhorts not to fall back from the faith;
11. but to be steadfast,
12. diligent, and patient to wait upon God;
13. because God is most sure in his promise.

Hebrews 6:4-18

     5467   promises, divine

Hebrews 6:13-18

     1035   God, faithfulness
     5167   mouth
     8331   reliability

Hebrews 6:16-17

     7915   confirmation

Hebrews 6:16-18

     5431   oaths, divine

Hebrews 6:16-19

     8112   certainty

Final Perseverance
Looking at the scope of the whole passage, it appears to us that the Apostle wished to push the disciples on. There is a tendency in the human mind to stop short of the heavenly mark. As soon as ever we have attained to the first principles of religion, have passed through baptism, and understand the resurrection of the dead, there is a tendency in us to sit still; to say, "I have passed from death unto life; here I may take my stand and rest;" whereas, the Christian life was intended not to be a …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

Things that Accompany Salvation
Before we begin, however, let us just make this caution. When the Apostle speaks of virtues and of graces, he calls them "things that accompany Salvation," not things which cause it. Our faith does not cause Salvation, nor our hope, nor our love, nor our good works; they are things which attend it as its guard of honor. The origin of Salvation lies alone in the sovereign will of God the Father; in the infinite efficacy of the blood of Jesus--God the Son, and in the divine influence of God the Holy …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

"He is the Rock, his Work is Perfect. For all his Ways are Judgment. A God of Truth, and Without Iniquity, Just and Right is He.
Deut. xxxii. 4, 5.--"He is the rock, his work is perfect. For all his ways are judgment. A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he. They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children. They are a perverse and crooked generation." "All his ways are judgment," both the ways of his commandments and the ways of his providence, both his word which he hath given as a lantern to men's paths, and his works among men. And this were the blessedness of men, to be found …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Analysis Necessary.
"Let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation." --Heb. vi. 1. To systematize the work of the Holy Spirit in individuals, we must first consider their spiritual condition before conversion. Misunderstanding concerning this leads to error and confusion. It causes the various operations of the Holy Spirit to be confounded, so that the same terms are used to designate different things. And this confuses one's own thought, and leads others astray. This is most seriously apparent in ministers …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Anchored
"An Anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast."--Heb. vi. 19. J. A. Rothe, 1758. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 My soul hath found the steadfast ground, There ever shall my anchor hold-- That ground is in my Saviour Christ, Before the world was from of old-- And that sure ground shall be my stay, When Heaven and Earth shall pass away. That ground is Thine Eternal Love, Thy Love that through all ages burns-- The open arms of mercy stretched To meet the sinner who returns; The Love that calleth everywhere, …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

The Vessel of Wrought Gold
F. M. Heb. vi. 19, 20 I go on my way rejoicing, Though weary the wilderness road-- I go on my way rejoicing In hope of the glory of God. Oh well do I know that glory, That Home and that welcome sweet, Where above the mists and the shadows With the heart of my God I meet. There the ship of my soul is harboured In the calm of the crystal sea, For within the veil is the anchor, Where Jesus has entered for me. Awhile in the earthen vessel The treasures of glory gleam; In Heaven the fount eternal, …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

The Gospel Refuge.
THE GOSPEL REFUGE. "We have a strong consolation who have fled for Refuge."--HEB. vi. 18. And now, my young friends, we have finished the survey of our picture-gallery. We have wandered among these six cities in the old land of promise. I shall repeat their names once more, that you may remember them. KEDESH, Holiness. SHECHEM, Shoulder. HEBRON, Fellowship. BEZER, Stronghold. RAMOTH, Exaltation. GOLAN, Joy. What a complete Saviour! In Him "all fullness …
John Ross Macduff—The Cities of Refuge: or, The Name of Jesus

Because There is not a Single Scripture in the Church Epistles Which, Rightly Interpreted, Teaches a Partial Rapture.
How could there be? Scripture cannot contradict itself. If the Pauline Epistles explicitly teach and expressly affirm that "all shall be changed in a moment," that "they that are Christ's at His coming shall be raised from the dead, that "we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ" and that when our lord returns to the earth to be glorified in His saints He shall be "admired in all them that believe" then these same Church Epistles can not teach that a part of the Church only shall be …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

A Passage Quoted by the Heretics against Repentance is Explained in Two Ways...
A passage quoted by the heretics against repentance is explained in two ways, the first being that Heb. vi. 4 refers to the impossibility of being baptized again; the second, that what is impossible with man is possible with God. 6. Being then refuted by the clear example of the Apostle and by his writings, the heretics yet endeavour to resist further, and say that their opinion is supported by apostolic authority, bringing forward the passage in the Epistle to the Hebrews: "For it is impossible …
St. Ambrose—Works and Letters of St. Ambrose

Writings of St. Ambrose.
The extant writings of St. Ambrose may be divided under six heads. I. Dogmatic; II. Exegetic; III. Moral; IV. Sermons; V. Letters; VI. A few Hymns. I. Dogmatic and Controversial Works. 1. De Fide. The chief of these are the Five Books on the Faith, of which the two first were written in compliance with a request of the Emperor Gratian, a.d. 378. Books III.-V. were written in 379 or 380, and seem to have been worked up from addresses delivered to the people [V. prol. 9, 11; III. 143; IV. 119]. This …
St. Ambrose—Works and Letters of St. Ambrose

Introduction. These Two Books were Written against the Novatian Heresy...
These two books were written against the Novatian heresy, which took its name, and to a considerable extent its form, from Novatus, a priest of the Church of Carthage, and Novatian, schismatically consecrated bishop at Rome. It was the outcome of a struggle which had long existed in the Church upon the question of the restitution to Church privileges of those who had fallen into grievous sin, and the possibility of their repentance. The severest ground was taken by the Novatians, who were condemned …
St. Ambrose—Works and Letters of St. Ambrose

The Joint Heirs and their Divine Portion
I would invite you, my brethren in Christ Jesus, this morning, to do three things; first, let us consider the terms of the will--"joint heirs with Christ;" secondly, let us go forth and view the estates--what it is of which we are joint heirs; and when we have done so, let us proceed at once to administer, for God hath made his children administrators as web as heirs. I. First, then, there is A LEGAL TERM IN THE WILL UPON WHICH THE WHOLE MATTER WILL HINGE. We are called "joint heirs with Christ"--what …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 7: 1861

Inconsideration Deplored. Rev. Joshua Priestley.
"And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness."--HOSEA vii. 2. Is it possible for any man to conceive of truths more fitted to arrest the attention and impress the heart than are those contained in this volume? It has been said that if a blank book had been put into our hands, and every one of us had been asked to put into it the promises we should like to find there, we could not have employed language so explicit, so expressive, and so suited to all our varied wants, …
Knowles King—The Wesleyan Methodist Pulpit in Malvern

Covenanting Recommended by the Practice of the New Testament Church.
The approved practice of the Church of God in Covenanting, is recommended to us by these two things,--that it displays a voluntary regard to his will, and that it exhibits his power accomplishing his purpose. The example of the people of God, while they walk in all his ordinances and commandments blameless, is a warranted motive to duty. "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ."[778] Their practice in the discharge of the duty of Covenanting, accordingly, is worthy of imitation. Were …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Manner of Covenanting.
Previous to an examination of the manner of engaging in the exercise of Covenanting, the consideration of God's procedure towards his people while performing the service seems to claim regard. Of the manner in which the great Supreme as God acts, as well as of Himself, our knowledge is limited. Yet though even of the effects on creatures of His doings we know little, we have reason to rejoice that, in His word He has informed us, and in His providence illustrated by that word, he has given us to …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

What it is Not.
"We are His workmanship." --Ephes. ii. 10. In the preceding article we contended that there is preparatory grace. In opposition to the contemporary deism of the Methodists, [26] the Reformed churches ought to confess this excellent truth in all its length and breadth. But it should not be abused to reestablish the sinner's free will, as the Pelagians did, and the Arminians after them, and as the Ethicals do now, tho differently. The Methodist errs in saying that God does not care for the sinner until …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Resurrection
'Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.' John 5:58, 29. Q-38: WHAT BENEFITS DO BELIEVERS RECEIVE FROM CHRIST AT THE RESURRECTION? A: At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgement, and made perfectly blessed in the …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Book ii. Jerome Answers the Second, Third, and Fourth Propositions of Jovinianus.
I. (c. 1-4). That those who have become regenerate cannot be overthrown by the devil, Jerome (c. 1) puts it that they cannot be tempted by the devil. He quotes 1 John i. 8-ii. 2, as shewing that faithful men can be tempted and sin and need an advocate. The expressions (3) in Heb. vi. as to those who crucify the Son of God afresh do not apply to ordinary sins after baptism, as supposed by Montanus and Novatus. The epistles to the Seven Churches show that the lapsed may return. The Angels, and even …
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

Concerning Perseverance, and the Possibility of Falling from Grace.
Concerning Perseverance, and the Possibility of Falling from Grace. Although this gift and inward grace of God be sufficient to work out salvation, yet in those in whom it is resisted, it both may and doth become their condemnation. Moreover, they in whose hearts it hath wrought in part to purify and sanctify them in order to their further perfection, may, by disobedience, fall from it, turn it to wantonness, Jude iv. make shipwreck of faith, 1 Tim. i. 19. and after having tasted the heavenly gift, …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

"Boast not Thyself of to Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. "
Prov. xxvii. 1.--"Boast not thyself of to morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." As man is naturally given to boasting and gloriation in something (for the heart cannot want some object to rest upon and take complacency in, it is framed with such a capacity of employing other things), so there is a strong inclination in man towards the time to come, he hath an immortal appetite, and an appetite of immortality; and therefore his desires usually stretch farther than the present …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Feast of the Dedication. The Jews Attempt to Stone Jesus and He Retires to Peræa.
(Jerusalem and Beyond Jordan.) ^D John X. 22-42. ^d 22 And it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem: 23; it was winter; and Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. [The feast of dedication was one of eight days' duration and began upon the 25th Chisleu, which, according to the calculation of M. Chevannes, fell upon the nineteenth or twentieth of December, a.d. 29. The feast was kept in honor of the renovation and purification of the temple in the year b.c. 164, after it had been desecrated …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Derivative Doctrines. Grace and the Means of Grace; the Christian Life; the Last Things.
The idea of Grace is important to the theological system of Athanasius, in view of the central place occupied in that system by the idea of restoration and new creation as the specific work of Christ upon His fellow-men (supra, §2, cf. Orat. ii. 56, Exp. in Pss. xxxiii. 2, cxviii. 5, LXX.). But, in common with the Greek Fathers generally, he does not analyse its operation, nor endeavour to fix its relation to free will (cf. Orat. i. 37 fin., iii. 25 sub fin.). The divine predestination relates …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

The Holy War,
MADE BY SHADDAI UPON DIABOLUS, FOR THE REGAINING OF THE METROPOLIS OF THE WORLD; OR, THE LOSING AND TAKING AGAIN OF THE TOWN OF MANSOUL. THE AUTHOR OF 'THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.' 'I have used similitudes.'--Hosea 12:10. London: Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms in the Poultry; and Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Bunyan's account of the Holy War is indeed an extraordinary book, manifesting a degree of genius, research, and spiritual …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

"But we are all as an Unclean Thing, and all Our Righteousnesses are as Filthy Rags,"
Isaiah lxiv 6, 7.--"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags," &c. This people's condition agreeth well with ours, though the Lord's dealing be very different. The confessory part of this prayer belongeth to us now; and strange it is, that there is such odds of the Lord's dispensations, when there is no difference in our conditions; always we know not how soon the complaint may be ours also. This prayer was prayed long before the judgment and captivity came …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Hebrews 6:16 NIV
Hebrews 6:16 NLT
Hebrews 6:16 ESV
Hebrews 6:16 NASB
Hebrews 6:16 KJV

Hebrews 6:16 Bible Apps
Hebrews 6:16 Parallel
Hebrews 6:16 Biblia Paralela
Hebrews 6:16 Chinese Bible
Hebrews 6:16 French Bible
Hebrews 6:16 German Bible

Hebrews 6:16 Commentaries

Bible Hub