Convinced of better things concerning you

Hebrews 6 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The Peril of Falling Away

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, ² of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. ³ And this we will do, if God permits. ⁴ For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. ⁷ For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; ⁸ but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

⁹ But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. ¹⁰ For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. ¹¹ And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹² so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

¹³ For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, ¹⁴ saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.” ¹⁵ And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. ¹⁶ For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. ¹⁷ In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, ¹⁸ so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. ¹⁹ This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, ²⁰ where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

In today’s text it says:  For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,  and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.   In Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus says:  “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”   We should not judge others by the standard of Hebrews 6:4-6. Instead we should hear and heed that warning for ourselves. Galatians 6:1 says: Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.   Our response to others should be to seek to restore them, not to judge or condemn them. After making sure that we see clearly, we should help them also to see clearly and be restored. As for when a person would be beyond restoration, beyond the ability to be renewed again, that is not ours to determine. That is for God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. If we question for ourselves whether we have crossed that line, I would say the evidence of conviction means the Holy Spirit is still working in the life of the one who is questioning. The evidence of scripture indicates that God is patient and long suffering; that He is compassionate and gracious toward us. But, we should not presume on His compassion and grace. We should yield to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, lest our conscience become seared and we are condemned.  God is patient and compassionate, but in Isaiah 5:20 He says:  Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!   In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says:   “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”  We cannot defy God we cannot dispute what is good and what is evil; we cannot practice lawlessness and call Jesus Lord.

The text says:  But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.  And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end,  so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.  Galatians 6:6-10 says:  The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.  So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.  The only way for us to be sure that we do not fall away into evil is to continue in what is good; to sow to and by the Spirit, to not grow weary or lose heart in doing good; to diligently continue to minster and be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. In Matthew 24:4-14 Jesus says:  “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”   In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus says:  “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.  So we endure to the end in the commission of our Lord, not growing weary; making disciples of Christ.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit; for Your patience, power and presence in my life. Thank You for leading me so I won’t get lost, for convicting me so I will not be condemned and for empowering me so that I can endure and fulfill Your commission until the end.  Amen