Spiritual Progress is Imperative!

Don't Stop Now!

A study of the NT book of Hebrews

by Pastor Frank Rice

How is your cholesterol? How is your weight- training program going? Are you ready for the triathlon yet? How’s the potty-training going? How’s the rehab going? How is your basement remodeling project coming along? We hear and ask questions like these regularly because we like to hear progress reports. The term “going” indicates movement, hopefully in a positive direction! Spiritual progress should top the list! The author has switched from teaching his people to motivating them! He’s serious about making spiritual progress and won’t back off!

 

v     You must allow the Spirit of God to move you toward maturity!

1.      We’ve got to get beyond a preoccupation with the simple principles of Messiah. Don’t try to re-lay the foundation!

 

2.      We’ve got to allow ourselves “to be carried along” toward maturity! This is a personal surrender to an active influence.

 

3.      We’ve got to take responsibility for eliminating obstacles and working with the Holy Spirit as He works in our lives.

 

v     You must know the basics but not get stuck there! (Believers can get preoccupied in fruitless discussions concerning foundational issues relating to the Messiah!) For instance…

1.      Repentance from dead works is a conscious turning away from the old life. Legalistic adherence to Jewish ways and genuinely evil actions belong to the way of death, not life!

 

2.      Faith toward God is the flip-side of repentance. If repentance is turning away from dead works, faith is turning to God.

 

3.      Teachings on washings (plural) refers to OT ceremonies which may relate to NT baptism. Baptism is a meaningful ceremony symbolizing cleansing and identification.

 

4.      Laying on of hands was the OT way to set aside someone or thing for service. It may be linked with the reception of the Holy Spirit or commissioning for serving.

 

5.      Resurrection from the dead is veiled in the OT, revealed in the NT. It points to our future hope and the good news.

 

6.      Eternal judgment was announced in the OT and explained in the NT. These serve as foundational truths for other truths.

“This teaching is not false, but it is insufficient for perseverance in faith because it does not reveal the full sufficiency of Christ as the only Savior. In every generation there are those who profess the rudiment of the Christian faith without grasping the reality of Christ or pursuing the course of persevering faith.” (Cockerill)

 

v     Spiritual progress is the result of determination and a recognition that it can only occur as God gives grace and guidance! (The absence of a desire or concern for spiritual progress and maturity may evidence the absence of a relationship with Christ!)

 

v     Six parallel phrases and experiences describe an encounter with Christianity. (Is it a saving encounter or not?)

1.      They had been fully enlightened. The light of the Gospel had broken in upon their darkness (John 1:9; 9:5).

 

2.      They had experienced the heavenly gift. They had a fleeting encounter. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, grace, salvation, and righteousness are mentioned in Scripture as gifts.

 

3.      They had been partakers of the Holy Spirit as He led them toward a decision for Christ.

 

4.      They had experienced the good Word of God, discovered truth as they sat under the ministry of the preached (rhema) Word. “The term ‘good’ describes what is appropriate, pleasing, and beneficial.” (Cockerill)

 

5.      They’d experienced the powers of the coming age, “signs, wonders, and miracles” (2:4).

 

6.      They had fallen away. After a thorough exposure to the Gospel and making a profession of faith, they had abandoned their profession, even becoming opponents of Christ.

 

v     Two tragic truths connected to the above.

1.      It is impossible for those described to return to the place of repentance! (The author describes other impossibilities in 6:18, 10:4, and 11:6.)

 

2.      They re-crucify the Son of God, standing with those who jeered Him, “He is not Messiah; He got what He deserved.” They put the Son of God to public humiliation!

 

v     Evidence indicates these folks merely had a religious experience (Context!).

1.      Personal pronouns indicate two different groups. The “us” and “we” of verses 1-3 turn to “those, them, they, and themselves” in verses 4-6.

2.      The next illustration (vv. 7-8) indicates a contrast and what actually happened.

3.      The next discussion (vv. 9-12) and the “but you” indicate a different audience.

4.      The clear teaching of Scripture supports the security of the believer. The tragedy is “man’s full rejection of God under conditions of full exposure to light.”

5.      If one argues these were saved then lost their salvation, in order to be logically consistenthe must consent to the reality that it is impossible to regain salvation after it is lost. The term used is not “hard, difficult, or even improbable” but impossible.

 

v     “What God has done in Christ is the grand and glorious, all-sufficient means of salvation. It fulfills all that He has done before, and brings His promises to fruition. How, then, could we expect Him to provide an alternate way of salvation for those who so definitively and publicly spurn His most gracious provision?” (deSilva in Cockerill)

 

v     Abundant rain falls on a field. It is productive, is a source of joy and receives continuing care to remain fruitful.

 

v     Abundant rain falls on another field. It is worse than unprofitable; it is a source of disappointment, and unworthy of further care. He illustrates the false believer whose fruitlessness is a sign of the condition of his unregenerate heart.

Am I making progress in my spiritual life? What do I need to do?