CHAPTER 6

(A.D. 64)

APOSTASY

¹Therefore leaving the Principles of the Doctrine of Christ (speaks of the first principles, which refers to the Old Testament; Christ is the Centerpiece of the entirety of the Bible), let us go on unto perfection (speaks of the New Testament Sacrifice, the Lord Jesus, and the Testament He inaugurated with His Work on the Cross); not laying again the Foundation of Repentance from dead works (refers to these Jewish Christians going back to the Old Sacrificial System, etc.), and of Faith toward God (refers to Faith toward God in the realm of the Old Testament Way, which God will not accept now inasmuch as Jesus has fulfilled the Old Testament Law),

²Of the Doctrine of Baptisms (should have been translated, the Doctrine of Washings; this concerned the many washings contained in the Old Testament Sacrificial System), and of laying on of hands (goes back to the Levitical Offerings of the Old Testament; when the person brought the animal for Sacrifice, he had to lay his hands on the head of the innocent victim, confessing his sins, thereby transferring them to the innocent animal which would be slain [Lev. 16:21]), and of Resurrection of the dead (refers to Resurrection as taught in the Old Testament; there, this Doctrine was very incomplete, even as all Doctrine in the Old Testament was incomplete; the true meaning could not be given until after the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ, which the Lord gave to Paul [I Cor., Chpt. 15]), and of Eternal Judgment. (In the Old Testament, the Lord was looked at more so as a Judge than anything else. Since the Cross, He is looked at more as the Saviour.)

³And this will we do (in other words, if we dont do this [refers to going on to the perfection of Christ], the results will be disastrous), if God permit. (This refers to the fact that all dependence must be in Christ and the Cross. God will not allow any other type of Faith.)

⁴For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened (refers to those who have accepted the Light of the Gospel, which means accepting Christ and His great Sacrifice), and have tasted of the Heavenly Gift (pertains to Christ and what He did at the Cross), and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit (which takes place when a person comes to Christ),

⁵And have tasted the good Word of God (is not language that is used of an impenitent sinner, as some claim; the unsaved have no relish whatsoever for the Truth of God, and see no beauty in it), and the powers of the world to come (refers to the Work of the Holy Spirit within hearts and lives, which the unsaved cannot have or know),

⁶If they shall fall away (should have been translated, and having fallen away), to renew them again unto Repentance (again states they had once repented, but have now turned their backs on Christ); seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh (means they no longer believe what Christ did at the Cross, actually concluding Him to be an imposter; the only way any person can truly repent is to place his Faith in Christ and the Cross; if that is denied, there is no Repentance), and put Him to an open shame (means to hold Christ up to public ridicule; Paul wrote this Epistle because some Christian Jews were going back into Judaism, or seriously contemplating doing so).

⁷For the earth which drinks in the rain that comes oft upon it (presents the Apostle using natural things to represent spiritual realities, which is common throughout Scripture), and brings forth herbs (presents the natural result of ground that is properly cultivated and receives rain; there will be a harvest) meet for them by whom it is dressed (received by individuals who do the cultivating of the land, etc.), receives Blessing from God (presents the inevitable result of proper Faith):

⁸But that which bears thorns and briers is rejected (this speaks of Believers who have turned their backs on Christ and the Cross, and now bring forth no proper fruit, but rather thorns and briars), and is nigh unto cursing (refers to judgment); whose end is to be burned. (This refers to the simple fact that if a person who was once a Believer remains in that state, he will lose his soul.)

⁹But, Beloved (presents the fact that these Christian Jews were not only the object of Gods love, but also of Pauls care and concern), we are persuaded better things of you (he is speaking specifically to those who were seriously contemplating turning their backs on Christ), and things that accompany Salvation (the Blessings which will come if the Believer properly anchors his Faith in Christ and the Cross), though we thus speak. (The Apostle is not speaking from guesswork, but from many years of experience.)

¹⁰For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love (presents a glorious and wonderful Promise), which you have showed toward His Name (reflects that everything must be done in His Name), in that you have Ministered to the Saints, and do Minister. (The Apostle is telling these Christian Jews to not turn their backs on what they have previously done.)

¹¹And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end (dont stop now!):

¹²That you be not slothful (means to be sluggish and lazy toward the things of the Lord), but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the Promises (refers to the Faith worthies of the Old Testament).

GODS PROMISE

¹³For when God made Promise to Abraham (presents the Patriarch as the most illustrious example of those who inherit the Promises [Jn. 8:58]), because He (God) could swear by no greater (refers to the solemnity and power of this Promise), He swore by Himself (a guarantee with resources of Heaven behind it that the Promise will be kept),

¹⁴Saying, Surely blessing I will bless you (refers to Justification by Faith, and is taken from Gen. 22:17), and multiplying I will multiply you. (This refers to his seed becoming a nation, and more importantly, every Believer being a Child of Promise [Gal. 4:28].)

¹⁵And so, after he had patiently endured (theres always a distance between the Promise and the Possession, and that distance is never uneventful), he obtained the Promise. (The immediate meaning was the birth of Isaac. However, the eternal meaning was Justification by Faith, which would come about from Isaacs seed, Who is Christ [Gal. 3:16].)

¹⁶For men verily swear by the greater (men never swear by one who is inferior to themselves): and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. (In our modern terminology, this means a contract has been agreed upon and signed by all parties, which ends all strife.)

¹⁷Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of Promise (refers to the Lord working in accordance with this universal custom) the immutability (refers to the fact that God will not change His Position as to His Promise) of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath (refers to the guarantee of the Pledge or Promise):

¹⁸That by two immutable things (they are the Promise to Abraham of the coming Redeemer, and the Oath given as it regards Christ being a Priest forever after the Order of Melchisedec), in which it was impossible for God to lie (refers to the moral impossibility of such), we might have a strong consolation (refers to assurance), who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us (carries the idea of the sinner fleeing to one of the Cities of Refuge in Israel; in effect, he was fleeing to the High Priest who has offered Atonement for him and his sin [Deut. 4:42]; using that as a type, we are to flee as well to our High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ):

¹⁹Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast (presents the Apostle changing the illusion from safety in the Cities of Refuge to a ship reaching harbor after a tempestuous voyage, knowing that her anchor is sure and steadfast), and which enters into that within the Veil (refers to the Holy of Holies, which Jesus has entered on our behalf);

²⁰Whither the Forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus (presents the imagery of the Great Day of Atonement, when the High Priest entered the most Holy Place on behalf of the people; all of that was a Type of Christ, Who has entered the Holiest for us), made an High Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. (This presents Christ as not in the line of Aaron, but another Order altogether. The old Levitical Order had an ending. This Order has no ending. Christ is an Eternal High Priest.)