Thirsty4Truth

"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, " Heb. 6:1.

"Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment." Heb. 6:2.

"And this we will do, if God permit." Heb 6:3.

What is Paul talking about here, and who is he talking to?

Hebrews 6 is a continuation of the last part of chapter 5 where he talks about milk being for babes and strong meat for those who have matured, and gives a further explanation in chapter 6.

The milk of the gospel is basically what he is describing in chapter 6:

• the foundation of repentance,
• faith toward God,
• the doctrine of baptism,
• the laying on of hands,
• the resurrection of the dead, and
• eternal judgment.

Paul is talking to the church, telling them to leave these principles behind and move on to perfection. He says to do them if God permits, but otherwise leave them behind.

When we first hear the gospel we need the milk in order for us to understand. Then if we are faithful in moving on to perfection and overcoming our sins as God reveals them to us, then eventually He will begin to feed us meat. Until then, we have no right to go and baptize people, to preach to them, or even talk about repentance or Jesus. We are to move on to perfection, and once we have done so, others will come to us and ask us about our God. It is under those circumstances that we are allowed to continue in God's ministry. The only exception is a preacher of course, out on a public street and not door to door or on another's territory without prior permission.

The perfection talked about here is the perfection of the Holy Spirit who will help us to walk as Jesus walked. The strong meat is the word of righteousness, which can only come from God or the Holy Spirit.

When we are guided by the Holy Spirit, we are in tune with God, and will walk as Jesus walked. Jesus was free from the law, He had overcome sin and was in close fellowship with God. This is our goal, to be free from the law, overcome sin, and be led by the Holy Spirit.

This means that anyone who is led by the Spirit, and moving on to perfection, is being taught by the Spirit, or God Himself. A person who is led by the spirit does not need to read the Bible everyday to know what is right or wrong, (although its good to read the Bible,) nor does he or she need to attend church every Sunday in order to remain in the faith, or hear the Word. This individual can now go directly to God and be taught, strengthened, and can worship God at any time of day.

These individuals will purify themselves, starting with the mind, with the thoughts they think, they will have control of the tongue, and will only speak what glorifies God. In other words they will practice righteousness, and walk as Jesus walked. Not only will their outward appearance be pure, but their hearts and minds will be pure as well, and thus they are able to overcome sin.

But Paul is not just talking about an individual here, he is talking to the whole church, telling them to move on to perfection, and if they fail they will fall, and if the church falls, it is impossible to renew the church again.

"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the the Holy Ghost," Heb. 6:4.

"And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come," Heb. 6:5.

"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." Heb. 6:6.

We cannot physically crucify Jesus again, but every time we sin, whether we are a believer or an unbeliever it is the same as if we were to crucify Jesus all over again. When we don't move on to perfection we are in danger of living in sin and crucifying Jesus again and again.

We will become so comfortable sinning while claiming the name of Jesus, that we will never have a need for true repentance. Sure we will repent when we commit the sin, but in our hearts we don't really believe that we can be free from that sin. The convictions of the Holy Spirit will get ignored until He eventually leaves us.

This is exactly what has happened, people no longer believe that it is possible to walk the walk that Jesus walked. No one seems to believe that we can overcome sin, yet the Bible repeatedly instructs us to do so. This does not mean that we will actually be perfect, there will be sin in our life till the day we die, but these will be sins that we are unaware of as being sinful.

God only reveals our sins to us, when we are ready to deal with them, and if we fail to deal with them when He reminds us, then He will simply draw back and let us be.

If the church is strong, and moving on to perfection, the people of that church will catch us, and bring us back to God, even after God has begun to draw back. That is what the church is supposed to be there for. But when the church as a whole, begins to fall away, pushing God away, there is no one left to help bring them back to repentance.

As God begins to move out, satan moves in full force, bringing a doctrine and teaching contrary to the Bible, telling people its ok to live in sin, and as long as they believe, they are okay.

I believe this is the state of most churches today, satan has taken over, and it is impossible for them to repent, because there is no one there to remind them of their sins. God is simply letting them be, because they rejected Him.