Are You Real? .. all who attend church are not children of God.

Serving Christians Seeking to Live a Holy Life

Are You Real?
"A Study of Hebrews 5:11-6:12" Leon L. Combs, Ph.D.

5:11 The writer says that it would be great to be able to tell them about Melchizedek for he is an example of the function of the office of Jesus Christ. However, he says that the readers have not shown enough evidence of having advanced in their spiritual walk to proceed to get into the depth of understanding about such matters and that is very disappointing to him. He says that it appears that they have become slothful in their Christian walk, if indeed that is their walk. He is not inferring that anyone may have lost their saving faith, for such is not possible as the Scripture teaches us in many places (Rom 8:1; 1 Cor 3:12-15; John 10:27-29; Rom 8:35, 38-39; Phil 1:6; 1 Pet 1:4-5; Rom 5:10; Jude 24; Col 2:10; etc.). It is essential to remember that Scripture is always to be interpreted in terms of Scripture so that when the writer speaks of people falling away from the faith, the people could not have ever had a real faith. There are no inconsistencies or discrepancies in Scripture, rather there are only matters of misinterpretation. Thus we know that this discussion is not about a Christian losing his/her salvation for that would be inconsistent with other Scripture. So we press on to discover the true meaning.

This is a message to people who have not grown spiritually and so the writer is not even certain that they are really Christians. So he is warning them of dire circumstances that could result if they continue without a real commitment to Jesus as Lord. They may even think that they are Christians, but their lack of growth fills the writer with fear for their souls so he warns them.

5-12 By elementary principles he means the ABC's of the matter - the very basics. The oracles of God means the medium by which God reveals His hidden treasures. The expression "come to need" means that the people have reverted to an infant stage instead of progressing into the adult stage. We have adults who are riding tricycles down the street instead of not only driving a car, but teaching others to drive. We have adults who are trying to learn how to write a few letters rather than teaching others how to write. The situation is not unlike the modern church in that most congregational members are only attending church services rather than being involved in Bible study and serving the church.

5-13, 14 The Greek word for word used here is "rhema" which means a particular passage. By saying that the people are not accustomed to the word, he means that they are not dwelling on it to develop a sense of discernment. A person's spiritual senses have to be trained and developed just as our other attributes must be trained to function properly. We don't mind spending much time developing our golf game, but we do not spend time developing our spiritual functioning. We don't mind spending much time developing our cooking skills, yet we do not develop our spiritual strengths. We don't mind spending much time developing our --------------- fill in the blank.

6-1,2 Based upon the preceding comments, the writer proceeds to spell out some details to them. Don't continue to dwell on the ABC's of the faith:

Repentance from dead works = turning from Jewish law and to God
Instruction about washings = could be Jewish tradition, he is not referring to baptism for such would be a different word.
Laying on of hands = could be Jewish tradition, could be the initial receiving of the Spirit which is not to be repeated (there is no second baptism).
Resurrection of the dead - another fundamental issue which was disputed by some Jews.
Eternal judgment for those without salvation - some still debated that as some do today, but this is a basic issue, there is eternal judgment for those without Jesus as Lord.

6:3 We shall do - this is the editorial we - we will pursue this if God permits: only those to whom God brings to Jesus are saved - God sees the heart and knows if it is hardened.

6:4 Tasted, not eaten. We have to eat (John 6:51) in order to be complete. Many people taste the heavenly gift but do not eat. One can spit out what one tasted, but eating means that we have chewed it thoroughly (thought about it deeply), swallowed it (made it a part of our life), and let it remain in our stomach to become integrated into our total being (no elaboration needed). Partakers is translated from the Greek word "metochos" which has to do with association, not possession. These people were only church goers, not members of the family of God. Probably many people attending churches in our area today are similarly tasters and are only associating with the family of God, not members of it.

6:5 Again the people have only tasted the "rhema" (a particular passage), not the "logos". They have only sampled many sermons. They have also only tasted the powers of the age to come - the miracles of God's Kingdom. They saw miracles performed by the Apostles as signs but just tasted them. Like the hatred and disbelief of those who saw Lazarus raised from the dead and the people who described Christ's work as that of the devil (Matt 12:22-32) such is hard to understand.

6:6 After all this that they have seen and tasted, if they then fall away from the church, then they can't be brought back to the point of repentance which initiated their tasting. For now since they have tasted and associated, they now knowingly crucify Christ so Jesus' prayer of "forgive them for they know not what they do" is no longer applicable. They will now leave and we will then know that they were really not of us (1John 2:9).

6:7-8 This is similar to Jesus' parable of the seeds (Luke 8:4-15). They will be known by their fruits (Matt 7:16).

6:9 and things that accompany salvation. He hopes that they are really saved. It is appropriate for all believers to examine themselves (2 Cor 13:5).

6:10 Even if people are not saved, God remembers the good deeds that they have done and will honor a return of their seeking Him, and if one truly seeks then he sill find. So if the people have not totally rejected Christ, but are still wanting to repent, then they may return.

6:11 Search with all of your mind, heart, and soul and you will find. You will find the full assurance of a lasting hope which will last until the end (the assurance all believers have).

6:12 Then you will be as the other believers, with a thirst for knowledge of God and a desire to serve Him. Many people try to participate in the victory celebration without joining the Team. Christianity is not exactly like a ball game or a secular war, for the victory celebration is being held while the fighting goes on. But you have to join the Team and fight to be a part of the celebration.