Verse 1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Again, this chapter is a continuation of the last few verses in chapter four regarding becoming mature in the Faith. The Greek word translated as “principles” is “arche” and it means beginning or origin. The Hebrew word translated as “perfection” is “teleiotes” and it means perfection, the state of the more intelligent, and moral and spiritual perfection. So the Apostle Paul is saying that he wants to leave the basic teachings of the Faith and go forward into the more complex understanding of the Word of God so that the Hebrews will be perfected or be more intelligent about the doctrines of Christianity. In other words, he wants the Hebrew people to become mature in their walk with Jesus Christ and His Holy Ghost, and to do that He wants the Hebrews to leave the beginning principles and move forward toward maturity. In this epistle he does not want to go into the beginning doctrines of salvation such as repentance and faith in the LORD.
Application: The doctrine taught in many churches that all one has to do to be saved is to raise the hand when the pastor gives an alter call and then salvation is received and can never be lost regardless of what one does has lead to confusion in the Church. Many people think that they do not have to do anything more. As a result, there has always been those people who believe the Gospel message, repent, get baptized hopefully in Jesus’ name, receive the indwelling of the Holy Ghost/Spirit, and then who just coast along, never getting a better understanding of the Gospel, of God, and of their role in the Kingdom of God. They don’t put the effort into Bible study and prayer. They are basically nominal Christians, and assuming that they are truly saved, they will most likely go to Heaven but they will not have the privilege and blessings of working intelligently for the LORD while on this Earth because they have failed to move forward and acquire the knowledge and wisdom to do so. Furthermore, there are those who never get past repentance. They are constantly repenting of everything and are so focused on what they do wrong that they cannot move forward. They are in a rut as far as their Christian walk is concerned. Take heed to the words of the Apostle Paul in this epistle and be sure that you are growing daily in your understanding of the LORD and of His Word. Only then will you be truly contented and happy.
Verses 2-3 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this will we do, if God permit.
The Apostle Paul wants to move forward to a clear understanding of the doctrines listed in the verses above.
Application: Notice that the Apostle Paul uses the plural, ‘baptisms’, in verse two above. It seems that today most Christians do not understand that there are two baptisms. The first is baptism in water. This is commanded and is not an option, although many congregations teach water baptism to be optional. One cannot obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is His death, burial, and resurrection without water baptism. To obey the Gospel message one has to repent and die to sin. Then water baptism needs to be done which is metaphorically being buried with Christ Jesus, the rising out of the water signifying being resurrected as a new creature. This is how one obeys the first two requirements of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without it, obedience to the Gospel has not occurred. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:4 “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” Colossians 2:12
The second baptism is with the Holy Ghost/Spirit. “John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:” Luke 3:16 “For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” Acts 1:5 “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2:38 So water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Ghost go together and make up the doctrine of baptisms the Apostle Paul is talking about in verse two above. The Hebrews in the wilderness were also baptized even though Jesus Christ had not yet come in the flesh. “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;” 1 Corinthians 10:1-2
Verses 4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Failure to grow in the Faith can lead to believers ‘falling away’ or turning aside from the Faith and deviating from the right path. This is a dangerous situation because, according to the Apostle Paul, once a believer allows this to happen, it is impossible for that believer to be renewed or to resume their walk with the LORD. This is not referring to Christians sinning occasionally and then seeking repentance and forgiveness which gets them back into right standing with the LORD. This is referring to having once understood and experiencing salvation and the presence and power of the Holy Ghost/Spirit and then failing to nurture and care for the new spiritual life that has been gifted to them from the LORD, Christian believers go back into the world and live as they did before coming to Jesus Christ. These backsliders are Christians because they “were made partakers of the Holy Ghost”, something that would not have happened if they were not first saved from sin, death and Hell. They received the gift of salvation from God and then returned it.
Application: The Baptist churches and most mainstream, organized evangelical establishment churches like to teach their ‘once saved, always saved’ doctrine. They believe and teach that once saved, a believer cannot lose that salvation. So if they willfully sin and rebel against the LORD, they are still saved. Or, if the Christian really abandons the Faith, they were not saved in the first place. Paul’s verses above contradict this belief. Since no one can determine the condition of another’s heart, deciding that a fallen away Christian was never saved is not the jurisdiction of man, but only of God. And to believe that rebellious Christians will enter into Heaven because of being saved at one point in their lives conflicts with Biblical teaching and examples. Remember that the chosen Hebrew people in the wilderness who knew God but who rebelled were kept in the wilderness until they died and therefore they did not get to enter into the promised land. The Apostle Paul stated that all of these Old Testament stories were examples for us to learn by. If the ‘chosen’ Hebrews were not allowed to enter the promised land, what makes pastors and teachers and congregants believe that they, who were ‘chosen’ to be saved from sin, death, and Hell will through rebellion and unrighteousness enter into the promised land of eternal life in Heaven?
Further clarification of the verses above can be found in 2 Peter 2:17-22. Brackets are this writers and not from Scripture. “These [those who walk after the flesh] are wells without water [useless], clouds that are carried with a tempest [easily swayed and influenced]; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever [they are blinded to the truth and lost]. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those [Christian believers] that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty [it’s OK to sin a little because you are saved and God loves you], they themselves are the servants of corruption [serving Satan]: for of whom a man is overcome [conquered by], of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled [involved in] therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” So Christian believers will slip up from time to time and get ‘entangled’ in that which they should not be involved with. But they are not lost if they repent and cease from that which got them entangled again with the things of the world. It is when repentance does not come forth and Christian believers become ‘overcome’. When this happens, they are lost and cannot be restored back to right relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.
Verses 7-8 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
Here the Apostle Paul uses agricultural truths to make the point that Christians need to bring forth fruit that is righteous and those who fail to do so will see the fires of Hell. Jesus Christ sends forth the rain so that the earth can bring forth plants, grasses, and trees that are useful and good for mankind and for critters. But when thorns and briers grow as well, they are only fit for gathering and burning so that they will not take the water and nutrients in the soil away from those plants, grasses and trees that are good and useful. Likewise, people who take up space on this Earth and who negatively impact and influence others and who rebel against the LORD will be gathered and destroyed by the LORD. Remember the prayer example Jesus gave to His disciples which said, “thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven”. There are no thorns and briers in Heaven so there will be no backsliden Christians there either.
Verses 9-10 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. 10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
Here the Apostle Paul is encouraging the Hebrew Christians in that he is confident they will continue in their Faith and in their good works.
Verses 11-12 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
But he wants to be sure they will continue to work and move forward to the promise of eternal life in Heaven.
Application: Getting saved is not enough. The Christian walk, like any physical walk, takes effort and energy. It takes endurance because the flesh, the world, and the Devil will continually try to destroy that walk with Jesus Christ through His Holy Ghost/Spirit. The Christian’s salvation is ongoing and is not final until the physical body is shed and the spirit and soul are in Heaven with Jesus Christ and with all the saints who have gone before. This is why the Apostle Paul told the Philippian church as recorded in Philippians 2:13 to work out their salvation. “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out you own salvation with fear and trembling.” Yes, salvation is a gift from God, but that gift has to be guarded and cared for so that it is not lost. The work of prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship, and the exercising of faith all take time and effort and are all part of moving forward towards the goal of Christian maturity and eternal life in Heaven.
Verses 13-15 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Usually when someone swears an oath, the witness is someone of higher power and position. Since there is no one higher than God to witness His oath, He made His oath to Abraham swearing by Himself as Creator and as the Almighty. See Genesis 22 in this site for the full story of Abraham and his encounter with the LORD. “And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore, and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” Genesis 22:15-18 Abraham waited a very long time before he had his son Isaac and then his twelve grandsons whose descendants became the nation Israel. But God was faithful and fulfilled his promise at the right time and in the right manner. Likewise, Abraham was also the patriarch from whom the flesh of Jesus Christ descended. Jesus was from the tribe of Abraham’s grandson, Judah. Therefore God fulfilled His promise completely to Abraham
Application: A principle of understanding Scripture is to first apply the natural meaning to verses and then apply the spiritual meaning. In the blessing God gave to Abraham, He did increase Abraham’s physical descendants over time both by the natural family birth process and by adding people from other nations such as Egypt. The Hebrews were a mixed multitude and it would have been difficult to number them from the days of Isaac to the days of Jesus Christ. The sand and the stars are simply metaphor for a large number that cannot be calculated. However, the spiritual meaning of the blessing and promise given to Abraham is in regard to Jesus Christ and both the Old Testament and New Testament Church. The believers making up the Church of Jesus Christ are spiritual descendants of Abraham because of faith. It is faith in Jesus Christ that make all believers one in the family of God. Therefore any truly converted Christian believer is a spiritual descendant of Abraham. The ‘seed’ is singular and represents Jesus Christ. He blessed and is blessing all the nations through the Gospel message, and the number of believers cannot be counted.
Verses 16-17 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
Who are the heirs of promise? The Hebrew Christians to whom the Apostle wrote this epistle and all the Gentiles from every nation who have become followers of Jesus Christ and who serve and worship Him. The Greek word translated as “immutability” is “ametathetos” and it means not transposed, not to be transferred, fixed, and unalterable. What God says cannot be changed. His Word is fixed and cannot be altered. Therefore all of God’s promises are true and faithful.
Verses 18-20 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. (Hebrews 6)
What are the two immutable things? Not absolutely sure. However, the promises from God to bless and to multiply are two things that cannot be altered. Just as Abraham was blessed and his descendants, both physical and spiritual, multiplied into an innumerable multitude, so Christians today have promises of blessings from the LORD and the promise of being part of that innumerable multitude. Two more immutable things are salvation and eternal life in Heaven. These are promised and given to those people who heed the call of the LORD. Two more immutable things are the provision of Jesus Christ as our sacrificial Lamb so that His shed blood covers our sins and His position as our High Priest who is the only One who can go behind the veil and place that blood on the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant. He is our anchor. An anchor stops a boat from drifting, and Jesus Christ is the One to whom we are anchored spiritually so that we will not drift back into the world and be overtaken by the sin found there.