Hebrews 6
Notes
Transcript
The Call to Spiritual Maturity
The Call to Spiritual Maturity
We cannot escape coming into this world as a baby - there is no other was to get here. We grow up and (hopefully) mature into adults. It is a tragedy when a child is not able to mature into a responsible adult.
Similarly, when a person accepts Christ as their savior, they are born again. It is also a tragedy when they take a few steps, but fail to mature as Christians.
The writer of Hebrews is warning his readers that they need to grow in spiritual maturity or risk sliding away from Christ. And a mature person has put aside the vestiges of childhood and embraced the responsibilities of adulthood.
1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do, if God permits.
When the writer of Hebrews tells us to “leave the elementary teachings about Christ” he is not telling us to forget, just like we do not forget the “ABC”s” when we move on to higher education. You need to build on these basics, these foundations of the faith. Here are listed six foundational truths of the Christian faith - and they are also foundational to Judaism. Indeed, Salvation os from the Jews. Jesus, when speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well:
19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
We are told these foundational truths are:
Repentance
Faith in God
Baptism
Laying on of Hands
Resurrection of the dead
Eternal Judgement.
The first two go together: Repentance and Faith. Repentance is not just feeling bad about sin - it is turning away from sin. It is not remorse, it is a change of mind. Once we have repented, then we can exercise our faith. Acts 20:18-21 Paul tells us they work together.
18 And when they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Indeed, repentance is a gift from God! If I was not called by God to repentance, I would not have the strength within my self to repent. Acts 5:30-31 states
30 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. 31 “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Baptism and Laying on of Hands also go together. When a believer took the next step of faith in christ, they were baptized. Washing was integral to the Jewish faith. The idea of physically cleansing yourself before coming before the Lord was deeply ingrained. Indeed the disciples were chastised by the Pharisees for eating without washing in Mark 7
1 The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, 2 and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) 5 The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?” 6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. 7 ‘But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ 8 “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
External washing was a tradition - but traditions are only surface actions when your heart is still dirty. Baptism is a spiritual washing that cleanses our spirit and prepares it for service to God. Laying on of Hands - blessing a person and setting them aside for ministry. Paul reminded Timothy in his first letter to him:
14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.
Of course the last two also go together - Resurrection from the Dead and the Last Judgement. Both Christians and Jews believed in these truths. The Old Testament teaches a general resurrection, but it is clarified with the coming of Christ.
The New Testament teaches a resurrection of both the Just and the Lost. Jesus tells us in John 5
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. 25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
The writer of Hebrews continues:
4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. 7 For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
These verses have caused much disagreement over the ages. It seems to say that once you are saved, and you reject all the saving work of Christ and the Holy Spirit, you cannot be called back to repentance. This flies in the face of the belief that once saved always saved.
To get passed this, people have said that people who turn from God after being saved were not really saved in the first place. But how can you taste the Heavenly gift and be a partaker of the Holy Spirit and not really be saved? i don’t think you can do this partially.
Some teach that you can lose your salvation, but that if so, you cannot be restored while you are in your sin! The tense of the Greek of “crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame” is present participles. The acts are currently occuring and repentance is impossible while you continue to sin. You must completely turn from your sin.
The recipients of this letter are believers who are saved - finally and eternally. The writer wants to assure them they are so. But he also warns them that they must remain vigilant and continue to mature in the faith.
Ground that drinks in the rain can produce both food and weeds. Jesus illustrated this in the parable of the sower:
1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach. 3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 “Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 “Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 “And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 “He who has ears, let him hear.”
The field is the person who hears the word of God. Jesus then explains this parable beginning in Matthew 13:18:
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
Believers will be tested and their works revealed.
11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
The field will remain - God will not destroy His own. Only the works - the fruit that does not honor God - will be destroyed. But the good fruit will remain.
15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.
Paul write in Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Continuing in Hebrews 6...
9 But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. 10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Our writer is aware of the fruit produced by his readers and wants to assure them that they are on a path to salvation. But do not “rest on your laurels!” but press on to full maturity so you can fully embrace your faith. Apply yourself to the spiritual resources God has given you! And then you can more fully understand God’s plan for your life.
The closing of this chapter contain an assurance for salvation. We are not making the spiritual progress that we should, but our God will not forsake us.
13 For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.” 15 And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. 16 For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. 17 In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15
4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” 5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. 7 And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.” 8 He said, “O Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?” 9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. 11 The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. 12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. 14 “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15 “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16 “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” 17 It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
In spite of Abrahams failures and sins, God was faithful and Isaac was born. His promises do not depend on our character but His faithfulness. Take hope - God is faithful!
Then God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. And Abraham started to comply when God stopped him. He then made another promise to Abraham in Genesis 22:
16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Today, we have more evidence of God’s faithfulness than Abraham had. Yet we do not apply ourselves as we should to claim those promises. The farmer does not yield a harvest by sitting on his porch. He must plant seeds, tend the fields, water the soil. If we neglect fellowship with other believers, ignore the Word, and forget to pray, we will not yield much harvest.
God not only made this promise to Abraham, He confirmed it with an oath and a covenant. He is faithful!
As Christians, we are also a part of this covenant.
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
God confirmed His promise to all of us with the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our hope in Christ is an “anchor for our soul”.
This anchor is different from a physical anchor. This anchor reaches heavenward, not downward. We are anchored to move forward not remain in one place.
Our anchor is “sure”, it cannot break, and steadfast, it cannot slip. No earthly anchor has these properties.
Because Jesus is “within the veil” He is our high priest. We can boldly come to His throne and receive all the help we need. But we must be willing to identify with Christ in His death as we identify with Him in his resurrection.
We drove to Williams on Thursday in our new Highlander, enroute to Omaha. It has “new” technology that recognizes when I drift from the lane and sounds an alarm. Then it gently nudges the steering wheel back into the lane. On cruise control, if someone pulls in front of us, it applies the brakes and maintains a safe distance. It is hard to get used to these nudges and braking. I have the ability to turn it off is I so choose.
But it is shaping me, after 55 years of driving, into a safer driver.
The word of God and the Holy Spirit working in our lives is “old” technology. It nudges us when we begin to drift away from the narrow path that leads us heavenward. It applies the breaks when Satan cuts in front of us bringing doubt into our lives. It is so advanced but we do not realize it.
The writer of Hebrews is reminding us to listen to God’s Word and grow in Spiritual Maturity. No matter how long we have been a Believer in Jesus Christ, we can still learn and grow in our maturity.
The bottom line is this. We must not drift from His Path. He will put on the brakes when we begin to doubt His Word.
LET US PRAY.
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