God Speaks
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. 2 You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.
4 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, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— 6 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.
7 When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing. 8 But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.
9 Dear friends, even though we are talking this way, we really don’t believe it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation. 10 For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. 11 Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. 12 Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.
13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:
14 “I will certainly bless you,
and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”
15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.
16 Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Hebrews chapter 6 is a call for believers in Christ to go on to maturity: we should seek to grow beyond mere acknowledgement of the foundations of belief in Christ. Some of these foundations include the following: 1) repentance of acts that lead to death, 2) instruction about baptisms, 3) laying on of hands, 4) the resurrection of the dead, and 5) eternal judgment. Once people have truly experienced (tasted) the goodness and power of God but have turned their back on Him, it is impossible to bring them back. This is because if they are truly rejecting the fundamentals of the faith (not just organized religion or its practices), they are disgracing and devaluing Christ Jesus and His sacrifice for them. The reference to the productive or unproductive ground brought to mind the parable of the soils Jesus told in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. A well-tended vineyard that produced bad grapes is also mentioned in the Old Testament book of Isaiah chapter 5. We should be growing increasingly reliant on God and showing our love for Him by being diligent and faithful to help those around us, regardless of their response. Then we will through faith and patient endurance inherit all that God has promised. He took an oath by Himself since there isn’t anyone greater or higher in authority. Although the original oath and promise was to Abraham (Genesis 12), it applies to all the promises God has made down through the ages. Jesus, who fulfilled many of God’s promises in the Old Testament, has gone ahead and is now representing us before the Father as our High Priest, like Melchizedek.
Prayer: Dear God, who warns and instructs His people, help me to clean out my ears, be attentive to the Holy Spirit, and grow beyond the basics of the faith. I want to be mature, exercising the powers of discernment You’ve given me to practice distinguishing between good and evil. I want to embrace good much more readily and avoid evil much more often. I don’t want to continue absorbing Your instruction and blessings without producing a crop that blesses other people and honors You. I no longer want to just coast and end up dishonoring myself and Your kingdom. May I encourage others in their love and work for You. May we all earnestly imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises You have recorded for us in Your written word. Those promises will be fulfilled just as Your promises to Abraham were. To verify them You took an oath with Yourself as the guarantor–there is no one over You. You cannot lie, so You will do whatever You say. Jesus has gone ahead of us into Your holy presence; He makes a way for us and is a steadfast anchor for our souls as well as our great High Priest. As He continues to glorify You, so should we. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will research what the foundations of faith in Jesus Christ are so that I can grow in applying them in my life and also grow beyond mere assent.
- I will teach what I learn to the next generation (physically or spiritually).
- I will try to model in my daily life what it means to be spiritually mature.
- I will patiently endure whatever is happening in my life and hold tight to the promises of God for now and the future.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.