March 2, 2003
Hebrews 5:11-6:12
First Church of the Brethren
H. Kevin Derr
“The Third Warning: The Peril of Spiritual Immaturity”
11We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
1Therefore 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, 2instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3And God permitting, we will do so.
4It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6if 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.
7Land 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. 8But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
9Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation. 10God 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. 11We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
This text is one of those that receives countless interpretations and reinterpretations concerning eternal security. There are some who are ready to use this text to say that you can loose your salvation, and others use different texts to say you can never loose your salvation. It is a very easy argument to get caught up in, especially when one starts to follow the predestined and free will agreement. These ideas represent some of the most revered theologians and traditions of Christianity. I my opinion, much of this constitutes simple answers to questions that have been asked erroneously.
The author of Hebrews on the other hand does not spend his time arguing that we can not loose our salvation, or that we can, rather he tells us to make every effort to make our hope sure. Our energies should not be spent in detailing ways we can loose our hope, or detailing reasons why no matter what we do we cannot loose our hope, rather we are to spend our time making our hope sure. He takes a sobering approach to faith. It is not something to be spoken of lightly or treated casually. Our hope is tied up in Jesus crucifixion, and life, all life is precious and should never be treated causally, especially the life of the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ. Prayer
I. The Author of Hebrews never minces words, he tells the people he was writing to, just how it
is. In speaking of Jesus, the Son of God, the High Priest in the Order of Melchizedek, the one
came that we might have life... there is much to say about him, much that these believers need
to be reminded of and they are things that they should know and understand already.
A. I assume that the should know these things because they have already been instructed
in them, not that it comes from some magic act of baptism or laying on of hands,
rather from good regular instruction.
1. There is much that the Author wants to talk to the people about, but he feels
the need to give them some correction.
2. You hear this quickly and well in the Vs. 11 11We have much to say about this,
but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.
A. I don’t believe that he is suggesting that they had a learning disability,
B. It is more likely that they were treating their faith in a casual manner,
with little attention to detail, little study of scripture and the like.
C. They had adopted a faith that had no zeal, little energy, and no growth,
and perhaps a regression as well
B. You may even hear a bit of the author’s frustration with this particular congregation.
C. The author calls attention to their slowness to learn in Vs. 13, he writes, 12In fact,
though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the
elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
1. Their lack of progress is noted here, the Author is convinced that they have
had enough instruction that they should be able to teach others now, but they
cannot.
2. He says in effect that they need remedial training in the”elementary truths of
God’s word.
A. He does not suggest there is a problem in this fellowship, he names it,
though they claim to be followers of Jesus, they don’t really know and
understand what it means, they need to be instructed again in the basics.
B. He does not say it was because of a lack of teaching, but they were not
learning. They put forth little effort
3. The author makes the comparison between adults who eat solid food and
infants who get their nourishment from milk. It’s like having an infant who
never matures, never grows, never understands any more than the day he or
she was born. As a parent wouldn’t you be concerned about that?
D. Vss. 13-4 continues this imagery, and also provides a sense of what it means to mature
in faith. 13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the
teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant
use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
1. Teaching about righteousness constitutes maturing in the faith and it is equated
with solid food. But what does this mean? Solid food, maturity has to do with
being trained in distinguishing good from evil.
2. At the time this letter was written the scripture was the OT, and the most read
portion of that would be the Pentateuch, the Books of Moses, the first five
books of the OT. Along with Psalms. You may even consider the moral
passages specifically like the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20 as an example
3. The differences between good and evil are not discernable by instinct, it is
rather something that comes by training, by instruction, by learning.
II. Chapter 6 continues this thought, notice again the therefore in 6:1, it is built upon the
preceding discussion. Always remember that chapter and verse demarcations are arbitrary.
You will not understand chapter 6 without looking at chapter 5
A. Vss. 1-3 read 1Therefore 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, 2instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the
resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3And God permitting, we will do so.
1. What were considered the elementary teachings about Christ?
A. Repentance from acts that lead to death, sinful behavior, those
behaviors that separate us from God and his people. Any of our
personal idols, be that greed, freedom, country, job, family, friends,
possessions, etc....
B. Faith in God. Trusting in the promises of God, believing God will do
what God has said he will do, beginning especially with the person of
Jesus Christ. This is not just an acknowledgment that God is, it is a
trust in what God has promised
C. The instruction about baptism, baptized in Jesus name for the
forgiveness of sins and the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
D. The Laying on of Hands, this is often associated with baptism, and the
prayer offered for the one baptized to receive the Holy Spirit, it is also
used in anointing for those who are sick or troubled, you will find it
also in the commissioning of leaders/missionaries and the like
E. The resurrection of the dead, that on the last day all people will
experience a bodily resurrection just like Jesus did. Remember he is
the pioneer, the trail blazer, the Champion whom we follow.
F. Finally the Eternal Judgement, a judgement with eternal consequences,
blessing or punishment
G. These are considered to be the basics, the elementary instruction
concerning membership in the body of Christ. The Author of Hebrews
fully intends to leave these basics to go on to mature instruction, God
willing
B. Now the conversation swings into the problems that come with a lax faith, with
treating our fath casually. The Author of Hebrews treats this very seriously, he writes,
4It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the
heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of
the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6if 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.
1. It is impossible to restore those who
A. have tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, have tasted the
goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age
B. If you fall away, we can’t bring you back, because one would be
crucifying Jesus all over again and one would be subjecting Jesus to
public disgrace, subjecting te church to public disgrace
2. To what extent does this go, how far can one fall away and still be safe, is a
question we would like to ask, what are my boundaries? How much can I get
away with?
3. The next passage illustrates this point, vs. 7-8 read, 7Land 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. 8But land that produces thorns and
thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be
burned.
A. Land that produces a useful crop is blessed
B. Land that produces thorns and thistles is in danger of being cursed and
burnt
C. Falling away has more to do with what our lives produce than the
categories we like to create
1. Do our lives produce the fruit of the Spirit? Galatians 5:22-23
reads, but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control
2. What about thistles and thorns, anger, hate, rage, lust, greed etc..
III. This section concludes with these words, vss. 9-12 9Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation. 10God 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. 11We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised
A. Even though this dire possibility looms as a possibility for some, the author of
Hebrews is confident that this will not be the case.
1. Better things will come, those things that accompany salvation
2. So what does that mean, good fruit, as we mentioned earlier
B. He then states that God is just, another promise, God will not forget the good done in
his name, this is not to say that we earn our salvation, but in truth that good works
accompany our salivation. Good works is a by product of our relationship with the
Living God, never a meas of a relationship with the Living God.
C. In the end of this is the thrust, 11We want each of you to show this same diligence to
the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12We do not want you to become lazy,
but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised
1. Show diligence, make your hope sure
2. Don not be lazy, rather imitate those have inherited the promise,
A. Notice the past tense here, those who are no longer with us
B. This is a primer to get us thinking about those who have been people of
God who have lived lives that reflect the glory of God and the fulness
of God’s love, grace, and mercy
D. Let us in a similar fashion be diligent in our faith, striving to be fully trained in
righteousness, doing good and not doing evil and in the process honoring the God
whom we serve. Amen
