A Commentary in Simple English on the letter to Jewish Christians

CHAPTER 6

Verses 1-8: The Third Warning continues.

At the end of the last chapter, we were reading about Christians who remain like babies. All Christians should grow up from being like children to being like men: but some Christians do not. When we do not follow Jesus and become better, we are in danger. We are likely to slip back and become worse.

In these few verses, the writer does three things. First (verses 1-3) he tells us that we should be Christians who 'grow up'. We should leave the A.B.C. of the Good News behind us and be carried along by the truth about God to become grown up Christian men and women. In verses 4-6, he gives a very strong warning. Then in verses 7 and 8 he gives us a picture of what he means by the warning. We will look at these verses soon: but we need to begin by facing a question about which Christian people do not all agree with each other. It has not done them any good when they have argued about it.

The question is this: Once God has saved us, can we afterwards be lost? Many Christians say: 'No: if you are lost, then you were not really saved in the first place'. Others say 'Yes. We know people who once were Christians and are now really bad; they must be lost'. We must be careful. God is the Judge. We are not. Paul says (1 Corinthians 4: 3) that he does not even judge himself. John in 1 John 3: 19-21 also says this. We may judge ourselves and be much less kind than God is to us. Jesus also warns us not to judge other people (Matt 7:1).

Still, we all see other Christians and think about them although we do not judge them. Some people begin the Christian life in a rather weak way, but then they grow stronger. Some make a strong start, but they do not keep it up. Jesus said that this would happen (Mark 4: 6,17). Some people seem to be doing very well in the Christian life, but as they grow older, things like their work, their family and their homes push the Good News out of the centre of their lives. Jesus also said that would happen (Mark 4:18,19). It is sad if someone who led us to Christ later loses interest in the Good News. It is sad if someone who once helped us later turns away from the Lord Jesus. It hurts us if a Christian we honour as a fine man turns against the Good News. But we are not followers of other people. We are followers of Jesus. The Christian life is like a race. We run the race in order to win a prize. This is the crown of life, which Jesus promises to give to us. Think about Luke 13: 24. If other people trip up or stop running, we should keep going.

When we preach or teach, it must be the word of God that we speak. Yet we must be careful not to say things which the people who listen to us know are not true. That is why we must think carefully about verses like these. On the other hand, it is very good when we listen to a preacher and we can say: 'Yes, I know that is true'. Perhaps the preacher does not know me at all; but what he says fits in with what has happened to me in my life. Then we feel that the Holy Spirit really has guided the preacher.

So we can say that in the churches there are these sorts of people: -

(a) Sadly, there are some who do not really know the Lord Jesus or his salvation at all. They come into the church for quite wrong reasons and they may cause much trouble. (Acts 8: 9-24).

(b) Some Christians remain 'babies' and do not grow up to be Christian men. (5: 11-14).

(c) Some Christians begin well, but just lose their way and lose interest. We call them 'backsliders'. They may still come to join in worship, but they have no warmth or love. I believe they will be saved; but they will have to answer to God at the Day of Judgment. Some of them have wasted years of their lives. They might have done great good and won men and women for Christ. (See 1 Corinthians 3: 14,15). Sometimes they turn and come back to the Lord Jesus after many years.

(d) It is quite different with some other people who were once known as Christians. God only knows whether they really were; but they have turned against the Good News and now work and speak against it. They are 'apostates'. They are the people the writer speaks about in verses 4-8.

(e) Then there are faithful Christians. From verse 9 onwards the writer will speak about them again. May we be found among the faithful followers of Christ for as long as we live.

Now we are ready to look at these verses. In verses 1-3, the writer lists the six points of his Christian A.B.C. First, we need to turn away or repent not only from what is wrong, but also from actions that do not lead to life or bring life. Then second: after we repent we put all our trust in God; we have faith. Thirdly, Baptism is followed by the fourth thing, the 'laying on of hands', a sign that God gives to us His Holy Spirit. Fifthly, the resurrection of the dead is followed by (sixth) the judgment. [6.1].

Anyone who has turned against the Good News has become an ‘apostate’. In verses 4-6, the writer says that such a man would have to repent again. He cannot start again by going part of the way back in the Christian life. And it is beyond the power of Christians to make this happen. Such people already know the best that God has given to His church. [6.2]

The great experiences that these people have enjoyed do not mean that they are saved. Judas Iscariot saw works of power that Jesus did. He often heard Jesus preach. But he was lost. Now the people here are not said to have any faith or love. (See verses 10-12.) It is when we put all our trust in Jesus and when we have love to God and to men that we are really Christians.

In verses 7 and 8 the writer says that ’apostates’ are like the vineyard of which Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 5: 1-6. We know of no end for such people except the judgment of God. [6.3]. Land was sometimes burned to get rid of weeds.

Verses 9-12: A call to keep going.

In verse 9 the writer moves on from this strong warning. He wants his readers to know that he loves them, so he calls them 'dear friends'. He has spoken about the danger, but he does not think they are in that danger.

The word 'better' is one to look for and think about in the Letter to the Hebrews. Already we have learnt (1:4) that Jesus is better than the angels (although the word 'better' may not be in your Bible there). In the Book of Ecclesiastes, you will find that something is said to be 'better' when really it is not quite so bad. 'A living dog is better than a dead lion'. (Ecclesiastes 9: 4). The dog may be dirty; it may be a bit wild; it may smell. But at least it is alive. The lion was wild: it may be dirty: it probably smells: but it is dead. Now in Hebrews, 'better' is not used like that. The writer talks about something God has done which is good. Then God does something even better. Here in verse 9, he says that God gives many good things like those in verse 5.Yet we cannot be sure that we are saved just because we have them. [6.4]

The things in verse 10 are the things that do go 'hand in hand' with being saved. His readers had shown Christian love and they had served people in need. (See 10: 32-34.) It was love to God that they had shown. It was Christian people that they had helped. And they were still doing it.

Then he says two lovely things about God. First, men may forget the kindness that we show to them. God never will. He will owe no one anything. All our good works will be rewarded. Then second God is not unjust, and He will remember all the good that we do (Matt 25:34-40). So in verses 11 and 12 the writer tells each one of them to go on doing good all the way through life. But these two verses are verses that point forward to what the writer will soon say. ‘God is not unjust means ‘God is just’, of course

Notice that 'faith, hope and love' come together here. (See 10:22-24 and of course 1 Corinthians 13:13). The writer will talk about hope in verse 19, but also about Abraham, the great man of faith. (See 11:8-19.) We are to follow the example of those who have a faith that waits for God’s time. We wait until God is ready to give us the good things that He has promised to us. Love goes with works. Hope goes with ‘diligence’. That means being thorough in what we do. Faith goes with patience.

Verses 13-20: We can trust God's Promises

Verse 13 tells us that God made a promise to Abraham. We can find this promise in Genesis 12:2 and 3. Abraham (or Abram as he was called then) was then 75 years old. He had no son and this was a sorrow to him. He became rich, but he had no one to leave his riches to when he died. (See Genesis 15:1-6.) God promised him a son. Yet when Abraham's son Ishmael was born (16:15) he was not the son that God had promised to Abraham. This promised son was Isaac. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:1-7). Then God called Abraham to offer Isaac to Him (Genesis 22:1-12). We shall read more about this later in Hebrews. But in Genesis 22:15-18, God not only makes His promise to Abraham all over again, but He also swears to Abraham (Genesis 22:16).

We must return to Hebrews, although there is so much we might say about these things. First then, in verse 13, the writer says that when we swear it is always by something or someone more important than we are. God could not do this, because there is nothing and no one greater than He is. So God swore 'by Himself'. We are 'the heirs of promise' (verse 17) if like Abraham we put our trust in God and believe what He says to us. God cannot be false (verse 18). We are hurrying from the danger of sin and of God's judgment. We saw wide open in front of us a safe place, and we were quick to go in and hold on to it. This is our hope; Jesus will rescue us. God wants us to be quite sure that He means what He says.

There is another picture in verse 18 when the writer says that God wants us to be 'greatly encouraged'. The picture is of a man in court in front of the judge. All around him stand his enemies. They tell the judge again and again that he has done all sorts of things that are wrong. The judge listens to them, but not to him. Then the man sees someone in the crowd. It is a man he knows and a man that the judge will honour and listen to. This man comes forward and stands right next to him, in the middle of his enemies. The judge tells the enemies to be quiet, and then listens to the friend who has come forward. He speaks well of the man, and as the judge listens, tells of the good he has done. He says that the judge ought not to listen at all to what the enemies have said. The friend is an 'Advocate' or 'Comforter'. (See 7:25.)

This is the picture that we have in other places in the New Testament. In John 14:16 Jesus says that He is a 'Comforter', but when He goes away He will send the Holy Spirit to us. He will be with us for ever. He is 'another Comforter'.

In verse 19, we have another great picture. Hope is like an anchor. [6.6]. A car has a hand brake. A ship has anchors. A soul needs hope.

In verse 19, we have another great picture. Hope is like an anchor. [6.5]. A car has a hand brake. A ship has anchors. A soul needs hope.

Even people who have not seen the sea may have seen rivers that flow down over rocks and falls. They will know how violent water can be. It can break everything that gets in its way. In the Roman world, sea travel was common. We can see this from the Book of Acts. We can also see from the New Testament that there was danger in sea travel. [6.6]. One of the dangers was that one ship might hit another, so the ships did not move about at night. Other ships could not be seen in the darkness. Another danger was that a ship might run onto the coast. There might be rocks, or sandy beaches. Deep water was safer, even in a storm. The ship Paul sailed in went for fourteen days in the storm and sailed about 885 km. As soon as it ran on to the shore, it broke up (Acts 27:27-44). Strange to say, fire is always another danger at sea.

So the soul is like a ship. Our life may be dark. We may be in a storm. It is not wise or safe to move about. So we need hope which is like an 'anchor' to hold us so that we do not move. [6.7]. The anchor is fixed at the bottom of the sea. There may be a storm on the top of the sea. Down below on the seabed there is little movement. So our hope goes into God's own place in heaven. There is no storm there. When the anchor is on the seabed no one on the ship can see it. So our hope goes 'beyond the curtain'. We cannot see it, but it is where God is. This anchor can neither ‘break nor drag'. An anchor that breaks on the seabed is no good. It must be strong so that it does not break. The rope that joins this ship to the anchor must not break. And the anchor must dig into rocks or clay on the seabed. If the point of the anchor drags through soft sand, it will do no good. Our anchor, hope, is strong and fixed firmly.

In verses 19 and 20, we have not just one but another two pictures. One we have seen before. The Jewish High Priest went through 'the curtain' into the Most Holy Place so as to be with God. Jesus is our High Priest for ever. But then verse 20 also says that Jesus is the One 'who went before us'. He is our 'forerunner'. This time we have a picture from the Roman army. Each day the army would march more than 30 km. It would often go into a country that the Romans did not know. Enemies were all round the Romans. So the army sent some chosen men as 'forerunners'. Their work was to choose a good place where the army would camp the next night. When the army arrived the 'forerunners' had marked out the camping place. Every man knew just what he had to do, and they would all set to work. A ditch would be dug, and an earth bank made. Inside this, the army would camp. The 'forerunners' had chosen and prepared the place. Jesus tells us that He has gone to prepare a place for us where God is. He is our 'forerunner'.

The last words of verse 20 tell us what the writer will say in the next chapter. It seems that Melchizedek was not a Jew. This would help the Jews to see that although they were God's chosen people, other nations had a place in God's purposes.