Hebrews 6:1-8

Please join me in your copy of God's Word in Hebrews chapter 6.

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

As we continue our verse-by-verse study of the book of Hebrews.

! Our text for today is Hebrews chapter 6 verses 1-8.

Hebrews 6:1–8

Before I lead us in reading this, beloved, let me remind you that this is God's Word to us.

It was written for His glory and our good.

And so we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.

Hebrews chapter 6 verse 1 and following.

Hebrews 6:1

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.

And of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

And this we will do if God permits.

For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift,

and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the age to come,

and then have fallen away to restore them again to repentance,

since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding Him up to contempt.

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.

But if it bears thorns and thistles,

it is worthless and near to being cursed,

and its end is to be burned.

Preaching is always a serious task.

If preaching is approached properly,

we are picking up weighty things.

Eternal matters.

This should not be a time of silly frivolity.

Texts like this make me especially feel the weight of the task before me,

because its topic is especially weighty.

The author of Hebrews is writing to a beleaguered church,

a church that has suffered much,

a church that was being tempted to forsake following Jesus Christ,

in order to alleviate their suffering.

We chose to study the book of Hebrews in part,

because we believe that it is going to become increasingly uncomfortable

to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ in the age we live in.

There are and will be pressures on every side to forsake the following of Jesus for the sake of comfort.

For the Hebrew church,

the temptation was to return to Judaism.

They were accepted as Jewish worshipers of God by Rome.

But as Christ followers,

as followers of the way,

they were suffering much.

For us,

the temptation is and will be

to become cultural Christians.

Cultural Christians are, in fact,

not Christians at all.

They worship a God of their own making,

not the God who has revealed Himself in the Bible and in the person of Jesus Christ.

They believe that they are generally good enough to gain heaven

and need only to make a decision to add a little Jesus to their lives,

to live their lives more fully.

Their religion is focused on them,

how it benefits them,

how it makes them feel.

They have not encountered the risen Christ.

They know about Him,

or at least some version of Him,

but they do not know Him

and are not known by Him.

These people have been led to believe

that they are Christians

when they are not.

And this is a rampant problem

of our day.

This is quite possibly a problem

in our midst.

I fear that false conversions

are the greatest issue

of the church in our day.

The need to rightly preach the gospel

that people will not be deluded into thinking

that they are in fact in Christ,

that they are safe,

that they will be carried through the storm

is the most concerning matter.

Every generation has had to reassert the gospel,

has had to recapture it,

re-clarify it.

And we are not different in our day.

Listen to what Paul wrote

to the Galatian church

in chapter 1, verses 6-9.

If you're familiar with this letter,

you know that the Galatian church

was being tempted by

what we've called the Judaizers

to pick up, as Gentile believers,

Jewish practices, laws,

and keep those laws

in order to have their acceptance.

To forsake the gospel

that says we're saved by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in Christ alone,

and to add to that works.

And he said this,

I am astonished

that you are so quickly

deserting Him who called you

in the grace of Christ

and are turning

to a different gospel.

Not that there is another one,

but there are some

who trouble you

and want to distort

the gospel of Christ.

But even if we

or an angel from heaven

should preach to you

a gospel contrary

to the one we preach to you,

let him be accursed.

As we have said before,

so now I say again,

if anyone is preaching to you

a gospel contrary

to the one you received,

let him be accursed.

It was a serious matter

already in the first century church.

This idea of distorting the gospel.

He says as if there is another one.

Those were preaching

that you can be justified

in any other way

but by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in Christ alone.

This was the gospel

that Paul had preached

and he says even if I come

and preach to you

a different gospel

or even if an angel

from heaven comes

contradicting this gospel,

let us and let him

be accursed.

The gospel that we are saved

by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in Christ alone

is the narrow path

that leads to life now

and life forever.

All other so-called gospels

are the wide path

that leads to destruction.

And there is much of that

in our day.

Preachers who will say

just enough

that sounds good and true

but not press all the way,

not present the gospel

in its entirety

and in great clarity.

So if you're in my hearing

and claim to be a Christian,

you're here this morning

and you're saying,

I am a follower

of Jesus Christ,

you will find yourself

in one of three categories.

If you claim to be a Christian,

you could claim

not to be a Christian,

that would be an entirely

separate category altogether.

If you claim to be a Christian,

a disciple of Jesus Christ,

you will find yourself

in one of three categories

this morning.

Number one,

a confident Christian.

You will have a surety

of your salvation.

You will say,

yes, I know

that I am in Christ.

I have been saved

by grace alone

through faith alone

in Christ alone.

Secondly,

you may find yourself

as an unconfident Christian.

You may find yourself

truly a follower

of Jesus Christ,

but not having the assurance

that we would all hope

you would have.

That kind of confidence

that we want you to enjoy,

knowing that you have been saved

by God

and that you are kept

by God.

And the third,

possibly,

that you're not a Christian

at all.

It is very possible

to say that you're

a Christ follower

and to not be

a Christ follower.

And the Bible

is helpful to us

in this.

It's not silent

on this topic.

It has much

to say

about this topic.

How do we know?

How can we press on

in knowing

that we are,

in fact,

secure

in Christ?

That His righteousness

is ours.

That our punishment

due our sin

He took

on the cross.

How can we

know this?

Our text

this morning

is helpful

to that end.

Our text

this morning

is a warning

not to be found

in this third category.

To not be one

who says

they're a Christian

and proves

not to be.

Next week's text

as we continue on

in chapter 6

will be an encouragement

to be found

in the first category.

To not have

false assurances

today,

next week,

is to have

good and proper

and true

assurance.

How can we know?

So today

is primarily

about the

negative

side of that.

And our text

this morning

begins in verse 1

with the therefore.

So we must

always consider

when the therefore

is there,

why is it there?

What is it there

for?

And so

last week's text

which started

chapter 5

verse 11

and went through

verse 14

Reese Winkler

labored

to preach for us

and did a wonderful

job explaining

the text

for us.

We saw the

only rebuke

in the book

of Hebrews

that these

Christians,

this beleaguered

church that this

author is writing

to,

had become

dull

of hearing.

And then we saw

in the text

an exhortation

toward

maturity.

So,

you have become

dull of hearing

and he says

this should not

be so,

so let us

press on,

right?

Let's grow up

into Christ.

So let me read

verses 11

through 14

before we move on

in our text today.

Author of Hebrews

wrote,

we're getting

verse 11,

about this

we have much

to say

and it is

hard to

explain

since you

have become

dull

of hearing.

For though

by this time

you ought to

be teachers,

you need

someone to

teach you

again the

basic principles

of the

oracles of

God.

You need

milk,

not solid

food.

For everyone

who lives on

milk is

unskilled in

the word of

righteousness

since he is

a child.

But solid

food is

for the

mature.

For those

who have

their powers

of discernment

trained by

constant

practice

to

distinguish

good

from evil.

So there's

this exhortation

found in this

to not be

children any

longer,

but to

grow up

into maturity.

And it's

with that in

mind that he

says,

therefore,

let us

leave the

elementary

doctrines of

Christ and

go on

to maturity.

Grow up.

And here

he refers

to these

elementary

doctrines

of Christ.

Not laying

again a

foundation of

repentance

from dead

works and

of faith

toward God

and of

instruction

about washings,

the laying

on of

hands,

the resurrection

of the dead,

and eternal

judgment.

There are

six doctrines

here that

the author of

Hebrews calls

the elementary

doctrine of

Christ.

Now,

most New

Testament

scholars agree,

and there's a

lot of

disagreement

about this

particular text,

but most

New Testament

scholars agree

that this

list of

doctrines we

find in

verses 1

and 2

were an

early form

of catechism

for Jewish

converts

to Christianity.

So people

who professed

faith in

Jesus Christ

were taken

through a

series of

teaching.

teaching.

Let us

help you

understand

this way

that you're

now claiming

to follow.

And it may

have taken

the form

of a

catechism

like we

have today

with a

question

and an

answer,

or it

may have

just been

a structured

teaching.

But most

agree,

that's what

here the

author of

Hebrews

is referring

to,

kind of a

packaged

teaching

for those

who are

new

to the

faith.

And so we

see first

some reference

to the

law.

Jewish

converts

would have

been very

familiar with

the Old

Testament

law,

the civil,

ceremonial,

and the

moral law.

And so he

references

repentance

from dead

works.

They would

have had to

learn,

just as we

have to

learn to

come to

faith in

Christ,

that we

can no

longer work

at self

salvation,

that this

is an

impossible

thing to

do,

no amount

of keeping

of the

law is

going to

help us

find favor

with Christ,

because we

can never

do it

perfectly,

and this

is what

the law

requires.

They did

and we

will fall

short of

the righteous

requirement

of God

found in

the moral

law.

We cannot

do it.

We may

keep part

of it,

and even

the parts

we will

keep

imperfectly.

We will

be mixed

with messes

of motivation.

We cannot

keep the

law

perfectly.

And so,

we must

repent.

We must

confess that

we have

failed to

keep the

law.

They were

taught to

repent

from dead

works,

to do that

negative act

of repentance,

and then

to do the

positive act

of placing

their faith

in God.

The text

says,

of faith

toward

God.

That God

could save

them.

Sola

fide,

by faith

alone.

By placing

all of their

trust in the

person and

work of

Jesus Christ.

So,

we have in

these first

two doctrines

a soteriology.

How is it

that we

are saved?

Nixie

references

Jewish

cleansing

rites,

which they

may have

still been

practicing

as a

New Testament

church,

but certainly

Jews in

their day

were practicing

these rites

of washings

and the

laying on

of hands.

And so,

most likely

their instruction

about washings

was about

baptism,

New Testament,

regenerate

baptism into

the fellowship

of a church

and in

baptism of

the Holy

Spirit.

They would

have come

to understand

what it

means to

be truly

cleansed.

Not to

just bear

an outward

sign of

it,

but to

be regenerate,

to have

the Spirit

of Christ

come into

you and

make you

new,

make you

clean

forever

because you

have His

righteousness.

And the

laying on

of hands

likely would

have been

taught about

the commissioning

and empowering

Christians for

Christian service,

like when Paul

and Barnabas

were prayed

over and

sent on

their

missionary

journey.

So the

church is

used in

this way

to send

Christians

by the

power of

the Spirit.

And so we

see in

these next

two,

a

pneumatology,

right?

Some doctrines

about the

Spirit of

Christ.

And then

he picks

up lastly

a couple

of Old

Testament

concepts,

like the

resurrection

of the

dead

and

eternal

judgment.

And in

Christ,

these Old

Testament

teachings

have

their

realized,

their

fully

fleshed

out

meaning.

So they

would have

come to

understand

the

resurrection

of Christ

and what

that means

for us,

our future

resurrection

in Him.

And they

would have

been instructed

in eternal

judgment,

a final

judgment

that Jesus

presides

over as

the judge.

And so

this

catechism,

this early

Christian

teaching,

contained

within it

also an

eschatology.

So a

simple and

basic

soteriology,

pneumatology,

doctrines of

the Spirit,

and eschatology,

doctrines of

the end

times.

So those

are important

things.

The author

of Hebrews

says,

therefore let

us leave

the elementary

doctrines of

Christ and

go on to

maturity.

It would seem

that he's

saying they're

not important

anymore,

but they

are.

He's not

saying let's

forget these

doctrines.

We have

outgrown these

doctrines.

We never

outgrow our

need of

them.

He is merely

asserting that

they should be

settled in

their

understanding.

And they

should be

living in

light of

them.

They should

be building

lives on

the foundation

of these

doctrines of

Christ.

They should

be going

on in

maturity,

not having

to be

again

reminded,

brought back

to the

milk,

the basics

of Christian

faith.

They should

be building

upon that

and maturing

in those

realities.

And this

is what he

means.

This is the

press.

This is the

drive of

the text.

And then he

says in

verse 3,

and I like

the interjection,

and this

we will do

if God

permits.

We have

been saved

by grace

alone,

through faith

alone,

and we

will finish

by grace

alone,

through faith

alone.

Having been

saved by the

Spirit,

we are not

now being

perfected

by the

flesh.

We pay

a part

in our

growing up.

These

Christians are

rebuked for

being dull

of hearing.

The positive

of that is,

so here,

they have to

participate

in that

process.

We don't

just obey

when we

feel like

obeying,

when we're

compelled to

obey.

We obey,

because we

know it's

good and it's

our part

to play

in our

growing up

and in

our

maturing,

but all

along,

we praise

God for

the grace

he gives

us for

obedience.

God saves

us and

God keeps

us,

and we'll

see much

more about

this later

as we

continue to

study.

But at

this point

of verse

three,

and this we

will do

if God

permits,

I want to

read a

really brief

excerpt of

a poem

written by

John Bunyan,

author of

Pilgrim's Progress.

This is not

in Pilgrim's Progress,

but he wrote,

Run,

John,

run,

the law

commands,

but gives

us neither

feet nor

hands.

Far better

news the

gospel brings.

It bids

us fly

and gives

us wings.

All that

God commands

of us,

he provides

the necessary

means to

fulfill.

those

commands.

Now,

in verse

four,

we come to

the most

complicated

and contested

part of

our text.

For it is

impossible,

the author of

Hebrews says,

in the case of

those who have

once been

enlightened,

who have

tasted the

heavenly gift

and have

shared in

the Holy

Spirit,

and have

tasted the

goodness of

the Word

of God

and the

powers of

the age

to come,

and then

have fallen

away to

restore them

again to

repentance,

since they

are crucifying

once again

the Son of

God to

their own

harm and

holding him

up to

contempt.

The most

complicated and

most contested

part of our

text.

Three views

have commonly

been held of

this text.

I'm going to

give you brief

summaries of

the first two,

why they're not

the proper

views,

and then

I'll present

the third

view and

support it

at length.

The first

view,

erroneous

view,

is hypothetical.

The author

of Hebrews is

presenting a

hypothetical

case.

This view

says,

it's referring

to a

situation

that could

not really

happen.

This view

should be

rejected because

it is just

unreasonable.

If the

sin could

not be

committed,

then the

writer would

have no

reason to

warn his

audience to

avoid it.

What is the

point?

Why waste

the precious

parchment and

ink warning

against a

sin that

cannot be

committed?

I would

suggest to

you that it's

not a

hypothetical at

all.

Secondly,

erroneous

view,

the actual

view.

This view

holds that

God provides

the grace

for salvation,

that perseverance

though, the

keeping to

the end,

is entirely

up to the

individual.

So God

can save

you, but

he cannot

or will

not keep

you, and

you must

keep

yourself.

This view

sees individuals

spoken of as

actually in

the faith.

They are

in fact

Christians,

but having

the ability

to lose

their salvation.

I don't

know anybody

in our

day that

likes to

believe that.

They would

never say

they do,

although they

may functionally.

This view

says that

these people

may have

had all the

appearances,

been found

in the faith,

but yet they

can reject it,

having been in

it.

this view

should be

rejected because

it is just

flatly

unbiblical,

which I'll

show you

momentarily

with a

third view.

The third

view is

the apparent

view.

This view,

the proper

one,

holds that

anyone who

falls away

from the

faith were

not truly

believers to

begin with.

They weren't

actually in

the faith

to begin

with.

They may

have had the

appearance

of faith,

but were

not,

in fact,

Christians.

I'm going

to give

you a few

reasons why

I believe

this is the

right view

of this

text.

First,

this idea,

the ideas

presented

forth that

these people

had been

enlightened,

they had

tasted,

they had

shared.

Remember our

audience?

These are

Hellenistic

Jews,

people who

are practicing

Jews,

familiar with

their old

Testament,

would have

been familiar

with the

story of

their predecessors,

their people.

The children

of Israel

had a

privileged

position as

they encountered

God in

the wilderness.

They had

followed the

instructions with

the Lamb's

blood on

their doorposts.

They had

been spared

the Passover

judgment.

They had

miraculously

crossed through

the Red Sea,

had seen the

pillar of cloud

and the

pillar of fire.

They had

tasted the

miraculous waters

of Marah,

ate daily

manna.

They had

heard the

voice of

God's thunder

out of the

clouds at

Sinai.

They had

all the

same spiritual

benefits,

but not

all of the

children of

Israel

believed.

These

original

hearers would

have been

very familiar

with this

as he

employs

language like

enlightened

and tasted

and shared.

That they

were a

people that

had the

spiritual

benefit of

God,

but had

yet not

believed.

And he's

warning against

that in

our text.

This is the

point that the

author of

Hebrews is

making in

chapter 3.

You can recall

our study

there.

As he speaks

of those

unable to

enter the

promised land

into the

rest of

God,

and then

he says

in Hebrews

Hebrews 3:19

3 verse

19,

so we

see that

they were

unable to

enter because

of unbelief.

Because they

weren't faithful

to the God

that had

called them

and had

provided all

of this

spiritual

benefit.

Positive

spiritual

experiences

do not

make for

salvation,

but only

a trusting

in Christ

alone,

by grace

alone,

through faith

alone.

Throwing

your whole

self on

him,

that he

fulfilled the

righteous

requirement of

the law,

that he

paid the

debt of

your sin.

No amount

of

thelies

when you're

part of a

church

saves you.

It's faith

in Christ

that saves

you.

So this is

consistent.

His language

is extremely

consistent.

We just

have to

get our

21st century

minds to

catch up

to the

text.

Secondly,

I think this

apparent view

is correct

because of

the parable

of the

sower.

Jesus gave

us instruction

about these

types of

people.

It should

grieve us,

it should

make us

very sad,

but Jesus

wants us to

understand what's

happening when

we see people

who claim

to be in

the faith,

who by

all measurable

means seem

to be in

the faith,

and then

forsake it

altogether.

As he tells

this parable,

he tells the

parable of the

sower going out

and sowing the

seed.

The gospel of

Jesus Christ.

And we see

that different

soils receive it

and respond to

it differently.

And there's a

particular soil

that speaks

into this text.

It's the rocky

soil,

that rocky

ground.

Jesus explains

it in Matthew

13,

20-21.

He says,

For at what

was sown on

rocky ground,

this is the

one who hears

the word,

and immediately

receives it

with joy.

Yet he has

no root

in himself,

but endures

for a while,

and when

tribulation

or persecution

arises on

account of

the word,

immediately

he falls

away.

So,

it's the

person who

says,

this sounds

great.

Eternal

life?

I like

it.

What must

I do?

Walk the

aisle?

I'm there.

And that as

soon as things

get tough,

as soon as

the suffering

of this world

comes,

and it

will,

as soon as

discomfort

because of

a belief

in this

word,

this gospel

comes,

they turn

away.

This is

exactly what

was happening

in this

little fellowship.

They had

suffered for

the sake

of the

gospel.

And because

these individuals

didn't treasure

Christ the way

people who are

in Christ

treasure Christ,

they rejected

him.

The measure

of faithfulness

is fruitfulness.

You're

instructed

again and

again and

again in

the Scripture

that good

trees bear

good fruit.

Bad trees

bear bad

fruit.

Beloved, we

ought not tie

our salvation

to an event

in our life.

God saves

people in

and at

events.

praise God,

should tie

our salvation

to his

active working

in our

lives.

Proofs out

who we

are.

I have

been saved

by the

righteousness

of Christ

and his

sacrificial

death on

my behalf.

And because

of that,

faith in

that,

I have the

spirit of

Christ who

causes me to

walk in

his ways.

this is

something that

can be

observed.

It's

fruit.

It's

tangible.

It can

be seen

and smelled

and tasted.

The author

of Hebrews

does this

very thing

in verses

7 and

8.

He picks

up this

consistent

Bible language.

He says,

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.

But if it

bears thorns

and thistles,

it is

worthless and

near to

being cursed,

and its

end is

to be

burned.

Agrarian

people understood

these metaphors

so readily.

I hope your

brain is

catching what's

being said

here.

Beloved,

if we are

not pressing

on in

holiness,

and we

don't do

this with

perfection,

remember

that second

category?

That Christian

who's just

not sure?

We have

days.

Where we

act as if

we are not

sons and

daughters of

the Most

High.

We in

every way

reject His

good rule.

But we

ought to be

able to see

a general

life,

a general

trajectory

towards

holiness,

a hating

of sin,

and a loving

of righteousness.

This ought to

be true of

us.

And I will

tell you

this,

you should

not be

left alone

to figure

this out.

You will

either think

too much

of yourself,

or you

will think

too little

of yourself.

God has

saved a

people.

He's given

power to

the church

to do

this work

together.

We would

press one

another in

holiness.

That we

would call

each other

out in

our sin.

That we

would repent

and turn

to Christ

and grow

on in

our faith.

So the

parable of the

sower is the

second reason I

think that the

author of Hebrews

is talking about

apparent

Christians.

And then

thirdly and

most fully,

the Bible

doctrine of

the perseverance

of the

saints.

Which says

that those

who are

saved by

Christ will

persevere

to the end.

Will remain

in Christ

to the end.

That this is a

sure thing.

If he has

saved us,

he will

keep us.

The good

old southern

version of

this is once

saved,

always

saved.

In my

younger years,

wrestling with

doubt,

the doctrines

of grace

became a

great rest

for me.

There's

nothing I

could have

done to

save myself.

I did

not make a

decision for

Christ.

I rejected

him at

every turn.

I was a

wretched

rebel

against God.

but God,

because of

his mercy,

because of

his great

love for

his people,

saved me.

As much

as I may

have tried

to gain

acceptance

before him,

I could

not be

accepted

except to

be clothed

in Christ.

To fully

believe in

his righteousness

and his

sacrificial

death for

the salvation

of my

soul.

This is a

working of

God.

Every time

these things

are taught

in the

scripture,

it's taught

as a

comfort to

us.

It's not

meant to be

a thing we

beat others

up with.

It's meant

to be a

comfort to

us.

God has

saved you.

God will

keep you.

Richard

Baxter once

said,

this is on

your bulletin

if you

happen to

have one

this morning,

in our

first

paradise in

Eden,

there was

a way

to go

out,

but no

way to

go in

again.

But as

for the

heavenly

paradise,

there is

a way

to go

in,

but not

way to

go out.

Praise

God.

So I'm

going to

take you

through

just a

few

texts

that speak

to this,

to make

this point,

that if we

are saved

by Christ,

we are

kept

by Christ.

In

Philippians

Philippians 1:6

chapter 1

verse 6,

Paul declares

with great

confidence,

I am sure

of this,

that he

who began

a good

work in

you will

bring it

to completion

at the

day of

Jesus

Christ.

He started

it,

he is

going to

finish it.

In

Romans

Romans 8:38–39

chapter 8

verse 38

through 39,

Paul again

says,

for I am

sure that

neither

death

nor life,

present

lived life,

nor angels

nor rulers,

nor things

present,