Time-Sensitive Material, Continued - Hebrews 6:1-12

Beneath the city of Chicago is a system of underground tunnels, created roughly 100 years ago. They are abandoned freight tunnels through which small electric trains carried various kinds of cargo around the city. Around 1959, the use of the tunnels was discontinued. But about 40 years later, catastrophe struck. While repairing a bridge that crossed the Chicago River, workers unknowingly caused damage to one of the tunnels which ran beneath the river. Eventually water filled the tunnel system and flooded much of the city, causing over one billion dollars in damage in what is known as the Great Flood of 1992. 

Various groups pointed fingers to shift the blame, but it’s clear that perhaps the greatest cause of the mess was simply neglect: neglect to maintain the abandoned tunnels, neglect to warn people of the dangers, neglect to prevent potential disaster. The destruction could have been avoided. One Chicago transit official stated, “The tunnels were...ignored. Anything man-made needs maintenance or it will deteriorate over time.” 

When we fail to care properly for things, they break down, slowly falling into a state of disrepair. This is one of the ruinous effects of sin. We see the origin of neglect in Genesis 3, at the entrance of sin into the world.  We’ve all seen the harmful effects of neglect. We see it on property and buildings around our city, we see it in marriage and family relationships, we see it in churches. Neglect affects the physical world, but also, it affects our spiritual lives, our souls. If neglected, our spirits deteriorate, our souls decay. 

But Jesus Christ is on a mission of renewal in the world. Christ is doing renovations, refurbishing what is broken and neglected. He is restoring and repairing, and he does this continually in the lives of his people.

So we should submit to the renewing work of Christ in our lives and our souls. We must be watchful for signs of spiritual neglect in our lives. Sin gave birth to neglect, and as sinners, we are prone to neglecting what is important.

But what are the signs of spiritual neglect? Are there symptoms of neglect? This sermon is somewhat of a continuation of last week, and so once again this week, I have three time-sensitive questions for you to consider. You can see them on page 6 of the WG. Hebrews 6 calls us to ask: 1. “Do I have a deficit in discernment?” 2. “Am I on a descent into disobedience?” and 3. “Do I show a decrease of diligence?” These are the concerns that the writer of Hebrews had for his listeners, and they should be concerns for us today. So let’s look at them together.

The subject of the spiritual growth in this church is in view. Growth to maturity, to completeness, moving forward like a child takes their ABCs and begins to read, write, learn, and contribute to the world. What is the “elementary doctrine of Christ” in verse 1? It consists of the introductory aspects of becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, things which are necessary for “laying...a foundation” for following Jesus. 

These include, verse 1, “repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.” A person must repent or turn from sin and trust in Jesus, through whom we can approach God. In Mark 1, Jesus said, “repent and believe in the gospel.” Faith and repentance. 

The elementary doctrine also includes, verse [2] “instruction about washings,” in other words, about baptisms. A new Christian should be taught about the meaning and necessity of Christian baptism and the distinctives of it. We baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Christian baptism is Trinitarian. And it is not about what the person has done, but about what God has done. It is the mark of membership into the covenant community. 

What else does the elementary doctrine of Christ consist of? Verse 2 says, “the laying on of hands.” In the OT and in the early church, laying on hands accompanied prayer for God’s blessing and the setting apart of a person for a special task. When a person becomes a Christian, God sets them apart. In the church today, we lay on hands when we ordain men as pastors, elders, or deacons and when we pray for people, especially the sick. 

Often, when I pray for someone, I’ll place my hand on their shoulder, or perhaps on the head of a little child. We are asking God to exercise His real and effective power. It is only God, of course, who heals or blesses and strengthens or sets apart, but the laying on of hands demonstrates the active role that God’s people have on mission with Him. So new believers need to understand this. 

Also verse 2 says, “the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.” When a person is saved, converted, they have their first eye-opening realization of the triumph of Jesus over death and hell, that Christ absorbed God’s wrath for sin and rose to immortality. All of these things listed come up continually in our sermons, worship, and growth as disciples. We saw last Sunday that we never graduate from these things; we build on them. The writer of Hebrews wants to build, and he wants his listeners to care deeply about it. 

These more complicated subjects are beneficial for their growth. Their attitude should not be, “I know enough already” or “I don’t see what difference that makes to me” or “That is too complicated or irrelevant to my life.” You see, the pastor is urging these folks to move forward in sanctification, holiness. In 1 Thessalonians 4, the apostle Paul tells the church: “this is the will of God, your sanctification;” in other words, that you would increasing become like Jesus, set apart more and more from worldliness even as you live and operate in the world. 

Notice verse 3, “And this we will do if God permits.” This is an acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty. All things are not entirely within our control; ultimately we depend on God to sanctify us. 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul says,, “may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely.” For this to occur, the basic doctrines cannot be disregarded. They cannot be changed. Repeatedly in Scripture we hear about the value of a strong foundation. But to only have a foundation, and not build on it, is a tragedy.

Have you ever seen where someone started to build a home, maybe they leveled the ground and formed the foundation with boards, perhaps even poured the slab. Then for whatever reason, no house is ever built on it. Construction ceased. Certainly no Christian is completely mature in this life; we are all being “built by God.” But a slab with no structure on it is how many professing Christians look today. They lack the discernment, they have a deficit in the understanding necessary for them to recognize the shape they’re in. 

Do you recognize the ways in which you need to grow in Christ? Are you moving on to maturity? The pursuit never ends, of course, as long as we live and breathe. We must be growing in character, in purity, in faith, hope, and love. God’s will for his people is that we would have strong foundations in the elementary doctrines on which God-glorifying lives are constructed. A deficit of discernment is a sign of spiritual neglect. Also, a descent into disobedience.

Chapters 3-4 of Hebrews discuss at length the people of ancient Israel who followed Moses out of Egypt but then died in the wilderness. They strayed from God with evil, unbelieving hearts. They were hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. They rebelled against God, did not trust him. And so they did not enter the rest that awaited God’s people in the land of Canaan. 

These next verses in Hebrews 6 parallel the behavior of those in that “exodus generation” who were apostates: those who abandoned faith in the one true God. Saving is faith is proven to be true by perseverance, by continuing with God to the end. No one is saved simply by reciting certain words, walking an aisle or making an outward profession of faith. This is true even of those who experience outwardly many of the rich benefits of the covenant community. 

What kind of benefits? Notice verse 4, “those who have once been enlightened.” In the early church, conversion and baptism were coupled together and often referred to as “enlightenment,” perhaps to counter other world views of what it means to be enlightened. “Enlightened” here refers to folks who have heard the gospel message and who have even responded and been baptized.

Also, those “who have tasted the heavenly gift.” This is commonly understood as a reference to participation in the Lord’s Supper. What else? Those who “have shared in the Holy Spirit,”  not that they were born again, but they benefited from the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the church in some ways. For instance, believers could pray for a person and God could heal that person and yet not save them. 

The body of Christ is composed of all these people with various gifts given by God. Anyone present will benefit, even non-believers. Look at verse 5, those who “have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come.” A person can be in the church and benefit from the peace and joy within the congregation that is produced by the work of the Holy Spirit: peace and joy that is a taste of eternity to come. That is what we enjoy as a church led by the Holy Spirit. We get to taste heaven. 

The visible church, those who outwardly claim to know God in Christ, will always consist of many, many people who are not truly born again. Jesus spoke about the wheat and the weeds growing up together. The whole world is this way, the ancient nation of Israel was this way, and the church since the time of Jesus Christ is this way. 

A person can exist in the covenant community for a long time, seeing the power of God on display and enjoying the peace of God among his people, while they themselves are not truly changed. They are not regenerated by the Holy Spirit. These are people who will not truly mature in Christ. Eventually they will be shown for who they are. They may stay in the church. 

They may even rise to leadership. But they won’t truly display the fruit of the Spirit: the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that is produced by the Holy Spirit and is ever-increasing in the life of a true Christian.

Those in the exodus generation are an OT example of this. The best NT example is Judas Iscariot. Contrast him with Peter. Both men denied Jesus and turned their back on him. These two men shared basically the same experiences during Jesus’ public ministry. They saw the power of Jesus and heard his teaching. Peter repented; Judas did not. 

That is the difference: true repentance and true faith. For those who reject Jesus Christ, you and I can urge them to repent, but it is impossible for us to make them repent. To be clear, some believers will stray for a season and return. Some will backslide. You will have or have already had some ups and downs along the way on your journey. 

But that’s not what is being described here. This describes those who are, verse 6 says, “crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”  In other words, they are treating Christ as his accusers did that day at the cross. They are rejecting Jesus as just a man who deserved to die. These are people who spurn Jesus, and scoff at his claims as Lord and Savior. 

Verses 7 and 8 illustrate this. A contrast is drawn between two kinds of land: that which produces a good crop and that which makes only thorns and thistles. Notice that the rain falls on both fields. One field drinks the rain; one does not. One field is cultivated; the other is neglected. So one field makes good fruit, the other just makes nothing useful. 

What the bad field produces is worthless and will be gathered up and burned. This speaks to the dire importance of obedience toward maturity in the life of a Christian. Not that obedience saves, but it is evidence of God’s saving work in a person. This is why the writer of Hebrews urges his listeners to be ascending to maturity in Christ rather than descending into disobedience.

Are you, in some way, going down into disobedience to God? This is a warning for everyone.  Do you proclaim faith in Jesus but your life tells a different story? Do you say one thing publicly, but live a contradictory life behind closed doors? Your words, your desires, your private behavior, your business dealings, your relationships, and your goals will tell you if you are headed up or down. 

Where have you been turning from Christ and to sin? Or is there someone whom you need to lovingly call to repentance? Are you willing to love someone enough to gently express to them that they are on a path that should cause them question their salvation in Christ? Yes, we are saved by faith alone, but a person must display repentance as evidence of true faith.

Now, in these final verses, it’s clear that the preacher looks for the best in these people. He believes that they will persevere in the faith, they will pursue spiritual maturity, they will repent and renew their faith. What he detailed in verses 4 through 8 doesn’t necessarily describe his listeners. 

But it is a serious warning. Even the most devout believers need the warnings of Scripture. Remember, wheat and weeds will always be mixed together. And interestingly, in the beginning you can’t tell the difference between wheat and weeds. These folks have a track record of serving God and bringing him glory. And there is grace and hope awaiting those who turn from sin and follow Jesus. 

But notice verse 11, “And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,  “Earnestness,” or “diligence,” Passionate striving for something. Wanting something badly and pursuing it. You could also define it as “zeal.” A lack of zeal, a decrease in diligence, is a sign of spiritual neglect. Someone without zeal for Christ, someone who lacks the diligent, persistent pursuit of maturity, should consider the true nature of their faith. Being “in Christ” is not just another thing in your life. It is the overarching, all-defining characteristic of your life. It is who you are. 

Have you seen, around the Florence area, where someone has spray painted statements like, “Jesus Son of God,” “Jesus Is Lord,” and “Jesus the Grace of God” on the road with white spray paint? That would be an example of zeal without wisdom. Proverbs 19 says, “Desire without knowledge is not good.” 

But zeal is essential in the Christian life. In Titus 2, Paul says that Jesus, “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” A church burning with passion to glorify the one true God. Romans 12, Paul writes, “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” Paul lists these among the marks of a true Christian. 

Why does Jesus desire his people to be zealous for his glory with obedience? Look at verse 12, “so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” This is yet another reference to the OT true believers among the Israelites. In the next verse, which we will save until next week, he references the faith of Abraham. 

Imitation is not the primary purpose of the OT narratives that we have. God was working out his redemptive plan. Primarily, many of the OT figures teach us about the work of Jesus. But secondarily, to a lesser degree, the faith of those OT believers is a model for imitation. You should remember first that they could only display faith because of God’s grace, that they point to Jesus, the only perfect, faithful one. We do see in them an example to imitate. They also did bad things we should not imitate. 

You see, how we live matters. Our choices have consequences. But above all, how do we resist spiritual neglect? Notice the end of verse 12, “through faith and patience.” That is not always the answer that we want to hear. We want God to fix things and make problems just go away. And so through the trials, we need a strong foundation, the ABCs of Christianity, which is faith. Patient faith.

As we go to the Lord’s table today, we are called to turn our eyes to Jesus and consider his discernment, his obedience, and his zeal. Jesus fully understood God’s will and his mission. 

Jesus discerned the brokenness of the world, he made only right judgments on how to live. Jesus perfectly recognized the goodness of God’s ways. He obeyed perfectly. And he displayed burning zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of his people. Jesus picks us up in all the ways that we fall short of God’s glory. 

Only Jesus could answer these three questions today with a perfect “no.” And so only Jesus is a worthy and sufficient Savior and Lord. At various places in the Scriptures, God tells his people, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” This could always be stated, “I will never neglect you.” You and I may neglect what is important, but the one true God never does. He did not neglect to make a way for us to know Him and be with Him. May all of our praise go to Him. Repent and trust in Jesus today, and be restored to God.

Let’s pray together.