Hebrews 6 – Warning Signs for the Christian

A Wake-Up Call

Have you ever received a “life lesson wake-up call”? I’m not talking about a call from the desk of La Quinta at 6:30 in the morning. I’m talking about someone or something that called you back to the reality of your life. Maybe you weren’t living up to your potential and a friend, a life coach or a regular coach, called you on it.

In our men’s study the other night we were talking about the need for friendships in a man’s life – not just for entertainment but also to be challenged. It is easy to fall into this thing called homeostasis, settling into a calm and steady life rhythm. We like those times and those rhythms. It is calm and smooth, but muscle is built, and capacity is increased when homeostasis is disrupted. This is true for us spiritually as well. There are times of our lives that we need to be challenged:

Someone has said,

“A calm sea does not produce a skilled sailor. - Anon.

The famous missionary, Hudson Taylor, stated:

“Unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith." - Hudson Taylor

At the end of Hebrews 5 and the first part of 6, the church is receiving a wakeup call to get up and grow in spiritual maturity.

Accepting the Call to Maturity

Marine biology teaches us an important lesson about maturity. God expects us to grow to be mature Christian, not stay as immature believers. One of the most popular aquarium fish is the shark. He explained that if you catch a small shark and confine it, it will stay a size proportionate to the aquarium. Sharks can be six inches long yet fully matured. But if you turn them loose in the ocean, they grow to their normal length of eight feet. That also happens to some Christians. They’ve confined themselves to small aquariums – they have little expectations for themselves.

The passages that we will discuss this morning are written to us – Christians who have embraced the Gospel. We know who Jesus is. We recognize that we are sinners in need of a Savior. We realize that Jesus calls us “out of” and “into” and expects us to become more and more like Him and less and less like the world. Hebrews speaks to us and warns us of laziness – small aquarium syndrome.

There are 5 “Warning Sections” in the book of Hebrews.

Chapter 2:1-4 = Take Heed

Chapter 3:7-4:13 = Do Not Miss His Rest

Chapter 5:11-6:12 = Beware of Dullness & Apostasy

Chapter 10:19-39 = Beware of Willful Sinning

Chapter 12:14-29 = Beware of Refusing Christ

Warnings often paralyze people into doing nothing and what a tragedy! Listen to this simple poem that should encourage us to have courage.

Opportunities Missed

There was a very cautious man

Who never laughed or played;

He never risked, he never tried,

He never sang or prayed.

And when one day he passed away

His insurance was denied;

For since he never really lived,

They claimed he never died!

Source Unknown.

Christian Beware!

Warning Sign #1 - Inactivity

Inactivity erodes the foundation that you should have already mastered. The Army taught me the Spanish language and I became pretty good at it. In 1995 they sent me to a 2-week school at Brigham Young University, this was probably the peak of my abilities in the Spanish language. After that, my job in the Army didn’t use the language and it has progressively gotten worse. Late in my career I was sent to another, much simpler course, and really had trouble remembering even the basics that I had learned 20 years, or even 10 years previously. As a linguist, if you are not actively using your skills, you are likely losing your skills. This is similar to what the speaker is explaining at the end of chapter 5.

Hebrews 5:11–14 NIV

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

The milk phase is as essential as the solid food, but those who never reach the latter stage are sadly deficient. The physical has a precise parallel in the spiritual. There are various grades of understanding and it is highly desirable that the spiritually minded man should be advancing in knowledge.[1]

St. John of the Cross on Spiritual Growth

The famous medieval reformer and mystic, St. John of the Cross, wrote about some of the differences between the early days of a new convert and the long road of obedience that makes up the spiritual life. When someone first begins to follow God, God fills them with a strong desire to follow Him. As one person put it, this initial desire is like a “spiritual starter kit.”

This initial desire nevertheless eventually fades. The strong emotional pull towards Christ lessens, providing the disciple with the opportunity to seek Christ in deeper, more authentic ways. God, John argues, eventually removes the props in order that we might begin to develop a stronger, more mature devotion to God. A faith that is not dependent on emotions but on the solid ground of a deep, consistent prayer life with the triune God. The props are removed not to punish, but to draw us ever closer to the God of the universe. - Stuart Strachan Jr., source material from John Ortberg: Who is This Man?, Zondervan.

I think many people get concerned when we talk about spiritual maturity. They think that spiritual people are awkward, so they don’t want to be “that guy or gal”. I think that spiritual maturity is attractive. I don’t often quote the Pope, but Pope Francis’ has said, “Holiness is the most attractive face of the church”. I think that is a powerfully accurate statement. Jesus was the most holy man to ever live, and people of all different backgrounds hung around Him, so we just need to get a better understanding of what it is to be spiritually mature.

Warning Sign #2 – Disregarding the Foundational Truths

I heard a bit of good news the other day. Two pastors of large churches on the East Coast were talking about trends in the Post Covid church. They agreed that churchgoers seem to be more interested in content than in the presentation style of churches today. Church goers are asking, “What are the truths of Christianity?” Maybe something good has come out of the “fact checking”.

The speaker of Hebrews is saying that as seasoned Christians we should have already mastered the basic teachings of Christianity.

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.

Repentance

Jesus began His ministry with a call to repentance. Repentance needs to be at the heart of a Christians walk. Specifically in this use, we are reminded that our dead works (good deeds) do nothing for us. It is all through the work of the Cross.

Faith

Repentance and faith are inseparable elements of the Christian gospel. The positive aspect of faith demands forceful emphasis. It is repentance from and faith towards[2]

Baptisms or “cleansing rites” -

The Bible speaks about several baptisms. There is the baptism into the body of Christ at salvation, water baptism, and baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire.

Laying on of hands -

This action is related to the gift of the Holy Spirit and also the impartation of power for ministry (ordination).

Resurrection of the dead -

One gets the impression from 1 Corinthians 15 that some first-century Christian congregations had difficulties about the resurrection and its highly important implications for believers. The particular churches known to our writer believed in good teaching about the future. Death is not the end; it merely marks the physical conclusion of our only opportunity to live for God in this world. For believers, the best of all is yet to be.[3]

Eternal judgment –

‘It is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment’ (9:27). Resurrection and judgment were clearly linked in the teaching of Jesus and in early Christian doctrine.[4]

These are all foundational truths about the faith. Do you understand them? Are you able to explain them?

Warning Sign #3 – Beware of Slippery Slopes!

The Christian walk is not to be trifled with!

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.

We all go through times of difficulty and our passion can waver, but this is something very serious. These are believers who “made an apparently excellent beginning in their Christian lives, are now not merely chronic invalids or spiritual casualties, but have become fierce opponents of the Christian gospel”.[5]

This is the effect of the slippery slope of apostasy. There are 3 characteristic features of this type of person: (1) they despise God’s gifts, (2) the reject God’s Son, and (3) they forfeit God’s blessing. These folks are pretty far gone. These folks have stepped away, by their own volition, the saving grace of Jesus Christ. As a pastor, my heart grieves for these people and am concerned about others who may not be in such a sorry situation but have become isolated and living immature lives.

Mature Christian -vs- Immature Christian

I recently learned that I qualify as a genuine redneck according to social media. To qualify I had to have plucked a chicken, used an outhouse, or had tobacco applied to a bee sting. Let’s take a test to see if we qualify according to the book of Hebrews to be mature believers.

ARE YOU?

Mature choices -vs- Immature Choices

Teaching others ------rather than----- just being taught

Developing depth of understanding----- rather than ----- Struggling with the basics

Evaluating self----- rather than----- criticizing self

Seeking unity----- rather than -----promoting disunity

Desiring spiritual challenges----- rather than ----- desiring entertainment

Studying and observing carefully----- rather than------ accepting opinions and halfhearted efforts

Having an active faith----- rather than----- cautious apathy and doubt

Living with confidence----- rather than -----fear

Evaluating feelings and experiences In light of God’s word -----rather than -----Evaluating experiences according to feelings [6]

How did you do? Well, you are in the right place today to do better tomorrow!

The Strength of Hope

Hebrews 6 offers us hope at the end of this section.

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.

Although we are not perfect, God is and He is the perfect judge. In Rev. Billy Graham’s last years he wrote a back that I think ought to be required reading, Nearing Home. In it he tells the story of his wife who understood that life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent. He writes this story:

My wife, Ruth…was one of those who could lighten heavy hearts, especially mine. I will never forget when she announced what she wanted engraved on her gravestone, and for those who have so respectfully visited her gravesite at the Billy Graham Library, they have noticed that what she planned for was carried out to the letter. Long before she became bedridden, she was driving along a highway through a construction site.

Carefully following the detours and mile-by-mile cautionary signs, she came to the last one that said, “End of Construction. Thank you for your patience.” She arrived home, chuckling and telling the family about the posting. “When I die,” she said, “I want that engraved on my stone.” She was lighthearted but serious about her request. She even wrote it out so that we wouldn’t forget. While we found the humor enlightening, we appreciated the truth she conveyed through those few words.

Every human being is under construction from conception to death. Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent. At the end of construction—death—we have completed the process. - Billy Graham, Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2011, p.94).

Get up! Don’t quit!

[1]Guthrie, D. (1983). Hebrews: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 15, p. 138). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [2]Brown, R. (1988). The message of Hebrews: Christ above all (p. 106). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [3]Brown, R. (1988). The message of Hebrews: Christ above all (p. 107). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [4]Brown, R. (1988). The message of Hebrews: Christ above all (p. 107). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [5]Brown, R. (1988). The message of Hebrews: Christ above all (p. 108). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [6]Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., Taylor, L. C., & Comfort, P. W. (1997). Hebrews(p. 74). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.