Hebrews 6:9-12 ESV
“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. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
Let’s Look at the Context
Okay, context is important here. For in the previous verses
the writer of Hebrews (possibly Paul) was encouraging the believers in Jesus
Christ to move on to maturity in Christ and into the deeper things of God and
of our faith. And then he spoke of how those who have once been enlightened,
who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and then
have fallen away, how it is impossible for them to be restored again to
repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God.
Now, that can be somewhat open to interpretation, and I
believe other Scriptures may say something which may appear to be in opposition
to what this appears to be saying, so we may have to look further into this to
get its true meaning. For example, in James 5:19-20 we read that if anyone
among us who are believers in Christ wanders from the truth and one of us
brings him or her back from their wandering, we will save their souls from
death and cover a multitude of sins. So they would have to repent of their sins
and turn back to the Lord in renewed faith in Christ, would they not?
And then we read the letters to the churches in Revelation 2
and 3 where 5 out of the 7 had wandered from the faith in some form or another
and so they were being called to repent and to turn back to the Lord or God would
judge them. And so there must be a difference between wandering from the faith
and falling away from the faith. And if you read several commentaries on this,
you will find a variety of opinions on what this is actually saying.
But let’s simplify it by stating what Jesus and the NT
apostles taught, and that is that if sin is what we practice and if
righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, we will not
inherit eternal life with God. So, if you are professing faith in Jesus Christ,
but you are still living in sin, and you are deliberately and habitually
sinning against God and other humans, if you do not repent and turn to God or
back to God, but you go on living in sin and not in walks of obedience to the
Lord, then heaven is not your eternal destiny. For you are not saved from your
sins.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn
15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co
5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10;
1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21;
Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
God is Not Unjust
So, when he said, “though we speak in
this way,” he was referring to what he had just said about those who have fallen
away and cannot be restored back to true faith in Jesus Christ. Definitely, if
they are in that fallen condition when our Lord returns, according to many
Scriptures, they will not inherit eternal life with God. And this is why we are
encouraged in the Scriptures that we must continue in our Lord steadfast in
faith and in walks of obedience, and not in sin, and in walks of holiness,
until the end, if we want to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.
So, what do verses 9-12 tell us? He
was sure of better things of those to whom he was addressing these words –
things that belong to salvation. So, what things belong to salvation? Well,
that is another debatable subject, but if we search the Scriptures, and if we
read them in context, we will soon learn that what belongs to salvation is
obedience to our Lord, no walking in deliberate and habitual sin, but walking
in holiness and righteousness. And it is doing the works of God which he prepared
in advance that we should walk in them, and it is to love God and our fellow
humans and other believers.
And then pay close attention to the
wording in verses 11-12, for they state what I was talking about two paragraphs
prior to this one. We must continue in earnest and in steadfastness of faith in
walks of obedience and in doing the works of God and in our service to our
fellow Christians (the saints) until the end in order to have that full
assurance of hope to the end. And it is through these walks of faith, by the
grace of God, and in His power and strength, that we will inherit the promises
of God. For Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those DOING the will of God the Father
(Matthew 7:21-23).
Hear my Voice
An Original Work /
July 9, 2012
Based off Psalm 27
The Lord is my great
salvation.
He’s the stronghold
of my life.
When my enemies
attack me,
My heart will not
fear at all.
Though a war break
out against me,
Confident in Christ
I’ll be.
Of the Lord, I ask
that I may
Live with Him
eternally.
Hear my voice, Lord,
when I call you.
Merciful to me
You’ll be.
Though my relatives
forsake me,
My Lord God will
receive me.
Teach me Your way, O
my Jesus.
Lead me in Your
righteousness.
I will sacrifice to
my Lord.
I will sing with
joyfulness.
I am confident that
I will
See the goodness of
the Lord.
All the richness of
His blessings,
My Lord has for me
in store.
He asks me to be of
courage;
To be strong and to
take heart,
Patiently as I wait
for Him,
And from Him to
ne’er depart.
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