Good morning.
I hope everybody had a chance to read the text that was sent out in the email, because we are not going to take the time to read it. If you did not, well, I imagine most people are pretty familiar with this section of Scripture.
But to get started, let us read a couple of verses. Turn to the book of Hebrews—our text, or I should say, our burden: Hebrews 13:22. I am reading from the New American Standard Version.
But I urge you, brethren, bear with this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
Then turn back to Hebrews 6:1.
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity.
The word teaching there is actually the word logos in the Greek. It can also be understood as the beginning word.
Lord, we do want to continue in Thy presence. We do thank You that You are the great Initiator. Lord, it is You who sought us out. It is You who bought us. It is You who have kept us.
Lord, it is to You we come now to commit this time. We confess that apart from You, we can do nothing, whether it be speaking or hearing. Lord, we are totally dependent on You through Your Holy Spirit.
Lord, our prayer simply is that this time would be of value, that You would gain something out of this time, that You would be able to work through this weak vessel and somehow impart something of value. We ask it in Your name. Amen.
Just in a short review, we want to remind the saints that our burden for this time is around this matter of having ears to hear. When we speak about having ears to hear, we mean that in the biblical sense. It goes far beyond just gaining information in our heads; it also includes a response of faith to what is said.
God is not interested in us just accumulating information for the sake of information. He speaks to us to get a response. We see a wonderful example of this in the Old Testament in Samuel—how he learned to hear the voice of the Lord, and then, hearing, he responded.
He was one who had a heart prepared before the Lord and was then able to receive that burden. That is what we are after. I think that is what we are after individually, and I think that is what we are after corporately.
To look at this matter, we wanted to go into the book of Hebrews. Hebrews has five major exhortations. If you have an open Bible, some of you may have that type of Bible, you will actually see that the contents outline them for you. So I am not inventing anything here or trying to drag out a couple of exhortations. This is common knowledge.
We want to look at these exhortations. There are two sides to this word: firstly, it is to encourage; secondly, it is to warn. Primarily, we are looking at the warnings in these exhortations, though we will include the encouragement as well, because we want to set forth a balanced perspective.
The five warnings are as follows:
These warnings are interrelated and progressive. When we talk about one, it is hard to center on just one without bringing in the others. But I am trying to do that. They are really one big picture, because this is one book.
In the first warning, we considered that we are to pay much closer attention to what we have heard. The reason for that is because of Who has spoken to us—Who it is we have heard—and that is even the Lord Jesus.
We talked about how what He spoke to us was a so great salvation. Do not be confused with this term. It is kind of simple, but this so great salvation is very inclusive. It includes the whole being of man, and it includes past, present, and future. In other words, it includes your spirit, your soul, and your body.
Primarily, Hebrews deals with the salvation of the soul. As believers, we have already experienced the salvation of the spirit. We have been born again. That is the beginning, if you will. We are on the road; we are in the race. God wants us to progress beyond that.
Unfortunately, in Christendom, we find many who make that the end. Their whole message is to get people saved. Even in religions outside Christianity, that is their goal: they are trying to work toward getting saved. But the reality is that salvation is the starting point. That is the birth of the spirit—being born again.
God does not want to stop there. He wants us to progress. He wants our whole being to be under His government, under His lordship. That includes our soul, which is made up of our will, mind, and emotions.
This outworking of the salvation of the soul is accomplished as we cooperate with Him. We talked about the importance of taking the yoke upon ourselves and learning from Him. Through that, we can be brought into this process.
That, in turn, prepares us for the age to come—the millennium—so that we can enter into that for which we have been called: to be joint heirs with Christ. That is the first warning.
Then we looked at the second warning. We saw how the children of Israel had been called out of Egypt to go into the promised land. Likewise, all believers have been called, but our calling is a heavenly calling.
Believers have been called to become the house of God, companions of Christ, and to enter into His rest. These aspects of the heavenly calling are not automatic. We need to enter into these truths in reality.
The children of Israel failed in their calling. Why was that? What was the word that was defined? Does anybody remember? Unbelief.
What is the other side of unbelief? If you look at a coin, you have two sides. One side is unbelief; flip it over: disobedience. We find that unbelief and disobedience go together, even as faith and obedience go together.
Because of unbelief, they were not able to enter into the land. They fell short of their purpose, of the calling set before them. We, in turn, have also been warned against having an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God—a heart that is nonresponsive to Him, a heart that is hardened instead of humbled.
That, in turn, will hinder us from entering into His calling. But we were also exhorted to encourage one another daily. We talked about how critical this ministry of exhortation is today: to encourage one another to go on with the Lord.
We are not individuals; we are not in this race alone. It is not a race where you are running against everybody else. We are in this together. So we are exhorted to encourage one another.
Likewise, the writer said that we need to be diligent in this race. In what way are we to be diligent? We are to be diligent in presenting ourselves to the Lord. As we do so, we find that He, the great High Priest, is able to do the work necessary in us.
He is able to take that word, divide soul from spirit, and bring us into the place where we become qualified—where we can enter into that calling in reality.
We also said that this work of dividing soul from spirit is going to be done in our lives. The question is: when are you going to allow that to happen? It can either take place now, in this age of grace, or it will have to take place later. But it will be done, and much is at stake as to the timing of when this work is done.
We come now to the third warning: the warning against failing to press on to maturity. We find this warning in chapters 5 through 7, but we really want to focus on Hebrews 5:11-6:20.
This section is really a parenthesis. The writer is speaking about Christ as High Priest, and then he goes down a rabbit trail, if you will, for a while. The reason is because of those to whom he is writing.
Let us turn to Hebrews 5:11. He starts by saying:
Concerning Him, we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
Concerning Christ as our High Priest, the writer has much to say. But he goes on to say that it is hard to explain because they have become dull of hearing.
Those words, dull of hearing, can be translated sluggish or slothful. Today, we would probably say lazy. The writer expresses that it is hard to explain, and the difficulty does not reside in the author or in his material, but in the hearers, because they are dull of hearing.
It is interesting that they were not always this way, because it states that they have become dull of hearing.
Verse 12 goes on to say:
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
The King James Version translates food as meat. So we see that this becoming dull of hearing has transpired over a period of time, because the writer states that by this time they ought to be teachers.
Now, we know that we are not all called to be teachers in the sense that Ephesians speaks of. But all of us should be able to share with others that which we have come to know. By know, I mean in the biblical sense: what we have learned through our transactions and experiences with the Lord.
Even as parents pass on their experience and understanding of what they have gone through to their children, such we should do. But these ones need to be taught the elementary principles again. They need milk again, which is predigested food.
Milk is good for babies. But can you see a teenager living on milk alone? What is it that teenagers desire? Meat.
I remember Jim Bog once said that he never had a salad until he was in his twenties. All he ever ate was meat. He is not here today, so I can pick on him. I was much the same way. When I was in my early twenties, I lived primarily on hamburgers, a little cereal, and candy.
I am ashamed to tell you all that now. It was not until all the creaks and cracks started coming that I realized I had better eat fruits and vegetables and things like that. But anyway, teenagers want meat. Grown-ups want meat. It is essential for full growth to eat some meat.
Yet these ones are living on milk. They seem content with that, which is fine for babes. But to grow, you need meat.
Why is it that these ones have become dull of hearing? We have already alluded to it. Look at verse 13:
For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
You can translate not accustomed as unskillful or without experience. We find that these ones who are dull of hearing are that way because of a lack of spiritual experience in their lives.
They have come to a place where they hear the word, but there is little or no response. They have become lazy and satisfied to remain as such. There is no longing for the word, no desire to grow with respect to full salvation, and little allowing of the Lord to work in their lives through His word.
We would say they have not applied or appropriated into their lives what they have heard. They are content in mere hearing only. Thus, what they hear, they lose.
You have heard that old principle: if you do not use it, you lose it. Have you heard that one? That is actually a principle in the matter of spiritual growth.
Matthew 13:12 says:
For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance;
but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
Strong words. They have actually gone backward, because, as pointed out in verse 12, they have need again to be taught the elementary principles of the word of God.
They still need milk, which speaks of foundational truth. They are without experience in the word of righteousness. That is to say, they lack experience in how to walk rightly before the Lord.
They have difficulty discerning the will of God, because this requires being diligent and desiring first of all to know His will, and then to walk in it when you discover it.
When one cooperates with the Lord in taking His yoke upon himself to learn of Him, He will train that one in the way of righteousness. This requires going the way of discipleship. That is the way to spiritual maturity.
I have to stop for a moment and say that I am so blessed that our brothers have been going through this matter of discipleship. I was blessed when Jerry spoke about Christ as a pioneer. I was blessed when Jeffrey shared about the difference between gift and reward.
I felt as though I had padding all around me coming into this message, of which I will admit before you: I suffered greatly over this message, more than any message. Not that I am still a rookie, by the way. But I suffered over this word.
Verse 14 says:
But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
That word practice means exercise or constant use. Let me ask you a question: What happens to your body when you do not exercise? You get flabby. You lose the ability to do certain things.
Likewise, in the spiritual life, there needs to be constant exercise of our spirit before the Lord. There is no place for laziness in the spiritual life. We need to learn to train our spiritual senses through prayer, meditation, and the Word.
These practices are not ends in themselves. They are vehicles to bring us to knowing the Lord. It is through practicing these things that we can become sharp, so that we can discern His will, know His leading, and know His mind and His ways.
Only in so doing will we be able to distinguish between good and evil. What is this good and evil that it speaks of here? It is in reference to the will of God. Only God’s will is good. Everything else is evil; it is worthless; it will burn.
Let us look at verse 1 of chapter 6.
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation.
The writer wants these ones to leave the beginning word about the Christ and press on to maturity. They should already be established in the teaching, or doctrine, of their foundation. What is that foundation? None other than Christ Himself.
The apostle Paul said that there is no other foundation that can be laid but Christ Jesus. The writer wants them to be settled in foundational truth. Why? So they can go on to maturity.
If there is a crack in the foundation, the superstructure eventually will be affected by that. Would that not be right, Kenny? Kenny could tell us that.
The writer mentions six foundational teachings. Really, they are three sets of two, in which believers should already be established. He is exhorting them unto maturity—full growth.
What is maturity? We need to define this. I think it is pretty simple. It is none other than growing in the life of Christ.
John the Baptist gave a beautiful definition. He said, “I must decrease; He must increase.” That is spiritual maturity. It is growing in the life of Christ.
It is not stuffing your head with Bible knowledge. It is not learning Christian jargon. It is not going to meetings for meeting’s sake. It is to know Christ and to allow Him to have more and more ground in your life—to be conformed to His image. That is spiritual maturity.
The first foundational pair is repentance from dead works and faith toward God. It is an interesting phrase: repentance from dead works. We might think the writer should have said repentance from sin, but that thought is included in this phrase.
Later in Hebrews, in Hebrews 9:14, it says:
How much more will the blood of Christ cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Initially, when the conscience is brought under conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit, it drives the heart of a person to seek relief from the guilt of sin. Thus, works may be performed in a vain effort to gain relief for the troubled conscience.
These so-called good works are really but dead works. Why? Because they are performed by one who is dead—dead in sins and transgressions. There is not the capability in man to produce any good work that will make him acceptable to God.
Thus, there is a need to repent—to turn away from any attempt to become right or accepted before God through any form of self-effort. His shed blood on the cross answers the issue of sin and brings relief to our guilty conscience.
When we come to know that there is nothing of value we can do out of ourselves, and that He has done it all, then we can turn to Him in faith instead of trying to place faith in ourselves. We turn to Him, trust Him, and believe in what He has done on our behalf on the cross. This is foundational.
From this position, there is the potential to serve the Lord from a motive of love and gratitude instead of from fear, obligation, or duty.
The next pair is instruction about washings and the laying on of hands. Some versions may have baptisms. I struggled over which road to go down—or whether to go down both. But for time’s sake, I think we can translate this as washings.
Notice that it is plural. We find the same word in Hebrews 9:10, where it is mentioned in the context of the service of priests in the earthly tabernacle.
There were two ceremonial washings for the priests. First, Moses washed them all over at the door of the tabernacle when they were consecrated to the office of priest. This washing of the entire body was never repeated; it was done only once.
Then the priests washed their own hands and feet daily before performing their various functions in the tabernacle.
This sets forth the need to be cleansed entirely once before the Lord in order to enter into His presence for the purpose of service, and then daily to be able to continue drawing near to Him and serving Him.
You remember in John 13 when our Lord was about to wash the feet of the disciples, and Peter said, “Never shall You wash my feet.” The Lord replied:
If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.
Peter said, “Then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” But the Lord replied:
He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean.
We have been washed and made priests unto our God and Father. This relationship with God has been established and cannot be changed or altered.
The washing of regeneration—being born again—can occur only once and cannot be undone or repeated. To maintain the fellowship of this relationship requires the daily washing of the feet.
The priests washed daily before drawing near in the service of the tabernacle. We have an Advocate on our behalf who applies the continual value of the blood as we need it to maintain fellowship. We find this in 1 John 1:9-2:2.
What about the instruction concerning the laying on of hands? The laying on of hands had primarily to do with identification. The priests would lay their hands on the head of the sacrifice, identifying themselves and the people with the animal that was sacrificed on their behalf.
We know baptism speaks of our having been identified with Christ. This laying on of hands speaks of our union with one another in the body of Christ. We are no longer islands to ourselves, but members one of another. Through being identified with the Lord, we are identified with one another.
The last pair is resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. Paul said, in reference to the resurrection, in 1 Corinthians 15:19:
If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
But we do look for the resurrection. Why? Because we know our Lord has risen from the dead. This is foundational.
Lastly, there is eternal judgment. We thank God that the issue of eternal judgment has been settled once and for all for the believer. Believers have passed out of death into life.
But we need to remember that there is yet a judgment for believers: the judgment seat of Christ. There we will be judged according to our faithfulness to the Lord’s calling after we have been saved.
This judgment will entail the gain or loss of reward in the age to come—the millennium. All the exhortations in the book of Hebrews are in connection with this judgment. We need to be clear on that.
So the writer exhorts us: let us press on to maturity. Let us not continue to hover around the foundational truths of the beginning word of Christ.
Let us read the next four verses together, beginning with Hebrews 6:3.
And this we will do, if God permits.
For in the case of those who have once been enlightened,
and have tasted of the heavenly gift,
and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
and have tasted the good word of God
and the powers of the age to come,
and then have fallen away,
it is impossible to renew them again to repentance,
since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God
and put Him to open shame.
There has been much misunderstanding over these verses within the church. It largely depends on the definition of this falling away that is referred to here.
Many believe this falling away refers to initial salvation—in other words, whether a believer can be saved or lost. Such interpretations mainly fall under one of two options:
Both interpretations have difficulty because they interpret this falling away as pertaining to falling away from initial salvation, or from being born again.
If the falling away refers to salvation, and you take the first position—that Christians fall away and lose their salvation—it goes on to say that it is impossible to renew them again to repentance.
Under this teaching, one who is saved falls away, becomes unsaved, and has no possibility of ever being saved again. Is that what this verse teaches? Could any, after being saved, keep from falling away and remain saved?
I am afraid that if this were true, heaven would be a pretty vacant place. But more importantly, it makes the truth of eternal life being the gift of God a farce.
The one who has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ has received eternal life. Once received, it cannot be lost; it cannot be taken away. Why? Romans 11:29 says:
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
If you take the second position, which speaks of someone who hears the gospel and almost believes but does not, then falls away, that person comes close to being saved but does not actually become saved. Under that view, they have no possibility of ever being saved again.
Would this be committing the unpardonable sin that Scripture speaks about? One hears the gospel, rejects it, and thus has no more chance to be saved in his life again.
How many here did not respond to the gospel the first time you heard it? I dare say probably 50 percent of you.
The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit—the unpardonable sin, if you will—is simply the continual rejection of receiving Christ. Why? Because it is the Holy Spirit’s job function to reveal Christ. He is the One who convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
If one continually rejects throughout his lifetime the wooing of the Holy Spirit to come to Christ, that is committing the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which is unpardonable. But on a further note, it is impossible for a believer to commit this.
Some may ask, “What of those who think they are saved but in reality are not? Perhaps this is speaking to professors of the faith—not really saved, but professing to be.”
Well, if that is the case, they simply need to be saved. Also, how can you fall away from something you have never received? That is pretty difficult.
So what is this passage teaching? Who is it referring to? Let us look at the description in verses 4 and 5 and see if we can identify these ones.
First, it refers to those who have been enlightened. We find this word enlightened in Hebrews 10:32:
But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings.
The tense of the word enlightened means something done once and never to be repeated. Could this refer to an unbeliever? These ones were enlightened, and they endured suffering. Would one who was almost saved do this?
Corinthians tells us that the natural man, or the unsaved man, cannot receive the things of God. The god of this world has blinded their minds from the light of the gospel. But these ones have been enlightened.
It also says that these ones have tasted of the heavenly gift. What is the heavenly gift? Christ. He is the indescribable gift, and these ones have tasted of Him.
We saw this word tasted back in Hebrews 2:9, where Jesus tasted death for every man. Did Jesus only sip death? That is what some say when they see the word tasted here: that these ones only partook briefly, just a little bit.
Did Jesus do that when He partook of death? No. He tasted death fully and completely on our behalf. He experienced it fully. Thus, these also have tasted; they have experienced fully of the heavenly gift.
It goes on to say that they have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit. We saw this word in Hebrews 3:1, where it speaks of partakers of the heavenly calling, and also in Hebrews 3:14, where it speaks of partakers of Christ.
This word partakers means to be a companion or participant with—even one who has gained character traits from the partnership. Could an unbeliever be such a partner with the Holy Spirit?
Lastly, it says they have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. Here is this word tasted again, which means they have experienced fully and completely.
First, this is with reference to the word of God. They have tasted it; they have experienced the word. It is real, and it is good to them.
Secondly, they have experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, which will be manifested in the age to come. They have tasted this. It says back in Hebrews 2:4:
God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.
I think it is pretty plain to say that the description of these ones is of people who are soundly saved. The foundation has been laid. We believe this passage is referring to believers.
What, then, is the passage saying to believers? Well, that is what we are all waiting for, right?
Let me set before you two interpretations of this passage. I did struggle over this, as I mentioned earlier. But I believe both of these stand firm in the context of Scripture as a whole, and they can be applied.
First, notice that verse 6 says that if these ones described in verses 4 and 5, who are soundly saved, have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance.
What have these ones fallen away from? We have already addressed that it is not salvation. It is not from being born again. It is not referring to falling away from initial salvation; it is a falling away from going on to maturity, which is the context of the whole passage.
The writer says that it is impossible to be renewed again to repentance. This word impossible comes up again later in verse 18, where it states that it is impossible for God to lie. It is also found in Romans 8:3, where it states that it is impossible for the Law to make anything perfect because of the weakness of the flesh.
Something is impossible to be redone. The passage says that it is impossible to be renewed again to repentance.
It has been said that this word renewed means entirely new, and that this word repentance is the same word used in verse 1, where it spoke about repentance from dead works. It has reference to our initial repentance when one first believes in the Lord.
If one who has been born again falls away in his walk, it is impossible to go back and start all over again, or to be renewed again. That would be relaying the foundation, which is impossible—even as it is impossible for you to go back into your mother’s womb and be born again.
The exhortation here is that if we fall away from the path of pressing on to maturity, we cannot go back and start over again as if to erase the past, though we may want to because of regret over wasted time, bad choices, and bad actions.
But it is impossible. Thus, we need to heed the exhortation of Paul: forget what lies behind and press on toward the mark. Thank God for the blood of Christ.
Secondly, notice that the writer says in verse 1, “Let us press on to maturity,” and then in verse 3, “This we will do if God permits.”
We have to ask the question: Is there some possibility that God will not permit a believer to press on to maturity? Could this impossibility to be renewed again to repentance refer to one who has fallen away, and such a one is unable to be renewed unto repentance because God will not allow that one to go on?
What would be the cause of such a thing, if it were possible? We need to remember that the writer has been using the illustration, in chapters 3 and 4, of the children of Israel who came out of Egypt under Moses.
They were not allowed to enter into the land because of their unbelief in response to the direct command of God to enter the land at Kadesh-barnea.
The story says that they grumbled, wanted to appoint a new leader, and return to Egypt. Caleb exhorted them that the land was good, that the Lord would bring them into it, and warned them against rebelling against the Lord. But the people wanted to stone them.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying that He would smite them and dispossess them. But Moses interceded for the people, and the Lord pardoned them according to His word.
Yet He went on to say:
Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land.
Ten is a number of fullness. They had put Him to the test these ten times and had not listened to His voice.
When the people heard this word, they mourned greatly. They said, “We will go up to the place which the Lord has promised.” But Moses warned them not to go up, because the Lord was not with them.
They went up anyway. They were defeated, and they were driven back out of the land.
These ones had seen the glory and signs of the Lord. They were enlightened as to God’s purpose for them. But they rebelled and refused to obey the Lord. The Lord stated concerning them, “They always go astray in their heart.”
Yes, they were pardoned. They were saved, if you will—no issue there. They fell on the right side of Egypt, if you will. But they fell short of God’s full purpose for them.
Our text speaks of a possible situation in which those who have been enlightened, tasted, and partaken—or, in other words, were well along the path of maturity—then fall away, and it becomes impossible for them to be renewed again to repentance.
They are unable to have a change of mind toward going on with the deep things of God. This is rebellion at its most extreme.
Yet they were eternally saved because of the intercession of the great High Priest. But they were shut out by God from going on to maturity because of their evil and unbelieving heart.
God actually gives them what they want. He knows they are beyond the point of going on.
One brother has said, “Rebellion, definite and persistent, can induce a state of heart of which there will be no reversal in this life.” This speaks of those who have entered into a continuing state of rebellion of heart toward God.
I must admit, I wept when I considered this. But let me strongly say: we are not in a place to make this determination about anybody. This is God’s alone. No man treads in this area.
These are strong words, but God is very serious about our pressing on to maturity. He has given us His Son once and for all to secure His purpose.
Those who, in rebellion, reach such a state do crucify again the Son of God and put Him to open shame. God willing, we should address this a little more in our next meeting.
Let us go on to verses 7 and 8.
For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God;
but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
The word worthless means not standing the test, not approved. It is the same word Paul used in 1 Corinthians 9:27, where he said that after preaching to others, he did not want to find himself unapproved.
The writer uses an illustration from nature to set forth the two possible kinds of growth that can come forth in the life of the believer. The believer is to drink in the rain—that is, the word.
Deuteronomy 32 says:
Let my teaching drop as the rain.
Thus, the word produces useful vegetation. But if one does not drink in the word, he will produce thorns and thistles, which represent the fruit of the self-life. Such ones will be close to being cursed and will find the fruit of their life burned up.
Do these two verses not remind you of 1 Corinthians 3:11-15? There it speaks of works being tested by fire. That which is made of wood, hay, and stubble—works of the flesh—will be burned up.
That which is made of gold, silver, and precious stones, which speaks of work done out of and through the life of our Lord, will remain. There will be reward for those who build with gold, silver, and precious stones.
Likewise, there is a blessing from God for useful vegetation brought forth in the life of the believer. But in the case of wood, hay, and stubble, and thorns and thistles, they will be burned.
Notice that the ground, which equates to the foundation in 1 Corinthians 3, still remains. It is untouched because the foundation is Christ Himself. Works may be burned, but such a one would be saved, yet as through fire.
The writer turns a corner in verse 9 and says:
But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.
For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.
Notice that the writer addresses these ones as beloved. Though he has set forth the worst possible outcome of falling away, he is convinced that they have not reached that state.
He bases this on evidence: the fruit of their salvation in ministering to the saints, which shows their love to God. God is not unjust to forget any deed that is done unto Him out of love. That should give us encouragement.
He goes on in verse 11:
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
We saw this word diligence back in Hebrews 4:11. The word sluggish here is the same word as dull of hearing back in chapter 5.
The writer continues:
For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.”
And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.
He exhorts them all to be diligent—to have intensity of purpose in pursuing the inheritance of the promises of God. Attaining them is not automatic. It requires faith, and it requires patience, to come into maturity.
The writer uses Abraham as the example. Abraham had to wait about twenty-five years to see the fulfillment of the birth of Isaac, which fulfilled the promise that God would make of him a great nation.
We likewise need to be diligent in presenting ourselves to the Lord, believing that He is our great High Priest. He will work out the promises of God in our lives.
Patience is required because no good work is done hastily. It always requires an element of time.
Going on in verse 16, it says:
For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.
In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath,
so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to lay hold of the hope set before us.
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,
where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
This matter of being diligent and pressing on to maturity can easily wane in this life because of storms and trials. So, in this section, the writer sets forth the truth that God is fully for us.
He has given us His promises through His word and through an oath. He has shown us that our Lord Jesus has gone triumphantly all the way to the throne.
Should not a promise of God be sufficient in itself to take refuge in? But God, who cannot lie, goes beyond this: He interposed with an oath. Think of that. He is backing up His word—His promises—with His very character.
This should give strong encouragement. This should give us a confident expectation. This should be an anchor to our soul that enables us to stay on course and press on to maturity despite the storms and trials.
We have One who has gone before us. He has entered in. He is on the throne. He is there interceding on our behalf. The Holy Spirit is there, quickly and promptly, to answer those prayers and do that work in our lives.
So the exhortation is this: let us be diligent. Let us not be sluggish in pursuing Christ as our High Priest.
He alone is the One who can grant us faith. He alone is the One who can give us patience so that we can inherit the promise of sonship. That is what pressing on to maturity leads to.
Lord, we simply want to give this word back to Thee. We pray that You would filter it. That which is not of You, Lord, may it be blown away, so to speak. But that which is of You, we pray that You would cause it to be planted in our hearts.
Lord, we want to be those who press on. We do not want to be mere hearers of the word, but doers also. Lord, we look to Thee that You would grant us grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.