Toward Spiritual Maturity
Part 2
Hebrews 6:4-20
Slide
Last week we began talking about moving toward Spiritual Maturity.
We talked about the warning signs of Arrested Spiritual Development.
Ears that Don’t Hear the Word
Mouths that Don’t Speak the Word
Stomachs that Don’t digest the Word
We talked about Spiritual Milk and Spiritual Meat.
This week we are going to continue on talking about moving toward Spiritual Maturity and look at a warning and some encouragement that the author gives.
Turn with me to Hebrews 6:1
Slide
We are going to be focusing on Hebrews 6:4-20, but I want us to have the context of these verses in our minds as we look at what they say.
Hebrews 6:1-6:20
Heb 6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case-things that accompany salvation. 10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants." 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
16 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
(from New International Version)
OK, as we spoke last week about arrested development, and some of the causes, this week we learn in this passage that
Continual Arrested Development is a Sign of Spiritual Death
Slide
Hebrews 6:4-8
This is a severe warning that the author is giving the Hebrews.
That is because what he is talking about is very serious.
It means eternal life or death for those whom he is talking about.
But that is the vital question for us.
Who is the author talking about?
Is it Christians or is it non Christians?
This is important because whoever he is talking about is dead spiritually with no hope.
I want to take a few moments and go over some basic rules of interpretation.
4 Basic Rules of Interpreting the Text
Slide
Knowing how to interpret the text is important especially for texts that are difficult to understand on a simple reading.
First, we want to
Interpret in context of the whole
Slide
That is the whole Bible. We understand that there are hard sayings, but we also know that God has given this word and is not going to contradict Himself.
Interpret in context of the passage
Slide
We need to take a look what the verses around this text are talking about and then interpret with a view to the particular context
Let Scripture interpret Scripture
Slide
We use other Scripture to interpret other Scripture. Let God’s word interpret God’s word. You really don’t care what I think or have to say. We want to know what God has to say.
Let the clear interpret the unclear
Slide
We let those Scriptures that are clear and many interpret those Scriptures that may be less clear.
These verses are difficult because at first glance, because they seem to be talking about a Christian.
But if they are talking about a Christian, then it would seem that a Christian who falls away would lose their salvation and have no hope of getting it back, which would seem to contradict the whole teaching of Scripture.
First,
That a Christian could lose their salvation would seem to violate the clear teaching of other Scripture.
The context of the Bible as a whole
Let me read to you some other Bible passages that show the certainty of our faith.
Here is what Paul writes
Ephesians 1:13-14
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession-to the praise of his glory.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
John records Jesus as saying
John 10:28-29
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
Jude says
Jude 24
24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy- (from New International Version)
The Bible in multiple places teaches that those who have truly received Christ as Savior are kept, not by their own strength, but by God’s strength.
That is why we teach the doctrine of eternal security.
Now that being said, if that is true, how then can we interpret these verses?
Last week – context was Word of God
Well, if we remember back to last week, the author was talking about our responses to the Word of God.
He was saying that some of the people there had
ears that did not hear the word of God
mouths that did not speak the word of God
stomachs that did not digest the word of God
So the immediate context is the Word of God
So keeping that context in mind, the author goes on to say that it is impossible for those who
have been enlightened
have tasted the heavenly gift
have shared in the Holy Spirit
have tasted the goodness of the Word of God
have tasted the powers of the coming age.
Now those things are certainly true of a Christian. But I want you to Notice what the author doesn’t say.
He doesn’t use language that has been used by multiple others throughout scripture in describing a true believer.
He doesn’t say that the people he is talking about have been
sealed with the Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30) or
born again (John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:23) or
chosen (Ephesians 1:11; 1 Peter 1:2) or
predestined (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:5, 11) or
reconciled (Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:18; Colossians 1:22) or
forgiven (Luke 5:20; 7:48; 1 John 2:12) or
that they have believed (John 1:12; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 1:13).
He doesn’t use any of those words or phrases that have been used other times by other authors to describe true believers.
Instead He says that it is impossible for those who have been enlightened.
What does it mean to have been Enlightened?
Slide
Hebrews 6:4a
ENLIGHTENED
This spiritual enlightening the Spirit of God brings about through the Divine word
(from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft)
Listen to these Scriptures that give description of this process
Ephesians 1:18
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you
(from New International Version)
2 Peter 1:19
19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
2 Tim 3:15
15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
(from New International Version)
Being enlightened means being enlightened to the truth of the Word of God and this is something that needs to happen before salvation so we can be saved.
But how doe we come to salvation? Just reading the word? No. God, Himself is the one who draws us to Himself.
John 6:44
44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,
The Father draws us through the work of the Spirit.
Jesus says that
John 16:13
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears
It is these next verses that describe this enlightening process and
How do we become Enlightened?
Slide
Hebrews 6:5-6
Tasted the Heavenly Gift = Word of God
You have tasted this heavenly gift of the word of God which makes us wise for salvation.
Scripture talks about the word being a treasure given to us.
2 Corinthians 4:6-7
6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Shared in the Holy Spirit = Been on receiving end of Spirit’s enlightening process
You have shared in the Holy Spirit, He has worked in your life to reveal the truth of the word
John 16:13
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears
Tasted the Goodness of the Word of God = Know it is good and true
You have tasted the goodness of the word of God and can know the truth of it.
You have been in church and heard it and seen the word working and doing good in people’s lives
You have tasted the powers of the coming age = Miracles have proven it true
You have seen the powers of the coming age, miracles that have been performed among you that have been used to confirm the message of the word of God.
Hebrews 2:3-4
This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
You have had all of these evidences of the truth of God’s word and the truth of the gospel, but instead of believing, you turn from these things and fall away from Christianity.
That seems impossible.
How can someone be Enlightened and fall Away?
And the answer is “I don’t know.”
But we see the truth of it even in Scripture.
Examples of those who fall away
The person being described in these verses would be someone like
Judas.
He spent nearly 3 years with Jesus sitting under his teaching seeing and perhaps even performing miracles by the power of the Spirit, but never being a true believer.
It would be someone like the person described by Jesus in the
parable of the Sower.
Matthew 13:20-21
20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
It would be like the person described by Jesus who would even call Him Lord
Matthew 7:21-23
21 "Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ’I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
It would be like Simon the Sorcerer who is described in Acts 8
Acts 8:9-23
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. …12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
20 Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."
All of these people, while they all had knowledge of the Lord, and the Spirit enlightened them to the truth, and some even performed miracles, and they knew the goodness of the Word of God, but they were not true belivers.
These are all like the people John describes in
1 John 2:19
19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
This here is one of 2 things that confirm the Reality of our salvation.
The Reality of our Salvation is confirmed by Perseverance
Slide
Listen to me in this.
It is not required that you persevere in order to be saved.
It is the saved however that will persevere.
Your perseverance does not earn you salvation.
Your perseverance shows the reality of your salvation.
If you are saved you will not fall away.
Just like in the parable of the sower, it was the person whose heart was Rocky Soil. This person was not a true believer because they failed to persevere.
Matthew 13:20-21
20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
When it becomes hard to be a “Christian,” (quote/unquote) or to act like one anyway, those who are not really Christians, will fall away.
The author of Hebrews warns and then encourages the people he is writing to. God moves us along the process of salvation by using people to preach His word and by the Spirit enlightening people to that word.
So it is important that we continue to share Christ and encourage faithfulness and for people to persevere, because the Lord uses that.
Why do Christians face hard times?
Because facing hard times shows the reality of our faith.
I disagree with those who preach a health and wealth gospel. Become a Christian and know the easy life. Christianity is not the easy life.
It is the full life, it is the best, but it is not necessarily easy because we will all face difficulties and persecutions that weed out the unbelievers.
Also
The Reality of our Salvation is confirmed by Producing Fruit
Slide
Hebrews 6:7-8
7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
Fruit is an essential element of salvation. Again, it does not earn you salvation, it is an evidence of your salvation.
In Matthew, Jesus tells us about who will produce spiritual fruit.
Matthew 7:15-20
15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Back in the parable of the sower, the true believer produced fruit.
Matthew 13:22-23
22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
(from New International Version)
A true believer produces fruit. Now there will be differences in the amounts and kinds of fruit produced by true Christians, but they will produce fruit.
Application
Ok, so what does all of this mean for us?
There are times that
We need to Test the Reality of our Salvation
Slide
2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless, of course, you fail the test?
We need to stop and examine ourselves.
The author of Hebrews is talking to some people who are going through some difficult times.
The author of Hebrews encourages many of them by helping them examine themselves, reminding them of their perseverance and the love they continue to persevere in.
Hebrews 6:9-12
9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case-things that accompany salvation. 10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
(from New International Version)
He encourages them by helping show them what he sees to help them test themselves.
This is not designed to make us question our salvation. Satan will always try to rob us of the joy of salvation.
But we do need to test ourselves.
There are many people in the world, who only really want an easy life.
The easy life is not the best life for the long haul, for eternity.
Christianity is the best life, not necessarily the easy life.
Hard times will come.
The author of Hebrews encouragement is to an encouragement to those who have truly received Christ as Savior. Keep on. God is faithful to keep his promise. (Hebrews 6:13-20)
But it is a warning to those who have been enlightened and brought to the edge of Christianity, who are only interested in the easy life that involves no commitment.
Marriage or live together
It is kind of like people living together instead of committing to marriage. They want to leave themselves a back door incase things get hard.
There is no back door.
You receive Christ fully or you don’t.
Where are you today?
For those who know the truth of Christianity but have yet to receive Christ as Savior, do not delay. Receive Him by believing in Him in your heart.
For those who have received Him, be encouraged. God is faithful to his promises and will help you persevere and be fruitful and “keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault – (Jude 24).
The author of Hebrews concludes this with this encouragement to the saved.
Hebrews 6:13-15, 19
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants." 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised….19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
If you have never truly received Christ, do that now.
If you have, then continue on in persevering and producing fruit and be encouraged that God is faithful to His promise of salvation.
Let’s pray
