Warning against Falling Away
1 Therefore, let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God, z 2 teaching about ritual washings, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. a 3 And we will do this if God permits.
4 For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, b 5 who tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, 6 and who have fallen away. This is because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt. c 7 For the ground that drinks the rain that often falls on it and that produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned. d
9 Even though we are speaking this way, dearly loved friends, in your case we are confident of things that are better and that pertain to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints—and by continuing to serve them. e 11 Now we desire each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end, 12 so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance. f
Inheriting the Promise
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself: 14I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply you. ,g 15 And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and for them a confirming oath ends every dispute. 17 Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, h 18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. i 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. j 20 Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, k because he has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. l
6:1–3. Though in their present state of spiritual immaturity the process of digestion will be more painful, solid food is urgently required to invigorate their flagging faith (see 5:14). Each of the elementary teachings (6:1–2) mentioned had a place in Judaism but had been invested with new significance in Christian preaching. These basics are not to be discarded, but neither are they sufficient. This sentence amounts to a ringing affirmation both of the obligation laid on believers to cultivate their spiritual lives and of the importance of doctrine to sanctification. Knowledge feeds faith. “Dead works” (6:1) are not attempts to gain righteousness by means of works of the law or rituals but simply sins in general, all evil thoughts and actions from which the conscience must be cleansed (9:14; cf. Rm 6:21).
6:4–8. The severity of this warning and the gravity of the situation contemplated must not be mitigated. Scripture is not silent regarding the hopeless condition of those who, having been numbered among the people of God, professed faith in Christ, received instruction in the Word of God, and experienced some measure of the blessing of the Holy Spirit’s ministry and the reality of the unseen world, then deliberately repudiate Christ’s lordship and salvation (6:4–6; cf. 10:26–27; Mt 12:31–32; 1 Jn 5:16–17). Of course, it is imperative to maintain that, appearances notwithstanding, such people were never born again or made genuine partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ (Jn 6:39; 10:27–29; Rm 9:29–30; 1 Pt 1:3–5, 23). [Warning Passages in Hebrews]
6:9–12. In the next section (6:9–20), the author encourages the readers to press on. As a matter of fact, the author has good hopes that the warnings will be taken to heart and be God’s instrument to invigorate the readers’ flagging faith (6:9). This confidence rests on the author’s acquaintance with the genuinely faithful lives they have lived as Christians (6:10), especially in the early days of their faith in Jesus Christ (10:32–34). Such faith, love, and obedience, however, must continue as long as they live in the world (6:11–12). The exhortation for readers to imitate the faithful of the former epoch (as appears from the following verses) characteristically anticipates a theme that the author will subsequently enlarge on (11:1–12:1).
6:13–15. Abraham, to whom all Jews look as their father, is mentioned as a man of faith deserving of their emulation (cf. 2:16; 11:8–19), but the theme now is not Abraham’s faith but the certainty of God’s promise (6:13). Since faith must wait so long for its reward (11:13), the believer may be sorely tempted to grow weary and lose heart. The wait cannot be shortened, but hope can be revived by a reminder that hope in God will never be disappointed (6:19). Abraham had to wait many years for even the beginning of the fulfillment of the promise God made to him (Gn 12:2; 17:5, 19, 21), but he did not wait in vain (6:15). The Lord added a solemn oath to his promise (6:14; see Gn 22:15–18) to strengthen Abraham’s faith during the lengthy wait.
6:16–20. The oath God swore was a condescension on his part to his people’s frailty (6:16–18). His word needs no confirmation (Jn 17:17; Ti 1:2), but humankind’s faith is weak, the wait is long, and God takes pity on his children. Christ’s exaltation to the right hand of God (Heb 1:3; 2:9; 4:14) only further confirms the certainty of the eventual fulfillment of God’s promise of eternal rest for those who trust in him. These readers were no more secure than Abraham had been, resting as he did on the immutable promise of God, but they had further cause to be encouraged and less excuse for a wavering faith now that Christ had appeared and accomplished eternal redemption.