Hebrews 6:1-12 Press on to Maturity pt2

Introduction

Text Read

Hebrews 6:1–12“Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for His name in serving the saints, as you still do.  And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. ”

Text Explained

Last week we began chapter 6 and heard the command of the author to “go on to maturity” or “press on to maturity.” We looked at his command to build upon the foundational truths of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. (vs 3) Today we examine and apply verses 4-8. Now let us remember the context. The author has just told his listeners that he wanted to share deeper truths about Christ the Great High Priest, yet they had chosen not to listen and were thus still babies in the Word. So the command to press on has come. The command to not stay staring at a foundation, but build upon it. So the context of verses 4-8 is built upon this previous command to press on. Thus a truth and an illustration of that truth is given to the listeners. In other words, verses 4-8 is giving a reason NOT to stay upon the foundational parts. So first let us look at the reason, then, second, at the illustration the author uses to bring clarity to the reason that is given.

Yet before we take a step into this passage we need to understand that this passage is NOT speaking about a Christian losing their salvation. To quote one theologian, “The believer need never fear he will lose his salvation. He cannot. The Bible is absolutely clear about that. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:27–29). Paul is equally clear. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:35, 38–39). “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). We are “to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven,” and we “are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:4–5). If the power of God cannot keep us, nothing is dependable or trustworthy or worth believing in. A Christian has no reason at any point in his life to believe that his salvation is or can be lost. If by Christ’s death we can be saved, certainly by His life of power and intercession we can be kept saved (Rom. 5:10). “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (John MacArthur, Hebrews) Scripture is clear from multiple authors in multiple writings that a believer cannot lose their salvation. With that as our guide, let us look into the reason the Jewish listeners were to teach and study more than simply the foundational elements of the oracles/word of God.

First, the Reason (Vs 4-6) For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding Him up to contempt. Let’s break this down.

Enlightened here is not referring to salvation, though our minds may want to go that direction. First, none of the common words for salvation are being used here such as: justification, sanctification, the new birth, being made holy, or regeneration. Though, for total transparency, in Ephesians 1:18, the Apostle Paul does use this word in his prayer for Christians to more fully understand God’s glorious revelation. That being said, the word for enlightened is not normally used in regards to salvation. The word in question is φωτίζω (phōtizō) meaning: “to cast light upon something so that it becomes illuminated.” So our text could easily be read as “the one’s who have had light cast upon them” Thus to quote another scholar, “The enlightenment spoken of here has to do with intellectual perception of spiritual, biblical truth.” Second, and in addition to this “In the Septuagint, the Greek word (phōtizō) several times is translated “to give light by knowledge or teaching.” It means to be mentally aware of something, to be instructed, informed. It carries no connotation of response—of acceptance or rejection, belief or disbelief.” (MacArthur, Hebrews) Just as we looked at a few weeks ago, spiritual maturity has an intellectual aspect, but spiritual maturity is so much more than simply head knowledge which brings us to...

The ones who have tasted the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and tasted the powers of the age to come. These all seem to be referring, in my understanding, to tangential/second-hand experiences. For instance, Judas tasted of the heavenly gift of Christ, he shard alongside those who had cast out demons, fed the poor, and healed the sick. Judas tasted the goodness of the word of God and tasted of the powers of the age to come for 3 years. Yet, at the end, he fell away. So embedded in this reason to press on for the possessors of faith is a warning to those Jewish Christians who were merely professors of Faith. To further this point, remember earlier in Hebrews 3:12 “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” While the word translated “fall away” (ἀφίστημι (aphistēmi) in 3:12 is different then the word translated “fall away” in 6:6 (παραπίπτω (parapiptō), they are both in the same word family and both carry the meaning of falling away/turning one’s back on/apostatizing. The illustration the author of Hebrews has already given was the Israelites failure to enter the Promised Land. When the spies entered the Promised Land, they searched it out and reported in Numbers 13:27 “And they told him/Moses, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.” They had tasted the bounty of the Promised Land, yet Numbers 13:28 “However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.” They tasted the bounty of the Promised Land and would not enter that Promised Land because of unbelief in God’s word/promises. We read in Numbers 14:1–4 “Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Apostasy! Falling Away! The Israelite knew all of what God had done to bring them out of Egypt, yet they apostatized/fell away due to their unbelief and desired to return to Egypt. This is an illustration the author of Hebrews has already used and I believe he is referencing it again here. The Israelites fell away after having experienced/tasted the heavenly gifts of God and seeing His power. In the same way, there are those who have seen the power of God, tasted of the forgiveness He offers by seeing it in the lives of God’s children, heard of the age to come, and are just like Judas Iscariot and the Israelites in the wilderness. Light has shined on them and they choose darkness over the light. John 3:19 “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” To the ones who have had this experience, our text says For it is impossible...to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.” If they have experienced all of this and even made a profession of repentance, it is impossible to “make them repent again.” In essence to quote another scholar,

Hebrews: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary A Fourth Warning

“When anyone has heard the gospel and then turns away, he has done exactly what these Jews did. Though he would never take up a hammer and spikes and physically nail Jesus to a cross, he nevertheless agrees to Jesus’ crucifixion. He takes his place with the crucifiers. If this happens with full light, such a person has become an apostate, and for him salvation is forever out of reach. He has rejected Jesus Christ against the full light and power of the gospel. He is incurably anti-God, and for him is reserved the hottest hell. He takes his place with Judas, who walked and talked and ate and fellowshipped with God incarnate, yet finally rejected Him.

And to further this point, we see the Illustration given to us by the author of Hebrews in verses 7-8 “For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.” So here we see verse 4-6 summed up in an illustration. The land has been cultivated for the sake of the Master. The cultivated land has drank the rain. Yet in this illustration, two type of plants grow from the cultivated and watered ground. One bears the useful crops. The other grows thorns and thistles that are worthless with a curse hanging over it and in the end it will be burned. So once again, we are informed by scripture to observe what grows out of a person. This is similar to the warning found in 1 Timothy 5:24–25 “The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.” Again Matthew 7:16–17 “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.” And more plainly in 1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

So the first reason why these Jewish Christians were to go on/press on to maturity is to stop waiting for those who have fallen away. In time, they will either produce crops useful to the Master, or they will reveal themselves as growing nothing but thorns and thistles. So press on to Spiritual Maturity.

Text Applied

First Dear Christian, what are you doing to press on to spiritual maturity? How is your time in the Word and with the Word? Do you carve out time to spend with your Lord? I know it is hard. The responsibilities of life are many and varied. But are you pressing on to spiritual maturity? This means, at the minimum, reading/listening to the Word and praying with the Lord. Do you spend time with Jesus daily? If you have trouble staying awake, then write out the scripture you are reading. Simply copy it. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart to understand and to use the Word to change you. Plant growth doesn’t ever seem to happen fast. Rather it is the little by little day by day.

Second Dear Friend, perhaps you are here and you have heard the Gospel. You have seen the change it has brought in the lives of others, yet you are still sitting on the fence. The longer you delay the more your heart will be hardened against Christ. If you have questions, I urge you to ask. However, at a certain point, your questions will be answered and all that will be left for you is to repent/believe.

Third Dear Friend, you may be here and believe that you are a Christian because you said a prayer, you were baptized, you partake in the Lord’s Table, or for a variety of other reasons. Yet I would challenge you to examine your own life. Do you see the fruits of righteousness growing in your life? Do you see the Fruit of the Spirit? When you sin, are you struck with conviction of sin and a desire to repent? Is there a desire for the things of God? If you answer no to these questions, I would challenge you to search out whether you actually repented and submitted to Christ. There are many in our nation who are “cultural Christians”. Those who like the things of God but have never submitted to God. Dear one, ask the Lord to search you, lest in time, you too grow thorns and thistles and leave the Faith you were never truly part of.

Fourth Dear Hurting Saint, We all know those who went out from us because they were not of us. The warning here in Hebrews 6 is dire. It is impossible for the one who has tasted to return. There is nothing that can be said no teaching to be taught, no explanation to be given that will bring this apostate to true salvation. To you, let the words of Jesus be a balm to your soul. Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” To you, there is but one avenue remaining. We go to the throne of grace and plead for the one who went out from us.

In closing, in this life, it may be difficult to distinguish between the different people who are being cultivated and drinking in the rain. Yet ultimately, by their growth we will know them. So dear Christian, you press on to maturity. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification:...”