CHAPTER 6

INTRO:
A lot of theologians have assigned some "what ifs" to this chapter.
Let us remember, when studying the Bible, we should pay attention as much, or MORE, to
the CONTEXT as to the CONTENT.
To WHOM was it originally written?
For WHAT reason or reasons?
What LESSONS does it teach ME?

What if aliens are really responsible for global warming, and they are just now
breaking the ice?
What if you were addicted to brake fluid?
At least you could STOP!
What if all the food-chain stores closed on Saturdays and Sundays?
Would have to actually HUNT for food?
Do you even know where Doritoes live?

Vs 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,

Look at that word "perfection," which is translated from the Greek teleiotes.
It actually means completion, or an advanced state of the knowledge of the doctrines,
of Christ.

We must remember to WHOM this book was written - the HEBREWS!
And, obviously, by the content was written to a specific set of Jewish people,
who had come to submission to Christ as Lord.

And, "Therefore," refers back to the previous chapter where the
Scripture ascertains Christians should be able to take MEAT and not MILK!
A child cannot continue to grow into adulthood on milk alone!
And, Christians should go FARTHER than the foundation of repentance
from dead works, and of faith toward God..."

Jesus made the statement, "be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in
heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48) It is a GOAL!!
We cannot FULLY accomplish in this physical life.
BUT - it is a goal we should CONSTANTLY be striving to MEET!

So, let us GO ON to "faith toward God."
MEET the challenge!
RUN the race!
FACE the obstacles!
GROW by learning! (2Pet. 3:18)

So, the FIRST foundational principle of salvation is "repentance
from dead works."Mark 1:15, Acts 3:19)
The SECOND is turning completely to Christ by His "faith"
which He gives upon our surrender to Him and GROWING in that
faith. (Eph. 2:8-9)

The next verse deals with 4 other foundational principles of salvation.

VS 2
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection
of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

Jesus never promised that salvation (the process of) would be easy!
In fact, He stated just the OPPOSITE.
The path of salvation (as a process) is "NARROW" and the gate, or
entrance is "STRAIT" (also NARROW)! (Matt. 7:14)
The gait is narrow because THROUGH Jesus is the ONLY ENTRANCE!
The path is narrow because most of the world OPPOSES the manner of
"walking by faith".

"...the doctrine of baptisms" expressed in the Bible are TWO, and
ONLY two!
First, a truly repentant sinner, confesses Christ as Lord, and pleads for
God's forgiveness of sins, committing him/herself to live FOR Christ.
IMMEDIATELY, that person is immersed into God's Holy Spirit.
(See. Eph. 1:13)
(((One might also read my book, on this website "SEALED in HIS SPIRIT.")))

((Illustration for a break.... Ollie was gloriously saved through a confession of faith in Christ and
making a commitment to love and live for Jesus.
He was baptized by water, by the pastor, who DUNKED him THREE times!
The pastor said, "NOW! You have NEW NAME, it is no longer just Ollie,
it is CHRISTIAN Ollie."
Ollie went home, praying every day and studying his Bible.
Then, one day he opened the fridge, and saw a beer he had forgotten
to throw out.
He grabbed the beer, filled the sink with water, and dunked the beer
THREE times!
Then, he said, "Now you are NEW, your name is Christian beer!"))

Don't let your faith in Christ be side-tracked by worldly traditions and
philosophies!

Leaving "laying on of hands."
This is used in "healing." (Acts 28:8)
It is also used in ordination into a God-called office or ministry.
(1Tim. 5:22)

BOTH are CONFIRMATIONS of God's WILL being SHOWN!

Leaving the "resurrection of the dead."
There are TWO resurrections.
One is the resurrection of the confessing, repentant sinners, "dead
in trespasses and sin" (Eph. 2:1), TO -NEW LIFE. (2Cor. 5:17)
The second is the resurrection of the dead.
Jesus WILL resurrect ALL people one day!! (1Cor 15:51-57)

That 2nd resurrection will be for eternal judgment.
Leaving the doctrine of "eternal judgment."

2 Cor. 5:10 says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat
of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body,
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."

Now, then.
We have the 6 elemental principles of Christianity and salvation.

EVERY born again Christian should be familiar with those, because
he/she was informed of them at conversion.

So, let's GO ON IN LEARNING!

Vs 3
3 And this will we do, if God permit.

Christians were not born again to be a stagnant pond, but to be
a stream/river of "living water." (John 4:10, John 7:38)

The next verses have pointed many theologians to "what if" statements.

Vss 4-6
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,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify
unto themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

That one Scripture has incited so many people to think what they WANT to
think about the security of the believer.
Again, to WHOM was the Scripture written?
To new believers in Christ (Jewish) that were being persecuted by
non-believing Jews.
Also, to new believers in Christ (Jewish) that were not fully familiar with the
fundamental doctrines of Christ (as mentioned before).

So the question should NOT be, "Can a saved person be lost again?!"
The question SHOULD be, "Is this a WARNING against apsotasy?!"

Let me just say, at the outset of this discussion, NO - a TRULY saved,
born-again by the Spirit of Christ, washed in the blood, and his/her
name written down in the Lamb's book of life, CANNOT lose the
salvation which is "of the LORD" (Jonah 2:9)

And the reason the Scripture states it is "impossible" to be
"renew(ed) again" is because it is also IMPOSSIBLE to lose
true salvation!

((Again, let me point you to the book on this website, "SEALED IN HIS
SPIRIT!"))

AND, let's remember the CONTEXT of the discussion:
KEEP GOING AND GROWING IN CHRIST!
And, here, a follow-up warning:
DON'T TURN AWAY!!

God will never let you down!
God will never let you go!
God will never turn you loose!

FAITH is God CLINGING to YOU, as YOU CLING to GOD!

Salvation is TOO DYNAMIC from the OMNIPOTENT God!!
((Illustration. If you take a grip on a live electric wire, can you let go?
NO! Your motor reflex in the muscles KEEP the hand CLOSED!!
Your whole body will take on a LIVELY effect of HOLDING ON!))

When TRULY saved, one can't let go of God, because God will NOT
let go of him/her!!
(See 1Pet. 1:3-5)
The SAVIOR KEEPS the SAVED!!

SO then, the WARNING!!
DON'T TURN BACK, GO FORWARD!!!

And following this warning is an example of what to DO and NOT to do!

Vss 7-9
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:
8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing;
whose end is to be burned.
9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany
salvation, though we thus speak.

God has many "plants" in the earth.
Some will bear "good fruit."
Some will not.

From those who BELIEVE and RECEIVE Jesus, God EXPECTS "good fruit"!
(John 15:8, "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and so
shall ye be my disciples.")

((Illustration:
When I turned 50, dad told me there were "better things ahead!"
I told him, "Well, I have more hair on my back now than on my head, and when
I smile, I look like a cheesecake with eyes and wrinkles."

Then dad said, "But think how much fun you'll have with your grandkids!
And, you're looking forward to great-grands!"

He was right!
Not long ago, I played golf with four grands!
And, just a few weeks ago, I played golf with a great-grand!
And, I have many Christian friends with whom I play golf.))

You see, God CULTIVATES Christians to see FRUIT!
JOY in the LORD is FRUIT!

Those who refuse Jesus are "thorns and briars," and their END
is to be BURNED!

God wants to have "better things" from those in whom He plants His
Holy Spirit!
Things like GROWING through: Bible study, prayer, church attendance, giving and sharing Jesus!

So God gives MORE grace to those whom He saves! (James 4:6)

VS 10
10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which
ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and
do minister.

God does NOT forget our energy spent for Him!
As we minister to others, God REMEMBERS!
Jesus said in Matt. 10:42 that even the LITTLE things we do for Him will
NOT lose their reward!

VSS 11-12
11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full
assurance of hope unto the end:
12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience
inherit the promises.

Again, here is the CONTEXT of this Scripture passage.
God desires His saints to SHOW "diligence" in ministering for Him.
That "diligence" exhibits "full assurance" in His salvation.
That tells us when Christians APPLY themselves to living for Christ,
they are showing conviction of their salvation, and WILL exhibit
CONTINUING!

"Hope to the end" means to the end of life here on earth.
And, the Scripture following gives us an example.

VSS 13-15
13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater,
he sware by himself,
14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.

Here's the example.....Abraham.
God promised Abraham that he would "multiply" his seed as
the sand that covers the sea shore.
He also promised Abraham that he would SEE the land which his descendants
would obtain!

And, what happened?
Abraham ACTED on those promises until the END of his days on earth!

Now, ANOTHER example follows.

VS 16
16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them
an end of all strife.

Keep in mind, God is SO MUCH GREATER than us!
We WERE fighting against God through sin!
When we SURRENDERED to Him through Jesus, we AND HE made a
CONTRACT!!
That contract ENDED our strife against God!!

We can live in PEACE with God's eternal judgment of acquittal!

That's because we KNOW that God will NEVER let go of us!
We are "SEALED" by His Holy Spirit!

To me, that certainly ends any question about LOSING one's salvation!

17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the
immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we
might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope
set before us:
19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which
entereth into that within the veil;
20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever
after the order of Melchisedec.

God shows the "immutability" (unchanging) of His promise.
He promised to come in the Person of Christ the Savior (Is. 43:11).
It is IMPOSSIBLE for God to LIE!!
His promise was fulfilled when Jesus died for MY sins and YOUR sins on
Calvary's cross!
And, that promise was FURTHER shown when the Spirit of Almighty God
flew through the temple and SPLIT the veil of separation from top to bottom.
NOW, ANYONE can surrender to Jesus and ENTER that Holy of all Holy
places -- the presence of God!! (Mark 15:37-38)

That promise of eternal life through Christ Jesus is more explained in
John 3:16.
"For God so LOVED the world, that He GAVE His only begotten
Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in HIM should NOT perish,
but HAVE everlasting life!"

BETTER things are AHEAD for those who are truly saved!!
The Word says, "HAVE everlasting life."
I have NEVER found the Bible to be grammatically incorrect!
That verb "HAVE" is PRESENT PERFECT.

A TRULY SAVED person OWNS everlasting life at the moment of
his/her transformation!!

So - a colloquialism:
"IF ya GOT it SHOW it!"