Hebrews 6B (2014) Last time we studied in this chapter, the authr cnfrnted us with the challenge f whether we were maturing in ur faith as we shuld At the end f chapter 5, the writer sunded a bit frustrated with this church s lack f spiritual prgress He felt frced t pause in his explanatin f Melchizedek as the frerunner t Christ The cncept f Christ serving as priest in the rder f Melchizedek was difficult t understand Especially by an audience that hadn t dne its hmewrk S he diverted his attentin away frm that discussin t engage the church n the dangers f failing t pursue spiritual maturity thrugh a dedicatin t studying scripture At the beginning f chapter 6, he listed six areas f Christian knwledge that he called the elementary teaching abut the Christ Ntice he didn t call them teachings f Jesus He calls them the teachings abut the Christ In ther wrds, these were basic teachings that predated the revelatin f Jesus as Christ They are the basics f faith, which were presented as far back as the Old Testament But as we lked at the list, we fund several tpics that can still pse a challenge fr Christians still tday Teachings n washing r spiritual gifting Teaching n resurrectin & eternal judgment S, as we began the chapter, we fund urselves already cnvicted by the what cnstitutes the basics f Christian maturity If these things are the basics, accrding t scripture, and yet many believers are still ignrant n these tpics, then what des that say abut the state f ur maturity? 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 2 f 15 Perhaps we are als in need f learning the ABCs f ur faith Perhaps we re als in danger f making the same mistake the early church apparently made And if s, then we may be subject t the same cnsequences, right? Nw the writer hasn t yet explained what thse cnsequences are That s cming in the secnd half f this chapter It s the third warning f the bk f Hebrews, and ne f the mre challenging in the entire letter As we dive int that sectin this mrning, we must maintain a firm view f the writer s cntext leading int the warning In fact, we need t remember where the writer began in chapter 5 In 5:12 he tld this grup that they ught by nw t be teachers f the wrd And he chastised them fr nt mving n t slid fd Instead they have remained n milk, which was a euphemism fr simplistic, unchallenging teaching and ideas And then in chapter 6 the writer pened by tell them t press n t maturity in their faith And we ended ur intrductin t chapter 6 in v.3 where the writer minusly declared that these brethren will mature if Gd permits And with that the writer mves int the warning f what may transpire fr thse wh fail t press n t maturity Nw why did I take us back thrugh thse bservatins? Because I want us t nte that thrughut this discussin the writer has been fcused n the cnsequences f failing t mature as a Christian He has never veered ff that tpic Therefre, we must understand that the warning that fllws is directed at this very same audience 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 3 f 15 - That is, this is a warning fr the believer wh fails t mature as Gd expects Remember, we must guide ur interpretatin by the cntext f the letter And if we verlk the cntext, we will mve in the wrng directin with ur interpretatin, and s ur thelgy will be wrng as well We ll return t the questin f the writer s intended audience as we examine the warning, but fr nw let s read the warning Heb. 6:4 Fr in the case f thse wh have nce been enlightened and have tasted f the heavenly gift and have been made partakers f the Hly Spirit, Heb. 6:5 and have tasted the gd wrd f Gd and the pwers f the age t cme, Heb. 6:6 and then have fallen away, it is impssible t renew them again t repentance, since they again crucify t themselves the Sn f Gd and put Him t pen shame. The writer begins with the prepsitin fr r we culd als translate the Greek wrd as cnsequently In the preceding verse the writer said the church wuld press n t spiritual maturity if Gd wuld permit And nw he says cnsequently He s cnnecting these tw thughts, s it s imprtant that we try t understand hw they are cnnected Then writer begins t describe a certain scenari, ne that he fears his audience is at risk f encuntering The scenari begins with the grup encuntering a series f experiences First, this grup experiences an enlightenment is the Greek wrd phtiz, frm which we get phtn It literally means t be brught int the light In Jhn s Gspel, we learn that being brught int the light is a descriptin f cming t knw the Gspel 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 4 f 15 Jhn 1:3 All things came int being thrugh Him, and apart frm Him nthing came int being that has cme int being. Jhn 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light f men. Jhn 1:9 There was the true Light which, cming int the wrld, enlightens every man. Jesus is the Light f the wrld, and He enlightens men S this grup s experience begins with an enlightenment Next the writer says this grup tasted f the Heavenly gift and were made partakers f the Hly Spirit T understand what the Heavenly gift is in this cntext, we shuld nte that it cmes after being enlightened And it leads t being made a partaker f the Hly Spirit There is nly ne Heavenly gift mentined in the Bible that wuld fit all these criteria Paul tells us what that gift f Heaven is in Ephesians 2: Eph. 2:8 Fr by grace yu have been saved thrugh faith; and that nt f yurselves, it is the gift f Gd; Eph. 2:9 nt as a result f wrks, s that n ne may bast. Paul says the gift that cmes frm Heaven is the gift f faith in Christ And by that gift f faith, we are saved by Gd s grace And we knw that faith fllws an encunter with the Light f Christ and it leads t the arrival f the Hly Spirit t dwell in ut hearts Ntice that the writer says that this grup were made t be partakers f the Hly Spirit The arrival f the Hly Spirit is nt an ptinal event fr the new believer Nr is it a mment that depends n any actin n ur part It happens by Gd s pwer accrding t His prmise t send the Helper t all His children 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 5 f 15 S the writer says this grup was made t receive the Spirit by the pwer f Gd as a result f faith Finally, the writer says this grup has tasted the gd wrd f Gd and the pwers f the ages t cme This statement has been analyzed 7 ways t Sunday, as the saying ges, but it s very simple The Greek wrd translated taste is literally the wrd fr eating, as in taking in r cnsuming smething The writer isn t trying t be cute with his chice f wrds He s just speaking in petic language t describe hw a persn can nly sample all that the wrd f Gd cntains - We taste it in the sense that it s impssible t cnsume all f it in ne sitting - The wrd f Gd is infinite in its wisdm Furthermre, they have tasted the pwers f the age t cme The cming age is a reference t the Kingdm age, when we will live in eternal bdies withut sin and in the full light f Christ s presence Once again, the term taste is an accurate t express ur limited experience with the Kingdm t this pint By ur faith, we ve nly tasted what that cming age will be like We have the indwelling f the Spirit and with that certain spiritual gifts We knw the lve f Gd and have a hpe f resurrectin But these things are but a taste f what s t cme fr us All in all, the list is a descriptin f the believer wh has entered int the grace f Gd thrugh faith in Jesus Christ And f curse, such a cnclusin fits perfectly with the cntext f chapters 5 and 6 The writer is cncerned abut believers spiritual immaturity And he s been chastised his audience fr nt pursuing maturity 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 6 f 15 And s he begins his warning fr this same grup by describing their early experiences in the faith Nw if smene were t assume that the writer has suddenly and quite inexplicably shifted his fcus t discussing unbelievers, the list we just examined wuld raise numerus red flags The experiences n the list are cmpletely freign t unbelievers Fr example, unbelievers are never enlightened accrding t scripture In fact, Jhn says that men d nt enter the Light f Christ because they prefer the darkness Jhn 3:19 This is the judgment, that the Light has cme int the wrld, and men lved the darkness rather than the Light, fr their deeds were evil. Jhn 3:20 Fr everyne wh des evil hates the Light, and des nt cme t the Light fr fear that his deeds will be expsed. Furthermre, unbelievers never experience any f the ther spiritual mments in the writer s list Unbelievers are simply never aware f the gift f Gd They are never made partakers f the Hly Spirit Nr have they ever knwn the gd things in the wrd f Gd - The Bible says the wrd f Gd is flishness t the unbeliever And f curse, they have n experience with the pwers f the age t cme The writer isn t saying that this grup has watched thers experience these things r experienced them vicariusly He has spken f a persnal experience cmmn t a grup And by the cntext and by what he described, we must cnclude that he s speaking f a grup f believers In ther wrds, this is a warning fr the church A warning f what culd happen t any grup f believers wh fail t press n t maturity 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 7 f 15 As we lk at the cnsequences f their immaturity in v.6, we see even mre clearly that the writer is cncerned fr the walk f a believer At the beginning f the verse, he raises the prspect f a Christian falling away What des it mean fr a Christian t fall away? First, we knw that it must speak f smething that a persn has cntrl ver rather than smething that lies utside ur cntrl Fr example, a believer has n cntrl ver their salvatin It cmes by way f a gift thrugh the wrk f the Hly Spirit It is maintained in ur hearts by the pwer f the Spirit in keeping with the prmises f Gd As Paul says in 1Cr 1, by His ding we are in Christ Jesus Furthermre, the arrival f faith in ur hearts prduces a degree f spiritual change that is irreversible Paul says in 2Cr 5 that the believer becmes a new creature Because ur ld nature we received frm Adam has passed away, never t return Salvatin isn t a questin f what we think The Bible says it s a matter f wh we are And nce Gd changes ur identity, the ld identity is gne frever Phil. 1:6 Fr I am cnfident f this very thing, that He wh began a gd wrk in yu will perfect it until the day f Christ Jesus. S whatever the writer means by falling away, it must refer t sme aspect f ur Christian experience that a believer can cntrl...s what can a believer cntrl? Well, a believer has cntrl ver his r her behavirs, thughts, attitudes and feelings We see the truth f this reflected in the many, many exhrtatins in the New Testament t walk in the Spirit instead f the flesh 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 8 f 15 Paul tells us in 2 Cr 10:5 t take every thught captive t the bedience f Christ And in Philippians, Paul tells the believer t have the same attitude f sacrifice that the Lrd pssessed As Paul says: Phil. 3:15 Let us therefre, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything yu have a different attitude, Gd will reveal that als t yu; Phil. 3:16 hwever, let us keep living by that same standard t which we have attained. Phil. 3:17 Brethren, jin in fllwing my example, and bserve thse wh walk accrding t the pattern yu have in us. Paul calls the church, wh have been made perfect by faith, t have an attitude f living up t that same standard In ther wrds, Paul tells us t live up t the perfectin f Christ Which we received by ur faith S it shuld be bvius that the chice f hw t live, think and feel are chices that lie in ur cntrl S if we are cmmanded t live in bedience t Christ, then it stands t reasn we have the pssibility t disbey in each f these areas We are called t cntrl ur thughts because it s pssible t indulge disbedient thughts We re called t maintain healthy attitudes, because a believer can slip int undesirable attitudes And when we mve in the directin f disbedience t Gd s wrd, we are falling away We are falling away frm bedience We are falling away frm ur missin t represent Christ We are falling away frm pleasing the Lrd And we are ptentially falling away frm ur pprtunity t receive eternal reward And this prcess almst always begins by neglecting the wrd f Gd 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 9 f 15 The writer intrduced his third warning by lamenting the way this grup had failed t pursuing spiritual maturity in the wrd f Gd They hadn t prgressed t the meat f Gd s wrd They were stuck in milk And as a result, they had becme cnfused and deceived And s they nw needed t be retaught the ABCs f their faith And when believers make a pattern f neglecting the wrd f Gd, they are in grave danger f falling away in their walk f faith In my experience, this rule is s certain as t be a law f the universe Believers trubled by persistent sin, caught by fleshly temptatins r deceived by the enemy s lies are invariably peple wh have a weak r nnexistent study life Irnically, they ften think themselves strng Bible students Much as I suspect this writer s audience prbably thught they were knwledgeable But the prblem is ur standard fr what is enugh Bible understanding is usually far lwer than Gd s standard As Warren Wiersbe nce wrte: "One f the first symptms f spiritual regressin, r backsliding, is a dullness tward the Bible. Sunday Schl class is dull, the pastr s preaching is dull, everything spiritual is dull. The prblem is usually nt with the Sunday Schl teacher r the pastr, but with the believer himself." S what happens t a believer wh has entered int the Christian experience, and begun their walk f faith in the Spirit, but then they fall away int sin, disbedience and apathy? The writer says this is a serius prblem, nce that may nt have a rescue That persn may remain in their disbedient state indefinitely 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 10 f 15 Remember, the began the warning in v.3 saying that we will press n t maturity nly if Gd permits And the hard reality is that He may nt permit us a secnd chance t mature And there are tw reasn why this secnd chance may never arrive First, the writer explains in v.6 that it s impssible t renew such a persn again t repentance The wrd repentance in scripture can be used in a cuple f different ways It talks f a repentance leading t salvatin And fllwing ur salvatin, the Bible cmmands believers t cntinually repent f sin s we can seek t live a life that pleases Christ In this case, the writer speaks f a repentance that leads t a renewal The wrd renew simply means t be made new There is nly ne kind f repentance assciated with being made new - This is the repentance that leads us int salvatin - It s the repentance that is accrding t the will f Gd The mment f ur entering int faith in the Gspel is a glrius, ne-time experience We can all relate t this truth, especially if we came t faith later in life as an adult The truth f the Gspel arrested us and set us n a new curse in life It prduced a spiritual renewal in ur hearts And by that renewal, we were pulled free f a life f sin and ungdliness and granted a new life f peace, hpe, lve and jy But like the church in Ephesus, it s pssible fr believers t leave their first lve and squandered that reset mment 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 11 f 15 A believer can slip back and fall away int a life f disbedience very much like the ne they pssessed prir t cming faith But just as a believer can t lse salvatin even a disbedient Christian then neither can they be saved a secnd time And if they can t be renewed t repentance again, then they have n prspect f receiving anther spiritual wake up call S nw...if the repentance that leads t renewal can t be repeated, what set f circumstances might draw a disbedient believer back nt the straight and narrw path? This brings us t the secnd reasn the writer says we can nly press n t maturity if the Lrd permits...because if we disbey, we are testing the Lrd s patience The writer says that when a persn spurns the Lrd s grace, they are crucifying again the Lrd by putting Him t pen shame The writer is referring t the shame Christ suffered at the hands f thse He came t save As Christ was stripped naked and nailed t the crss, He suffered great pain and great shame And the great irny f that mment is that Christ endured that shame fr the sake f thse wh were hammering the nails and tearing his clthes Likewise, when a believer takes the grace f Gd and abuses it thrugh a life f sin and ungdliness and selfishness, we are putting ur Lrd t pen shame again Each Christian is an ambassadr fr the Lrd and a representative f Christ befre a fallen wrld When we neglect ur spiritual maturity and fall away, we set such a bad example befre the wrld that we bring new shame upn Christ The writer says thse wh fall away can t expect a rescue because they crucify t themselves the Lrd He desn t mean they literally kill the Lrd again...bviusly that s nt pssible Ntice the writer says they are recruicifying Jesus t themselves 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 12 f 15 - He means that by their disbedient behavir they are treating the Lrd with cntempt - Just as thse wh crucified Him the first time In effect, we are repeating the prcess f shaming the Lrd befre the wrld And as befre, His shame cmes at the hands f smene He died t save Ntice that nly a believer can bring shame t the Lrd If anyne is still harbring thughts that this is a discussin f an unbeliever, this statement puts the issue t rest On the behavir f a believer has the ptential t bring shame t a believer Unbelievers act in ungdly ways at all times, since that s all they can d S there is n pssibility f a believer f bringing shame t the Lrd by their behavir Only a believer has a relatinship with the Lrd, and it s by that assciatin that a believer can bring Him t pen shame S Christians wh fall away and return t a life ungdliness are at grave risk They lack the pssibility f a secnd renewal thrugh repentance, and by their lives they bring pen shame t the Lrd testing His patience They run the risk that the Lrd will nt permit them t press n t maturity, as v.3 suggested Instead, the Lrd may just leave them where they are, like the prdigal sn mired in the mud Until they reach their judgment day Obviusly, such a persn is still saved, as we ve discussed, but they are n a rad t persnal ruin leading t a lss f eternal reward We see that cnsequence reflected in a shrt parable the writer ffers t cnclude the warning 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 13 f 15 Heb. 6:7 Fr grund that drinks the rain which ften falls n it and brings frth vegetatin useful t thse fr whse sake it is als tilled, receives a blessing frm Gd; Heb. 6:8 but if it yields thrns and thistles, it is wrthless and clse t being cursed, and it ends up being burned. The writer tells this parable t apply the truth he just explained, that is f a believer wh neglects the grace f Gd by living a disbedient life In the parable, the grund pictures the peple f Gd, wh receive Gd s grace falling frm abve This grund is tilled by a farmer wh expects t receive a harvest f gd vegetatin But smetimes, despite the wrk f the farmer and the gd rains, the land might nly prduce thrns and thistles These are clearly nt the expected utcme, and they are a severe disappintment t the farmer Shuld the grund yield nly these wrthless crps, then the farmer will have n chice but t burn the field t clear it fr next year s planting - The farmer receives n crp The picture created in this parable fits perfectly with the writer s teaching Gd dispenses His grace t believers with an expectatin that it leads t a fruitful harvest - a harvest f bedience Sme believers make the mst f Gd s grace, learning frm Gd s wrd and maturing in ur walk As we d s, we prduce that harvest Gd expects And we receive a blessing fr ur bedience Or we can elect t neglect ur spiritual maturity, fall away frm Gd s wrd and regress in ur walk until the pint we cannt please the Lrd At that pint, we re prducing thrn and thistles We re useless t Gd s purpse And we re clse t being cursed, the writer says 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 14 f 15 Clse in this case desn t refer t psitin befre the Lrd, fr ur psitin is secure in Christ Clse t being cursed refers t the way ur life resembles the life f unbelief Just like the live f unbelievers, we prduce nthing f value fr the Lrd And s we are burned That last pint creates sme cnfusin fr thse wh assume any reference t burning must mean the fires f hell But the mst cmmn way fire is used in the Bible has nthing t d with unbelievers r the judgment f hell The mst cmmn picture f fire is ne f purificatin r judgment fr the believer In the OT, Israel is ften reminded that the Lrd will test them in furnaces r purify them by fire And in the NT, Paul tells us that the believer s wrks will be tested by fire In 1Cr 3 Paul explains that we will see ur life f service t Christ tested at ur judgment mment And if thse wrks are nt pleasing t the Lrd, they will be burned up And we will have nthing remaining t receive reward That s the cncept the writer is explaining in this parable The believer wh falls away lives clse t being cursed And their unfruitful life will experiencing the fires f Christ s judgment And this is the likely utcme fr anyne wh makes a pint t live in disbedience Because we have n reasn t expect the Lrd t rescue us Which is all the mre reasn nt t take that chance in the first place Let s press n t maturity frm the start, rather than testing the Lrd s patience by squandering the fresh start He gave t each f us 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 6B (2014) 15 f 15 And if yu re ne f thse wh may have have taken tw steps frward and ne step back, then take nte f the writer s warning Let tday s lessn be that spark frm Gd s wrd t bring yu back frm the Dn t bet that the Lrd has anther rescue waiting in the future There is n such prmise in scripture On the cntrary, there is a firm warning that disbedience is a ne-way trip persnal ruin 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.