When We Fail to Mature

The Call to Mature

Hebrews 6:1–3 NIV

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.

The writer of Hebrews has implored the hearer to not get caught up in the elementary teaching of Christ but rather to mature and grow in Christ that they might truly be able to stand firm.

The elementary teachings that the writer of Hebrews states are repentance from the acts that lead to death, faith in God, instructions abut cleansing rites, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. Last week, we took notice that at the root of each of these teachings in our gain tends to be our focus. We place emphasis on repentance from the acts that lead to death because we want to be able to make right of our mistakes. We emphasize cleansing rites because we want to be able to make ourselves look good infront of the Lord. But the writer of Hebrews states that these are just foundational truths that are designed to be built upon, but if we are continually turning these over, we are stuck laying the same foundation over and over again.

There is real danger in not maturing in our faith. If we never move beyond the laying of these foundational truths, we never experience in any real and tangible way the promises of God. We can not experience the true impact and freedom of being forgiven if we are continually returning to hoping that God really offers repentance from our sins. We can not experience life as bold believers who trust that the Holy Spirit goes with us and makes good even out of the things that we mess up if our hearts are still turning with anxiety of what might happen if we mess up or do not have enough faith in God. We will never sit in true and lasting peace of knowing that our place for all of eternity is secure because my Savior has paid it all for me if we are continually wrapped up in the fear of our position changing in regards to eternal judgment.

Which one of us has been driven closer to the Lord through the age old arguments on the finer points of pre-millenialism, amillenialism post-millenialism. Or which of us has been set free to serve and worship God with greater affection based on our pre-tribulation vs post-tribulation end times view. There probably many of us in this room who have just lost track of this message because you have no idea what I am talking about and now feel like we have been holding out on some secret message.

The writer of Hebrews is stating very clearly that we need to have firm beliefs concerning these things. You must believe in the hope that God has offered repentance from the acts that lead to death. You must believe that salvation is possible through faith in God and that God has made Himself knowable to His creation. You need to know that we are unworthy in our own strength to stand before the Lord, but Christ has made us clean in His blood. We must believe that we are bonded together in Christ with our brothers and sisters and because of our new found relationship in the Lord, we can and should lay hands on one another and make our petitions known before the Lord. We are able to and should bear with one another because of Christ uniting us as one. We must believe that dead will rise just as Christ rose and that those apart from Christ are in danger of eternal judgment that none will escape apart from Christ. These are all foundational truths upon which the church and the believer is built upon, but they are foundational. To get stuck on them is to remain in infancy. The writer will now show the danger of staying in our infancy.

Danger of Infancy

Hebrews 6:4–8 NIV

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

Hebrews 6:4-

There is a danger that if we do not move to maturity and are stuck in infancy that we could fall away. Before we go unpack this, I want to pause and address what many of us see at the core of this issue, the issue of eternal security. This verse has led to more debates and arguments over the possibility of an individual being able to move outside of the Lord’s repentance.

There are two key components necessary in conversion or moving from death to life. First, there is the role of the Lord. God brings forgiveness and restoration. God’s forgiveness and restoration is completely in his control. One can not receive the Lord’s forgiveness apart from the Lord granting His forgiveness. There is no magical act, deed or prayer that brings the Lord’s forgiveness. In Scripture, the Lord has made it clear that His forgiveness is given to those who have changed their hearts and placed their faith in Him. The outward appearance does not play any role in this for the Lord judges the heart.

Perfect tension between free will and God’s sovereignty.

In this same light, there is the secondary role in conversion and that is our role. Like I just said, the forgiveness of the Lord is given as our heart moves from dependance upon self to faith int he Lord. There is much evidence in the Scriptures that one can outwardly express faith and yet inwardly be untransformed. Jesus speaks about it in . There will be those who not only proclaimed to know Christ, but they prophesied, cast out demons, and did the miraculous in the name of Christ and yet Jesus will say to them depart from me for I never knew you.

This passage is not designed to paralyze the body in fear that there salvation is not complete but rather to edify the body to make sure that they do not miss God in their pursuit for his blessings and his stuff.

The word used for impossible here is the word used in multiple other points in the letter. In each of these uses, there is no provision for compromise. The statements are absolute.

The writer describes in detail what would appear to be a very vibrant Christian life. A life that has been enlightened, shared in the Holy Spirit, tasted the goodness of the Word of God, and the powers fo the coming age. But at the conclusion of this description lies the heart condition of the individual, they have no faith. The writer is describing someone who has come and taken part in the earthly blessings of the body. They have experienced being welcomed into the family of God. They have enjoyed the blessing of a body who would even sell their possessions to meet one anothers need. They sat under the teaching fo the Word and they were convicted to do things differently. They shared in the blessings of the Holy Spirits presence, but through all of this, they missed the relationship that has been offered and they fall away from continuing toward the Lord. Their heart has become hard.

Likely as the reader heard this, they would have thought back through Israel’s history. The picture of Pharaoh would have come to mind. Pharaoh saw, felt and tasted the power fo the Lord and every taste led him to hardening of the heart rather than acknowledgment. They would have thought of Saul who had tasted the splendor and wonder of the Lord, but his heart was not for the Lord but rather for himself. While he longed for the blessings that come from the presence fo the Lord, his heart had become so hard that he turned to a seer before he would turn back to the Lord.

The writer of Hebrews is pointing us to here the impossibility of repentance not because God will not forgive them but because their heart has become so hard that they will not turn back. They are like a field that has been so overtaken by thorns that even the planting of good seed will not result in those seeds taking hold.

When we fail to mature and remain stuck in these foundational teachings that focus on what God can do for us, we are in danger of hardening our hearts to the real relationship with God. We may be able to do many great things that seem to prove our position in Christ, but our relationship with God is not based upon acts but the pursuit of our heart.

Aim of Maturing

Hebrews 6:

Hebrews 6:9–12 NIV

Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

So how then do we mature and become sure of our position in the Lord and the condition of our hearts, endure in the faith and pursuit of God. Do not fall away.

The writer is concerned that these Hebrew readers might apostacy and return to their Jewish faith roots, but he believes that they will persevere and endure. He even states that their endurance in faith in Christ is the evidence of their heart condition. We so often get caught up in the idea of well how can I be sure that my heart is not hard and that I am actually secure in Christ. It is far more simple than we make it. If you want to make sure that you are in Christ and that your faith is secure in Him, place your faith in Him and pursue Him.

The writer encourages the hearer with the reminder of God’s role in their salvation. God is not unjust and He is true to His Word. God knows our hearts and He knows the faith that we have placed in Him. He has his role in our salvation and conversion. He will be faithful to bring forgiveness and restoration. We can be secure in that. There will be no one left out of the book of life who fervently pursued the Lord. So be people who faithfully pursue God.

We have no fear of falling away if we are diligent to the very end. Keep chasing after the Lord. Keep longing for his word. Endure in spending quality time in prayer exposing yourself to God and allow God to enlighten your heart.

The hardness of heart comes as we become lazy and set God aside in the pursuit of other things. Jesus states it this way.

Matthew 6:24 NIV

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

So how then do we mature? How do we guard our hearts from falling away? You chase after God. You interweave God into your everyday lives. You speak with God about your day, your fears, your joys. You enter into real relationship with God. You prepare yourself to say yes to the Lord. You follow Him instead of Him following you. The rest of the letter of Hebrews will be centered around showing us the work of God and our response to that work. If God is our aim, the hearing of these passages will draw us closer to the Lord as our eyes are opened to the completeness of His work on our behalf. If our hearts are not in the right focus, these passages will fall flat and our response will be one of burden.

So at the core of our maturing is not doing more things. It is not reading the Bible more or praying more often or increasing our service by one more group. The core of our maturing is centered on our heart condition. Is the Lord our desire? Are we pursuing Him alone or is He one of two or more things that we are devoting our hearts to?