Hebrews 6:9-12 | What's the connection?

As a preacher and a teacher, one of the critical elements of what I do is to know my audience. Some preachers and teachers take this to speak a very generalized message to a large group of people. Others make specific mention of things across the spectrum. That is what the author of Hebrews is doing here. Many of the Messianic Jews are departing from the faith to rejoin the synagogue. But others of them are faithful and work sincerely unto the Lord.

What becomes important in this is to recognize those that are running well, lest they lose heart and cease to run with fervor. As a former cross country runner, I can tell you the difference between negative and positive encouragement. If all I were getting was negative feedback, I would lose heart in my race. I needed the positive encouragement to keep going and pushing myself. What blew me away was those that I was competing against also offering me that encouragement. We were all in that race together. We were all overcoming the challenges the track presented us with. As long as you were continuing the race, you'd be exhorted in your running to run well.

The fact is that the writer of Hebrews is still writing to believers. These are those that haven't yet given in to those temptations. There are some that have. There are others that may be close. But even still there are those that have kept their faith. They deserve to be encouraged to continue in that walk. We will examine that encouragement closely in our upcoming devotions. But in the mean time...

What connections are you seeing in this text?