A Pastoral Plea

English Standard Version Chapter 5

Warning Against Apostasy

11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

6:1  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, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 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, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 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. 7 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. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 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. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

As you know, in a past life I used to be an airplane pilot

Let’s say that you heard I was a pilot and you wanted an airplane ride. You’ve never been in a small plane before and you think it would be fun

So I said, sure. Meet me at the airport at such and such a time.

The airplane is sitting there on the tarmac ready to go, and I help you get in the plane and get buckled in

Then I climb in. And then, because you are starting to get nervous, you say, “Hey, you do know how to fly this thing, right?”

And I say, “Of course!”

I know that you turn this key and the engine cranks over.

I know that this control yoke here, if you turn it left, the plane tends to bank toward the left, and if you turn it to the right, the airplane tends to bank to the right.

And if you push it forward, the houses tend to get bigger

And if you pull it back the houses tend to get smaller, and then they start to get bigger again, for some reason

And this little knob thingy here, when you push it in the airplane gets louder, and if you pull it out, the airplane gets quieter.

Of course I know how to fly! I mean what more do you need to know?

Would you feel confident?

No, probably not! Nor should you!

No, you want to be confident that I know a whole lot more about my airplane and than that

And you want to be sure that I know a whole lot more about how to control my airplane than that!

You want to be confident that I understand things like

aerodynamics

airplane systems

emergency procedures

how to set up for a good landing

how to navigate

how to get and read accurate weather reports

Basically this:

You want to be sure that I have matured as a pilot

I haven’t been content to stick with the basics of flying, but I have continued to learn and become proficient

The same is true for our lives as followers of Jesus

Just like a pilot needs to mature in his knowledge and skills as a pilot

Just like a farmer needs to mature in his knowledge and skills as a farmer

So, too, a follower of Jesus needs to mature as a Believer

and in the passage today this very subject is on the heart of the author.

In order to set this up a bit better, let’s back up to what he was talking about

The last time we visited the Letter to the Hebrews, this author made a wonderful case for Jesus being our Great and Perfect High Priest

He compares Jesus to the High Priests of the Old Covenant

And tells us that Jesus is so much better than them because unlike the OT high priests, Jesus does not have to offer sacrifices for His own sins

Because He is, after all perfect

But it’s in Jesus that we find mercy and grace in our time of need

And he ends that section by saying this:

Hebrews 5:9–10 “9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”

What is he talking about here?

Well, he’s going to say a lot more about this, but

And at this point he stops, takes a deep breath (so I imagine), and

What follows is another “parenthesis”.

He is pausing his thoughts for a bit to address something:

The problems of Ignorance and immaturity and apostasy

And the reason that he wants to address these things is

First, because he has the heart of a pastor, and he desires to see growth and maturity in the lives of his listeners

And secondly, because he is about to get into some meaty stuff

And he’s concerned that these Hebrews don’t understand the things that they are supposed to understand

furthermore, he’s concerned that they won’t be able to handle what he’s about to say to them. They simply aren’t mature enough to grasp it

And furthermore they might even decide that it’s a bunch of garbage, and actually turn away from their faith

The problem of Spiritual Apathy

He says, “I have a lot more to say to you about Jesus being like Melchizedek (and he does say a lot more about this), but I’m afraid that I can’t explain it to you because you have become ‘dull of hearing’” vs 11

have you ever been to the zoo and you found yourself in front of the sloth enclosure?

If you should happen to catch them awake, and they are out moving around, how fast do they move?

Not very, do they?

they are some of the slowest moving creatures you will ever see

and they might be making their way across their enclosure, and you find yourself thinking, man, hurry up, would you? It must take you forever to do anything!

Well, you know it’s possible that as Believers, we can become like this as far as our understanding is concerned

this writer says to the Hebrews, “you have become dull of hearing”

This word, “dull” is a Greek word, nothros, and it occurs only two times in the Bible: here in 5:11, and again in 6:12

And literally translated, it means sluggish, lazy, indolent (uncaring).

It’s like as a teacher trying to explain something to your class, and there’s that one student.

you get to the end of your instructions

And that student slowly starts stirring.

and they slowly look up at you and are like, “wait.....what?”

Maybe another way of thinking about the problem of ignorance is not so much laziness, but apathy.

apathy is simply lack of feeling or emotion

the lack of feeling or concern

In the Septuagint, this word is used to describe “slothful men”. Men who refused to tackle hard work

this can be a real problem in our lives

And here what this author is describing is those who have developed a “couldn’t care less attitude about studying Scripture”

They are undisciplined, and do not spend time regularly and diligently studying Scripture and thinking about it’s relevance to their lives. The application

The results

What is the result of this? ineffectiveness

He says, “you still drinking milk when you should be eating solid food” vs 12

they are still like babies when they ought to be adults. they are like students when they should be teachers. vs 12

they are still Christians who need help rather than Christians who can help others

we all need help, but we need to consider, am I able to help others?

or am I still ineffective?

Another result of ignorance is carelessness. 13-14

They might want to help others, but they are untrained in the word of God

he says here that those who are still drinking milk are “unskilled in the word of righteousness” vs. 13

But what you should be doing by now is eating solid food so that you can help people discern or distinguish good from evil

and as we know, this is not always the easiest thing to do

it takes a mind that is active in the Scriptures and

The Problem of Immaturity

The problem of apathy is closely tied to this problem of immaturity

The goal of our lives as Believers should be to become mature

But the tricky part about maturity is that there are many folks who think they are mature, but they actually aren’t

Because spiritual maturity isn’t really what we tend to think it is.

We tend to think that spiritual maturity is based on what we know

Look at what he says here in the opening verses of chapter 6:

He says, if we are going to move on to maturity, then there are some things that we are going to have to move past:

He calls them the elementary doctrine of Christ.

elementary being primary, rudimentary. Things that you should be learning in the beginning

They are things like:

Repentance and faith in God

Instructions about washings (basically teaching about ceremonial things)

talking about laying on of hands

resurrection of the dead

eternal judgement

there might be more things he could add to this list, but this is what came to him as he was writing

it’s sort of surprising what is on this list that he calls the elementary doctrine of Christ

I’m not going to pick apart this list this morning, but I am going to say this about maturity

I believe that it is our tendency to think of spiritual maturity in terms of what I know about Christian doctrine

it is entirely possible for us to be incredibly knowledgeable.

we can discuss things like

end times and judgement

what we think people should do or not do

we know a lot about ceremonies and what church services should look like

We can pick up on anything that the preacher says wrong

and we love to be knowledgable like this

And we can sit around and debate about things like this

Moody Students were really good about this...sitting around and talking about..stuff. And feeling really mature because we were able to talk about stuff

and don’t get me wrong. These are good things to talk about, but they aren’t good indications of being mature

It seems that there are actually more solid indicators of maturity than what I know and am able to discuss

As I think about the words of Jesus and what He said about growth and maturity

I seem to recall Him talking about things like

bearing fruit

being led by the Spirit

Learning to hear the voice of The Shepherd

growth—built up as a spiritual house

these are all hallmarks of us becoming mature

they are hallmarks of someone knowing, not just about Jesus, but truly knowing Him!

Being a pilot

a good pilot is one who moves beyond the rudimentary things of being a pilot and

begins to truly know how to fly, and beyond that, how to make decisions and master the intangibles

And this is the goal of the writer of Hebrews—to know Jesus. To endure through trials by knowing Jesus

this is the measure of maturity

How well do I know Jesus

And am I growing in Him

Am I moving past the basics?

Am I leaving behind the old?

You know, the Apostle Paul talks about maturity in the same way in Philippians 3.

I read from this passage on Easter Sunday

And in that passage, he talks about his desire to leave things behind and press toward knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection

And then in the verses following (which I did not read last Sunday), he says this:

Philippians 3:12–16 “12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”

Let those of us who are mature think this way.

Which way? Well, if you are mature, what should occupy your life and your mind?

Leaving behind the old, and pressing in to know Christ.

That’s the mark of maturity!

And it’s in that light that he says, it’s time to move toward maturity. And in order to do that, we have to move beyond the basic and rudimentary things

The problem of apostasy (turning back on our faith)

What follows are some of the most puzzling and most discussed verses of this entire letter.

Hebrews 6:4–8 “4 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, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 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. 7 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. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.”

So here he is describing a person who seems to be in pretty bad shape

this person

has been enlightened

has tasted the heavenly gift

has shared in the Holy Spirit

has tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come

but then this person has fallen away, and apparently this person is just like the thorns that you pull out of your field which you have no use for. So you burn them

What is he talking about here?

There is a huge disagreement that exists in Christian circles: Can a person “loose” their salvation or not?

once a person is saved, is it possible to be unsaved

Some Christians say, no, it isn’t possible. Once you are saved, you will always be saved

Others say, “Actually, it is possible to either ‘loose’ your salvation, or, at least turn your back or reject what God has done in your life. Reject the grace of Jesus”

And this is one of the passages that someone from this side will point to.

I happen to be one person who would say that I think it is possible for someone to turn their back on the grace of God

and come to a state where they are no longer in fellowship with God

And if they were to die in that state, (although it’s God who thankfully is the final judge on this), that they would not go to heaven, but would join those who do reject the grace of God that has been offered

But whatever side you come out on, it’s pretty obvious, I believe, that this passage is a serious warning against falling away

Remember, this author has talked about this before.

It is, in fact, I believe, one of his themes. If you want your audience to endure through persecution and hardship

Then they should also probably understand the seriousness of falling away and becoming apostates

But I’m not sure that this passage is really addressing this question of can you lose your salvation or not

What he is doing, however, is continuing with his theme of maturing

And he saying, “Look, if you have experienced Christ and His grace and goodness

you’ve been enlightened

Jesus is the Light of the World

Do you know what it is like to be enlightened

Having Him bring light into the darkness of your life

Having Him shine His light into your heart and reveal a heart that needs His transformation

you’ve tasted the heavenly gift

Jesus is the Bread of Life. He has Living Water

Have you tasted of Him this morning?

Have you found Him to be so good that you find yourself going back for more?

Do you find your strength in Him, your nourishment in Him?

you’ve ‘shared in the Holy Spirit’

that is, you have participated with His work

you’ve tasted the goodness of the word

If this is true of your life, then you should be maturing

growing, bearing fruit

Because if you fall away,

then all that you have received from Christ is worthless

His work is worthless

His sacrifice is worthless, and it’s like you are crucifying Him all over again!

pretty serious words here!

He uses the example of of a field here in verses 7-8

a field that has been planted and received rain, should bear a crop

It receives the blessing from God

And that should be our experience. He’s planted His seed in you, and you have been nourished by Him, then you should be producing something useful

It’s these kind of people who will receive a blessing from God

However, if that same field bears thorns and thistles, then that field is worthless

you gather up the thorns and thistles and burn them

The field is not doing what it’s supposed to do, and the things it produces are worthless

And the same is true for us. If we receive from God, yet our lives are not producing and bearing fruit, then there is something wrong

And the things that our lives produce (our works) will be gathered up and burned

Don’t reject what God is doing in your life!

Encouragement

Even though this author uses some pretty strong words with his audience, he ends with this encouragement, vs. 9-12

Look, I have to speak like this.

It’s like a doctor giving you the bad news that you didn’t want to hear

I have to give you the worst case scenario

even though I have to talk like this, in your case, I am certain of better things for you

God is not going to overlook your work and the love that you have shown Him

He’s not going to overlook the way that you serve each other

He says, “My desire is that you continue to be hopeful and earnest right up to the very end! Don’t be sluggish! (there’s that word again)”

rather, continue to imitate others who have show faith and patience

And, church, this is also my encouragement for us as well

Yes, we have to recognize the serious consequences of

ignorance

immaturity

apostasy

but we don’t live there. We don’t live with fearing or worrying about, “are these things present in my life?”

Rather, we live with the attitude and desire to become mature.

And that we seek maturity, but leaving behind what needs to be left behind and press on!

To imitate the lives of other faithful men and women who have gone before us

To press on to know Christ!

To know the power of His resurrection

And that we will endure to the end

English Standard Version Chapter 3

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.