The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is doing a study through the New Testament book of Hebrews. The word better is used thirteen times in the book of Hebrews as the writer shows the superiority of Christ and His salvation over the Hebrew system of religion. Another word that is repeated in this book is perfect; in the original Greek it is used fourteen times. It means a perfect standing before God. Eternal is a third word that is important to the message of Hebrews. When you combine these three words, you discover that Jesus Christ and the Christian life He gives us are better because these blessings are eternal and they give us perfect standing before God. This study is not a diet for “spiritual babes” who want to be spoon-fed and coddled. In this letter you will find “strong meat” that demands some chewing and enjoying.
In this session we discuss the the writer's call to spiritual maturity. No one can escape coming into the world as a baby, because that is the only way to get here! But it is tragic when a baby fails to mature. No matter how much parents and grandparents love to hold and cuddle a baby, it is their great desire that the baby grow up and enjoy a full life as a mature adult. God has the same desire for His children. That is why He calls to us, “Go on to perfection or maturity”
These are the notes to Session 7.
Click on the YouTube link at the end of these notes for the audio recording.
The Call To Spiritual Maturity
No one can escape coming into the world as a baby, because that is the only way to get here! But it is tragic when a baby fails to mature. No matter how much parents and grandparents love to hold and cuddle a baby, it is their great desire that the baby grow up and enjoy a full life as a mature adult. God has the same desire for His children. That is why He calls to us, “Go on to perfection or maturity”
Hebrews 6:1-12 NKJV Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Hebrews 6:1-3 NKJV Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.
If we are going to make progress, we have to leave the childhood things behind and go forward in spiritual growth. When we were in kindergarten, we learned our ABCs the teacher taught us our ABCs.
You learn your ABCs so that you can read words, sentences, books—in fact, anything in literature. But you do not keep learning the basics. You use the basics to go on to better things.
The writer lists six foundational truths of the Christian life.
The first two foundational truths (repentance and faith) Mark the beginning of the spiritual life. To repent means to change one’s mind. It is not simply a “bad feeling about sin,” because that could be regret or remorse. It is changing one’s mind about sin to the point of turning from it. Once a sinner has repented then he is able to exercise faith in God. Repentance and faith go together.
The next two items (baptisms and laying on of hands) have to do with a person’s relationship to the local assembly of believers. Baptism is a symbol of spiritual cleansing as well as our identification with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection. We read that in Romans.
Romans 6:1-4 NKJV What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
The “laying on of hands” symbolized the sharing of some blessing or the setting apart of a person for ministry.
The last two foundational truths, the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment, have to do with the future.
John 5:24-29 NKJV “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth— those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
The lesson of the paragraph (Heb. 6:1–3) is clear: “You have laid the foundation. You know your ABCs. Now move forward! Let God carry you along to maturity!”
The Fact That You Are Spiritually Immature Does Not Affect Your Salvation
Hebrews 6:4-6 NKJV For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
These verses, along with another section in Hebrews (Hebrews 10:26–39), have given people cause for worry and concern, mainly because these verses have been misunderstood and misapplied. People have misread this passage and convinced themselves (or been convinced by Satan) that they were hopelessly lost and had committed some unpardonable sin.
Bible scholars and theologians over the years have come up with several approaches to this very serious passage.
One view is that the writer is warning us against the sin of apostasy, which is willfully turning one’s back on Jesus Christ and returning to the old life. According to these people such a person would be lost forever. The problem with this approach is the Greek word apostosia (the Greek for apostasy) is not used in this passage. The verb for “fall away” (Heb. 6:6) is parapipto, which literally means “to fall alongside.”
Second, when we study the Bible, especially difficult passages and verses, we always interpret the obscure by the obvious. There are many verses in Scripture that assure the true believer that he can never be lost. In fact, one of the greatest arguments for security is the last section of chapter 6
Hebrews 6:13-20 NKJV For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
The point here is that when God makes a promise that is it. He made it and it is permanent no matter what we do the promise is permanent.
John 5:24 NKJV “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
John 10:25-30 NKJV Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”
Philippians 1:3-4, 6-7 NKJV I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.
Those who teach that we can lose our salvation also teach that such a person can be restored, which doesn’t make sense to me because the scripture we just read teaches the opposite.
Hebrews 6:4-6 NKJV For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
If you omit the intervening clauses and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, the statement reads:
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened...to renew them again to repentance”
In other words, if this refers to apostasy, once a saved person turns his back on Christ, he cannot be restored to salvation. He is lost forever.
Others claim that the people addressed were not true believers. They had cooperated with the Holy Spirit up to a point, but were not actually born again.
Well, let’s examine the description of these people and see if they were really saved.
They were “enlightened” (Heb. 6:4). The “once” means “enlightened once and for all.”
They “tasted of the heavenly gift” (Heb. 6:4b), and “tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world [age] to come” (Heb. 6:5). To claim that these people “tasted but did not eat” is to base interpretation on one meaning of an English word (taste) meaning to sample and not eat.
God permitted His Son to “taste death for every man” (Heb. 2:9). Surely Jesus Christ did not simply sample death on the cross!
“Taste” carries the idea of “experience.” These Hebrew believers had experienced the gift of salvation, the Word of God, and the power of God.
Doesn’t this describe authentic salvation?
They “were made partakers of the Holy Ghost” (Heb. 6:4c). To suggest that they only went along with the Holy Spirit to a certain extent is to ignore the simple meaning of the verb. It means “to become sharers.” These same people were not only “sharers of the Holy Spirit,” but also “partakers of the heavenly calling” (Heb. 3:1) and “partakers of Christ” (Heb. 3:14).
In view of these facts, I believe that the people addressed were true believers, not mere professors.
So then what is the writer trying to say to us? It is probable that he was describing a hypothetical case to prove his point that a true believer cannot lose his salvation.
His statement in Hebrews 6:9 seems to support this interpretation: “Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case” (NIV).
His argument runs like this: “Let’s suppose that you do not go on to maturity. Does this mean that you will go back to condemnation, that you will lose your salvation? Impossible! If you could lose your salvation, it would be impossible to get it back again, and this would disgrace Jesus Christ. He would have to be crucified again for you, and this could never happen.”
In Hebrews 6:4, the writer changed the pronouns from “we” and “us” to “those.” This change also suggests that he had a hypothetical case in mind.
However, there is another possible interpretation that does not require a hypothetical case. You should note that the words crucify and put in Hebrews 6:6 are, in the Greek, present participles: “while they are crucifying … and while they are putting him to an open shame.” The writer did not say that these people could never be brought to repentance. He said that they could not be brought to repentance while they were treating Jesus Christ in such a shameful way. Once they stop disgracing Jesus Christ in this way, they can be brought to repentance and renew their fellowship with God.
Whatever approach you take, please keep in mind that the writer’s purpose was not to frighten the readers but to assure them. In fact, he avoided the word apostasy and used instead “to fall by the wayside” (see Gal. 6:1 for a similar word).
This progress in moving beyond the ABCs results in fruitfulness
Hebrews 6:7-10 NKJV For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
A field proves its worth by bearing fruit, and a true believer, as he makes spiritual progress, bears fruit for God’s glory. Note that the “thorns and briars” are burned, not the field. God never curses His own!
Hebrews 6:7 NKJV For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God;
The crop of God’s blessing pictured in Hebrews 6:7
is called “things that accompany salvation” in Hebrews 6:9.
Hebrews 6:9 NKJV But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.
Not every believer bears the same amount of fruit; but every believer bears the same kind of fruit as proof that he is a child of God.
Matthew 7:15-20 NKJV “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
This is the fruit of Christian character and conduct produced by the Spirit as we mature in Christ.
Galatians 5:22-26 NKJV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
The writer refers to the love that he knew had been produced in their lives.
Hebrews 6:10 NKJV For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
Because of their love, they had worked and labored for the Lord; they had ministered to other saints; and they were still ministering
These are some of the “things that accompany salvation.”
But he was concerned lest they rest on their achievements and not press on to full maturity and the enjoyment of God’s rich inheritance.
This progress demands diligent effort (vv. 11–12).
Hebrews 6:11-12 NKJV And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
While it is true that it is God who carries us along to maturity, it is also true that the believer must do his part. We must not be lazy but apply ourselves to the spiritual resources God has given us. We have the promises from God. We should exercise faith and patience and claim these promises for ourselves! Like Caleb and Joshua, we must believe God’s promise and want to go in and claim the land!
The Basis for Spiritual Security (6:13–20)
Hebrews 6:13-20 NKJV For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
We have been talking about the writer's call to spiritual maturity and the assurance of our salvation that comes from it he now presents his argument of that assurance. All of us Christians are not making the spiritual progress we should, but we need never fear that God will condemn us. The writer gave three arguments for the certain salvation of true believers.
1) God’s promise (vv. 13–15).
Hebrews 6:13-15 NKJV For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
God’s main promise to Abraham is recorded in Genesis 22:16–17.
Genesis 22:16-17 NKJV and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord , because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son — blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
In spite of Abraham’s failures and sins, God kept His promise and Isaac was born. God’s promises do not depend on our character but on His faithfulness.
The phrase “patiently endured” (Heb. 6:15) is the exact opposite of “slothful” (Heb. 6:12).
We Christians today have more of God’s promises than did Abraham! What is keeping us from making spiritual progress? We do not apply ourselves by faith. To return to the illustration of the farm, the farmer does not reap a harvest by sitting on the porch looking at the seed. He must get busy and plow, plant, weed, cultivate, and perhaps water the soil. The believer who neglects church fellowship, ignores his Bible, and forgets to pray is not going to reap much of a harvest.
(2) God’s oath (vv. 16–18).
Hebrews 6:16-17 NKJV For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,
God not only gave Abraham a promise, but He also confirmed that promise with an oath. When a witness takes an oath in court, he is confronted with the words “so help me God.” We call on the Greater to witness for the lesser. None is greater than God, so He swore by Himself!
But God did not do this only for Abraham. He has also given His promise and oath to “the heirs of promise” (Heb. 6:17). Abraham and his descendants are the first of these heirs, but all believers are included as “Abraham’s [spiritual] seed”
Galatians 3:26-29 NKJV For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
So our assurance of salvation is guaranteed by God’s promise and God’s oath, two immutable things.
The phrase “fled for refuge” (Heb. 6:18) suggests the Old Testament “cities of refuge” described in Numbers 35:9ff. and Joshua 20.
God appointed six cities, into which a man could flee if he had accidentally killed someone. The elders of the city would investigate the case. If they determined that it was indeed manslaughter and not murder, they would permit the man to live in the city until the death of the high priest. Then he could return to his home. The members of the slain man’s family could not avenge themselves so long as the man remained in the city.
We have fled to Jesus Christ, and He is our eternal refuge. As our High Priest, He will never die, and we have eternal salvation. No avenger can touch us, because He has already died and arisen from the dead.
The three arguments for the certain salvation of true believers. 1) God’s promise, 2) God’s oath, and
(3) God’s Son (vv. 19–20).
Hebrews 6:19-20 NKJV This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Our hope in Christ is like an anchor for the soul. This spiritual anchor is different from material anchors on ships. For one thing, we are anchored upward—to heaven—not downward. We are anchored not to stand still, but to move ahead! Our anchor is sure—it cannot break—and steadfast—it cannot slip. No earthly anchor can give that kind of security!
The writer then clinched the argument: This Savior is our “forerunner” who has gone ahead to heaven so that we may one day follow!
The Old Testament high priest was not a “forerunner” because nobody could follow him into the Holy of Holies. But Jesus Christ has gone to heaven so that one day we may follow.
The phrase “within the veil” (Heb. 6:19) shows that Jesus Christ is “within the veil” as our High Priest. We can therefore come boldly to His throne and receive all the help that we need.
The main thing that we should get from the last two weeks is that we as believers must go on to maturity, and God has made it possible for us to do so. If we start to drift from the Word, then we will also start to doubt the Word. Before long, we will get dull toward the Word and become lazy believers. The best way to keep from drifting is to lay hold of the anchor! Anchored heavenward! How much more secure can you be?
Access to the presence of God was made possible, in the Old Testament, through the complex sacrificial system. The high priest had to offer sacrifices for himself and the people.
Hebrews 9:7-8 NIV But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning.
Because the high priest was a human being and, like us, was weak and sinful, he had to go on offering sacrifices for his own sin as well as the sins of the people.
Jesus has a unique authority. He is the sinless high priest.
Hebrews 7:26-27 NKJV For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
As a result, through Jesus you have access to the holy presence of God:
Hebrews 10:19-20, 22 NKJV Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Bible Study Audio
No comments:
Post a Comment