Went to Oklahoma to see my son Tim and to preach a funeral for a friend. Did neither. Became extremely weak; could barely walk. Cut the trip off early and returned home on Thursday. Went to emergency and spent the night in Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. Turned out a new med I have been on about six months or so was driving my blood sugar too low. Stopped that med and am home now, and doing better. Enough about me. On to today's Bible Insight.
There are people who adopt a form of Christianity without experiencing its reality. They attend church for years, hearing the gospel preached over and over again, yet they never really make a commitment to Christ. That is the person the writer is speaking to in the opening verses of Hebrews 6. He is speaking to the Jew who has heard the gospel but not yet accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. So the warning applies to anyone who has heard the truth of God's saving grace in Christ, yet has not responded in faith.
There are people who adopt a form of Christianity without experiencing its reality. They attend church for years, hearing the gospel preached over and over again, yet they never really make a commitment to Christ. That is the person the writer is speaking to in the opening verses of Hebrews 6. He is speaking to the Jew who has heard the gospel but not yet accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. So the warning applies to anyone who has heard the truth of God's saving grace in Christ, yet has not responded in faith.
These people may have seen the truth of the gospel change the lives of people they know. They may have even made some sort of profession of faith, only to turn around and walk away from full acceptance. To them is given the severest possible warning: when you persist in rejecting Christ time and time again, you may one day find yourself passing the point of no return spiritually. You may one day find that you have lost forever the opportunity of salvation. The one who is indecisive eventually follows his evil heart of unbelief and turns his back forever on the living God.
These are the people Jesus is speaking about when He says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (Matt. 7:21-23).
To them the writer of Hebrews lays down a challenge: "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" (Heb. 6:1-2).
The key thoughts are "leaving" (v. 1a) and "go on to perfection" (v. 1b), which are really two parts of the same thought. Together they are the first step these unbelievers have to take to become spiritually mature.
"Leaving" (v. 1a), in the Greek, means to forsake, to put away, let alone, disregard, put off. It refers to total detachment, total separation, from a previous location or condition (MacArthur's New Testament Commentary: Hebrews, [Moody Publishers: Chicago, Illinois, 1983], 136). It is "the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ" (v. 1a) that he must leave. That is a reference to the types and pictures of Christ in the Old Testament, or the Old Covenant, which has been replaced with the New. So the unbeliever must abandon his former life and all ties with the Old Covenant and accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in order to be saved.
All unbelievers must abandon the old life for the new life of faith in Christ in order to be saved. That is repentance. Then, having accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, "go on to perfection" (v. 1b) with Christ, or move on with Christ to spiritual maturity. We are never to leave the basic principles, the elementary teachings of the gospel, no matter how mature we grow in Christ. The issue here is not that of growing spiritually as a Christian, but of coming into the first stage of Christian maturity as a new believer. It is a matter of putting away that which you have been holding onto, and taking up a whole new life in Christ.
"Go on to perfection" (v. 1b) is translated in the NIV, "go on to maturity." It is not enough to leave behind your old life. It must be replaced with the new life in Christ. Nothing short of that will do. Turning away from your old life of sin by your own willpower, without turning to Christ and receiving Him as your Lord and Savior won't cut it. Leaving the old life behind and receiving the new hinges on accepting Jesus by faith.
Moving on to maturity involves several things. First, "not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God" (v. 1c). His Hebrew readers were notorious for repenting from evil and turning toward God over and over again, without ever trusting in the Savior. That had to stop. To repent of evil and turn to God was necessary, but it had to be based in faith and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That is God's only provision for salvation.
Second, "not laying again the foundation… of the doctrine of baptisms" (v. 2a). "Baptisms" (v. 2a) would be better translated "washings," as it is not the word for Christian baptism, but the word for Jewish purification ceremonies or washings. It is these washings that they are told to abandon, because as believers they receive "the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5).
Third, the "laying on of hands" (v. 2b) refers to bringing a sacrifice to the temple and laying hands on it to identify with it. Leave those things behind because you are now identified with Jesus Christ. Lay hold of Him. Walk by faith in Him.
Fourth, the "resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment" (v. 2c, NIV) is a doctrine believed by Jews and Christians. Yet the Old Testament is incomplete in its teaching on these subjects. Only in the New Testament is the doctrine expounded on in great detail. An unbeliever has limited knowledge of these things, so he must leave these "elementary principles" (v. 1a) behind and follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. Then he can move on with Christ "to perfection" (v. 1b), or "to maturity" (NIV) in Him. And so the writer adds: "This we will do if God permits" (v. 3). God is the One who gives us the power to turn to Him through faith in Christ, and He is the One who changes us. Amen.
These are the people Jesus is speaking about when He says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (Matt. 7:21-23).
To them the writer of Hebrews lays down a challenge: "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" (Heb. 6:1-2).
The key thoughts are "leaving" (v. 1a) and "go on to perfection" (v. 1b), which are really two parts of the same thought. Together they are the first step these unbelievers have to take to become spiritually mature.
"Leaving" (v. 1a), in the Greek, means to forsake, to put away, let alone, disregard, put off. It refers to total detachment, total separation, from a previous location or condition (MacArthur's New Testament Commentary: Hebrews, [Moody Publishers: Chicago, Illinois, 1983], 136). It is "the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ" (v. 1a) that he must leave. That is a reference to the types and pictures of Christ in the Old Testament, or the Old Covenant, which has been replaced with the New. So the unbeliever must abandon his former life and all ties with the Old Covenant and accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in order to be saved.
All unbelievers must abandon the old life for the new life of faith in Christ in order to be saved. That is repentance. Then, having accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, "go on to perfection" (v. 1b) with Christ, or move on with Christ to spiritual maturity. We are never to leave the basic principles, the elementary teachings of the gospel, no matter how mature we grow in Christ. The issue here is not that of growing spiritually as a Christian, but of coming into the first stage of Christian maturity as a new believer. It is a matter of putting away that which you have been holding onto, and taking up a whole new life in Christ.
"Go on to perfection" (v. 1b) is translated in the NIV, "go on to maturity." It is not enough to leave behind your old life. It must be replaced with the new life in Christ. Nothing short of that will do. Turning away from your old life of sin by your own willpower, without turning to Christ and receiving Him as your Lord and Savior won't cut it. Leaving the old life behind and receiving the new hinges on accepting Jesus by faith.
Moving on to maturity involves several things. First, "not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God" (v. 1c). His Hebrew readers were notorious for repenting from evil and turning toward God over and over again, without ever trusting in the Savior. That had to stop. To repent of evil and turn to God was necessary, but it had to be based in faith and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That is God's only provision for salvation.
Second, "not laying again the foundation… of the doctrine of baptisms" (v. 2a). "Baptisms" (v. 2a) would be better translated "washings," as it is not the word for Christian baptism, but the word for Jewish purification ceremonies or washings. It is these washings that they are told to abandon, because as believers they receive "the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5).
Third, the "laying on of hands" (v. 2b) refers to bringing a sacrifice to the temple and laying hands on it to identify with it. Leave those things behind because you are now identified with Jesus Christ. Lay hold of Him. Walk by faith in Him.
Fourth, the "resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment" (v. 2c, NIV) is a doctrine believed by Jews and Christians. Yet the Old Testament is incomplete in its teaching on these subjects. Only in the New Testament is the doctrine expounded on in great detail. An unbeliever has limited knowledge of these things, so he must leave these "elementary principles" (v. 1a) behind and follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. Then he can move on with Christ "to perfection" (v. 1b), or "to maturity" (NIV) in Him. And so the writer adds: "This we will do if God permits" (v. 3). God is the One who gives us the power to turn to Him through faith in Christ, and He is the One who changes us. Amen.
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