Hebrews 6:1-8
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v. i
v. i
Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
“Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ”:
This transition word has appeared for the tenth time (in the transition sense, so its usage doesn’t count in Hebrews 1:9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”” ) It’ll appear 16 more times throughout the epistle to the Hebrews.
This is coming from the earlier parts of the book, especially the recently-discussed “elementary principles of Christ”.
However, “therefore” is used to move on from this subject rather than build upon it, as it has for most of the letter. He has already introduced the elementary doctrines of Jesus’ deity, His superiority above all others, His humiliation through His incarnation, the salvation given to us and many others through His subsequent exaltation, and the rest given to those who have believed. Now, we will move on to discuss how to progress in this faith.
How do we progress? By going on to perfection. Perfection?? A better translation of this word, τελειότης, is maturity (ESV, CSB, NASB, NIV, NLT, LEB, etc.) and the “perfection” rendering is actually a minority translation (NKJV, KJV).
How do we not progress? By laying the foundation of repentance again. 1 Cor 3:11 states that “no other foundation” can be laid once Christ was laid already. Christ is the foundation of our faith; our foundation is not personal opinion, or political affiliation, or emotional experience. We cannot be so forgetful in our knowledge of Christ and His Word; we must progress.
This verse also tells us about the dead state of our works. We are not “good enough” for salvation; Isaiah 64:6 even says that our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. I don’t know if your shop uses rags, but everyone knows that filthy rags are useless. So are our works before God, but you know what isn’t dead? Faith toward God. Faith in any other is useless, but in God it is powerful and foundational to our faith.
v. ii-iii
v. ii-iii
of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.
These are practices of the early church that are foundations of the church today. Let’s take a look at each of them:
The doctrine of baptisms: When we make disciples, we are to baptize them “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”, honoring the Holy Trinity in this sacrament (all denominations agree that baptism is a sacrament).
The laying on of hands: This was done in the church in the book of Acts to ordain someone for ministry or for them to receive the Holy Spirit. Now, the Holy Spirit makes His permanent home in us if we truly have our faith in Christ.
The resurrection of the dead: Rev 1:5 lists Jesus as the firstborn of the dead, and 1 Th 4:16-17 tells us that there is a hope of resurrection for all. This is a hope we can look forward to by living a godly life (Tit 2:11-14).
Eternal judgment: Heb 9:27 says “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment”; we only have one chance to make the decision of salvation.
“And this we will do if God permits”: God allowed the church in Acts to perform these acts (haha). They always depended on the power of God to live their Christian life according to His will, and we should follow their example by living a God-pleasing life.
v. iv-vi
v. iv-vi
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
This is one of the most difficult passages in the Bible to interpret, and there are three main positions on this passage, so let’s dissect them:
The Non-Calvinist view: taking the passage at face value that once someone has been Christian and apostatizes, they cannot return, because that would be sacrificing Christ again instead of once-for-all.
Calvinist view 1: One who pretends to be a Christian is not a true Christian, because if they were a true Christian, they would sacrifice Christ again upon returning.
Calvinist view 2: One who sees the evidence for Christianity and God’s goodness but chooses to reject it, they are not a true Christian, because if they were, they would sacrifice Christ again upon returning.
Your interpretation of this passage is based on your interpretation of the phrase “Once Saved, Always Saved”, also known in Calvinism as Perseverance of the Saints, i.e., a true Christian will persevere until death, and one who doesn’t persevere until death wasn’t a true Christian. I personally believe this because of passages like 1 John 2:18-19, though there are certainly views in Christianity that don’t believe in OSAS and interpret the 1 John passage differently, just like I have an interpretation of Hebrews 6:4-6 that allows OSAS to still hold true in my view.
v. vii-viii
v. vii-viii
For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
Here, an analogy is used to compare maturing Christians with stagnant Christians:
This is an agricultural analogy, which was commonly used in the New Testament because it was a well-known subject matter back then.
A maturing Christian is compared to a cultivated plant which receives blessing from God (notice how our sanctification, or becoming more holy every day, is blessed by God)
A stagnant Christian is compared to a thorny plant that serves no purpose that is bound to be burned. Why is that? This connects to the earlier verses: those stagnant Christians leave Christ, and they weren’t Christian to start with, because if they were, they would sacrifice Christ again, which cannot happen.
God calls us to constantly build up our faith like a plant that sprouts up more and more, but also grows its roots more and more, not just going on to maturity, but also strengthening themselves in the elementary principles of Christ (like we are called to do in Heb 6:1).
v. ix-xii
v. ix-xii
But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Despite the warnings presented seeming terrifying (and they are), the author of Hebrews comforts the church, letting them know that with God’s help, they are capable of moving on to maturity. In His justice, God remembers the work that we have done and the love we have towards Him. However, we are not to be conformed with the work we have done now, but we must aspire to do so much more for God, as much as we can. This is the way we are to live: going onto maturity.