Hebrews 6

We finished last time with the writer admonishing the early believers for their lack of maturity in the things of the faith. He says:

5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

The state of the early church, unfortunately, was not much different than that of church today. So he continues here in chapter 6 on the same theme.

6:1- 3 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, 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.

Elementary principles: The Greek word for principles means. beginning or origin. This has the idea of “rudiments” or “ABCs.” They are basic building blocks that are necessary but must be built upon, or there is only a foundation and no structure.

Perfection: This is the ancient Greek word teleiotes, which is much better understood as “maturity.” The writer to the Hebrews is not trying to tell us that we can reach perfection on this side of eternity, but we can and should reach a place of maturity in Jesus. So the call is plain: let us go on to perfection.

The foundation: In this case, the elementary principles to move beyond are all items in the common ground between Christianity and Judaism. This was a safe common ground for these discouraged Jewish Christians to retreat back to.

Because Christianity did grow out of Judaism, it was a more subtle temptation for a Jewish Christian to slip back into Judaism than it was for a formerly pagan Christian to go back to his pagan ways. “Part of the problem facing the Hebrews was the superficial similarity between the elementary tenets of Christianity and those of Judaism, which made it possible for Christian Jews to think they could hold on to both.”

Of course, these Jewish Christians did not want to abandon religion, but they did want to make it less distinctively Christian. Therefore, they went back to this common ground to avoid persecution. Living in this comfortable common ground, one did not stick out so much. A Jew and a Christian together could say, “Let’s repent, let’s have faith, let’s perform ceremonial washings,” and so forth. But this was a subtle denial of Jesus.

This is entirely characteristic of those who feel discouraged and wish to give up. There is always the temptation to still be religious, but not so “fanatical” about Jesus.

Have you ever noticed that the name of Jesus is alaways the issue? Things get uncomfortable when we bring up His Name.

There is power in the name of Jesus!

And this we will do if God permits.

If God permits: Instead, this expresses the believers’ complete dependence on God. If we do press on to maturity, we realize that it only happens at God’s pleasure.

See

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will[fn] go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

We like to think we are in control but the reality it all falls under the “will” of God.

A difficult passage

Here we come to one of the most difficult passages in the entire NT because it challenges our understanding of salvation. So as we approach this section let us try to understand the context in which it was written and take it for what it is saying.

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 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. 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 briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

So to begin let’s discuss what makes this passage so difficult. First, let’s read it carefully and list what it says assuming the English words are good translations of the Greek.

Plainly, it is saying that it is not possible, not just difficult, to be saved, if once you had known the Lord and fallen away.

This then brings up some of the all time questions about salvation.

Are we secure in Christ once we have been saved?

Or, are we in perpetual danger of losing our salvation?

What do you think based on this passage?

Let’s break this down and see what it says in context and from the original Greek.

“We had better far be inconsistent with ourselves than with the inspired Word. I have been called an Arminian Calvinist or a Calvinistic Arminian, and I am quite content so long as I can keep close to my Bible.” (Spurgeon)

4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened,

What is meant by impossible? For it is impossible: The word impossible is put in a position of emphasis. The writer to the Hebrews does not say this is merely difficult, but that it is without possibility.

Note the other uses of impossible in Hebrews:

· It is impossible for God to lie ().

· It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats can take away sin ().

· It is impossible to please God without faith ().

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

The writer to the Hebrews speaks of people with impressive spiritual experiences. The big debate is whether this is the experience of salvation or the experience of something short of salvation. Looking at each descriptive word helps see what kind of experience this describes.

i. Enlightened: This ancient Greek word has the same meaning as the English word. It described the experience of light shining on someone, of a “new light” shining on the mind and spirit.

ii. Tasted: The idea of “tasting” may mean to “test” something. But other uses of this word indicate a full, real experience as in how Jesus tasted death in . The heavenly gift is probably salvation (as in and ).

iii. Partakers of the Holy Spirit: This is an unique term in the New Testament. Since it means “sharing” the Holy Spirit, it has to do with receiving and having fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

iv. Tasted the good word of God: This means they experienced the goodness of God’s Word, and saw its goodness at work in them.

v. The powers of the age of come: This is a way to describe God’s supernatural power. The writer to the Hebrews describes those who experienced God’s supernatural power.

If they fall away, to renew them again to repentance: One of the most heated debates over any New Testament passage is focused on this text. The question is simple: Are these people with these impressive spiritual experiences in fact Christians? Are they God’s elect, chosen before the foundation of the world?

i. Commentators divide on this issue, usually deciding the issue with great certainty but with no agreement.

ii. One the one side we see clearly that someone can have great spiritual experiences and still not be saved (). One can even do many religious things and still not be saved. The Pharisees of New Testament times are a good example of this principle. These men did many religious things but were not saved or submitted to God. These ancient Pharisees:

· Energetically evangelized ()· Impressively prayed ()· Made rigorous religious commitments ()· Strictly and carefully tithed ()· Honored religious traditions ()· Practiced fasting regularly ()· Yet Jesus called them sons of Hell ()

iii. Yet, from a human perspective, it is doubtful that anyone who seemed to have the credentials mentioned in true Christian. God knows their ultimate destiny and hopefully the individual does also – yet from all outward appearance, such Christian experience might qualify a man to be an elder in many churches. Yet beyond the knowledge hidden in the mind of God and the individual in question, from all human observation, we must say these are Christians spoken of in . A good example of this is Demas.

· Paul warmly greeted other Christians on his behalf ().· Demas is called a fellow worker with Paul ().· Yet Paul condemned Demas, at least hinting at apostasy ().

iv. Taking all this together, we see that it is possible to display some fruit or spiritual growth – then to die spiritually, showing that the “soil of the heart” was never right ().

v. Therefore, eternal standing of those written of in is a question with two answers. We may safely say that from a human perspective, they had all appearance of salvation. Nevertheless, from the perspective of God’s perfect wisdom it is impossible to say on this side of eternity.

d. For it is impossible... if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance: Despite their impressive spiritual experience – or at least the appearance of it – these are in grave danger. If they fall away, it is impossible for them to repent.

i. If these are genuine Christians who “lost their salvation,” the terrible fact is that they can never regain it. In the early church some groups (such as the Montanists and the Novatianists) used this passage to teach there was no possibility of restoration if someone sinned significantly after their baptism.

ii. Others explain it by saying that this is all merely a hypothetical warning (in light of the statement in ). In this thinking, the writer to the Hebrews never intended to say that his readers were really in danger of damnation. He only used a hypothetical danger to motivate them. However, one must say that there is questionable value in warning someone against something that can’t happen.

iii. Still others think that this penalty deals only with reward, not with salvation itself. They stress the idea that it says repentance is impossible, not salvation. Therefore these are Christians of low commitment and experience who risk a loss of all heavenly reward, saved only “by the skin of their teeth.”

iv. This difficult passage is best understood in the context of . The writer to the Hebrews means that if they retreat back to Judaism, all the religious “repentance” in the world will do them no good. Retreating from distinctive Christianity into the “safe” ideas and customs of their former religious experience is to forsake Jesus, and to essentially crucify Him again. This is especially true for these ancient Christians from a Jewish background, since the religious customs they took up again likely included animal sacrifice for atonement, denying the total work of Jesus for them on the cross.

e. If they fall away: There is a necessary distinction between falling and falling away. Falling away is more than falling into sin; it is actually departing from Jesus Himself. For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity (). The difference is between a Peter and a Judas. If you depart from Jesus (fall away) there is no hope.

i. The message to these Christians who felt like giving up was clear: if you don’t continue on with Jesus, don’t suppose you will find salvation by just going on with the ideas and experience that Christianity and Judaism share. If you aren’t saved in Jesus, you aren’t saved at all. There is no salvation in a safe “common ground” that is not distinctively Christian.

ii. If someone falls away we must understand why he or she can’t repent – it is because they don’t want to. It is not as if God prohibitstheir repentance. Since repentance itself is a work of God (), the desire to repent is evidence that he or she has not truly fallen away.

iii. The idea is not that “if you fall away, you can’t ever come back to Jesus.” Instead, the idea is “if you turn your back on Jesus, don’t expect to find salvation anywhere else, especially in the practice of religion apart from the fullness of Jesus.”

iv. “This passage has nothing to do with those who fear lest it condemns them. The presence of that anxiety, like the cry which betrayed the real mother in the days of Solomon, establishes beyond a doubt that you are not one that has fallen away beyond the possibility of renewal to repentance.” (Meyer)

2. (Hbr 6:7-8) An illustration of the serious consequences of falling away.

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 briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

a. For the earth which drinks in the rain... and bears herbs useful... receives blessing from God: When the earth receives rain and bears useful plants, it fulfills its purpose and justifies the blessing of rain sent upon it. The writer to the Hebrews applies the point: “You’ve been blessed. But where is the fruit?” God looks for what grows in us after He blesses us, especially looking for what grows in terms of maturity.

b. But if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected: If ground is blessed by rain but refuses to bear fruit, no one blames the farmer for burning it. The idea shows that growth and bearing fruit are important to keep from falling away. When we really bear fruit, we abide in Jesus () and are in no danger of falling away.