When studying the Bible, it’s important that you keep the passage that you are looking at in context with the preceding passages. That’s an important principle regardless of which book you may be looking at, but it’s particularly true in the study of Hebrews. Hebrews is really one long message, or sermon. And so the chapter separations are not our friends. Fortunately, the author repeatedly reminds us to keep it all in context by the use of the word “Therefore.”
As someone once said, when you see the word “therefore” it’s important to see what it’s there for. And in this case it points back to chapter 5, particularly the last few verses, starting in vs 11. “Concerning him, that is Jesus Christ, we have much to say, and [it is] hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes [only] of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.”
Then in vs 1 of this 6th chapter, it says leaving the elementary, or foundational principles of the Christ, let’s press on to maturity. So now virtually all that he has to say from this point on is in context with spiritual maturity. Keep that in mind, and it will help tremendously with the interpretation as we go forward. Don’t fall into the trap which so many have fallen into, which is to look at the verses ahead out of context, or on their own. Many well meaning people have gone astray in trying to decipher these verses not only without considering the immediate context, but also by not interpreting scripture with scripture. Scripture will never contradict itself. If it seems like it does occasionally, but then you must prayerfully reconsider your interpretation in light of other scripture. And as I said, in today’s passage that is especially true.
The following passage has sometimes been called “one of the Devil’s favorite passages” for the way in which certain persons have preached it out of context and end up condemning a young believer, or perhaps the struggling believer. Many Christians feel like giving up after hearing Satan “preach a sermon” on this text. Now that is not going to be the case today, I would hope, if we remember that he is talking about spiritual maturity. You cannot talk about spiritual maturity without prefacing the fact that it applies only to believers. Spiritual maturity is not possible in an unbeliever. And so we’re talking about a Christian’s spiritual maturity.
I can tell by the white hair, or lack of it here this morning that there are probably more than a few grandparents present. And of course, there are many parents here as well. And when our children were born, and in those first couple of years as they are learning to roll over, then take a step or two, and say a few words, we think that they are the cutest thing ever. I’ve seen some of you practically start drooling yourselves as you watch your grandchild do simple little tasks. And that’s normal, I suppose, for parents or grandparents to make over the cute little things that our children do.
But if our child was to not advance beyond that stage, and in ten or fifteen years they were still at the maturity level of a toddler, that would be something that we would be very sad about. We would realize that while we still love them, of course, they would never be able to experience all the things that they were meant to enjoy. And that would be a tragic thing.
That is what this author feels as he writes to these Hebrews There is a dark cloud hanging over these people due to their immaturity. But unlike a child with arrested development, it’s not a biological deficiency on the part of these believers that is the cause of it, it is a sin problem. It’s a lack of diligence. It’s a lack of obedience.
We have seen a repetition of the same theme many times so far in this book. He said in chapter 2, be careful of drifting away, then he warned against hardening your heart, then the exhortation against falling away. All speaking of the same condition. Growing lethargic. Growing calloused. Becoming hardened. Being stagnant. Becoming distracted and drifting away. Now, he adds to that, the danger of immaturity.
The author makes the point in the previous chapter that age alone does not produce maturity. By this time, he says, you should have been teachers. They had been saved a long time. But they needed milk and not solid food because they were still babies spiritually. Just a quick review indicates that their immaturity was evident because 1, they could not, or would not instruct others. 2, Because they were unable to discern good and evil. They aren’t interested in doctrine, so they are back and forth like the waves of the sea in their faith. They are up and down. I think that includes those that are emotionally unstable. They are governed by their feelings, rather than by their reason. “Come let us reason together, says the Lord.” And the third thing is that they lose so much valuable insight into the gospel, which robs them of their blessing. They have become dull of hearing, and so they miss out on what the Lord has to say, which would be of great benefit to them if they would listen.
So the author says in relation to all the negative things about their immaturity, therefore, let’s move on to maturity. Let’s grow up! Let’s get a move on. The RSV says, “let us press on.” It’s an active engagement. It’s exercising your faith. It’s putting feet to your faith. The KJV says “let’s press on to perfection.” That’s a poor choice of words. It’s maturity that is being spoken of. Completion. No one is ever going to be perfect on this side of heaven. But we can be mature. And maturity, according to chapter 5 vs 14, comes about through practice. Putting the word of Christ into practice. “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” Maturity is produced not by age, as we have already seen, nor by a repetition of elementary principles, what he calls milk, but it is produced by practicing obedience to God’s word.
Now these elementary principles of faith are not to be dismissed. He is not saying that these things are unimportant. On the contrary, he is saying that such things are foundational to your maturity. They are the foundation that we are to build upon. Back during the housing crisis we had here at the beach a few years ago, there were a number of places where you could see that the foundations had been laid, but then they had run out of money, or become bankrupt, and the foundation was laying there unused, and soon the lot grew up with grass and weeds. That’s sort of what is indicated here. The foundation is essential for growth, for building a proper house for the Lord, but it’s not enough to just have a foundation. You must build on it. Far too many Christians want to just focus on the elementary principles and not go on beyond that to maturity.
However, he names 6 of these foundational principles, or elementary principles of our faith. And it behooves us to look at them briefly, because they are essential to our faith, and you cannot build on the wrong foundation. Six things, and they can be divided up into three pairs which go together. The “A, B, C’s” if you will, of salvation.
A, is “faith and repentance.” He actually lists repentance first, “repentance from dead works.” Repentance is the first step in salvation. Recognizing you are a sinner, hopelessly lost, without God, and without hope, and confessing that to God. Dead works, according to chapter 9 vs14, are those things which the conscience needs to be cleansed of. They are works of the flesh, things which in the end, bring forth death. Thus they can be called dead works. Even religious works can be dead works if it is not done in Christ.
The second part of that is faith in God, which is the means of righteousness. Faith in what Christ has done on our behalf, results in righteousness. Romans 10:10, “for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Now these two inseparable principles, repentance and faith, form the first part of the foundation, which is our justification.
Next, the letter B, is “instruction about washings and laying on of hands.” After salvation comes baptism, or washings, as it’s translated in the NASB. There were other ceremonial washings that were done by the Hebrews in the early church. But such things are given as a sign, a figure of salvation. We are going to have a baptism today after the service. And it’s a living metaphor of salvation. We are buried under the water, signifying death to the old way of life, and are raised from the water signifying being raised to new life in Christ.
Then, laying on of hands symbolizes identification or association with the body of Christ. Baptism as well is identification with the church. Jesus was baptized, not because He needed to, but because He wanted to identify with sinners. And in like manner, laying on of hands is the way we identify with the church. I remember when I grew up in the church, and someone came forward and wanted to join the church, they spoke of extending the right hand of fellowship. Its agreement with, identification with other believers.
Then consider quickly the letter C, which he calls, “the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.” Once again you see how these two are related to one another. Both of them are essential principles; our hope is in the resurrection of the dead, and the judgment of the world is closely associated with that event. But it’s interesting that these elements of what we call eschatology, or end time theology, are so much the focus of many preachers and churches. Hebrews is saying that these are important fundamentals, but we must not make that sort of thing our priority. Some people are just consumed with the end times, but they are still immature in regards to their faith.
So as the author says, let’s move on. Let’s press on towards the meatier, heavier things of God, things that lead to maturity. And with that he introduces one of the most difficult passages of scripture in all of the New Testament. Vs4 “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, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 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.”
Now no matter how you interpret this passage, it is a sobering text. And as I said earlier, many preachers have taken this verse out of context and caused many a young Christian to be discouraged or to become confused about his faith. But as I said at the beginning, the context is about spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity must by definition be something that only pertains to spiritual people. Thus it must be in relation to Christians, but immature Christians. And the danger of immaturity is that they might not advance to maturity, but rather fall away, or drift away, or become hardened and calloused and unfruitful. So I think we can rule out that this is a reference to unsaved people who have played church, or made a profession, but never really were saved. That seems to be one popular interpretation.
In fact, the author’s description of these people clearly indicates a believer, one who has been saved. He gives five characteristics of these people that I can’t see how you can apply to anyone who is not a Christian. Notice; "Those who have once been enlightened." That means, to have the eyes of their heart opened to their own desperate need of the Savior, to realize the truth of the gospel. That is being enlightened. "And have tasted the heavenly gift." What is the heavenly gift? Obviously, it is the gift God gave from heaven. Salvation is a gift of God. These are those who have known a personal encounter with Christ, they have "tasted of the heavenly gift.” Then "Become partakers of the Holy Spirit.” When we are saved, we receive the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Next, ”They have tasted the goodness of the word of God." That means to experience the transformative power of the word of God. "And the powers of the age to come," i.e., they have already experienced the miracle of eternal life.
So these people, he says, who have been converted, who are saved, and then have fallen away it is impossible to renew them again to repentance…” This is the problem. What is indicated in the phrase, “fallen away?” The Greek word is parapiptÅ, which means to fall away, or wander away, to slip aside, to turn from the right path. Now the problem is that many want to see this as a condemnation of apostasy, to condemn them to eternal hell. But as I indicated earlier, this is the same thing he has been talking about all throughout the book. Who here has been a Christian for a number of years and not slipped up? Who here has never gone through a state of backsliding, of wandering away from the truth?
I think it’s a progression of what he has been warning of the entire book. In chapter 2, he talked about the danger of drifting away from what we have heard, the word of truth. Then in chapter 3 he talked about hardening your hearts. It’s a progression, from drifting away to becoming comfortable in your sin. He says the Israelites who hardened their hearts fell in the wilderness, that means they died, because of their disobedience. Then in chapter 4 he talks about losing the rest that God has promised, because of that continued disobedience. The way of sin is hard. The yoke of Christ is easy. We think the opposite is true. We think that God’s way is hard, it’s no fun, but the way of the world is easy and great. But that’s not true, and if you go that way you will forfeit the rest that God has promised. The rest is contentment in Him and His provision and care.
Then in chapter 5 we see that this hardening results in dull hearing, which produces immaturity, which falls short of the full maturity in Christ, which is where we find that rest that God promises. And that is what is being talked about here. You end up with a believer who has become stale and cold and indifferent to the things of the Lord. You end up with a Christian who goes through the motions, but they have lost their first love. They have fallen into an adulterous relationship with the world again. They’ve become ineffective in the kingdom of God. They are clouds without water, plants that don’t bear fruit. They have become almost worthless for the kingdom of God.
Now what is to be done with such a person? Well, the author says, they can’t be saved all over again. You can’t lay the foundation of salvation, which is faith and repentance, all over again. That’s what he is saying here; “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.” In other words, you can’t crucify Jesus for them again, you can’t save them again. Salvation is eternal. Jesus sacrificed himself once for all. And that sacrifice has already been applied to them by grace. And the fact that they are living as if they have never been saved puts Jesus Christ to open shame and ridicule among the watching world. Listen, your half hearted Christianity brings shame on the Lord Jesus Christ. The world looks at you and says, “see, it doesn’t really work.” “They are just a bunch of hypocrites down at the church. I know what John or Charlie is really like.”
He gives a further analogy to illustrate what kind of person this is. Vs 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; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.” Now this analogy must be looked at closely, or if you’re not careful you end up reinforcing the idea that such a person is going to hell, and there is nothing you can do about it. But I don’t think this is talking about hell at all, but rather about vegetation that has become unfruitful, and is close to being destroyed.
Notice that he’s giving two examples here. This is closely related to the parable of the soils which Jesus gave. But remember that Jesus gave four possible types of soil. Matthew 13:3-8 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some [seeds] fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. "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. "But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. "Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. "And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
Now if you compare Hebrews and the parable of the soils, you will see that Hebrews choses only two of the four. I believe the two he chose are those who represent those who are saved. In the parable, I think the first two are not saved; one the birds of the air, which represent Satan ate up the word of God before it could take root. The second, it sprang up but quickly died out. It was only temporary. But the third illustrates someone who Jesus said believed, and began to grow but then the worries and cares of the world choked out any fruit. The fourth is again represented in Hebrews, the good soil, which bears good fruit.
Notice though something Hebrews says about the third soil, the thorny soil. vs 8 “but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.” It doesn’t say that it is cursed and then ends up being burned, but that this worthless vegetation is CLOSE to being cursed. To me, that is a great distinction. Jesus, in writing to the seven churches of Revelation, warns that if they don’t do the works that they did at first, He will come and take away their lamp. When David was almost killed near the end of his life by a giant, his people said do not go out to war anymore, lest your lamp be extinguished. It’s a manner of speaking of life. I believe that the Lord is speaking of taking the life prematurely of a believer who has turned aside from practicing the truth, and has no interest in progression of his faith, and has no evidence of fruit in his life. That is physical life. You can’t take away spiritual life because that is eternal life. If you have eternal life, then it must be eternal, it can’t be taken away.
Later on, in chapter 12 vs 6, Hebrews is going to say that if you are the Lord’s child, then He is going to chastise you and discipline you when you go astray. Jesus talked about the pruning the was sometimes necessary in order to make the tree more fruitful. So Hebrews is saying that such a person is close to receiving a curse instead of a blessing. They are an unfaithful steward, and as such he may even remove what they have and give it to another who will make proper use of it. God designed us in salvation to become fruitful. And when we continue in being unfruitful, as a Good Father, as a Good Husbandman of the vine, He will prune as necessary or He may even remove the vine altogether.
Now that is a dire warning. However, I don’t want to leave it on a dour note, and neither does the author of Hebrews. So he continues in vs 9 “But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. 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. 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 you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
The author of Hebrews is convinced that these people he is writing to, though immature, yet have shown signs of spiritual growth. There had been a true birth, he thinks, for he has seen unmistakable evidence of love and concern for others, expressed in deeds of compassion. Not simply words but deeds, participation in ministry of the church.
But he urges them to show diligence, to not be sluggish, so that they might realize the full potential of the promises that God has intended for us. We are to imitate those who have gone before us, most especially being imitators of Christ, who practiced obedience even while suffering, and that being found in conformity with the image of Christ, we might experience the full blessings of our inheritance in Christ. Let us press on to maturity. Let us hold fast our faith. And let us love one another and share in the ministry which God has called us to participate in. The world is looking for what we have, and they are looking for someone who can show them by their life the evidence that the gospel is real. Let’s show them Christ in us. Let’s press on in obedience to the word of God, and in so doing, we will grow in maturity, and inherit the promise of rest in Christ.
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