The previous chapter ended with the writer warning the readers that they needed to become mature in the faith and might need to be taught again the elementary truths of God’s word. They needed to be taken forward to maturity and the writer expresses confidence that it could happen, Heb 6:3 “And this we will do if God permits.”
However, they had to realise that they could not be restored to repentance and were in danger of falling away. But the chapter ends with the writer’s confidence of “better things in your case” because of the work they had done and the love they had shown towards the Lord.
1]. An Encouragement To Go On To Maturity. 6:1-3
Heb 6:1 “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits.”
The important thing to realise in these verses is that the writer is hopeful they will mature.
2]. The Third Warning In The Epistle [About The Failure To Mature.] 6:4-8
These are very powerful words. I once saw personally how the Holy Spirit of God transformed a hardened atheist into a very committed believer as he read these words. You can read what happened to my work-mate William on this link. https://jimholbeck.blog/2011/08/08/030-forgiveness-abundant-pardon-isaiah-556-7/
The warning which follows has been interpreted in different ways. These verses describe believers who have come to Christ in the following ways.
Heb 6:4 For it is impossible, in the case of those
- who have once been enlightened. Christian conversion is being brought from darkness into the light of Christ. My friend William was soundly converted. It was obvious to many that he had come from darkness into the light of Christ
- who have tasted the heavenly gift. This could be the gift of Jesus Christ whom God “gave” to a sinful world, or it could be the gift of salvation in Christ.
- and have shared in the Holy Spirit. “Shared” is from [metochos; μέτοχος] which means being a partaker of the Holy Spirit who had brought them from darkness into light.
- Heb 6:5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come. “Tasted” is from [geuomai; γεύομαι] meaning to taste or experience. They had experienced the goodness of the word of God as they heard it and responded to it and had also experienced the powers [dunamis; δύναμις] mighty works or miracles of God’s kingdom.
Heb 6:6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. “Fallen away” is not the word for apostasy [apostasia; ἀποστασία] but is from [parapiptō; παραπίπτω] meaning to fall by the side of; to fall off or away from. It means lapses or deviations rather than an outright denial of Christ.
“Restore” is from [anakainizō; ἀνακαινίζω] meaning to renovate or renew. We need to note here that it is not to restore to salvation, but to repentance. If they have experienced the blessings in verses 4 and 5 but hardened their hearts against Christ, then it shows that their repentance was incomplete.
“Repentance” is from [metanoia; μετάνοια] meaning a change of mind or of thinking patterns. True repentance should be accompanied by a change in behaviour. It appears that many believers had not completely surrendered to Christ and were thus disregarding the significance of Christ’s death for them. Their attitude brought contempt towards Christ rather than leading people to Him.
An Illustration From Nature Of The Need To Be Responsive To God. 6:6-7.
Heb 6:7 “For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.” The writer encourages the readers to be responsive to the word of God to become fruitful and to be blessed by Him.
3]. There Was Hope For Believers. 6:9-12
The writer here addresses the readers personally, “Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.” 6:9-10. In any group of believers there will be a variety of responses to the gospel message. Everyone needs to be encouraged and this is what the writer attempts to do as these words indicate, “in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.”
“Better” here is from [kreittōn; κρείττων] meaning superior or more useful and occurs 13 times in Hebrews out of the 18 occurrences in the New Testament. Everything concerned with Christ is superior, so their faith in Him as Saviour and the obedience stemming from that is superior in every way. They are on the right track as shown by their work and the love they have shown in serving the saints. They just need to continue as they have been doing but be open to a growing maturity.
The message becomes more personal in verses 11 and 12 as the writer uses “each one of you” to address individuals. They were to “show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” The word “earnestness” is from [spoudē; σπουδή] a noun but the verb has already been used in 4:11, “Let us therefore strive [spoudazō σπουδάζω] to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” To strive or be earnest was the opposite of being sluggish [nōthros; νωθρός] a word used only in Hebrews here and in 5:11 “dull of hearing.” The believers needed to be quick to hear and obey!
4]. The Certainty of God’s Promise. 6:13-15
The writer turns to the certainty of God’s promises and the need to remain patient in receiving them. Heb 6:13 “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you.’ 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.” God promised Abraham that He would bless and multiply him and Abraham waited patiently for the fulfilment of the promise.
5]. The Promise To Abraham Was Guaranteed By Two Unchangeable Things. 6:16-18
The two immutable things are God’s promise and God’s oath. It is impossible for God not to fulfil his promises, “For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” 6:16-18.
God’s promises are always true because He never changes. The “unchangeable character of his purpose” is due to His unchanging nature. When God makes a promise it will surely come to pass. Those who have turned to Him for refuge can be certain that their hope is secure.
6]. The Certainty Of The Fulfilment Of The Promise Of God. 6:19-20
Heb 6:19 “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” The Christian hope is anchored in the promise of God and is unchanging. Christ is our hope [Colossians 1:27] and is described as “a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.” This is linked to His work as High Priest. The high priest could only enter the holy place as a representative of the people. No one else could enter. But Jesus entered as a “forerunner” [prodromos; πρόδρομος] meaning “one who comes in advance to a place where the rest are to follow.” [Vincent] Because He offered the perfect sacrifice for sins, it means His people who trust in Him may enter as well. Their hope is fixed like an anchor in the bed of the sea floor and they have entered into the presence of God as followers of their forerunner, Jesus.
The final phrase in verse 20, “having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” is a reminder that the high priesthood of Jesus is better or superior to all the high priests in Israelite history. The writer goes on in the next chapter to explain why that is so.
Blog No.519 posted on Friday 26 January 2024. [Australia Day.]
holbeck 
519. Hebrews Chapter 6. A WarningAgainst Falling Away From Christ.
The previous chapter ended with the writer warning the readers that they needed to become mature in the faith and might need to be taught again the elementary truths of God’s word. They needed to be taken forward to maturity and the writer expresses confidence that it could happen, Heb 6:3 “And this we will do if God permits.”
However, they had to realise that they could not be restored to repentance and were in danger of falling away. But the chapter ends with the writer’s confidence of “better things in your case” because of the work they had done and the love they had shown towards the Lord.
1]. An Encouragement To Go On To Maturity. 6:1-3
Heb 6:1 “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits.”
The important thing to realise in these verses is that the writer is hopeful they will mature.
2]. The Third Warning In The Epistle [About The Failure To Mature.] 6:4-8
These are very powerful words. I once saw personally how the Holy Spirit of God transformed a hardened atheist into a very committed believer as he read these words. You can read what happened to my work-mate William on this link. https://jimholbeck.blog/2011/08/08/030-forgiveness-abundant-pardon-isaiah-556-7/
The warning which follows has been interpreted in different ways. These verses describe believers who have come to Christ in the following ways.
Heb 6:4 For it is impossible, in the case of those
Heb 6:6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. “Fallen away” is not the word for apostasy [apostasia; ἀποστασία] but is from [parapiptō; παραπίπτω] meaning to fall by the side of; to fall off or away from. It means lapses or deviations rather than an outright denial of Christ.
“Restore” is from [anakainizō; ἀνακαινίζω] meaning to renovate or renew. We need to note here that it is not to restore to salvation, but to repentance. If they have experienced the blessings in verses 4 and 5 but hardened their hearts against Christ, then it shows that their repentance was incomplete.
“Repentance” is from [metanoia; μετάνοια] meaning a change of mind or of thinking patterns. True repentance should be accompanied by a change in behaviour. It appears that many believers had not completely surrendered to Christ and were thus disregarding the significance of Christ’s death for them. Their attitude brought contempt towards Christ rather than leading people to Him.
An Illustration From Nature Of The Need To Be Responsive To God. 6:6-7.
Heb 6:7 “For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.” The writer encourages the readers to be responsive to the word of God to become fruitful and to be blessed by Him.
3]. There Was Hope For Believers. 6:9-12
The writer here addresses the readers personally, “Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.” 6:9-10. In any group of believers there will be a variety of responses to the gospel message. Everyone needs to be encouraged and this is what the writer attempts to do as these words indicate, “in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.”
“Better” here is from [kreittōn; κρείττων] meaning superior or more useful and occurs 13 times in Hebrews out of the 18 occurrences in the New Testament. Everything concerned with Christ is superior, so their faith in Him as Saviour and the obedience stemming from that is superior in every way. They are on the right track as shown by their work and the love they have shown in serving the saints. They just need to continue as they have been doing but be open to a growing maturity.
The message becomes more personal in verses 11 and 12 as the writer uses “each one of you” to address individuals. They were to “show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” The word “earnestness” is from [spoudē; σπουδή] a noun but the verb has already been used in 4:11, “Let us therefore strive [spoudazō σπουδάζω] to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” To strive or be earnest was the opposite of being sluggish [nōthros; νωθρός] a word used only in Hebrews here and in 5:11 “dull of hearing.” The believers needed to be quick to hear and obey!
4]. The Certainty of God’s Promise. 6:13-15
The writer turns to the certainty of God’s promises and the need to remain patient in receiving them. Heb 6:13 “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you.’ 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.” God promised Abraham that He would bless and multiply him and Abraham waited patiently for the fulfilment of the promise.
5]. The Promise To Abraham Was Guaranteed By Two Unchangeable Things. 6:16-18
The two immutable things are God’s promise and God’s oath. It is impossible for God not to fulfil his promises, “For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” 6:16-18.
God’s promises are always true because He never changes. The “unchangeable character of his purpose” is due to His unchanging nature. When God makes a promise it will surely come to pass. Those who have turned to Him for refuge can be certain that their hope is secure.
6]. The Certainty Of The Fulfilment Of The Promise Of God. 6:19-20
Heb 6:19 “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” The Christian hope is anchored in the promise of God and is unchanging. Christ is our hope [Colossians 1:27] and is described as “a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.” This is linked to His work as High Priest. The high priest could only enter the holy place as a representative of the people. No one else could enter. But Jesus entered as a “forerunner” [prodromos; πρόδρομος] meaning “one who comes in advance to a place where the rest are to follow.” [Vincent] Because He offered the perfect sacrifice for sins, it means His people who trust in Him may enter as well. Their hope is fixed like an anchor in the bed of the sea floor and they have entered into the presence of God as followers of their forerunner, Jesus.
The final phrase in verse 20, “having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” is a reminder that the high priesthood of Jesus is better or superior to all the high priests in Israelite history. The writer goes on in the next chapter to explain why that is so.
Blog No.519 posted on Friday 26 January 2024. [Australia Day.]
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About Jim Holbeck
Once an Industrial Chemist working for the Queensland Government but later an Anglican minister in Brisbane, Armidale and Sydney. Last position for eighteen years before retirement in 2006 was as the Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew's Cathedral Sydney.