Hebrews 6

Hebrews 6:1

6:1 The warning which began in Heb_5:11 continues throughout this chapter. It is one of the most controversial passages in the entire NT. Since so many godly Christians are disagreed on its interpretation, we must not speak with dogmatism. We present the explanation which seems most consistent with the context and with the rest of the NT. First of all, the readers are exhorted to leave the elementary principles of Christ, literally, the word of the beginning of Christ (FWG), or the beginning word of Christ (KSW). We understand this to mean the basic doctrines of religion that were taught in the OT and were designed to prepare Israel for the coming of the Messiah. These doctrines are listed in the latter part of verse 1 and in verse 2. As we shall seek to show, they are not the fundamental doctrines of Christianity but rather teachings of an elementary nature which formed the foundation for later building. They fell short of Christ risen and glorified. The exhortation is to leave these basics, not in the sense of abandoning them as worthless, but rather of advancing from them to maturity.

The implication is that the period of Judaism was a time of spiritual infancy. Christianity represents full growth. Once a foundation has been laid, the next step is to build upon it. A doctrinal foundation was laid in the OT; it included the six fundamental teachings which are now listed. These represent a starting point. The great NT truths concerning Christ, His Person, and His work, represent the ministry of maturity. The first OT doctrine is repentance from dead works. This was preached constantly by the prophets as well as by the forerunner of the Messiah. They all called on the people to turn from works that were dead in the sense that they were devoid of faith. Dead works here may also refer to works which formerly were right, but which now are dead since Christ has come. For example, all the services connected with temple worship are outmoded by the finished work of Christ. Second, the writer mentions faith toward God. This again is an OT emphasis. In the NT, Christ is almost invariably presented as the object of faith. Not that this displaces faith in God; but a faith in God which leaves out Christ is now inadequate. 6:2 Instruction about baptisms refers not to Christian baptism, but to the ceremonial washings which figured so prominently in the religious lives of the priests and people of Israel (see also Heb_9:10). The ritual of laying on of hands is described in Lev_1:4; Lev_3:2; Lev_16:21. The offerer or the priest laid his hands on the head of an animal as an act of identification. In figure, the animal bore away the sins of the people who were associated with it. This ceremony typified vicarious atonement. We do not believe that there is any reference here to the laying on of hands as practiced by the apostles and others in the early church (Act_8:17; Act_13:3; Act_19:6). Resurrection of the dead is taught in Job_19:25-27, Psa_17:15, and it is implied in Isa_53:10-12. What was seen only indistinctly in the OT is brightly revealed in the New (2Ti_1:10). The final foundational truth of the OT was eternal judgment (Psa_9:17; Isa_66:24). These first principles represented Judaism, and were preparatory to the coming of Christ. Christians should not continue to be content with these but should press on to the fuller revelation they now have in Christ. The readers are urged to pass from shadow to substance, from type to antitype, from husk to kernel, from the dead forms of the religion of their ancestors to the living realities of Christ.6:3 The author expresses his desire to help them do this, if God permits. However, the limiting factor will be on their side and not on God’s. God will enable them to advance to full spiritual manhood, but they must respond to the word positively by exercising true faith and endurance. 6:4 We come now to the heart of the warning against apostasy. It applies to a class of people whom it is impossible to restore again to repentance. Apparently these people had once repented (though no mention is made of their faith in Christ). Now it is clearly stated that a renewed repentance is impossible. Who are these people? The answer is given in verses 4 and 5. In examining the great privileges which they enjoyed, it should be noticed that all these things could be true of the unsaved. It is never clearly stated that they had been born again. Neither is any mention made of such essentials as saving faith, redemption by His blood, or eternal life. They had once been enlightened. They had heard the gospel of the grace of God. They were not in darkness concerning the way of salvation. Judas Iscariot had been enlightened but he rejected the light. They tasted the heavenly gift. The Lord Jesus is the heavenly Gift. They had tasted of Him but had never received Him by a definite act of faith. It is possible to taste without eating or drinking. When men offered wine mixed with gall to Jesus on the cross, He tasted it but He would not drink it (Mat_27:34). It is not enough to taste Christ; unless we eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, that is, unless we truly receive Him as Lord and Savior, we have no life in us (Joh_6:53). They had become partakers of the Holy Spirit. Before we jump to the conclusion that this necessarily implies conversion, we should remember that the Holy Spirit carries on a preconversion ministry in men’s lives. He sanctifies unbelievers (1Co_7:14), putting them in a position of external privilege. He convicts unbelievers of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (Joh_16:8). He leads men to repentance and points them to Christ as their only hope. Men may thus partake of the Holy Spirit’s benefits without being indwelt by Him. 6:5 They had tasted the good word of God. As they heard the gospel preached, they were strangely moved and drawn to it. They were like the seed that fell on rocky ground; they heard the word and immediately received it with joy, but they had no root in themselves. They endured for a while, but when tribulation or persecution arose on account of the word, they promptly fell away (Mat_13:20-21). They had tasted the powers of the age to come. Powers here means miracles. The age to come is the Millennial Age, the coming era of peace and prosperity when Christ will reign over the earth for one thousand years. The miracles which accompanied the preaching of the gospel in the early days of the church (Heb_2:4) were a foretaste of signs and wonders which will be performed in Christ’s kingdom. These people had witnessed these miracles in the first century, in fact, they might have participated in them. Take, for instance, the miracles of the loaves and fishes.

After Jesus had fed the five thousand, the people followed Him to the other side of the sea. The Savior realized that, though they had tasted a miracle, they did not really believe in Him. He said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled (Joh_6:26). 6:6 If they fall away, after enjoying the privileges just enumerated, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. They have committed the sin of apostasy. They have reached the place where the lights go out on the way to hell. The enormous guilt of apostates is indicated in the words since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame (v. 6b). This signifies a deliberate, malicious spurning of Christ, not just a careless disregard of Him. It indicates a positive betrayal of Him, a joining of forces against Him, and a ridiculing of His Person and work.

EXCURSUS ON APOSTASY Apostates are people who hear the gospel, make a profession of being Christians, become identified with a Christian church, and then abandon their profession of faith, decisively repudiate Christ, desert the Christian fellowship, and take their place with enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ. Apostasy is a sin which can be committed only by unbelievers, not by those who are deceived but by those who knowingly, willfully, and maliciously turn against the Lord. It should not be confused with the sin of the average unbeliever who hears the gospel but does nothing about it. For instance, a man may fail to respond to Christ after repeated invitations from the Holy Spirit. But he is not an apostate. He can still be saved if he will commit himself to the Savior. Of course, if he dies in unbelief, he is lost forever, but he is not hopeless as long as he is capable of exercising faith in the Lord. Apostasy should not be confused with backsliding. A true believer may wander very far away from Christ. Through sin his fellowship with God is shattered. He may even reach the point where he is no longer recognized as a Christian. But he can be restored to full fellowship as soon as he confesses and forsakes his sin (1Jo_1:9). Apostasy is not the same as the unpardonable sin mentioned in the Gospels. That was the sin of attributing the miracles of the Lord Jesus to the prince of the demons. His miracles were actually performed in the power of the Holy Spirit. To attribute them to the devil was tantamount to blaspheming the Holy Spirit. It implied that the Holy Spirit was the devil. Jesus said that such a sin could never be forgiven, either in that age or in the age to come (Mar_3:22-30). Apostasy is similar to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in that it is an eternal sin, but there the resemblance ends. I believe that apostasy is the same as the sin leading to death, mentioned in 1Jo_5:16 b. John was writing about people who had professed to be believers and had participated in the activities of local churches. They then had imbibed the false teaching of the Gnostics and had spitefully left the Christian fellowship. Their deliberate departure indicated that they had never been truly born again (1Jo_2:19). By openly denying that Jesus is the Christ (1Jo_2:22), they had committed the sin leading to death, and it was useless to pray for their recovery (1Jo_5:16 b). Some earnest Christians are troubled when they read Hebrews 6 and similar passages. Satan uses these verses especially to unsettle believers who are having physical, mental, or emotional difficulties. They fear that they have fallen away from Christ and that there is no hope for restoration. They worry that they have drifted beyond redemption’s point. The fact that they are even concerned about it is conclusive evidence that they are not apostates! An apostate would not have any such fears; he would brazenly repudiate Christ. If the sin of apostasy does not apply to believers, to whom then does it apply in our day? It applies, for instance, to a young man who makes a profession of faith in Christ and seems to go on brightly for a while, but then something happens in his life. Perhaps he experiences bitter persecution. Perhaps he falls into gross immorality. Or perhaps he goes off to college and is shaken by the anti-Christian arguments of atheistic teachers. With full knowledge of the truth, he deliberately turns away from it.

He completely renounces Christ and viciously tramples on every sacred fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith. The Bible says it is impossible to restore such a one to repentance, and experience corroborates the Bible. We have known many who have apostatized from Christ, but we have never known one who has returned to Him. As we approach the end of this age, we can expect a rising tide of apostasy (2Th_2:3; 1Ti_4:1). Therefore the warning against falling away becomes more relevant with every day that passes.

6:7 Now the writer turns to the world of nature to find a counterpart to the true believer (v. 7) and to the apostate (v. 8). In both cases the person is likened to the land. The privileges listed in verses 4 and 5 are compared to the invigorating rain. The crop of vegetation speaks of the ultimate response of the person to the privileges received. This in turn determines whether the land is blessed or cursed. The true believer is like the land which drinks in the rain, brings forth useful vegetation, and is blessed by God. 6:8 The apostate is like land that also is well watered but it bears nothing but thorns and briers, the fruit of sin. It receives but never produces useful plants. Such land is worthless. It is condemned already. Its destiny is to be burned. 6:9 There are two strong indications in verses 9 and 10 that the apostates described in the preceding verses are unbelievers. First, there is the abrupt change in pronouns. In discussing apostates, the writer refers to them as they. Now in addressing true believers, he uses the pronouns you and your. The second indication is even clearer. Speaking to believers, he says, But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation. The inference is that the things he had described in verses 4-6 and 8 do not accompany salvation. 6:10 Two of the things that accompany salvation were manifest in the lives of the saintstheir work and their labor of love. Their faith manifested itself in a life of good works, and they had the hallmark of true Christianityactive love for the household of faith. They continued to serve the Lord’s people for His sake. 6:11 The next two verses seem to be written to a different class of people; namely, to those of whom the writer was not sure. These were the ones who seemed to be in danger of drifting back into Judaism. First, he desires that they will show the same earnestness as the true believers have shown in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end. He wants them to go on steadfastly for Christ until the final hope of the Christian is realized in heaven. This is a proof of reality. 6:12 They should not become sluggish, allowing their feet to drag and their spirits to lag. They should press on, imitating all true believers who through faith and patience inherit the promises. 6:13 The closing section of chapter 6 is linked with the exhortation in verse 12 to press on with confidence and patience. The example of Abraham is given as a stimulus and the certainty of the believer’s hope is affirmed. In one sense, the Christian may seem to be at a disadvantage. He has given up all for Christ, and has nothing material to show for it. Everything is in the future. How then can he be sure that His hope is not in vain? The answer is found in God’s promise to Abraham, a promise that included in germ form all that He would later bestow in the Person of Christ. When God made that promise, He swore by Himself since He could swear by no one greater. 6:14 The promise is found in Gen_22:16-17 : By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord … blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants. . . . God pledged Himself to carry out this promise, and therefore its fulfillment was assured. 6:15 Abraham believed in God; he patiently endured; and he received the fulfillment. Actually Abraham was not taking a chance in believing God. No risk was involved. The word of God is the surest thing in the universe. Any promise of God is as certain of fulfillment as if it had already taken place. 6:16 In human affairs, men swear by someone greater than themselves. In courts of law, for example, they promise to tell the truth and then add, so help me, God. They appeal to God for confirmation that what they are going to say is true. When men take an oath to confirm a promise, that normally ends all dispute. It is understood that the promise will be kept. 6:17 God wanted His believing people to be absolutely assured that what He promised would come to pass. Actually His bare promise would have been enough, but He wanted to show it to a greater extent than even by a promise. So He added an oath to the promise. The heirs of promise are all those who by faith are children of faithful Abraham. The promise referred to is the promise of eternal salvation to all who believe on Him. When God made a promise of a seed to Abraham, the promise found its full and ultimate fulfillment in Christ, and all the blessings that flow from union with Christ were therefore included in the promise. 6:18 The believer now has two unchangeable things on which to relyHis word and His oath. It is impossible to imagine anything more secure or certain. God promises to save all who believe on Christ; then He confirms it with an oath. The conclusion in inevitable: the believer is eternally secure. In the remainder of chapter 6 the writer employs four figures to drive home the utter reliability of the Christian hope: (1) a city of refuge, (2) an anchor, (3) a forerunner, and (4) a High Priest. First, those who are true believers are pictured as fleeing from this doomed world to the heavenly city of refuge. To encourage them in their flight, God has given them an unfailing hope based upon His word and His oath. 6:19 In the storms and trials of life this hope serves as an anchor of the soul. The knowledge that our glorification is as certain as if it had already happened keeps us from drifting on the wild waves of doubt and despair. The anchor is not cast in the shifting sands of this world but takes hold in the heavenly sanctuary. Since our hope is the anchor, the meaning is that our hope is secured in God’s very Presence behind the veil. Just as sure as the anchor is there, we shall be there also. 6:20 Jesus has gone into the inner shrine also as our forerunner. His presence there insures the ultimate entrance of all who belong to Him. It is no exaggeration to say that the simplest believer on earth is as certain of heaven as the saints who are already there. D. Anderson-Berry writes: The word translated forerunner is found nowhere else in the New Testament. This expresses an idea never contemplated in the Levitical economy, for the high priest entered the holiest only as a representative. He entered where none could follow. But our Forerunner is a pledge that where He is, we also shall be. As Forerunner He (1) announced our future arrival there; (2) took possession of heaven’s glories on our behalf; and (3) has gone to be able to bid His people welcome when they come, and to present them before the Majesty of heaven. The fourth figure is that of High Priest. Our Lord has become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. His eternal priesthood guarantees our eternal preservation. Just as surely as we have been reconciled to God by His death, so surely are we saved by His life as our Priest at God’s right hand (Rom_5:10). This mention of Jesus as High Priest in the order of Melchizedek reminds us that this subject was interrupted at Heb_5:10 when the author digressed on the extended warning against apostasy. Now he is ready to resume his theme that Christ’s high priesthood is superior to Aaron’s. He has skillfully returned to the main flow of argument.