There has been many different opinions on Hebr 6. What does Hebr 6:1-10 really try to communicate to believers. If you have any opinions lets hear them. By answering this it can really help many.
Heb 6:1 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,
Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Heb 6:3 And this will we do, if God permit.
Heb 6:4 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,
Heb 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6 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.
Heb 6:7 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:
Heb 6:8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
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I believe what is being said here, is that there is such a greater maturity to be reached in Christ, than simply knowing He has freed us from the Law. It says let us NOT lay AGAIN the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works AND of the faith by which we turned to God. We need to move onwards, for there is so much more. And I believe that includes the RESURRECTION LIFE of Jesus manifesting in and through us. If we fail to move on, we are nailing Him to the cross afresh, because we are preventing His resurrection life from flowing through us. The Word is alive and active in us. We should not hinder its growth by laying the same foundation over and over. Once the foundation is laid, it is laid. And then God will allow us to proceed further.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course it speaks about walking by GRACE as opposed to being in bondage to the Law :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know. It says they were once enlightened, etc. It sounds as if you become a Christian and then fall away or give up on Christianity because maybe you fell into sin and cannot get out so you just give up. Then you are doomed because you are making a mockery of the cross because you told people you were a Christian and now they see you hanging out in the bars or hear about some other sinful habit you are involved in.
ReplyDeleteIm not 100% sure on the answear but WHAT i am sure of is that what makes me a christian is not all the good things i do or how i behave...What makes me holy, pure and rightous is the finished work of Jesus and beleiving that produces right living.
ReplyDeleteSo lets interpret this scripture through that perspective.....it cant be talking about falling into sin.
Wonderful foundation to work from. I know that interpreting from this foundation will bring the true answer.
ReplyDeleteBertie Brits
It's seems to be reminding the reader of why Jesus? Why the Gospel? Christ reminds us that Salvation (fruits of the spirit, Victory, Abundant Life, Son Ship, Blessings) are ours because "I died for you - I kept the laws so you don't have to". The old way (before Jesus came on the scene) i.e.sacrifices - formulas - methods - rituals cannot help us relate to a Merciful God...they only help us focus on the point that one is a sinner and far from God. The single perfect and complete sacrifice of Jesus is the only way to God and what makes us holy.
ReplyDeleteTo put this simply I think that we should move on from the faith and grace for salvation to the grace for living if we are born again.
ReplyDeleteI think that it was speaking of not having to dwell on sin and that you can not keep being born again, again every time that you feel that you have transgressed the law, for Christ can not be sacrificed continualy for your sins as in the old testament animal sacrifice. Why would we ever want him to bear that shame, sorrow and rejection again? He does not need to and can not. He was the perfect sacrifice, there is no better! Since we have been put to death with Him too, what would we be saying of our self? Can we cast out the Holy Spirit placed in us? We can not repent a second, third, forth exc. time for the sin that put Christ on the cross. If we have had the good seed (gospel)sewn in our hearts and it has been blessed with showers from heaven, the Holy Spirit, how can it not grow? If it does not bare anything worthy at all it is fit for is condemnation and burning, clearing off or cursing. This is a picture of the law! It is useless. But when we are saved the Lord is confident that we can do nothing in him but bear good fruit if we do not put ourselves back under the law and condemnation, which kills. This idea continues in the next verses.
Praise You Jesus!
I believe that it is essential to understand a bit of the background (not a difficult task - just look in any study bible). This letter was extensively written to a group of Jews who from the context were very well versed in the Mosaic law. The writer uses terminology and concepts throughout the letter, indicating that the recipients were not novices in the law. In the context we constantly see a contrast between the works of the law and mans effort to attempt to gain favor with God, and faith that leads to salvation and Gods favor based on grace alone. The writer himself is very well schooled in the law and continuously uses portions of old testament scripture to illustrate and clarify his message. He is obviously well aware of what these Jews believe and communicate in return to every willing ear. From the start of this letter the writer says to his audience that God spoke to 'our forefathers' at various times and in various ways, continuously indicating what was to come; but there is a final word spoken in His Son. Our responsibility is to pay closer attention to what is spoken in His message than what the forefathers did to the message of the prophets. Then here in the middle of his letter (chapter 5:11-6:6) he says to these learned friends that they are not getting the message. Because of the time they should be teachers but again need to be taught the basics, like little baby's they are not able to progress past the elemental things concerning the teachings and doctrines of Christ because their ability to hear has been affected by their inability to identify their right standing with God (Unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness) and this because of their inability to discern the completed work of Christ. He says that the contrast to this is like a full-grown man who can eat solid food, someone who has his mental faculties developed by habitual practice to differentiate between what is of value and what has no value (regarding the teachings concerning Christ). Therefore get past the basics - grow up! Don't be caught up in the act of continuously laying foundations build something. Doing so we can continue to more advanced teaching IF GOD PERMITS (if you have become mentally able to grasp these concepts [see 5:11]). Because it is impossible to turn someones thinking (metanoia - to reverse a mindset) again if in an immature state he has been exposed to such great enlightenment, being absorbed in this heavenly gift and being overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit, experiencing how good the word of God is and the power that comes with the revelation. An immature person will not understand this and will only make a mockery of Christ as if crucifying Him again publicly. For that reason God protects him in his growing up process. Even so you are past that stage, I am convinced that God has something better in mind for you.
ReplyDeleteWOW!! What a good answer.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100% with Sheila and Vanzijlhome. We cannot remain stuck in that revelation of our freedom from the Law. We need to move on from that, into the resurrection life of Christ. We cannot remain in a place of continuous repentance for our sins. Once we believe that Jesus paid the full price, we no longer sin (and that does not mean we don't go to bars or whatever :)). We BELIEVE, end of sin! Then we have this hope as an anchor for our soul. A hope that allows us to enter behind the veil and receive the blessings there. We thank God for the crucified Christ. But our salvation does not end there. We thank God for the resurrection life of Christ too! We need to start hearing the WORD of His RESURRECTION power, His RESURRECTION life, otherwise we will be forever in a place of crucifying Him over and over, hanging around this whole LAW vs GRACE teaching. We are not supposed to have ANY REMEMBRANCE of the OLD COVENANT WAY, the Ark of the Covenant. Jesus has taken that away on the Cross. We have BELIEVED. And now we can FORGET that which He has removed, and more on to LIFE IN CHRIST. NO REMEMBRANCE OF SIN is what will FREE us to move on in Him.
ReplyDeleteI think it talks about someone believing in grace and then falls back into the law.
ReplyDeleteverse 6: "seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame"
The Pharasees crucified Jesus and they represent the law. Someone that falls back into the law will be juged by the law, it is impossible for him to be saved from that belief system.
Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
God made us so free, we can even change our minds...
This scripture is very easy to understand. The writer rebukes the people for staying in a place where they mix law with grace and said to them that they should move on to perfection and not to be in a place where there is a need to preach the Gospel to them explaining all the basic things again.
ReplyDeleteHe then makes a great statement in verse 4-6 (not referring to them v9 but warning them) in saying that a person who has tasted the full power of the Gospel and finds no delight in it and rejects it is condemned. (John 3)
Without the salvation of Jesus there is no salvation for there is no other sacrifice. Rejection of this salvation means condemnation, for how else will people be saved? The fact that Jesus died for you has no effect in your life if you reject it. The problem we have today is that many people think that the rejection of Jesus and his sacrifice is done when you commit a sin. NO! The rejection of Jesus is what the Pharisees that crucified Christ did and then even fabricated a lie (saying that His disciples stole His body) to continue in there error. It is what people did when they went back to the LAW for salvation.
Once a person has tasted grace and its fullness (which not many has even tasted)and has no love for it what will make him come back, for the fullness of the truth and the power of the Holy Spirit could not keep him for it was not attractive to him? If a person believed in Jesus and tasted all that was mentioned in v4-6 and runs back to the old Jewish system and turns from Jesus as the way an publically announces it persecuting the Church how will he then say to all those that he has joined “I am going back again”? It’s almost impossible!
Heb 6:6 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.
To understand this verse better I would like to change one word to explain what I am saying. The word “HIM” should be “themselves” reading as follows
Heb 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put themselves to an open shame.
If a car salesman shows his best car to you by taking you for a drive in it, making you experience all the benefits it has and the at the end tell you it is for free and then you take the car happily and afterwards bring it back and say “well I had this car for 6 months now and hate it” what do you think would the chance be that the you would all of a sudden take it back after finding greater comfort in your previous car. How will the sales person sell the car to you again for all the benefits of the car has been seen and used by you already? What will make the car sell? NOTHING!!
The impossibility to repent is not God that is unwilling to save but pride in the heart of man to come back and say the rejected car is now good enough.
If you have been in a “law church” and received GRACE and after experiencing all that Grace can offer go back to the “law church” the chance of coming back to GRACE is very small.
The problem we have with this scripture today is that people fall away from the law system (law churches) and think they have rejected Christ, which is not true at all.
I hope this helps
Bertie
It's scary to think that it's even possible for someone who has tasted the fullness of GRACE to fall back under the LAW on a permanent basis! I would think that once one has tasted the fullness of GRACE it would be IMPOSSIBLE to fall back under the LAW! Yet this scripture seems to indicate otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThanks again Bertie for an amazing scripture interpretation. And yes, easy when I read your interpretation but not so easy if I had to do it myself! And Louise, I agree with you, how can one fall back under the law if you have tasted the joy of the knowledge of what Jesus has done on our behalf? His life exchanged for mine! But maybe it might happen more readily than what we sometimes think....if I don't guard my heart with all diligence. Maybe fear of loniless, being so "different" from the majority of Christians around me, seeking man's approval, exposing myself to some or other form of the law creeping back into my life...whatever the reason... but praise God! Once I meditate on His Grace and let that revelation flood my soul again, the other stuff becomes so insignificant in the light of His strength in me - that nothing else matters - the only thing that matters is my completeness in Him......
ReplyDeletePeople that have been "abused" by the law take the grace massage easily. They are tired and weary and desparate. They will never go back.
ReplyDeletePeople looking for a change in there life, might not stay in grace, for they might not realise that grace is there life line. They might have tasted it but was convinced that it is TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. It's just the same as people in the law right now. Most think it's TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, sadly.
i have a question then: So are you saying that people who beleive Jesus was raised from the dead and that he is the son of God, if they are under the law-will they go to hell????? or partially under the law?? is there different degrees of being under the law???
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, is it possible to believe in Jesus and be under the law? What does one believe about Jesus then. I believe it's either or. If one believes in grace, to me, it means that you made the coming of Jesus, His walk, death and resurection your own. If you just believe that it happened and still live under law standards for righteousness, I think such a person will go to hell, how harsh it might seem. But then I'm not the one to judge luckely. God might just surprise us all ...
ReplyDeletetrue-but the bible is very clear, those that confess wit there mouth and beleive in their heart they will be saved.....i agree wit salvation. but my everyday walk might be dif. for eg: i used to beleive if i give i get blessed-now, thats walking under the law, right??-but grace says: Jesus received all for me and when i receive or beleive in his receiving generosity will then be a fruit. but if i had died while beleiving that law........i would have gone to heaven????????
ReplyDeleteI hope this helps. There is great deference between people that places faith in Jesus for salvation and have some law in their lives like in finances and a person that puts his faith in the LAW for salvation. MOST Church people believe in Jesus for salvation but are law minded in some degree.
ReplyDeletenot most, every single one of us???(christians, non-christians) for the power of sin is the law....???so if i have sin in my life its because im still walking in a law mentality in that specific area of my life.......right???????????????
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining Bertie!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous
ReplyDeleteI don't know. I just think that if one still applies spiritual laws, he/she doesn't see the bigger picture. I also don't understand why someone wants to do that. God know ones heart. I want to believe that such a person will be saved.
Rev 3:15 'I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. O that you* were cold or hot!
Rev 3:16 'So then, because you are lukewarm, and not hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out of My mouth.
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ReplyDeleteDaleen do you think that a person that believes in Jesus, loves Jesus and preaches grace but is under the law when it comes to wine will go to hell?
ReplyDeleteI think we can call it little faith in stead of no faith. We can rather say weak in faith that NO faith. Look at the compassion Paul has on BELIEVERS that was still under LAW
1Co 8:1 But concerning the sacrifices to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.
1Co 8:2 And if any man thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.
1Co 8:3 But if any one loves God, he has been known of him.
1Co 8:4 Then concerning the eating of the things sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God except one.
1Co 8:5 For though there are those who are called gods, whether in Heaven or in earth (as there are many gods and many lords),
1Co 8:6 but there is to us only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we by Him.
1Co 8:7 But this knowledge is not in all. But some being aware of the idol eat as an idolatrous sacrifice until now, and their conscience being weak is defiled.
1Co 8:8 But food does not commend us to God. For neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.
1Co 8:9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block to those who are weak.
1Co 8:10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge sitting in an idol temple, will not the weak one's conscience be lifted up so as to eat things sacrificed to idols?
1Co 8:11 And on your knowledge the weak brother will fall, he for whom Christ died.
You bet Bertie - Am reminded of Paul in Philippians 3:15 - where he admonishes us - if there is "different attitude of mind" - God will make it plain to you.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with Anonymous - I think if I was 100% in grace in every aspect of my life, I would have my glorified body already. Let's also not forget that God is a God of MERCY - even in the areas where I am at fault in my life re grace, God is still speaking the language of unconditional love and mercy to me!
ReplyDeleteBertie, what you said makes alot of sence. Thanx. I suppose that believing in Jesus as your personal saviour is all that counts.
ReplyDeleteDaleen
anonymouse, I think you make some good points and along with Bertie's comments I was going to just say that the amazing thing about faith is how little we need, not how much. I think people are saved even by a very small amount of faith and I agree with you that most if not all believers are mixing in a law mentality to some degree in their lives, because as you said, why else would we still sin? We are on a grace journey and we will be kept safe by our father on every step of the way, even at the points where we stumble or even fall.
ReplyDeleteBut those who hear the gospel and deliberately choose law are in danger and are insulting Jesus. They are the people who mock the grace teachings and pride themselves in their self-righteousness.
I agree Julie. The power of the flesh is directly connected to the LAW. 1 Cor 15:50- The LAW is the power of sin.
ReplyDeleteThe mirror translation,www.mirrorreflection.net, Heb 5:14 This is the nourishment of the mature; they are those who have their faculties of perception trained by gymnastic precision to distance the relevant from the irrelevant. (The mature are those who know the difference between the shadow and the substance; the futility of the law of works and willpower to work righteousness against righteousness by faith in the finished work of Christ.)
ReplyDeleteChapter 6:1 Consequently, as difficult as it may seem, divorce yourselves from your sentimental attachment to the shadow doctrine of the Messiah, these were designed to carry us like a vessel over the sea into the completeness of the promise!
A mind shift from trying to impress God with your behaviour, to faith-righteousness is fundamental. There is no life left in the old system, it is dead and gone; you have to move on. (Rom. 3:27 The law of faith cancels the law of works; which means there is suddenly nothing left for man to boast in. No one is superior to another. (Bragging only makes sense if there is someone to compete with or impress.)
6:2 The relevance of all the Jewish teachings about ceremonial washings, (baptisms) the laying on of hands (in order to identify with the slain animal as sacrifice, and all these teachings pertaining to a sin consciousness) even the final resurrection of the dead in order to face Judgement (these were all concluded in Christ as the very substance of these types and shadows, His resurrection bears testimony now to the judgement that He faced on humanity’s behalf and the freedom from a sin consciousness that He now proclaims. Rom.4:25, Acts 17:31)6:3 So it is with God's prompting that we advance (into the substance of what God has now spoken to us in a son, 1:1-3)6:4 Now it may be that someone may clearly see the light (of the prophetic word) and participate in the Holy Spirit by already sampling the heavenly gift, 6:5 and they might even begin to feast on the beauty of the Word, already experiencing the power of the age of the promise that everyone was waiting for; 6:6 for such a person to continue to fall back into their old mindsets it becomes virtually impossible to be restored again and again to repentance (like under the shadow system where sacrifices were repeatedly slain, since there was no permanent cleansing possible; see Heb.10:1-4) By their constant falling away and turning back, they crucify the Son of God repeatedly, this is impossible and absurd!
6:7 For when cultivated soil gets soaked by frequent showers and produces a useful crop as expected by the farmer, God’s design and pleasure is confirmed.6:8 What a total disappointment though, if the same soil produces nothing but thorns and thistles; it is a worthless yield; a dream that has gone up in smoke.6:9 Having said all that, my dear friends, I am totally convinced concerning you of much better things that echo salvation.
Heb.5:13 The revelation of righteousness (how God succeeded to restore mankind to blameless innocence in Christ) is the meat of God’s word. Babes live on milk, (the shadow of what is to come) so does everyone who is not pierced in the ear of their heart with the revelation of Christ.
ReplyDelete6:10 God is not unfair, neither is He unaware of the affectionate way in which you have honoured His Name and the diligence you have shown in your relentless religious service in keeping all the sacred rituals and ceremonies even to this present day.6:11 My desire for each one of you is to now show the same diligence in realising the full assurance of every expectation of the promise in its most complete conclusion. 6:12 We do not want you to behave like illegitimate children, unsure of your share in the inheritance. (nothros from nothos, one born, not in lawful wedlock, but of a concubine or female slave. The child of the law and not the promise.Gal.3:29)
Mimic the faith of those who in their patience possessed the promise of their allotted portion.
6:13 In His dealing with Abraham, God gave His own Being as guarantee to the integrity of His promise, since He had no greater surety to back His Word than His own life.6:14 Saying, I will continue to speak well of you in my every conversation I will confirm My intent to always only bless you, and to multiply you beyond measure. (In blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply you.)6:15 And so Abraham persevered with patience and secured the promise.6:16 It is common practice in human affairs to evoke a higher authority by oath in order to add weight to any agreement between men, thus all possible quibbling is silenced.
6:17 In the same context we are confronted with God's eagerness to go to the absolute extreme in His dealing with us as heirs of His promise to cancel all possible grounds for doubt or dispute in order to persuade us of the unalterable character of His resolve, He fenced Himself in by oath. The promise already belongs to us by heritage, now also by vow (Jesus is God’s oath, the blood of the Lamb is the proof)
6:18 So now we are dealing with two irreversible facts (The promise of redemption and the fulfilment of it in Jesus) which makes it impossible for anyone to prove God wrong; thus we are powerfully reinforced in the persuasion of our original identity; we have escaped into our destiny; our expectation is within our immediate grasp!6:19 Our hearts and minds are certain, anchored secure within the innermost courts of God; beyond the veil.6:20 By going there on our behalf, Jesus pioneered a place for us and removed every definition of veil that could possibly still distance us from the promise. In Him we are represented for all time; He became our High Priest after the order of Melchisedek. We now enjoy the same privileged access He has. (He said, “I go to prepare a place for you so that you may be where I am, in that day you will no longer question that I and the Father are one; you will know that I am in the Father, and you in me and I in you!” John.14:3 and 20.Chapter 7:1 This is the same Melchizedek king of Salem, priest of the Supreme God, who met Abraham after he defeated the four kings, and blessed him. It was to him Abraham gave a tenth part of all the spoils.
His Name means King of Righteousness and king of peace; He is the one who heads up God's promise and ability to restore us to innocence and peace!
Wow Francois, the Word IS LIFE, and it brings Light!!! Just love the translation! Amen and Amen!
ReplyDelete