Hebrews 6: Bible Study, Commentary and Summary

Hebrews 6: Bible Study, Commentary and Summary May 26, 2016

Here is a Bible study, commentary, and summary of Hebrews chapter six.

Hebrews 6:1-3 “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.”

Just as the author of Hebrews previously said in Hebrews chapter five, he wants them to leave behind the elementary doctrines of Jesus Christ and start laying a rock-solid foundation and not repentance, the resurrection from dead works, and other such doctrines and press on toward maturity. We read in the last chapter that being a student of the Word can help us discern truth and error.

What are some of the other elementary doctrines that you can think of?

Does this mean we shouldn’t study about the resurrection and repentance anymore?

Why does the author of Hebrews add, “And this we will do if God permits?”

Hebrews 6:4-6 “For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”

What the author of Hebrews is saying, he sums up in verses 7 and 8: “For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.” In other words, time will tell if someone has been soundly saved because they will bear the fruit of the spirit (Gal 5). The author wasn’t telling the readers that they were a burn pile waiting for a match because the next thing he writes is, “Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do” (Heb 6:9-10). He is saying that he is sure of better things from them because of their salvation. He isn’t saying that they lost their salvation because to taste the goodness of the Word is not the same as partaking of the Bread of Life. Tasting a heavenly gift is not the same as receiving the free gift of grace (Eph 2:2-9).

Do you think the author is saying that they can lose their salvation?

Who is the “they” who have once been enlightened and tasted but then fall away?

Is the author saying to the Jewish Christians (thus called Hebrews) that it’s impossible to restore them to repentance if they fall away?

And-then-have-fallen (1)

Hebrews 6:13-15 “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.”

We are told, do not swear an oath but let our yes be yes and our no be no, because “anything more than this comes from evil” (Matt 5:37) and “And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black” (Matt 5:36). Why would Jesus say that? Because when God can swear by His own name, and there is none higher, He will do as promised. God’s promise to Abraham that God would “bless you and multiply you” has come true. For Abraham, he had to wait until he was 100 years old…but that’s nothing to God. He had sworn this promise to Abraham so we knew it was just a matter of time.

What does it mean that God swore by Himself?

Is there anyone greater today or has there ever been anyone greater than God?

Has Abraham “obtained the promise” yet?

Hebrews 6:18-19 “so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.”

I see than two unchangeable things in Hebrews 6:18-19 and one of them is that God cannot lie. It’s impossible because its contrary to His holy nature, but I also see another and that is, “Let God be true though every one were a liar” (Rom 3:4) to which the psalmist agrees, “All men are liars” (Psalm 116:11). The point of all this is that God cannot lie so we can run to our “steadfast anchor of the soul” and flee “into the inner place behind the curtain” since Jesus, as our Mediator, has given us access to heaven. The promises of men…who knows?

Where is this refuge we can run too?

Does it hurt to hear that we’re all liars?

Wouldn’t you be more likely to believe someone who you knew would never lie to you?

Summary

The conclusion of Hebrews chapter six is where the author writes that “Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 6:20). This High Priest of God had earlier brought His own blood into the heavenly sanctuary and because of that, we can now go behind the curtain or the vail which had previously separated mankind from the Holy of Holies. Now, through Jesus Christ our Mediator, we can go to the throne of heaven and petition the Father by Jesus’s access. That is the promise to every one who puts their trust in Him. It is just as “the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” (Rom 10:11).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.


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