Hebrews 5 and 6. Moving on UP and forward till the end.
Moving on up and on! Forward . Hebrews 5:11-6:12
Chuck Swindoll , the radio preacher, and author of many good Christian devotional books said it this way, " Three steps forward, two steps back: Persevering through Pressure." This is the case of those the writer to the Hebrews is dealing with, and many times it is ours as well. Our society and churches have been inflicted with the virus of this world and are not being transformed by the renewing of their minds. Hebrews 5---"you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. " ch 6---"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 an even greater possibility, an extreme circumstance for some, " 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, 5and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 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 happened? The writer is concerned that they not fall away. This is the Greek word to fall literally. " It is the pressure of persecution, or the assaults of sin, or the peril of religious indifference." Erdman
But the writer is hopeful in their true situation spiritually that is, " But beloved, we are persuaded better things of you" 6:9 " ...for all who have Christ as Saviour, he entertains unfailing hope. He encourages them to cultivate a more confident assurance in their own hearts." Erdman
Do we need confidence , assurance and hope in our spiritual growth? Absolutely.
What helps us? God is not unjust. He is just. He knows and remembers your work and the love which "ye showed toward His name, in that ye ministered unto the saints, and still do minister." 6:10 That is the idea from the Scriptures that we all have a ministry of some kind. Everyone is part of the body and each part does its work ( Ephesians 4)
As someone from my last church , the former rector 2 ago, reminded me from a post from " Anglican Life", " One of the greatest gifts God can provide us is the opportunity to start fresh. If we are not satisfied with the way our current life is going, it is our faith in Him that provides us the courage and strength to start over. Much like the creation of the new Jerusalem, opportunities are provided to us by God. "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son" (Revelation 21:7). This passage should provide us with the guidance we need whenever we are scared to abandon our former situation to search for a better one. We should be reminded that our faith in Christ will allow us to overcome any difficulties we face."
Our text from Hebrews 6:10 -11 asks that we " show the same diligence unto the fulness of hope, even to the end: that ye be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
Faith is not always easy is it ? We are asked to believe in the things that are true while we cannot yet see them with our human eyes yet . One day face to face!
Swindoll talks about the 4 spiritual flaws in his book I mentioned in the beginning... 1. Because you are a Christian, all your problems will be solved ( the rose has thorns and they are there for a reason). 2. All the problems you have are addressed in the Bible. ( at times we are forced to walk by faith, trusting the Lord to show us the next step as it is needed) 3. If you are having problems, you are unspiritual. ( Think of Job and his suffering...) 4. Being exposed to sound Biblical teaching automatically solves problems ( the Bible is a road map, not a magic carpet to get us there automatically)
Then he concludes with a thought about Christian maturity from Hebrews 5, " What is a sign of maturity? Practicing what you hear. Through practice you become mature. You see it is one thing to grow old in the Lord, but it is another thing to grow up in the Lord."
Conclusion. " God ...does not forget your work and the love which ye showed toward His name in that ye ministered unto the saints, and still do minister." The race is not won by the hare but by the tortoise.
Chuck Swindoll , the radio preacher, and author of many good Christian devotional books said it this way, " Three steps forward, two steps back: Persevering through Pressure." This is the case of those the writer to the Hebrews is dealing with, and many times it is ours as well. Our society and churches have been inflicted with the virus of this world and are not being transformed by the renewing of their minds. Hebrews 5---"you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. " ch 6---"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 an even greater possibility, an extreme circumstance for some, " 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, 5and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 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 happened? The writer is concerned that they not fall away. This is the Greek word to fall literally. " It is the pressure of persecution, or the assaults of sin, or the peril of religious indifference." Erdman
But the writer is hopeful in their true situation spiritually that is, " But beloved, we are persuaded better things of you" 6:9 " ...for all who have Christ as Saviour, he entertains unfailing hope. He encourages them to cultivate a more confident assurance in their own hearts." Erdman
Do we need confidence , assurance and hope in our spiritual growth? Absolutely.
What helps us? God is not unjust. He is just. He knows and remembers your work and the love which "ye showed toward His name, in that ye ministered unto the saints, and still do minister." 6:10 That is the idea from the Scriptures that we all have a ministry of some kind. Everyone is part of the body and each part does its work ( Ephesians 4)
As someone from my last church , the former rector 2 ago, reminded me from a post from " Anglican Life", " One of the greatest gifts God can provide us is the opportunity to start fresh. If we are not satisfied with the way our current life is going, it is our faith in Him that provides us the courage and strength to start over. Much like the creation of the new Jerusalem, opportunities are provided to us by God. "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son" (Revelation 21:7). This passage should provide us with the guidance we need whenever we are scared to abandon our former situation to search for a better one. We should be reminded that our faith in Christ will allow us to overcome any difficulties we face."
Our text from Hebrews 6:10 -11 asks that we " show the same diligence unto the fulness of hope, even to the end: that ye be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
Faith is not always easy is it ? We are asked to believe in the things that are true while we cannot yet see them with our human eyes yet . One day face to face!
Swindoll talks about the 4 spiritual flaws in his book I mentioned in the beginning... 1. Because you are a Christian, all your problems will be solved ( the rose has thorns and they are there for a reason). 2. All the problems you have are addressed in the Bible. ( at times we are forced to walk by faith, trusting the Lord to show us the next step as it is needed) 3. If you are having problems, you are unspiritual. ( Think of Job and his suffering...) 4. Being exposed to sound Biblical teaching automatically solves problems ( the Bible is a road map, not a magic carpet to get us there automatically)
Then he concludes with a thought about Christian maturity from Hebrews 5, " What is a sign of maturity? Practicing what you hear. Through practice you become mature. You see it is one thing to grow old in the Lord, but it is another thing to grow up in the Lord."
Conclusion. " God ...does not forget your work and the love which ye showed toward His name in that ye ministered unto the saints, and still do minister." The race is not won by the hare but by the tortoise.
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