Hebrews 6:1-20

How can I get to heaven?

Hebrews

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 6

Jesus is superior in promises 6:1-20

Grow as Christians *faith 6:1-3

v1-2 So, let us leave behind the elementary teaching about Christ. Let us grow up into mature Christians. We should not need to learn again about:

turning from bad actions to trust in God

Jewish ceremonies of *washings

the special use of hands in religion

raising the dead

final judgement

v3 If God allows, we shall advance from these basic truths.

Verses 1-2 The readers had learned some basic truths about the Christian life, but had not progressed further. These basic truths include:

• turning from wrong actions that lead to death, and to *belief in God that leads to life

• Jewish rules about washing ceremonies

• the special use of hands to bless and to heal

• God raising the dead

• the final judgement to come.

Jesus died to take all our *sins upon himself. The first step to take to become a Christian is to admit to God that we have *sinned. We must be really sorry for this and turn from it. As we turn from our *sin, we must put our trust in God. It is by giving our *sins and ourselves to God that he gives us new life in Jesus.

The *Jews had many special rules about how to use water to make something clean. Christians use water in *baptism, as a sign that the blood of Jesus has washed their *sins away. *Baptism is a picture of the *believer going down into death and then rising to a new life. Both *Jews and Christians use their hands to bless. Laying hands on someone is a means that God will use to give the Holy Spirit or to heal.

God’s raising people from the dead and the judgement to come are about the future. Those who trust in Jesus will live again after death. They will then be with Jesus forever. Those who do not trust God will also live again (John 5:28-29). Then they too will have to come before God. God will be their judge and they will have to pay for their own *sins.

The writer says that we must go on beyond these basic truths. We must build on the base of the new birth. We must grow as Christians and become mature in our *belief.

Verse 3 The aim of the writer is for his readers to go on from these first lessons. He wants to teach them more truth, so that they will become strong Christians. So the writer will go on from these first lessons if God permits it, that is, if God will help him.

No second chance 6:4-8

v4 They who turn against God cannot come back to him. These people once knew the truth. They have glimpsed heaven. They have had an experience of the Holy Spirit. v5 They have known the goodness of God’s word. They have known something of the powers of the world to come. v6 Now they refuse all this. It is as if such people fix the Son of God to the cross once again. They bring shame on him in public. v7 The ground that drinks the rain that often falls upon it, makes plants grow for the people who farm. God blesses that ground. v8 But if the land grows nothing but weeds, it is not worth anything. In the end men will burn it.

Verses 4-6 Here is a warning to us that we Christians must not turn away from the truth about Jesus that we have come to know.

There are some people who once said that they were Christians, but now have turned against Christ. They saw the true light of the good news of Jesus. They tasted the goodness of God. They knew something of the work of the Holy Spirit. They heard and knew the truth of the word of God. They had some impression of the coming age when we shall see the power of God. They once knew all this. But now they deny it. Now they cannot expect God to forgive them again. By turning away from Jesus, they have cut themselves off from life with God. Their action puts Jesus to public shame. It is as if they are killing him again. They will not find any way back to God.

Many people understand this part of the Bible to show that a *believer can turn from Christ. He can lose his life in Jesus. If this were to happen, he would be in a worse state than before. He would not be able to *repent and come to Christ again.

To understand the Bible, we need to look at all that it teaches. A true *believer is a changed person. He has a new life in Jesus. That new life will be forever with Jesus. That life can never die or be destroyed. The true Christian is, therefore, safe in Jesus. He is not able to fall from *belief. It is not possible for him to go back to what he was before. So these verses are not talking about a true *believer.

It may be that many *Jews had come to see the truth in Jesus. But when they saw the trouble that came to Christians because of their *faith, they turned back to their old ways.

The message for us is that we must always trust in Jesus. We must go on to know God better. We must not turn back but continue to follow him.

Verses 7-8 The writer gives an example to show the fate of the person who turns back from Christ. The ground often has the good rain fall upon it. If it grows good crops for the farmer, God blesses it. If it only grows weeds, it is *useless. People will burn the weeds. We who trust in Jesus must show our *faith by the way that we live. As God blesses us, we should become what he wants us to be. If we do not receive the blessing of God, we shall not be what he wants us to be. If we grow as God wants, he will bless us. If we are not what he desires, God will judge us.

Go on in the *faith 6:9-12

v9 Dear friends, although we speak like this, we are sure of better things in your case. God has saved you from your *sins. v10 God does what is right. He will not fail to notice your work and the love that you have shown to him. You showed your love by helping his people. You are still helping them. v11 We want each of you to be eager to continue this to the end. Then you will be certain of your future hope. v12 We do not want you to become lazy. Copy those who by *belief and patience will receive what God has promised.

Verse 9 The writer has just warned his readers in strict words. But he does not want to leave them in despair and doubt. He calls them his ‘dear friends’ to show that he cares for them. He tells them that he is sure that they will grow as strong Christians. They will go on to receive the many good things that come with their knowledge of Christ. He does not tell us what these things are. But we know that they must be good gifts, because they come from God.

Verse 10 He is sure about them because of who God is. God is right and true. He will not forget what they have done. Their *belief in God was the cause of their actions. Because they really did trust in God, they showed it by a change in their lives. They helped other people because they loved God. They were still doing these good works to help the servants of God. This should be true of us today. If we love God, we shall love his people, and help them in whatever way we can.

Verse 11 The desire of the writer is that his Christian readers will be eager to live for God to the end of their lives. In this way they will make more sure the hope that they have in Christ. Hope is a certain future with God. As we go on with Jesus, we get more confident of it. What we hope for will happen one day. After we leave this earth, we shall live and be happy with God forever.

Verse 12 It is easier to rest than to go on. So he writes that they should not be lazy. They should copy the men and women who have proved their *belief. These Christians may have suffered much for their *belief in Jesus. But they have held on to the promises of God. They will receive in full all that God has promised.

God’s promise is sure 6:13-20

v13 When God gave a promise to Abraham, he made it certain by adding a *vow in his own name. He could not *vow in any other name, for no name is greater than his. v14 He said, ‘I will be sure to bless you and give you many children’ (Genesis 22:17). v15 Abraham was patient for a long time, and then he got what God had promised. v16 People make a *vow in the name of someone greater than themselves. They do this to show that they will do without doubt what they promise. A *vow makes the promise certain. v17 When God made a promise, he wanted to convince the people that he would do as he said. So he made a *vow in his own name that he would keep his promise. v18 Nobody can change these two things, because God cannot lie. He promised with a *vow, so that we who have run to him for protection can have great comfort. We know that he will do what he has promised. In this we can have a sure hope. v19 This hope fastens our souls as to a sure base, firm and safe. It goes right into God’s holy place. v20 Jesus has gone there ahead of us. God has made him the chief priest for always, like Melchizedek.

Verse 13 Abraham is the best example of trust and hope in God. God called him to leave his home and go to a far country. From then on Abraham went where God led him. God counted him as right, for he trusted and obeyed his word. This is why God made promises to him. To show that the promises were certain, God added a *vow in his own name. He used his own name for there is no greater name. The use of a *vow shows that the promises were for a future time. So Abraham had to live and wait in hope and trust.

Verse 14 Abraham trusted God that his promise of a son was true. Although Abraham and his wife were really too old to have children, God still gave them a son. God promised that from this son there would come a great nation. (That nation was *Israel.) God told Abraham of his plans for their future. One of these plans is that they will do good for all the nations of the earth. It is from that nation that the Christ (Jesus) has come to save the world. When Jesus comes back again, he will make the nation of *Israel great. They will lead the world for good.

Verse 15 Abraham had to wait and trust God to do what he had said. The birth of his son Isaac came 25 years after God had made the promise to him. It was 60 years later before the birth of his grandson Jacob. It was this part of the promise that he did see. He died before Jacob and his children went down to live in the land of *Egypt. When they left *Egypt, 400 years later, they became the nation of *Israel. Abraham had died without seeing God do all that he promised. He now lives with God and looks for God to complete what he has said he would do.

Verse 16 When people want to show that they really mean what they say, they use a *vow. They call on the name of a more important person to be a *witness that what they say, they will do. This person may be their king or their god, but someone greater than they are. The *vow is then like a law for all the persons there. They will punish any person who breaks his *vow.

Verse 17 God himself did not need to make a *vow. He will always do what he says, because he is true. That is his character. Yet he made a *vow on this occasion, so that Abraham could have no doubt that God would do it. The purpose of God does not change. He will do what he plans to do. That is what the *vow said. The *vow was not just for Abraham. It was to the heirs of promise. They are the people who follow him both by birth and by *belief. All who believe in Jesus, God counts as sons of Abraham. We who trust in God are the heirs of the promises of God.

Verse 18 God has given us two things that cannot change. They are his promise and his *vow. Once God had spoken in this way, there was no way that he could change his mind. It is not possible for God to tell a lie. All who turn to God can trust the hope that God’s promise gives for the future. This hope will keep us from any despair in this life.

Verses 19-20 Hope is to us like the *anchor is to a boat. An *anchor holds the boat steady and at rest. It goes down in the water to the seabed. There it is firm and will not move. Our hope holds us firm. With hope we can have a quiet heart, even when there are troubles round about us. It reaches to the holy place where God is. It goes into the place where Jesus has gone as our chief priest. He went there for us. He is there as our agent before God. Because Jesus has gone to be with God, we know that we also shall go there one day. When Jesus went to God for us he became a chief priest like Melchizedek, as we saw in chapter 5:6.

faith ~ to trust someone or something; belief and trust in God and in Jesus his Son; belief that the Bible is true.
belief ~ what we accept as true... see faith.
washings ~ the acts of washing in ceremonies.
belief ~ what we accept as true... see faith.
faith ~ to trust someone or something; belief and trust in God and in Jesus his Son; belief that the Bible is true.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil; not to obey God; sins are the wrong things that we do.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for the people of Israel.
Israel ~ God changed the name of Jacob to Israel (Genesis 35). The sons of Jacob were the beginning of the nation of Israel. The land that God promised to them is the land of Israel.
baptism ~ washing with water as a sign that Jesus has made us clean, and that we want to obey God.
baptism ~ washing with water as a sign that Jesus has made us clean, and that we want to obey God.
believers ~ those who know and accept Christ.'repent, repentance ~ a change of mind and heart, to turn away from sin and turn to God.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil; not to obey God; sins are the wrong things that we do.
useless ~ of no use.
vow ~ serious promise made with a proof of intention to keep it. People did this by making the vow in the name of some great person.
Israel ~ God changed the name of Jacob to Israel (Genesis 35). The sons of Jacob were the beginning of the nation of Israel. The land that God promised to them is the land of Israel.
Egypt ~ a country where the Israelites were slaves before the exodus.
Israelites ~ the people of Israel.
exodus ~ a word used to refer to the time when God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt.
Israel ~ God changed the name of Jacob to Israel (Genesis 35). The sons of Jacob were the beginning of the nation of Israel. The land that God promised to them is the land of Israel.
witness ~ a witness is someone who sees an event and will tell of it. To witness is to tell what you have seen.
anchor ~ a heavy weight on a chain which sailors throw over the side of the boat to hold it steady.