Hebrews 6:1 - Meaning and Application

Here the apostle urges the Hebrews to grow out of spiritual childhood and reach the full maturity of the new life in Christ. He shows his willingness to help them as far as he can in their growth, and for their encouragement he includes himself with them: “Let us go on.” To grow, Christians must move beyond the first principles of Christ’s teaching. They must not lose those truths, despise them, or forget them. They must keep them in their hearts and use them as the foundation of all they believe and hope for, but they must not stop there. They must go on and build on that foundation, because a foundation is meant to support a building.

Someone may ask why the apostle decided to give strong food to the Hebrews when he knew some were still like babes. The answer is, first, that some among them were weak, but others had grown more and needed fitting food. Mature believers should be willing to hear the simplest truths for the sake of the weak, and weaker believers should be willing to hear deeper and harder truths for the sake of those who are stronger. Second, he hoped they would keep growing in spiritual strength and be able to digest stronger teaching.

The apostle then names several foundation truths. These must be laid well at the start, and then built on. Neither he nor they should spend time laying these same foundations again and again. There are six of them.

The first is repentance from dead works, that is, conversion and new birth, turning from a spiritually dead state and way of life. It is as if he said, “Be careful not to destroy the life of grace in your souls.” Their minds were changed by conversion, and so were their lives. They must not go back to sin, or they will need the whole foundation laid again, as if they needed a second conversion, a new repentance not only of dead works, but from them. The sins of unconverted people are called dead works because they come from people who are spiritually dead and lead to eternal death. True repentance from dead works is a complete change of heart and life. This is a foundation truth, and it must not be laid again, though we must renew our repentance every day.

The second is faith toward God, a firm belief in God’s existence, his nature, his qualities, and his perfections. It also includes belief in the three persons in the one divine essence, and in the whole mind and will of God as revealed in his word, especially what concerns the Lord Jesus Christ. By faith we must learn these truths, agree with them, approve them, and apply them to ourselves with fitting feelings and actions. Repentance from dead works and faith toward God always go together. They are like inseparable twins. Both are foundation truths that should be laid once and well, but never torn up and laid again. We must not fall back into unbelief.

The third is the doctrine of baptisms, that is, of being baptized with water by a minister of Christ in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is the sign and seal of the covenant of grace, the gracious agreement God makes with his people. It strongly binds the baptized person to learn the new covenant, hold to it, prepare to renew it at the Lord’s table, and live sincerely by it, trusting God’s truth and faithfulness for the blessings promised in it. It also includes the inward baptism of the Spirit, who sprinkles the blood of Christ on the soul for justification, that is, being counted right with God, and gives the Spirit’s grace for sanctification, that is, being made holy. Baptism is a foundation ordinance. It must be rightly received and often remembered, but not repeated.

The fourth is laying on of hands, which was used when people passed from their first state after baptism into their confirmed state, by giving the answer of a good conscience toward God and taking their place at the Lord’s table. This passing from an incomplete to a full church standing was marked by laying on of hands, together with the extraordinary giving of the Holy Spirit that continued then. Once this had been done, believers were bound to remain in it and not need another solemn admission. Instead, they were to go on and grow up in Christ. This may also mean the ordination of people to the work of ministry, when they are properly fit and willing for it, and this is done with fasting, prayer, and the laying on of hands by the elders. That also is done only once.

The fifth is the resurrection of the dead, meaning the rising of dead bodies and their joining again with their souls. Body and soul will then be together forever, for blessing or misery, according to each person’s state before God when they died and the life they lived in this world.

The sixth is eternal judgment, when God will decide the state of every soul at death, and of both soul and body on the last day. Then each person will receive the eternal condition for which they were fitted here on earth, with the wicked going to everlasting punishment and the righteous to eternal life. These are the great foundation truths that ministers should explain clearly, press home carefully, and use with close application. The people should be well taught and firmly settled in them, and never turn away from them, because without these, the other parts of religion have no base to stand on.

The apostle also says he is ready and determined to help the Hebrews build on these foundations until they reach maturity: “And this we will do, if God permits” (Hebrews 6:3). This teaches us, first, that a firm resolve is needed if we are to grow and improve in religion. Second, that the right kind of resolve is one made sincerely in the heart and in humble dependence on God for strength, help, righteousness, acceptance, and time and opportunity. Third, ministers should not only tell people what to do, but also go before them and alongside them in the path of duty.

He then shows that this kind of spiritual growth is the best safeguard against the terrible sin of falling away from the faith. He begins by showing how far people may go in religion and still fall away and perish forever (Hebrews 6:4, Hebrews 6:5). They may be enlightened. Some older writers take this to mean baptism, but it is better understood as having a lot of mental knowledge and common light. A person may have much of that and still fall short of heaven. Balaam was the man whose eyes were opened (Numbers 24:3), yet with his eyes opened he went down into utter darkness.

They may also taste the heavenly gift, feel something of the Holy Spirit’s power at work on their souls, and get a real sense of religion, yet be like people in a market who sample goods they never mean to buy. They take a taste and then leave it. Some can seem to enjoy religion if they could have it on easier terms, without denying themselves, taking up their cross, and following Christ.

They may be made partakers of the Holy Spirit, meaning they may receive his extraordinary and miraculous gifts. They may cast out demons in Christ’s name and do many other mighty works. In the apostolic age, such gifts were sometimes given to people who did not have true saving grace.

They may taste the good word of God. They may gain some interest in gospel truth, hear the word gladly, remember much of it, and speak well of it. Yet they are never shaped by it, and it does not live richly in them.

They may also taste the powers of the world to come. They may feel strong impressions about heaven and a deep fear of hell. Hypocrites can go this far, and after all that, still turn away from the faith.

From this we should notice, first, that these great things are said about people who may fall away. Yet the passage does not say they were truly converted or justified, meaning counted righteous before God. There is far more in true saving grace than all that is said here about apostates.

So this is not proof that true believers will finally fall away. True believers may fall often and badly, but they will not fall totally or finally from God. God’s purpose and power, Christ’s purchase and prayer, the gospel promise, the everlasting covenant God has made with them, ordered in all things and sure, the Spirit living in them, and the immortal seed of the word, all keep them safe. A tree without these roots will not stand.

The apostle then describes the terrible condition of those who fall away after going so far in the profession of religion. The greatness of the sin of apostasy, turning away after knowing Christ, is that it is like crucifying the Son of God again and putting him to open shame. Such people show that they approve of what the Jews did when they crucified Christ, and that they would gladly do the same if they could. They treat the Son of God with the highest contempt, and therefore they also dishonor God, who calls all people to honor the Son as they honor the Father. In effect, they do all they can to make Christ and Christianity look shameful.

The misery of apostates is also great. It is impossible to renew them again to repentance. That is, it is extremely dangerous, and very few examples can be found of people who went so far and fell away, then truly came to repentance, a repentance that really renews the soul. Some have thought this is the sin against the Holy Spirit, but that has no solid basis. The sin here is plainly apostasy, a falling away from both the truth and the ways of Christ. God can renew them to repentance, but he seldom does, and with human help it is impossible.

Their misery is shown by a fitting picture taken from land that, after much care, brings forth nothing but briers and thorns. Such ground is close to being cursed, and its end is to be burned (Hebrews 6:8). The writer strengthens the warning by contrasting good ground and bad ground. Good ground drinks in the rain that often falls on it. Believers do more than taste the word of God, they take it in. This good ground brings forth fruit that matches the work spent on it, for Christ’s honor and for the comfort of his faithful ministers, who, under Christ, cultivate the field. Such a field or garden receives God’s blessing, and all wise and good people count it blessed. It is blessed with growth in grace, with greater steadiness, and with glory at the end.

Bad ground is different. It bears briers and thorns. It is not just empty of good fruit, it produces what is harmful. It is fruitful in sin and wickedness, which trouble and hurt everyone around them, and will hurt sinners most of all in the end. Then such ground is rejected. God will no longer deal with such wicked apostates. He will leave them and cast them out of his care. He will command the clouds not to rain on them.

God’s gracious influence will be withheld, and more than that, such ground is near a curse. It is far from receiving blessing, and a dreadful curse hangs over it, though God’s patience has not yet fully carried it out. At last, its end is to be burned. Apostasy will be punished with everlasting fire, the fire that can never be put out. This is the sad end toward which apostasy leads. So Christians should keep moving forward and growing in grace, for if they do not go forward, they will begin to go backward, until they reach this terrible end of sin and misery.