Hebrews 6

The elementary doctrine

The elementary doctrine of Christ is spelled out in verses 1b and 2. Repentance from dead works is not merely a change of mind but a complete change of heart, attitude, interest and direction away from fleshly works. Faith toward God goes with it: turning from the sinful self and putting all your trust in God, his grace and his promises.

Washings and the laying on of hands

The Greek word for washings is baptismos in the plural. It refers to the Jewish ceremonial purification washings, not Christian baptism. Ceremonial washing was a daily ritual the readers practised before following Jesus, and they were tempted to go back to these old rituals to avoid persecution. So the basic Christian teaching about washings explained why believers must leave them behind: Jesus’ sacrifice cleanses the heart permanently.

The laying on of hands is similar. Under the old practice a person laid hands on an innocent animal to transfer their sin onto it for sacrifice. The basic teaching explained why believers should not go back to animal sacrifices, because Jesus cleansed sins once for all, for the whole world, and not for one person at a time.

Resurrection and judgement

The resurrection of the dead is the hope all believers have through Jesus Christ, who rose from the grave and defeated the power of death. In eternal judgement believers will not be in fear, because they have hope in Jesus; unbelievers will receive the just punishment for their sins.

Lingering in the basics

The readers already knew all of this, but they were lingering in these basic principles, doing the comfortable thing out of laziness and never challenging themselves to grow. So the author pushes them to grow out of the basics and go on to maturity.

If God permits

The author was frustrated and wanted these Jewish Christians to grow, yet he adds “if God permits”, as if maturing from the basics is not easy. This shows two things. First, spiritual growth requires God’s power and grace: everyone depends completely on God to open their minds to deeper truths. Second, 5:11 said the readers had become dull of hearing; their hearts were drifting and growing spiritually lazy. If they go on this way, God may not permit their growth, for a time or for good. It is a warning against spiritual procrastination, and verses 4–6 explain it further.

What they have experienced

Verse 4 begins with “for”, giving the reason for verse 3. Verses 4–5 describe what believers experience once they have been enlightened by the gospel: they have tasted God’s free gift of grace and new life in Christ, shared personally in the Holy Spirit’s presence and activity, tasted the goodness of God’s word, which brings forgiveness, peace and divine truth, and tasted the powers of the age to come.

The powers of the age to come are the miracles, signs and wonders of God’s future kingdom overriding the physics of this world. The kingdom has not yet come, but we have experienced “specks” of it, as the Bible also witnesses.

Then fallen away

Verses 5–6 mean that if anyone is fully exposed to the truth of Jesus and then deliberately walks away from it, they are declaring that Jesus deserved to die and was a fraud. They side with those who wanted him crucified, and his cross becomes a public humiliation rather than our reconciliation with God. Scholars debate the exact meaning, but it comes close to this: because of their hardened hearts, nothing else is left to lead them to repentance.

Two kinds of land

Verse 7 also begins with “for”, giving the reason for verse 6. Having spoken of how hard it is for a hardened heart to repent, the author pictures our hearts as land.

In Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8 Jesus tells of seed scattered on four kinds of ground: the path, rocky ground, thorny ground and good soil. Verses 7–8 look similar, but the story is slightly different. The parable is about how people respond differently to the gospel; here there are two kinds of people who have both been enlightened by the word. Land that drinks the rain and bears a crop is the true believer, who receives God’s blessing. Land that drinks the same rain but bears only thorns is the counterfeit believer, who ends up cursed and burned.

Better things

After the warning comes compassion. What are the better things that belong to salvation? Verses 10–12 name them: showing love for God by serving, helping and ministering to other believers; holding fast to a confident, resilient hope that does not fade under pressure; and staying on the course of salvation without becoming spiritually dull and indifferent, so as to inherit God’s promise by faith and endurance.

The NLT puts it this way: “He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.”

Not sluggish

These verses show the author’s compassion and encouragement toward the Jewish Christians. The work here is toil and effort, not the works of the law, and the love is agape. His final instruction is not to become sluggish and lazy in faith, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Those promises are explained in the verses that follow.

Genesis 22

Genesis 22 is the scene where God tested Abraham, telling him to offer Isaac as a burnt offering in the region of Moriah. As Abraham took the knife to slay his son, the angel of the LORD stopped him, and he offered instead a ram caught nearby. Then the angel said: “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.”

An example to imitate

This was not the first time Abraham showed his faith in God, but the author uses this scene because here God swears by himself that he will bless Abraham. Abraham showed the faith and patience of verse 12, so the author holds him up as an example to imitate, so that the readers too may inherit the promises as Abraham did.

It also shows that receiving the promise still stands for every believer, because God swore by himself that it would be given.

Promise and oath

The NLT reads: “God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie.” The author is giving evidence that the hope set before the readers is absolutely true. By holding on to it, the promises God gave are still valid for people now, because he swore and guaranteed them with an oath.

An anchor of the soul

“We have this” refers to the promises God has given us. They act as an everlasting, secure and guaranteed hope that will never disappear, an anchor that gives the believer support and safety to stand firm in the face of temptations and difficulties.

Behind the curtain

The inner place is the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle, where the high priest offered blood and incense once a year. A high priest could even be killed if he did not follow God’s instructions precisely (Lev 16); chapter 9 explains more. Jesus entered the Most Holy Place, and rather than coming out like the earthly high priests, he remained inside as an anchor of hope. No more blood and incense is required, because of his offering: his body and his blood.

Forerunner

Although Jesus came many years after the first instructions to the high priests, he is the forerunner, so we can only follow him. Only Levitical high priests could enter that place, but they could not be forerunners because of their weaknesses and flaws. Jesus received a priesthood that is not of human making but divine, after the order of Melchizedek (5:6–10), and with that appointment he was able to go ahead of us.