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1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. ~ Hebrews 6:1-3
Today, we transition into one of the most difficult passages in all of the Bible to interpret. The writer of Hebrews wrote to a group of young Jewish Christians who knew the truth, but they were babies in their faith in the God of the Bible.
When we do not know what it is all about, we will always make it about the lessers of the faith. We do this because we can control the lesser teachings of the faith. And, when we grow deeper in our walk with the Lord, we will lose more and more control. The mature believer in Christ is one who grows up spiritually because his walk with the Lord is firmly placed on the foundation of Christ's righteousness, and he is learning to become more and more vulnerable with God.
In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment."
These young Jewish believers in Christ were hanging onto religion for their identity. The Old Covenant was never meant to be an end in and of itself. Its design was always to lead believers to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, at the time of the writing of Hebrews, these young Jewish Christians were stunted in their faith because the means by which God used to point them to Christ had created for them a religion which actually kept them from the Lord Jesus. So, the writer of Hebrews here reminds us that in order to move on toward spiritual maturity, we must move beyond six elementary teachings about Christ.
Now, these elementary teachings that we must move beyond in order to mature spiritually are: repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
These six foundational things composed the doctrines of Judaism that are to be laid aside in favor of the better things that come in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament was incomplete. It was only partial revelation. The Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of all things Old Testament.
The phrase "let us move" in v.1 means total detachment. It does not mean to build on something; it means to get rid of it and move away from it. This one Greek word brings the idea of an obvious separation, forsaking one thing for something else. These young Jewish believers were being admonished to turn away from the Old Covenant and fully embrace the goal of it all, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
The first hindrance to spiritual maturity is repentance from acts that lead to death, which means we turn away from our best attempts to earn God's favor because no good work that we produce will ever earn the favor of God.
The second hindrance to spiritual maturity is faith in God. Throughout the book of Hebrews, faith in Christ is a major theme. The only way to enter into God's rest is by faith in Christ and His finished work of the cross. Most people when asked if they are going to heaven say, "I hope I've been good enough." This is the idea behind the first two hindrances to spiritual maturity.
The third hindrance to spiritual maturity is instruction about cleansing rites. These young Jewish Christians were still practicing Jewish ceremonial washings. The Mosaic Law stated that priests must wash their hands and feet prior to entering the tabernacle or approaching the altar. The Old Testament scribes had a habit of taking ceremonial law meant for priests and Levites and transferring that law into extra-Scriptural regulations for lay-people. Of course, this was given to be a road sign pointing them to the Lord Jesus.
The fourth hindrance to spiritual maturity is instruction about the laying on of hands. In the Old Testament, whenever a sacrifice was made, the one who brought the sacrifice had to put his hands on the sacrifice as a point of identification with that sacrifice. And what the writer is saying here is simply this, “You have all the way through all of your religious activity literally laid your hands on the Old Testament sacrifice. Forget it and lay hold of Christ by faith.”
Many today when asked if they are going to heaven respond by saying, "I was baptized on such and such date" or "I joined the church when I walked down the isle on such and such date." Neither of these answers get us into heaven, but this is the response of the religious person.
The fifth and sixth hindrances to spiritual maturity is instruction about the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.
The writer of Hebrews was trying to help his readers see the connection between vibrancy in their faith and their active pursuit of the Lord Jesus Himself. And, like many today, they wanted to get all caught up in the studying of the end times. These six things that are emphasized here in today's text will keep us from going more deeply with the Lord Jesus if we are not careful. We find ourselves focusing on the means more so than on the One who it is all about.
In v.3 of today's passage we read, "And God permitting, we will do so."
Whether we are addressing justification or sanctification, it’s all energized by the Holy Spirit. Everything revolves around the permission of God. Divine enablement is the issue in every case, and the writer acknowledges here in this verse.
In 2 Corinthians 3:5 we read, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.” Behind our spiritual success is always the Lord Jesus Himself.
