· The author of Hebrews all along has been strategically addressing a church full of people who are being tempted to turn back to their old habits and turn back to a more comfortable lifestyle.
· He has been alternately giving them proofs about why they should trust Jesus, interspersed with warnings and then followed with encouragements to press on and hold fast to their confidence.
· In Chapter 5 we saw that Jesus is qualified to be the greatest High Priest high priest ever, who comes not from the line of Aaron but in the order of Melchizedek.0
· However, the author knows that what he has just said about Melchizedek may not be understood because the church he has written to has, at least in part, chosen to remain immature and has become dull of hearing; not being diligent to learn and actively apply what they know.
· But settling for the things they have learned at first is not OK. So, the author exhorts the church
“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,”
· He says that they are not to stay in the same place. They need to grow in learning more than the beginning of instructions about Jesus and who He is.
· When I was a kid, we used to sing children’s songs like “Jesus loves me, this I know” or “Jesus Loves the Little Children” or “I’ve got Peace like a river” or “Deep and Wide”.
· The songs contained some basic truth and bible instruction and there is nothing wrong with singing children’s songs that contain foundational truths. But if my understanding of God stayed at what I'd learned in the Children’s songs it would not be good. I would be immature and I should be reproved for not learning and pursuing more in my relationship with Jesus.
· In a similar way, the author of Hebrews is entreating them to not to be satisfied with the simple truths about Jesus; the need to repent from dead works, and faith in God.
· Just like it would be silly if our depth of understanding ended with the level we learned singing children’s songs.
· So he encourages the reader to leave the elementary doctrines in place and build upon it.
· He says in effect, let’s not lay the same foundations again, foundations are meant to be built upon.
1.
Foundations
are meant to be built on
·
Then, he writes about some more foundational
truths – that all Christians are called to know“of instruction about washings,1 the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.”
· They were already to understand that the ceremonial washings of the Old Covenant could never really cleanse them and that they needed Jesus to truly cleanse them from their sins. They were all expected to have been baptized into water as believers, as an outward sign of the inward washing of Jesus Christ. They weren’t to neglect this but they were to build on these foundations.
· The church also was already be practicing the laying on of hands in prayer, expecting God to act and heal people. They were to lay hands for the appointment to a task or office and the laying on hands was also associated with the filling of the Holy Spirit.
· The author assumes that they don’t need to come back to what should be an ongoing , basic practice of every believer everywhere – coming to God in prayer on behalf of someone else.
· It is also assumed that the church should already have knowledge about the fact that we will all one day be resurrected from the dead and that there will be an eternal judgment to face. They should know that the believer’s hope in the resurrection from the dead is firmly grounded in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, as the firstborn of many brothers.
· The author isn’t saying that they are to leave these basic truths as if they are unimportant – it is actually the reverse – they are the things of first importance. But they are meant to build upon them. Leave these foundations in place and build upon them now.
· Foundations are meant to be built on, that is what foundations are for. Everyone knows it isn’t good or right to lay a foundation but not build on it. In the same way, just learning the truths of Christianity aren’t enough. We must have foundations but the foundations are meant to be built upon and they are intended for God’s house to be built on them.
· We are not meant to just learn the basics and then fail to stand on them. We are meant to rely on them, practice them and build on them.
· Hebrews 3:6 “And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”
· We are meant to be His house, but we must hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope and the author of Hebrews intends to go on building and says, “And this we will do if God permits”
· This is another way of saying that he hopes to, he intends to build more.
· But the author realizes that growth in Christ and the ability to mature is a gift.
2.
Maturity
is a gift
·
We will build on the foundations toward maturity if God permits. It is more than just the modern way of saying
“I’m planning on something, Lord willing”· What He is saying is that we must be aware that our growth in maturity only can come if God permits us to grow. It is important to understand that the author has before warned about not hardening their hearts and to guard against choosing unbelief, because he knows that whenever the Lord grants conviction, it is something we must hold onto.
· Only God grants repentance from dead works, and we shouldn’t take the privilege lightly.
· In a similar way, Paul spoke to Timothy and exhorted him that the Lord’s servant must be “correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil”. - 2 Timothy 2:25-26
· If you have experienced the grace of conviction and seen your need for repentance, seize it as a mercy that God has permitted and granted you. Don’t ignore conviction, because you cannot be guaranteed a chance to repent again.
· For those of you here who have not yet repented of your sins and trusted in Jesus for forgiveness of your sins and haven’t looked to Him for life, don’t think you will have another chance. You may not.
· Don’t assume you will repent later when you grow up, or after you’ve sown your wild oats or partied or whatever you think is fun, that you want to do before you get serious with God.
· Conviction is a gift. Growth is a gift. God is the one who grants understanding.
· If you’ve heard the truth and tasted the things of God, don’t turn away.
“For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,”
· What the author is doing is He is telling the church he is writing to, to beware of falling away.
3.
Beware
of falling away
·
It is like the author is waving his arms, putting up big, flashing
lights and signs to warn the readers away from a path where there is no bridge
and instead there is a steep cliff with no bottom in sight. And He is saying
“Beware of falling away”· Because you are at the edge of a cliff doesn’t mean you can’t turn back to the right path if you see the warning signs. Warning signs are meant to be followed, to keep one from danger.
· The author of Hebrews uses the word that we have translated as impossible four times in the book and each time, it really means what the word sounds like – there is no way possible at all.
· A prince can’t be turned into a frog and then back into a prince again with a kiss. It just isn’t possible, no matter what the fairy tales say.
· The author is saying that it is possible that some may have heard the good news and believed it is true; been around the people of God, tasted of the blessings of God, witnessed the gifts of the spirit to some degree, tasted them and even responded to the things of God, to fall away after experiencing all these things. And if one who has experienced these things falls away, it is impossible to restore them again to repentance.
· The first readers of Hebrews and all of us would admit that these are indeed some of the hardest verses in the New Testament. And they are some of the most potentially frightening verses there are as well.
· If you have been a Christian for a while, and read these verses, I imagine they have had a sobering, perhaps even frightening effect on you. Maybe you are wondering if this is you today still.
· No matter how you look at it, these verses are very, very difficult.
· The first reason these verses in Hebrews are difficult, is because there have been different interpretations of this passage throughout Christian history. And there have been three primary ways that Christians throughout the years viewed these verses.
· The first way one could read these verses would be to say that these verses are speaking of true believers and that it is possible to be a true Christian and then lose your salvation. But if this were the case, then the rest of the Bible wouldn’t make sense.
· In John 10:27 Jesus is very clear – if you are truly one of His sheep, there is no way you can ever perish or fall away.
John 10:27-30 My sheep hear my voice, and I know
them, and they follow me. 28
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch
them out of my hand. 29 My
Father, who has given them to me,1 is greater than all, and no one
is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one."
·
Not only will a true believer never fall away
and never perish because Jesus is holding the true believer, no one – not even
the devil can snatch them from His hand. · And in case you want to argue that perhaps Jesus as man is limited in some way, Jesus was clear, He and the Father are one and no one can snatch someone who is truly born-again from the Almighty Father God’s hand.
· In 1 Peter 1:3, we learn of the sure hope we have if we’ve been born again, it says
1 Peter 1:3-5 According to His great mercy, He has
caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, 4 to an
inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for
you, 5 who by God's power are
being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last
time.
·
And there are many other scriptures as well that
show that those who have truly been made alive in Christ will never go astray.
(Jer. 32:40, Philippians 1:6, Rom. 8:29, Rom. 14:4, Jude 1:24, John 10:28-29, Rom
11:29, John 3:16, John 6:35,40,47, 1 Pet 1:23, 1 Cor. 1:8, Eph 1:5, 13-14, etc.)· The second way some read these verses is to say that the author is explaining a hypothetical situation that won’t and can’t really happen. But if it was only a hypothetical warning, then Jesus wouldn’t have warned us in Matthew 7:22-23 as follows:
Matthew 7:22-23 On that day many will say to me,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your
name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart
from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
·
The third way of viewing these verses, which has
the preponderance of Biblical support, is that it is a warning to those who are
in danger of falling away and it is a warning against apostasy that is intended
to prevent it from happening. Otherwise,
there would be no point to the warning.· The warning, is that it is possible for people who seem to be genuine Christians, to turn their backs on Jesus and no longer believe in the gospel and in fact mock Jesus and be ashamed they ever believed at all and so prove they never really were born again.
·
The second reason these are difficult verses
is that some of these phrases are hard to understand. So, let’s look briefly at
some of them below.
·
When it refers to those who have been
enlightened, it means that they have seen the light of the good news. They have
received knowledge of the truth and have a basic understanding of the gospel of
Jesus Christ. These may even have made a public profession of faith and been
baptized.· If that is the case, then what does it mean when it says that one can taste the heavenly gift, or when it says that one can taste the goodness of God? It means that you can taste something without eating all of it. You can taste something and experience it without fully consuming it and letting it be a part of you. So, in some way, this is speaking of those who have tasted the gift of salvation, by understanding it.
· But what about sharing in the Holy Spirit? What can that mean? It means that one can be a part of a church or group of Christians where they have shared the benefits of the Holy Spirit and the gifts He gives. They may hear a prophetic word or even be healed but they are not truly born again.
· Then, the third reason this is a difficult
passage is that it is hard to swallow the truth it contains. We might grasp the
original meaning of the text and understand the implications but it is hard for
us to face the truth of it. You see it is hard to swallow that making a public
profession and being baptized isn’t enough; there must be fruit that lasts. One
cannot say, “I was saved when I was six and I walked the isle and was baptized
and I learned all of the Bible stories but now, even though I’m living like I
know I shouldn’t, I know I’m saved. No, you should be concerned and this
passage is for you.
·
Lastly the passage makes us confront where we
are. It isn’t a comfortable passage. And we are meant to do some
self-examination in light of this passage. You can’t get comfortable with dullness of
hearing and hardness of heart. They are dangerous and can lead to falling away,
as the author of Hebrews has already stated before.· In verse 6 then, the author talks about the results of falling away:
4.
Falling
away is fatal
·
it is only when you’ve gone over the cliff and are falling that it
is too late.“if they then fall away, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt”
· Falling away is fatal, because it is a completely willful nose dive off the cliff of unbelief, turning away in disobedience and faithlessness. The kind of falling away here is a turning away from the things of God to the point that one mocks Jesus by no longer seeing His sacrifice as necessary.
· The author isn’t accusing them directly of already having fallen away but he is warning them so that they will not and so that they will avoid falling away. And from the context of the letter in the previous chapters, it seems as if some may be perilously close to turning away from Jesus and forsaking the good news they once believed.
· The author wants them avoid this danger at all costs and not forget what the final end is, for all those who turn away from Jesus.
· The New Testament gives us perhaps one of the most chilling examples of someone who had believed and followed Jesus: This man seemingly turned from his own way to follow Jesus when Jesus called him personally. He seemed to have faith in Jesus and was trusted by Jesus to some degree. He was enlightened. He tasted of the heavenly gift. He shared in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. He also tasted of the goodness of the Word of God and experienced first-hand the powers of the age to come. This man was Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus because he turned to unbelief about who Jesus was, he fell away and became cursed. In fact, Jesus said it would have been better if he had never been born and so we know his destiny is to be burned. There couldn’t be a more striking example of seeming to know, believe, and follow Jesus and then allowing unbelief to creep in and falling away, revealing that he never really was born again.
· Falling away like this, is like crucifying the Son of God again, because it is saying that you don’t really need Jesus and what the world offers is better than all of the blessings you’ve received in Christ. It is saying, in effect, that Jesus died needlessly and His death was pointless. This kind of falling away holds Him up to public contempt again.
· If someone who has once known and experienced the things of God, willfully turns away like this and rejects Jesus as the Son of God, it is impossible for them to be restored to repentance. It is too late at that point and there is no turning back.
· Verse 7 then explains the two kinds of responses that one can have to this warning with a vivid agricultural illustration.
“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.”
·
Whether we respond and bear fruit is how we can know our belief is real, because belief
bears lasting fruit.
5.
Belief
bears lasting fruit
·
The author is saying that how one can be sure
that they have not fallen away is if they are bearing fruit and producing a
crop. It is not saying that producing a
crop makes them Christians or that producing a crop is what keeps them in the
faith. It is saying that continually producing fruit is evidence that they are
fertile soil.· The analogy is very similar to the parable of the soils that Jesus told in Mark 4:14. Jesus said,
“The sower sows the word.
And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they
hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in
them. 16 And these are the ones sown on
rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it
with joy. And they have no root in
themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution
arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the
ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the
deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the
word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are
the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and
sixtyfold and a hundredfold."
·
The good soil was those who heard the word,
accepted it or believed it and responded. And they grew. Their bearing fruit
was evidence of the kind of soil they were and that their roots were dug down
deep.· But there is another type of soil. It is the person who is enlightened and they immediately receive the word and they even receive it with joy. They taste the goodness of God, but it is only a taste they have. They don’t swallow the word and let it take root. They don’t fully receive the word and it only is a surface level kind of belief. It doesn’t go very deep because their hearts are still hard. The change is only on the surface and the word doesn’t take deep root in their hearts. As soon as persecution or tribulation arises to test them, they immediately fall away. And by falling away, they prove that the word never really took root.
· Then there is another kind of soil that verse 8 refers to, it says of this soil, “But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.”
· Just like in the parable that Jesus told, there are others who receive the word and seem to hear it, but they never really forsake the world. They are more enamored with the deceitfulness of riches and they are overwhelmed by the cares of the world and never really trust in Jesus alone. Oh, they may believe Jesus but even the demons believe rightly in who Jesus is. But trusting in Jesus, entering into His rest and resting from trusting our own works is more than just easy belief.
· This kind of person isn’t willing to give up everything for Jesus and count everything else as loss compared to knowing Him. And these kinds of people are worthless and near to being cursed and the final destination is burning
· Just like in the parable of the weeds of the field in Matthew 13, Jesus said the weeds grow among the good crops but at harvest time, the weeds are gathered and burned. In John 15, Jesus talked about abiding in Him and if anyone doesn’t abide in Him, he is thrown away like a branch and withers and the withered branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.
· Their lack of fruit and their falling away are evidence that they never really were born again to begin with, like in 1 John 2:19, where some who were part of the church deserted them and John says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
· In both cases, the land was well watered and cultivated though, showing that the responsibility falls on the land, which represents the person, and not with God.
· So what’s the main idea of all of this? The main thing the author wants us to come away with is to beware of falling away, persevere in the faith and bear fruit for God
· Main Idea: beware of falling away, persevere in the faith and bear fruit for God
· Understanding the passage better now in light of other scripture, the question for all of us today is, how are we to apply this word to our lives?
· You can begin by soberly evaluating your current state if you’re not sure of where you are. But let me Caution you. Please don’t confuse sin with apostasy. Don’t confuse sin with deliberate falling away. If you have been born again and you are sinning, then repent and receive forgiveness.
· However, if you are adrift, then pay attention and let this warning drive you back to the foot of the Cross, where your sins are forgiven and receive God’s amazing mercy and complete forgiveness
· You can be sure of where you are with the Lord now. Don’t let your past confuse you if you’re not sure whether or not your profession was genuine because you have sin in your past. Be sure now by turning to Jesus in faith, repenting of your sins and actively seeking to apply His Word.
· I don’t know when I was born again precisely. But It doesn’t matter and here is why – I am sure now. I know I believe and trust in God now. I am seeking to love and honor Him and turning to Him for mercy every day.
· Don’t spend too much time on over-thinking this. Avoid introspection, it is not healthy. If you are prone to this, then meet with a mature Christian and let them know. Ask for help, ask those around you where they see fruit.
· We are meant to practice self-examination that leads to repentance and receiving His complete forgiveness, where there is no condemnation or guilt. Instead, there can be complete confidence and running to God in His throne-room, trusting that He will give you His mercy and grace in time of need and He will by no means turn you away.
· We must realize though, that we all sin. We all fail. We all feel weak and feeble. In fact, it can be overwhelming to think that with all of the failings we are aware of, we still don’t see all of our failings. We may feel weak and our fruit may seem meager. But any good fruit, any desire to not fall away, any desire to love God; any desire to follow Jesus is evidence of the new birth.
· If you have repented and turned to Jesus in faith, what is important is that you know the truth now, you have repented now, you live for Jesus now, you want to grow now, you want to forsake all and follow Him now. That is what matters and you can forget the past and forget your doubts and fears and look to our Great prophet, priest and king Jesus, the Son of God, who has taken all of the wrath of God and punishment for sin that we deserved and passed through the heavens to stand as our great high priest, making intercession for us and presenting us as righteous before God.
· Make sure you are looking more at God, hoping more in God and trusting more in God.
· If you see someone else who may be adrift. Go to them in a spirit of gentleness, lovingly seeking them and calling them back to Jesus. If they respond, rejoice, if they don’t, consider gently leading them to this passage in Hebrews and telling them you are concerned about the path they are on and warn them of where the path they are on could lead and then commit to praying for them and loving them continually.
· Lastly, let me encourage you to personally read and re-read Hebrews and see Jesus for the great gift that He is and treasure Him all the more!
Potential Application
Questions:
1.
Are there any areas where you have settled for
the level of maturity you already have?2. How are you practicing the foundational truths about Christ and the church that you’ve already learned?
3. How is the Lord calling you personally to build on the foundations you’ve received already?
4. How should remembering that conviction and growth is a gift from God affect your perspective when the Holy Spirit brings you conviction or makes you aware of an area in need of growth?
5. What do we need to go to God in prayer about to ask Him to enable us to change, (knowing He desires to give us good gifts)?
6. Are there any areas where we have begun to drift away from God in our heads or our hearts? If so, how does this passage encourage us to take these areas seriously and pursue change?
7. If you examine your Christian walk, do you see fruit (not matter how small)? If so, what fruit do you see? If not, ask another mature Christian friend and ask them what fruits of conversion they see in your life.
8. If you lack a passion for God, you likely are no longer affected by a sense of your need for God and no longer appreciating the astounding mercy and forgiveness of God. In light of this, how can you cultivate a passion for God? How can you help each other cultivate a passion for God?
9. Our sin and conviction is meant to drive us to wholly depend on Jesus, look to Jesus and know Him more closely. Is this our typical response? If not, why not?
10. How does this passage help us in our mission as a church to “Be disciples of Jesus Christ, growing in Christ and making Disciples of Christ”?
