back to the
King James Bible |
Next Chapter |
Previous Chapter
6:1 Therefore leaving the
principles of the
doctrine of
Christ, let us
go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance
from dead works, and of faith toward
God, 6:2 Of the doctrine of
baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of
resurrection of the dead,
and of eternal judgment.
6:3 And this will we do, if God
permit.
6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have
tasted of the
heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy
Ghost, 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the
world to come, 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto
repentance; seeing they
crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh,
and put him to an open shame.
6:7 For the earth which
drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it,
and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed,
receiveth blessing from God: 6:8 But that which beareth thorns and
briers is rejected, and is nigh unto
cursing; whose end is to be
burned.
6:9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things
that accompany salvation, though we thus
speak.
6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of
love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered
to the
saints, and do
minister.
6:11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same
diligence to
the full assurance of hope unto the end: 6:12 That ye be not
slothful,
but
followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the
promises.
6:13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by
no greater, he sware by himself, 6:14 Saying, Surely blessing I will
bless thee, and
multiplying I will multiply thee.
6:15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
6:16 For men
verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation
is to them an end of all
strife.
6:17 Wherein God, willing more
abundantly to shew unto the heirs of
promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 6:18
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to
lie, we might have a strong
consolation, who have fled for refuge to
lay hold upon the hope set before us: 6:19 Which hope we have as an
anchor of the soul, both sure and
stedfast, and which entereth into
that within the veil; 6:20 Whither the
forerunner is for us entered,
even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of
Melchisedec.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to:
Hebrews
Book: Hebrews
Chapter: 6
Overview:
The
Hebrews are urged to go forward in the doctrine of
Christ,
and the consequences of apostasy, or turning back, are
described.
(1-8) The
Apostle expresses satisfaction, as to the
most of them.
(9,10) And encourages them to persevere in
Faith
and
Holiness.
(11-20)
1-8 Every part of the
Truth and will of
God should be set
before all who profess the
Gospel, and be urged
On their hearts
and consciences. We should not be always speaking about outward
things; these have their places and use, but often take up too
much attention and time, which might be better employed. The
humbled sinner who pleads guilty, and cries for
Mercy, can have
No ground from this
Passage to be discouraged, whatever his
Conscience may accuse him of. Nor does it prove that any one who
is made a new
Creature in
Christ, ever becomes a final apostate
from him. The
Apostle is not speaking of the falling away of
mere professors, never convinced or influenced
By the
Gospel.
Such have nothing to fall away from, but an empty name, or
hypocritical profession. Neither is he speaking of partial
declinings or backslidings. Nor are such sins meant, as
Christians fall into through the strength of temptations, or the
power of some worldly or fleshly
Lust. But the falling away here
mentioned, is an open and avowed renouncing of
Christ, from
Enmity of
Heart against him, his cause, and people,
By men
approving in their minds the deeds of his murderers, and all
this after they have received the knowledge of the
Truth, and
tasted some of its comforts. Of these it is said, that it is
impossible to renew them again unto
Repentance. Not because the
Blood of
Christ is not sufficient to obtain
Pardon for this
Sin;
but this
Sin, in its very nature, is opposite to
Repentance and
every thing that leads to it. If those who through mistaken
views of this
Passage, as
Well as of their own case, fear that
there is
No Mercy for them, would attend to the account given of
the nature of this
Sin, that it is a total and a willing
renouncing of
Christ, and his cause, and joining with his
enemies, it would relieve them from wrong fears. We should
ourselves beware, and caution others, of every approach near to
a gulf
So awful as apostasy; yet in doing this we should keep
close to the
Word of God, and be careful not to wound and
terrify the weak, or discourage the fallen and penitent.
Believers not only taste of the
Word of God, but they
Drink it
in. And this fruitful
Field or garden receives the blessing. But
the merely nominal
Christian, continuing unfruitful under the
Means of Grace, or producing nothing but deceit and selfishness,
was near the awful state above described; and
Everlasting misery
was the
End reserved for him. Let us watch with humble caution
and
Prayer as to ourselves.
9,10 There are things that are never separated from
Salvation;
things that show the person to be in a state of
Salvation, and
which will
End in eternal
Salvation. And the things that
accompany
Salvation, are better things than ever any dissembler
or apostate enjoyed. The
Works of
Love, done for the
Glory of
Christ, or done to his saints for
Christ's sake, from time to
time, as
God gives occasion, are evident marks of a
Man's
Salvation; and more sure tokens of saving
Grace given, than the
enlightenings and tastings spoken of before.
No Love is to be
reckoned as
Love, but working
Love; and
No Works are right
Works, which flow not from
Love to
Christ.
11-20 The
Hope here meant, is a sure looking for good things
promised, through those promises, with
Love, desire, and valuing
of them.
Hope has its
Degrees, as
Faith also. The promise of
blessedness
God has made to believers, is from
God's eternal
purpose, settled between the eternal
Father, Son, and
Spirit.
These promises of
God may safely be depended upon; for here we
have two things which cannot change, the counsel and the
Oath of
God, in which it is not possible for
God to
Lie; it would be
contrary to his nature as
Well as to his will. And as He cannot
Lie, the
Destruction of the unbeliever, and the
Salvation of the
believer, are alike certain. Here observe, those to whom
God has
given full security of happiness, have a title to the promises
By inheritance. The consolations of
God are strong enough to
support his people under their heaviest trials. Here is a
Refuge
for all sinners who flee to the
Mercy of
God, through the
Redemption of
Christ, according to the
Covenant of
Grace, laying
aside all other confidences. We are in this world as a ship at
Sea, tossed up and down, and in danger of being cast away. We
need an
Anchor to keep us sure and steady.
Gospel Hope is our
Anchor in the storms of this world. It is sure and stedfast, or
it could not keep us
So. The free
Grace of
God, the merits and
mediation of
Christ, and the powerful influences of his
Spirit,
are the grounds of this
Hope, and
So it is a stedfast
Hope.
Christ is the object and ground of the believer's
Hope. Let us
therefore set our affections
On things above, and wait patiently
for his appearance, when we shall certainly appear with him in
Glory.