When looking at Hebrews 6, we need to remember the theme of the whole book which is the superiority of Christianity over Judaism. Those coming from Judaism looking at what Christianity has to offer are babes; whereas, the mature ones are Christians. The writer of Hebrews wanted to illustrate the kind of priest Jesus is by using the Old Testament priest, Melchizedek, as a type of Christ. Since these Jewish people were teetering on the edge of whether Christianity was true or not, even though they had heard the gospel plenty of times, they were becoming dull of hearing or spiritually sluggish. They had heard the gospel enough that they should have been teachers of it but, instead, they still needed to understand the oracles of God which were the Old Testament pictures of Christ through their sacrifices. These Jewish people were babes who weren’t able to discern good from evil and they couldn’t be taught the more advanced information of the New Testament.
In order to receive salvation, these Jews needed to leave the elementary principles contained in the rituals they practiced and trust totally in Christ’s sacrifice (v.1). These elementary principles were the sacrifices, ceremonies, washings, feast days, holy days, and all the other rituals in the Jewish system that pictured the Messiah (v. 1 & 2). Although the Hebrews were warned of being enlightened with head knowledge, they were not taking it to heart (v. 4). Christ, the heavenly gift, was tasted but not drunk fully (v. 4). They had become associates with the Holy Spirit but the Holy Spirit had not indwelt them (v. 4). The Word of God and the powers of the age to come (the many miracles they saw from Jesus) (v.5) was only tasted and did not have its full impact. Turning back to Judaism and its rituals had put them in a hopeless state of never repenting (v. 6). The illustration given of raindrops hitting the earth, causing either fruit or weeds to grow, reinforces the above points. These Hebrews had received many blessings from God, but it had only produced thorns and briars. When fruit is produced, it shows the gospel is real (v. 7 & 8). The beloved or true Christians will have fruit that accompanies salvation (v. 9-12). Because Abraham believed God against all odds and received what was promised, the Jews were encouraged to follow their founding father by trusting Christ and His promises (v. 13-16).
Coming to Christ is a secure reality. When God promises something, He puts His integrity on the line (v. 17 & 18). Therefore, when we are anchored into Christ, it is sure and steadfast and cannot be taken away. Christ the forerunner has laid the path for us to enter the presence of God behind the veil (v. 19 & 20).
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