Hebrews 6:1-9 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, 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this will we do, if God permit. 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 to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 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.

Last week we started studying verse 1 of this text:

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto PERFECTION…

Word Study: The word rendered “PERFECTION” is the Greek teleiotēs (pronunciation tel-i-ot’-ace) which actually means maturity or better Christian maturity. When a person believes in the Doctrine of Christ, that is:

1- We are all sinners deserving of damnation. (Romans 3:10, 23-24)
2- Christ came to save sinners. (1 Timothy 1:15)
3- Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved from hell. (John 14:6)
4- Christ died to pay for my and your sins. (1 Peter 2:21-25)
5- Christ rose from the grave to be my Lord and your Lord (Romans 10:9-13), my High Priest and your High Priest.
6- I am saved by REPENTING, that is, turning from being my own god, and by SURRENDER to Christ as Lord and Savior. (Luke 3:9-14; Acts 3:19; 26:20). The same applies to you.
7- When I, from my heart, cried out for salvation, Christ sent the Holy Spirit to cause me to be “born again” into the family of God. Every believer is “born spiritually” into the family of God. We are members of His Kingdom, citizens & children. (John 3:5-7)
8- Learning the basics, we do not stay where we were at the point of salvation. We grow spiritually, more like Christ every day.

This last point is what God is addressing now. The Christian has the basics. What are some of these basics?

Hebrews 6:2 … Of the doctrine of baptisms

Note that the word is PLURAL and not singular. There are two baptisms required for the Christian. One is physical, the other spiritual. Water Baptism is where a believer is submerged in water in obedience to the command of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20). Water Baptism is an ordinance, a command. The other baptism is Spirit Baptism, which is what God does to you when you receive Christ as Savior and Lord. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Though Christians debate the exact nature of Spirit Baptism, the Bible makes it plain that if you are a believer in Christ you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into His Body. You have, as a Christian, experienced “BAPTISMS”.

Hebrews 6:2 … Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands …

The Christian faith is an intensely personal faith, with its roots in Judaism. When the head of the family came to the end of his life, he would pass on leadership of the family by “laying on of hands”. The child blessed with the right hand would become the new family head (Genesis 48:14-20). In Judaism this is called Semikhah.

In Christianity, we pray for those who are sick by anointing with oil and laying on of hands (James 5:14). Jesus healed people by laying hands on them, though He sometimes healed without touching them (Matthew 8:8-13).

When the early Church called Deacons to serve the widow’s table, the Bible says:

Acts 6:6-7 {When the Deacons were} set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God increased …

When men were recognized called of God into the Gospel ministry, an Ordination Council of Elders laid hands on the candidates:

1 Timothy 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

Hebrews 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead

There is a life beyond this one. When you die, your soul goes to be with God (2 Corinthians 5:8; Revelation 6:9) if you are in Christ, or goes to hell and torment (Luke 16:23) if you have rejected Christ. There is a resurrection of the righteous where we will receive glorified bodies:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

There is also a resurrection of the dead who have rejected Christ. They will be gathered from hell, and stand before a Great White Throne where their works shall be judged. The Bible says of this terrible judgment:

Revelation 20:13-15 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

What a sad day that will be. Released from hell, they go into a lake of fire. Why? Because they rejected the Doctrine of Christ. They do not “burn up” in that lake.

Hebrews 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

It is “ETERNAL JUDGMENT”, or as Jesus called it, “everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:46). How sad it is that people will reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! This life is so fleeting, and eternity forever.

Christians understand these “basics” of our faith. Those who are born into God’s family are to grow, to mature, to become more like Christ.

But what if they don’t?

If There Is No Growth As Believers, No Fruit But Only Thorns, You May Not Be Saved

Hebrews 6:4-6 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 to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Some people see this text as proof that the Christian, saved by grace, can lose his or her salvation. But that is a sloppy reading of the text. The text tells us of people who have experienced some levels of blessing from Christianity, but because they are flippant or will not repent they cannot be “renew(ED) them again unto repentance”. The text isn’t talking about those who are saved, but those who are on the fringes.

I see it all the time.

There are people who come to this Church, or other Churches where the Word of God is fully preached. They are “once enlightened”. They have heard the truths the Scripture teaches. They “tasted of the heavenly gift”. They heard all about the glories of walking with Christ daily, being in a living relationship with Him. In fact, there are many who “were made partakers of the Holy Ghost”. They enjoyed the benefits of God’s blessing.

Illustrate: I remember years ago when I pastored Rock Hill Baptist – a sweet congregation much like this – when a family on the Church roll who had ceased coming to Church (or any Church) experienced terrible sickness. The elder lady had an abscess in her back that had turned septic, and she was on the brink of death. I visited her in the hospital for weeks, then followed her to rehab, praying for her, anoint her with oil. And Beloved, God intervened! She was healed. She and her husband swore they would recommit themselves to Christ, return to Church – that they would give their lives to Jesus. Did they? No! They came to Church one time, and were totally unaffected by the Word of God. They never returned – and both died within the next two years.

They could not be RENEWED TO REPENTANCE. Instead of receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior, they used Jesus as a spare tire or a stepping stool. He was a convenience, a tool to satisfy and enable their flesh.

This type of thing is found all throughout Scripture. I am reminded of the vast numbers who came to Jesus for healing when He walked this earth. One day Jesus entered a village between Samaria and Galilee on His way to Jerusalem. The Bible tells us that:

Luke 17:12-13 (NKJV) … there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

Word Study: These ten men call Jesus “MASTER”, epistatēs (pronunciation ep-is-tat’-ace) which means “overseer” or “superintendent”. They did not call Jesus “Lord” or “Messiah” or “Son of David”, which is what He is. They did not even call Jesus “Teacher” or “Rabbi”. They saw Jesus as Someone Who had power – they didn’t care where that power came from. He is a “miracle man” or a “shaman”. Even though they did not see Jesus as Lord and Savior, they cried out “HAVE MERCY ON US”. God does this every day. God has had mercy on America for over two hundred years. We mock Him, we take His Name in vain. We murder the babies He blesses us with. We snuff out little lives in the name of “Health Care” and in order to support godless sexual behavior. But God has mercy on us.

God is so good, so merciful. We read:

Luke 17:14 (NKJV) So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

Jesus did not heal these lepers immediately, as He often did. Under the Law a leper was to show themselves to the priests once they were healed (Leviticus 14:2-4). Jesus told them to go to the priests. The Bible tells us “as they went, they were cleansed”. Jesus is Lord! When they obeyed Him and the Word of God, as they went the sickness was ended. These men, unbelievers all, experienced the Grace of God. As our text states, they “tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come”. They experienced the power of God through Christ, Who healed by the Spirit of God (Luke 11:20; Matthew 12:28). Oh, how they were blessed.

But were they saved? No, only one was. We read:

Luke 17:15-19 (AP) And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you WHOLE.”

All ten of the lepers were healed, but only the one who returned to Jesus was told “Your faith has made you WHOLE”. The word translated “WELL” is the Greek sōzō (pronunciation sode’-zo), which literally means “has SAVED you”. The same Greek word is used in:

Matthew 1:21 {Mary} shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall SAVE {sōzō (pronunciation sode’-zo)} his people from their sins.

Matthew 18:11 For the Son of man is come to SAVE {sōzō (pronunciation sode’-zo)} that which was lost.

All ten experienced the blessings of association with Christ – but only ONE was saved, the ONE WHO RETURNED TO CHRIST.

There are many who are USERS of Christ but are not CHILDREN of God. They live their lives not to serve God and man, but to serve themselves. Notice the text:

Hebrews 6:6 they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Who was it that “crucified to themselves the Son of God” in the Scripture? It was those who refused to receive Christ as Lord, like the Roman soldiers:

Matthew 27:27-31 (NKJV) Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. 28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

Unbelievers want what Jesus offers, but do not want to acknowledge Him as Lord God Almighty. Richard Dawkins, a famous atheist who has said of faith “Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence”. He wrote the book “The God Delusion” where he stated that “not only does God not exist, but if He did exist, He would be regarded by every right thinking person as a moral monster” (pg 31). This same Richard Dawkins recently stated:

““It’s true that statistically, the number of people who actually believe in Christianity is going down and I’m happy with that, but I would not be happy if, for example, we lost all our cathedrals and our beautiful parish churches. So, I count myself a cultural Christian.”

He wants what Christ offers, but not Christ Himself. Like so many lost people, he mocks the Lord, saying “it is a fundamentally decent religion in away I think Islam is not”. He admires certain elements of Christianity, but despises the Lord. He is like those at the foot of the Cross:

Luke 23:35-36 (NKJV) And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.” 36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

How many thousands did Jesus heal while He walked the earth? How many did He make whole? How many did He feed and bless? How many supported Him at the foot of the Cross?

The Proof Of Salvation Is In The Fruit Of The Life

Hebrews 6:7-8 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.

Those who profess Christ as Savior but never bear fruit, never grow, never change from where they were to where they are supposed to be …. they may not be saved. Where is the fruit? Where is the fruit? Jesus promised eternal life to those who believe in Him. He said:

John 10:27-28 (ESV) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

If you are saved, you belong to Jesus. He calls you “My sheep”. He is the Shepherd, you the follower – not the other way around. As His sheep we “HEAR HIS VOICE”. We are not deaf to His Word – we hear and obey Him. He is our Protector and Friend. He knows us and “WE FOLLOW JESUS”. We are loved with an infinite love, our Lord’s Love. Nothing can separate us from Christ’s love (Romans 8:35-39). “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Ephesians 2:10). The Bible says “Jesus is the Vine, we are the BRANCHES” (John 15:5). When we abide in Him, we “BRING FORTH MUCH FRUIT”. Not briers, not thorns, but fruit. God has promised to the believer:

Philippians 1:6 (ESV) … He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

That is not true of the pretend Christian, but of the born again Christian. We who have received Christ not as a convenience, but as Lord and Savior have His assurance that we are heirs of God, headed toward

1 Peter 1:4-5 (ESV) … an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Is Jesus YOURS? Or better, do you belong to Jesus? As we close, the Lord says:

Hebrews 6:9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

The Lord saw the fruit of salvation in the Hebrew believers. He said:

Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

The proof of salvation is how you show love toward God and toward your fellow believers. Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35). Christ could be seen in a crowd because He was the One doing good, regardless as to what others did to Him. He loved the unlovable. His life shows the fruit of the Spirit. Does yours? Is Christ to you just a way to Heaven – or a way of life? Your answer will determine your eternity. But do not fool yourselves. If you are your own god, your own shepherd – then you are not saved.

Make your calling and election sure. Do not put off repenting and coming to Jesus today, lest your heart harden, and it become impossible to renew you to repentance.

For God’s glory. In Jesus Name. Amen and Amen.