Hebrews 6:9-12

We’re in the 3rd of 5 Warning Passages in the Book of Hebrews

This Warning Passage Spans From Hebrews 5:11-6:12

The Author is Warning Against Spiritual Laziness and Immaturity

They Ought to Be Teachers By this Point…

But They Still Need to Be Retaught the Basics of Christianity

They are Like Infants Who Only Drink Milk Instead of Eating Solid Food

Last Week, We Focused On Hebrews 6:4-8

Allegedly, One of the Most Difficult Passage in the NT

We Discovered that There is No Reconciliation to God When One Abandons Their Commitment to Jesus

Now We are Going to Finish Up this 3rd Warning Passage

Hebrews 6:1–8 (NLT)

So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.

For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.

When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing. But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.

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.

Hebrews 6:9 (NASB95)

But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.

After the Powerful Warning of Verses 4-8, We See the Word “But”

That Tells Us We are Moving From Negative to Positive

Hebrews 6:9 (NASB95)

But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.

This is the Only Time the Author Uses this Word in Hebrews

He Moves From Warning to Encouragement…

By Telling His Audience that He Deeply Loves, Cares, and is Devoted to Them

Hebrews 6:9 (NASB95)

But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.

The Author is “Convinced/Persuaded” (Perfect Tense)

Perfect Tense Refers to an Action that Happened in the Past But Has Results that Last into the Present

The Author Became Convinced at Some Point in the Past…

And Continues to Remain Convinced Up to the Present

What was He Convinced of?

Hebrews 6:9 (NASB95)

But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.

“Of Better Things Concerning You”

He Had Just Finished Saying that a Field that Produce Nothing But Thorns and Thistles…

Is Worthless and Will Be Burned with Fire

The Author Doesn’t Believe His Audience to Be a Worthless Field of Thorns and Thistles

He is Convinced that They are a Good Field that Produces What God Desires

And Because of That…

Hebrews 6:9 (NASB95)

But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.

He is Convinced They are Living in a Way that “Accompanies Salvation”

“Accompany” Can Mean = Have; Own; Belong to

Their Works are the Works that Belong to Those Who are Saved

“I’m Convinced that Y’all Live and Behave Like Saved Christians Live and Behave”

Hebrews 6:9 (NASB95)

But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.

“Even Though We Have Just Issued this Warning About Falling Away From Your Commitment to Christ…”

“We are Convinced that You Haven’t”

That’s Not Saying the Warning was a Useless Waste of Ink

The Warning was Important

This Audience Has Been Sluggish/Lazy and Infantile in Their Study and Knowledge

Which Can Definitely Lead to Falling Away From Faith in Jesus

But the Author is Convinced that the Audience is Not at that Point Yet

We Need to Always Be Examining Ourselves

Am I Sluggish and Lazy with My Study?

Am I Able to Handle Deeper, More Complex Topics?

Am I Able to Teach Others About Who Jesus is?

Am I Able to Teach Others About What He Did for the World?

Am I Able to Teach Others About What He is Now Doing for His People?

Am I Able to Teach Others About What He Will Do When He Returns?

Am I Able to Teach Others How to Live Their Lives in Service and Dedication to Jesus?

Or Do I Still Need the Basics Taught to Me?

Am I Able to Discern/Judge Between What is Good and What is Evil in the World?

Am I Able to Discern/Judge Between What is True and What is False as it Pertains to God’s Word?

Or Do I Still Need Someone to Guide Me into Discerning and Choosing What is Good and True?

Do I at Least Have a Basic Understanding of Repentance, Faith, Baptism, the Holy Spirit, Resurrection, and Judgment?

Do I Understand How All of Those Things are Foundational to Christian Living?

Have I Allowed My Spiritual Laziness and Immaturity to Bring About Distance Between Me and Jesus?

Is My Relationship and Allegiance to Him Wavering?

Could My Relationship and Allegiance to Him Be Stronger than it is Right Now?

If We Aren’t Growing in Knowledge of and Allegiance to Jesus…

Then We are Shrinking in Knowledge of and Allegiance to Jesus

And Those Who Shrink in Those Things…

Eventually Abandon Jesus All Together

Before Moving to Verse 10, We Need to Ask the Question:

“What Exactly was this Hebrew Audience Doing that Convinced the Author that They Were Living Faithfully?”

Hebrews 6:10 (NASB95)

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.

God Does Not Forget Our Work We Do and the Love We Show

“Toward His Name” Could Also Be Translated “In His Name”

Either Way, I Don’t Think There’s a Change in the Meaning of the Passage

The Author Says it Would Be Unjust for God to Forget Their Work and Love

It Goes Against God’s Very Nature to Overlook What We Do for/in Him

Isn’t it Sometimes Easy to Feel Overlooked/Forgotten?

Like Your Good Works Aren’t Being Noticed or Appreciated?

Like the Love You Show to Others is Ignored?

Sometimes it Can Feel Like Our Efforts are Getting Us Nowhere

But the Author Tells Us that is Not the Case

It Goes Against God’s Just/Righteous Nature to Forget/Overlook Our Work and Love for/in Him

Sometimes When We Talk About Good Works and Showing Love…

It is So Broad and Unspecific that it’s Almost Unhelpful

But the Author Tells Us Exactly What He’s Referring to When He Says:

“your work and the love which you have shown toward His name”

Hebrews 6:10 (NASB95)

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.

According to the Author, How Do We Do Good Works and Show Love in the for/in God’s Name?

We Serve Our Brothers and Sisters

When We Minister to Each Other, We are Showing the Good Works and Love that Honor God’s Name

God Would Not Forget How They Had Previously Served Their Siblings…

Nor Would He Overlook How They Were Currently Ministering to Their Siblings

If You Find Yourself Asking, “How Can I Better Work for and Show My Love to God/Jesus?”

Here’s Your Answer: Minister to/Serve Your Siblings in Christ

That is the Work God Wants You to Be Involved in

That is How We Show Our Love

So, What Convinced the Author that His Audience Were Living Faithful Lives to God?

They Were Ministering to Each Other

And He Knew that God Would Never Forget Such a Loving Work

Hebrews 6:11 (NASB95)

And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end,

The Author Desperately Wants Each Member of His Audience…

To Continue to Demonstrate that Same Level of Eagerness/Zeal in Their Ministering to Their Siblings

Why?

Hebrews 6:11 (NASB95)

And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end,

So that They Can Have Full Assurance of the Hope

“Full Assurance” is Only Found 4 Times in the NT - 2 Times in Hebrews

It Means to Have Absolute Certainty

This Brings Us Back to the Overall Purpose of the Book of Hebrews:

To Give This Hebrew Audience Confidence in Jesus

The Author Deeply Desired for His Audience to Be Absolutely Certain of Their Hope in Christ

And He Wanted Them to Be Certain of Their Hope “Until the End”

All the Way Up to Death and/or All the Way Up Until Jesus’ Return

What We Learn From This Verse is Interesting and I Think it Hits Home with All of Us

We Learned From Verses 9-10 that the Author was Fully Convinced of the Salvation of His Audience

But They Weren’t Fully Convinced of Their Own Salvation

We Can Be Like that Can’t We?

Convinced of the Salvation of Others, But Not Our Own

The Author Said, “I Can Tell Your Faith is Genuine By How Your Minister to and Love Each Other”

“And if Your Faith Remains Genuine to the End, Then I Remain Certain that You Have Hope”

“So You Should Be Certain of that Hope as Well!”

What is the “Hope” They are to Be Certain of?

Hope of Salvation From Sin and Death

Hope of Resurrection

Hope of Living Eternally with God

But Possibly More Specifically to the Context:

Hope of Having Jesus as Our High Priest in Heaven…

Who Makes All of These Other Hopes Possible

It All Comes Back to Jesus

Our Hope is Based Upon Him and What He is Doing for Us Right Now as Our High Priest

Summary of What We’ve Learned From this Passage So Far:

The Author is Convinced of His Audience’s Faithful Living…

Based Off of God’s Justice in Remembering Their Work and Love Toward Each Other

Therefore He Wants Them to Continue Ministering to Each Other…

So That They Can Be Absolutely Certain of the Hope Found in Jesus

Hebrews 6:12 (NASB95)

so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The Author Wants His Audience to Remain Diligent in Their Works of Love…

So that They Will Be Certain of Their Hope…

And So They Don’t Become Lazy

He Already Accused Them of Being Lazy Hearers in 5:11

But He Doesn’t Want Them to Become Lazy in Their Works

That’s Exactly What Happens When You Don’t Have Hope

When You Don’t Have Hope, You Give Up

But When You Have Hope (Confident Expectation)…

You Keep Striving for it

Hebrews 6:12 (NASB95)

so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Instead of Being Lazy, He Wants Them to Be “Imitators”

Imitators of Who?

Those Who Inherit the Promises Through Faith and Patience

The Author Immediately Gives Them an Example of Who They Should Imitate

Abraham

He Faithfully and Patiently Waited On God to Fulfill His Promises

Jesus Will Fulfill His Promises He has Made to His People

Instead of Giving Up Hope and Becoming Lazy in Our Efforts…

We Need to Imitate Abraham By Staying Hopeful, Faithful, and Patient…

As We Wait On Jesus to Fulfill His Word

Invitation

The Context of James Chapter 1 So Far has Been Focused On Trials

Christians are to “Consider it all joy” When We Experience Trials

Because Enduring Faithfully Through Trials Makes Us Stronger and More Like Jesus

And God Helps Us in Our Trials When We Ask for it with Faith

James 1:12 (NASB95)

Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.