For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; 6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. 8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. 9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. 13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.
14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. 15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest 16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. 17 For He testifies:
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
 
20 And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath 21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:
“The Lord has sworn
And will not relent,
‘You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek’ ”),
22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. 24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.
-Hebrews 7

In an effort on reflecting on the promises of God, take that same note that you worked on yesterday concerning His promises. Turn those into praise today. Give thanks to the Lord for His promises and be specific about them. Let His Spirit fill you with joy in that, and may the joy of the Lord be your strength.

Recently, my wife needed to go in to the hospital due to some complications after giving birth to my son. She and I had to visit the conversation of how to approach getting her the help she needs when we live on such a tight budget. It is an unfortunate reality but one we have had to face. Still, we had to wait to find out what the doctors would recommend. Of course, they recommended staying multiple nights and varying drugs and examinations and our hearts sank considering the bill that would follow. My parents eventually came in and shared with me that someone had offered to completely cover the medical expenses and just do what we can to take care of Priscilla. This promise changed the entire attitude we had towards the debt we would be in. It filled us with hope, and as a result, it changed our course of action to focus simply on getting the care for my wife that was needed.

We have experienced many times, in my own family, how promises can fill with hope and change the course of our lives. It is this pattern that moved us to Flagstaff. It is this pattern that placed me at Mountain View. It is this pattern that persists that keeps me in ministry. And it is this pattern that fills me with the joy of the Lord. If we are to be filled with hope at what the Lord is doing, we must examine what He is doing. We must acquaint ourselves with His promises. I will take this lesson and turn it into an exercise for you today.

Take out a piece of paper or a notebook. Write out all the promises you can think of that the Lord has given you with the death and resurrection of His Son. There are many more promises beyond that, but I believe that page will be filled up.

Once you have written those promises, write out what those promises mean for you. How do they impact your life or influence your day to day?

Reflect on that note and let your heart be uplifted with hope. Let it be an anchor to your soul as you see how the Lord is faithful to uphold His promises and will not forsake you. Rejoice in the Lord! Amen.

Life throws all kinds of things our way. It is unpredictable. It can be difficult to manage all that is there and often times, we feel the need to deal with and address them. Our lives become tumultuous as a result and we can find ourselves tossed to and fro by the varying circumstances that prevail against us. Rather than trying to address all the things that are going on, what would it take for us to be rooted or anchored?

This is a question I have been exploring for myself. What would life look like to be anchored in this way? It is incredibly difficult to be tossed to and fro when you are anchored. Whether it be by doctrine or circumstances, holding fast to the simple truths of the work of Christ can overcome the threat of those things around us.

One of my mentors in my early years had asked me a question, "Zac, how do you keep God first in your life when things get hard?" I told him that I hold on to the promises of God. "That's great!" he said, "What are His promises?" I stopped and could not find what promises to hold on to. I offered generic responses like how God is good or that He never fails. "It is really hard to hold on to the promises of God if you do not know His promises," he told me. It was a great point. It is one I reiterate here. It is hard to hold on to hope if we do not know what that hope is.

The tricky thing with this is that it is not something that I can just give the answer to. Sure I can tell you of the wonders of His death and resurrection. I can testify of the sanctifying work of grace in our lives and that we stand righteous before God because of the work of Jesus. I can even spell out the mystery of how God can see us as spotless even when you know your own sin. Until it is spiritually revealed to you, that may all become knowledge for the sake of knowledge. The place we should be driven is to be in the word and in prayer that the Lord would reveal to our hearts the hope He has. Do not just look for a quick answer. In fact, don't look for an answer at all. Look unto the Lord and in Him you will find all you need.

What lesson are you taking today?

There is a line of messaging that the book of Hebrews has been following. We are in need of holding fast to our hope in faith. Earlier in chapter 2, as you can see above, the writer to the Hebrews advises his audience to give the more earnest heed to those things they have heard lest they drift away. Consider this! How does one drift away at sea? In order for them to drift, they must not be anchored. Well, after drawing out his argument, the author finally gives us the anchor.

The anchor that we possess is hope. It is not just any hope. It is the hope of the promises of God, specifically that in regard to our salvation. Consider this other passage from Paul in 1 Corinthians.

How can one be made steadfast and immoveable? Once again, by being anchored. The context of 1 Corinthians is not far from that of Hebrews. Just preceding this text is a passage about the hope that is to come! Jesus is coming back and we will be made incorruptible and immortal! Due to that, we are called to be steadfast. There is something so grounding about holding on to the hope that the Lord has given to us! And with that, we must draw near in faith. Remember the hope in Christ and hold fast to it. I pray our faith may increase.

What lesson are you seeing for the original audience?

We are given an example of the faithfulness of the Lord. The comparison made is one that is made throughout the New Testament. As we look at Abraham, we can see the pattern that the Lord works in. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son unto the Lord. Understanding the Lord to be faithful to His promises, Abraham knew that, through Isaac, he would have many descendants. Hebrews later tells us that Abraham believed God would raise his son from the dead to uphold the promise. Instead we see the character of God as He provides a sacrifice to take the place of Isaac. At the end of it all, the Angel of the Lord speaks to Abraham and offers a promise.

A covenant was made where the Lord promises to bless and multiply Abraham and his descendants. Interestingly, the Lord does not make this promise the way any other person would. Mankind must swear by something higher. There is nothing higher than God. Therefore, He swears by Himself. This spells something very interesting for Abraham. Because the covenant was not made with Abraham, Abraham could not break it. The promise was made from the Lord to Himself concerning Abraham. What did this mean? God, who cannot lie, made a promise with Himself, who again cannot lie, to bless and multiply Abraham and His descendants. In short, His promise was certain.

How does this pertain to our text in Hebrews? In every way! God did the same thing. He made a promise with Himself concerning humanity. Having cut a covenant with His Son, the Godhead being unable to lie, has made a promise that anyone who believes in the name of the Lord shall be saved. It is not contingent upon works or performance on the part of the people. It is contingent upon faith, which the writer of Hebrews is actively contending for.

Where does this take us? The aim is hope. The writer to the Hebrews desires for His reader to take hope from this just as Abraham took hope and believed the Lord. We will end this devotion in reflecting on the hope and faith that Abraham had that was accounted to him for righteousness.

As we come out of the context of hope, the writer of Hebrews does not simply move on from the subject. He builds it further. What we have is an immutable, or unchangeable, promise from God. A comparison is made of a time when Abraham was promised blessing from the Lord. Seeing as mankind swears by those things which are higher than them, the Lord had nothing to swear by, so He swore by Himself that He would uphold the promises to Abraham. We will address those more tomorrow. Nevertheless, we have a model set for us by Abraham. He endured with patience and held fast to the promises of God. As a result, he obtained the promise.

The writer of Hebrews keeps the focus upon the Lord as the text moves on and demonstrates the two immutable things. First, there is nothing greater than God. For Him to swear by Himself means that His unchangeable counsel does not change opinions. Secondly, God cannot lie, so whatever He promised He will uphold. The writer indicates what this should then mean to the believer. It should give great consolation. They fled their lives for the sake of refuge that they may lay hold of the hope set before them.

That hope continues to stand as the focal point that the author holds to. He calls it the anchor of the soul. And just like an anchor, it prevents drifting and being tossed to and fro. It is steadfast. It is sure. And this hope is not something passive. It is an active hope. It goes behind the veil. Jesus in His priestly duty stands as an ever-present reminder of the promise the Lord made. He is the forerunner who goes before us. If the Father was faithful to uphold His promise with the Son, so shall He be with us who follow His Son. And our intercessor, the Lord Jesus has become a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. This is something we get to explore more in chapter 7.

There are many amazing facts we get to hold fast too. Many more we will get to reflect upon. As we approach that, what observations are you making in this passage?

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
-Hebrews 6:13-20

5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
-Romans 5:5

This was one of the verses we covered in yesterday's devotion. The love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit and confirms the hope that we have been given. If our hope is confirmed by the love of God and we are pursuing hope, I ask then that we pray for the church as a whole. Pray that the love of God would be poured into their hearts. Pray for those you sit next to on Sunday mornings. Pray for your pastors. Pray for your family. Pray for your friends. Pray simply that the love of God would be poured into our hearts. Then we may all walk in the hope the Lord has set apart for us.

There are a lot of voices that want to speak into our lives. Often when hope enters the conversation, a multitude of other voices like to chime in as to why we shouldn't have hope. Those voices may come from coworkers, family, or even other believers. Today I want to take an intentional effort of looking at what the Lord has to say in His word concerning hope. I will be sharing a lot of Scripture and my prayer is that the word of God will cut deep and cause us to walk in genuine hope.

17A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
18Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
19To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.
20Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
22Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.
-Psalm 33:17-22

But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
-Isaiah 40:31

5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
-Romans 5:5

13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
-Romans 15:13

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
-Titus 2:11-14

Meditate on these today and grow in the hope that the Lord has given you!

It is a significant theme in the word of God for the people of God to have hope. It might catch you off-guard a bit, but one of the greatest detriments to God's people has been when they lose hope. Think of Israel just after they have experienced the Exodus out of Egypt. At first they were celebrating. Once they realized they had no food, they lost hope and yearned to return. But the Lord provided manna, refueling their hope. After a while, they lost hope again, remembering the delicacies they had in Egypt. They called the manna from heaven worthless bread. God gave them quail. When they were thirsty, He miraculously provided water. When they went to the Promised Land, the Lord promised to deliver, but again, the people of God lost hope. The result was a wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.

This very same exercise we can take through the whole Bible of the Lord restoring hope and the people losing it. You may even be able to apply this same exercise to your own life and see moments where the Lord uplifted you but you fell back into fears and doubts. Hope is a central theme in Scripture. It may come as a surprise to you, but the Lord wants you to have hope. He wants you to rejoice in hope. He wants you to live in hope. Hope fuels faith. Hope fuels joy. And the joy of the Lord is our strength.

This is widely counter cultural. "Be realistic." We say. We are commended if we are specifically grounded in "reality". I have spoken before on the dangers of elevating Christian skepticism. Your skepticism could be exchanging the truth of God for a lie. Your rationale may be replacing the hope that God wants you to have with a fleshly dominated perspective. Hold fast to hope and be full of it. Tomorrow, we will look at several passages that spur us on to hope. Let us live from that place in full assurance of hope. This is health for the believer.

What lessons are you taking from today?

This same word has been used a few times over at this point. Be diligent. It is a clear lesson for the believer that our walk in the faith is certainly not a passive endeavor. There is an active element that drives us to move forward. It is noteworthy the things that the author of Hebrews tells the reader to put their diligence in. In this case, the writer encourages diligence in continuation.

When you read through the text, we see how we are encouraged to that full assurance of hope to the end. This tells us some unique information on the background of thought. The people who would be departing are departing due to lack of hope. I am sure many of us have experienced doubts of hope in our own lives. We can share then in the testimony of how easy it is to lack diligence when we enter into hopelessness. No wonder the reader is encouraged to hold full assurance of hope. That is essential for them to run that race before them.

The writer to the Hebrews even addresses the result of not continuing in that hope. If they should falter, they are cautioned on being sluggish. Instead, they are encouraged to look at the example set before them who inherited promises in their diligence of faith. To put the lesson simply, hold fast to believing in the hope of Christ Jesus. And this very lesson we will note for ourselves in tomorrow's devotion.

What lesson are you seeing for the original audience?

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?

The last few verses of chapter 6 have been pretty bleak. The warning has been clear. Do not fall away. The depth of the warning is not lost as the author of Hebrews shifts gears into encouragement. While all of those things are true, there is a better testimony among the recipients.

The writer of Hebrews acknowledges the weight that he speaks with, yet he highlights that there are works that accompany their salvation and validate who they are in Christ. Even more than the fact that the author sees it. He emphasizes that God sees it. God is not so unjust so as to forget the things that they have done and are doing.

As a  result of this, the writer to the Hebrews encourages hope. Hold fast to that hope you have and be diligent in it! Continue in those works. Don't lose hope. Do not become sluggish in those works. But, be steadfast and diligent in them. The reader is encouraged to look at those who are diligent and resting in full assurance of hope and imitate them. In other words, they're doing good! The writer simply wants them to not grow weary in doing good. Keep fighting that good fight. Finish that race! We all have lessons we can take from that.

What observations are you making in this passage?

9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
-Hebrews 6:9-12

Pray that the Lord would give you the eyes to see where He is leading you. He made it clear to Israel that He was taking them to the Promised Land. They even saw all that it held. Know that the Lord is faithful to carry you through what He has instructed. Draw near in faith. Ask Him for a clear vision for your life.

This concept of drawing back to the old is something frequently condemned in Scripture.
When the Israelites were in the wilderness, just after the amazing exodus, crossing the Red Sea, and seeing the Lord show up in amazing ways, they started complaining and wishing to go back to Egypt. The Lord burned hot with anger at those who wished to draw back. As a result they were cursed to wander the wilderness for 40 years.

Usually, drawing back is a result of poor perspective and ungratefulness. Israel did not see the reality that the Lord would sufficiently deliver all He had promised into their hands. They wanted things to happen their way and be clear. They wanted all the ducks in a row before needing to exercise any form of faith. Due to the bad perspective, and the ungratefulness of their hearts, they desired to draw back.

Any man who presses his hand to to the plow must not look back. Paul commends this attitude and even acknowledges it as something he has mastered in Philippians 3. Press forward to what the Lord has laid hold of for you. The flesh is tempting. The world is alluring. The Lord is fulfilling. Set your eyes on Him entirely. Do not stray from that path.

 What application are you implementing today?

I was sobbing... hysterically. Both of my parents enter into the room and find that I am being tormented by my older brother who has me pinned down. He lurches up the moment my parents step in. As they see that the situation was nowhere near the severity my crying had made it out to be, they gave an instruction to each of us. To me, I was told to stop crying. My brother was told not to touch me. Then they left. Like any good older brother, mine immediately approached me, bringing his finger as close to me as possible without touching me and said those famous lines, "I'm not touching you." I lost it.

We have this lovely habit as human beings where we love to get as close to the line as we possibly can without violating the command. And in doing so, we end up in violation of the purpose of the command. My brother heeded what my parents instructed, but failed to get the point. The idea was not that touch was bad. It was that instigating was bad. We could run the gambit around all the ways we could refine my brother's actions and still miss the heart of the message. This is exactly how Jesus taught. The Pharisees may have been great at not committing adultery, but their hearts were ripe with lust. They may have never murdered someone, but they lived out of anger towards their brethren.

When we study passages like this, we try to find where that line is. We like to get as close as we can without crossing it. If I do this thing, will I lose my salvation? No? Then it is fine! I will make it. This is the way we think. It won't cost me the greatest price, so I can afford it. We lack a tremendous amount of wisdom when it comes to true obedience. I have heard it said this way. The edges of the narrow path are worn by Christians infatuated with the things of the world. They are still on that path, but they are getting as close to the edge as they can. Why do we play these games?

Let us heed the same warning as the original audience. Whether you believe once saved always saved or not, why test it? Whether you believe falling away is possible, why throw yourself off that cliff? Do not draw back! Press forward in your faith. Center your life on Christ and you will do well.

What lesson are you taking today?

There is a clear warning undergirding the text here that is very clear to us. Most of us interpret it in such a way as to understand that we don't want to draw back. Even in having the clarity that we may concerning what the text is talking about, there is and should be a great fear in departing from the living God.

Imagine the great insult in the Lord giving His Son to set His people free, and after the Lord taste and see who this Jesus is, they depart from it to go back to the old way of doing things. Consider the shame that places on the Lord to say that even His own sacrifice is insufficient compared to that which is mere flesh. The Jews heavily understood this attitude of shame. The culture they lived in was what we call an honor culture. Our personal culture is more concerned with guilt versus innocence. They were more concerned with honor versus shame. It does not honor the Lord to depart from His Son to the old covenant.

So the lesson is a simple but clear one: don't draw back. Do not draw back into perdition. Do not give in to the temptation for the sake of self-preservation. Remember that you have died to yourself and no longer belong to yourself. Remember the Lord your God and how He has redeemed you. His sacrifice is the only sacrifice sufficient for sin. Do not walk in unbelief. Walk by His Spirit.

What lesson are you seeing?

As we examine this particular Scripture, it is important that we properly examine the context. For a passage such as this, there is a very broad scope that we need to consider, and this is where many can get lost on their attempt to exegete the passage. Most other Scriptures can be looked at in a more immediate context. This one requires a deeper study.

Let's begin with considering the audience. The audience is Jewish believers. They have come to confess that Jesus is the Messiah. What they are running the risk of is disavowing Jesus in order to go back to the old law and return back to the old sacrifices. They would depart from the new and resurrect the old. This would be done out of an effort of self-preservation and entering back into a legal religion, seeing as how Christianity was against the law and legal to persecute. So those that are being addressed are those who would have been enlightened, tasted of the heavenly gift, partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted of the good word of God and powers of the age to come. If those who have been apart of this depart in such a manner, what can be said of them?

If we look contextually at Hebrews 6 and what precedes it, we see something very interesting. There has only been one sin mentioned the whole time - the sin of unbelief. The problem for the one who departs in such a way is that they'd depart in unbelief and nowhere in that unbelief is there any renewed repentance. There is only one solution and it is found in Jesus. To go back to the old sacrifices would not produce in them any repentance. The old system would require Jesus to be crucified afresh. But that work has already been accomplished. They would disgrace Him publicly. To draw back is to declare insufficiency of the Son of God. To draw back is to shame the finished work. The problem ultimately is unbelief. For even if one drew back to the old system, to believe what the old system perpetuated would lead to the promised Messiah. Contextually, we must understand that this passage is written of the one who would draw back to the old sacrificial system in unbelief.

What connections are you making in this passage?

What we have this week is one of the most complicated sections in Scripture to properly exegete. A surface level reading of the text will leave many believers trembling at the idea that they have gone too far and cannot be renewed to repentance. Otherwise, they worry about friends or family members who have walked away. Typically, these believers would hold fast to Scriptures like that of the prodigal son. He departed but came back and was received. This particular passage brings many believers to ask whether there really can even be a prodigal son. All of these things we will hit head on throughout the week, and I pray it would open your eyes to what amazing things are actually being said in this passage.

The passage begins with looking at what we would identify as a genuine believer. Five experiences are given to us concerning how they have engaged with the body:

• Once enlightened
• Tasted of the heavenly gift
• Partakers of the Holy Spirit
• Tasted the good word of God
• Tasted of the powers of the age to come

There is genuine experience there. Some commentators note the distance of the language and argue that these were not genuine believers. They experienced these things among other believers but did not have them themselves. They recognize the language like "once" enlightened, "tasted" of the heavenly gift, or "partakers" of the Holy Spirit instead of indwelt. I personally find these comments unconvincing as these are markers used elsewhere in Scripture to identify the genuine believer. The Scripture is saying if they fall away that they cannot be renewed again to repentance. As an important note, it explains why they cannot be renewed to repentance. It is because they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put Him to an open shame. This will be important later through the week when we really extrapolate the text.

A small analogy is then given. The earth receives rain and is blessed by it and provides provision of herbs. Those who cultivate the herbs are blessed by the harvest. However, if the land produces thorns and briers, it is rejected and left only to burn. Such analogies are common through Scripture. Jesus Himself spoke similarly in John 15 regarding the fruitful and barren branches.

While there may be a lot of question marks and concerns with what this passage may be getting at, I want to encourage you that the grace of God is greater than anything we can imagine. Do not lose hope in believing you have fallen too far or your friends or family have fallen too far from the Lord. Pray for them. Surrender yourself and give yourself wholly to the Lord. His grace will receive you. Hold fast to the confidence that the blood of Jesus testifies of greater things than what a sinner you believe yourself to be. He is sufficient. His work is enough.

What observations are you making through this passage?

4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
-Hebrews 6:4-8

Pray that the Lord would highlight where and what He wants you to grow in. Understand that He is invested in your sanctification and wants to see your growth. He is not opposed to you on this journey. He is for you. Hold open everything in your life and ask for His direction.

Our lives are built around progression. We want to get stronger. We want to get healthier. We want a better house. We want better cars. We want to move forward in our jobs. Whatever we set our minds to, we measure for the sake of progression. Most of these things are fairly easy to measure. Did you make more money this year than last? Easy metric. Did you finally purchase that dream house? Easy metric. Progression can be easy to measure, but it seems as though many believers, including myself, can have a hard time seeing the progression of our faith. We tend to look at it from whether we sinned less than the day before. The problem with that metric is that it doesn't exactly have to do with the focus of our faith. We very quickly become sin focused. Instead of looking at the finished work of Christ, we look upon ourselves and our own abilities to overcome sin. I am a better Christian if I sinned less than yesterday. Christ has almost nothing to do with it.

Consider if your goal was to get a new car. Your old car is having a harder time and you really need a new car. There are some clear metrics you could use that would aid you in seeing the progression of getting a new vehicle. But because you are coming from the old beater, you assign the metric of driving less miles. If you drove less today than yesterday then you are closer to getting your new vehicle. That is an odd way to measure that progression. The problem occurs when we think that maturity in the Christian faith is simply sinning less. Sin becomes the focus instead of being like Christ. Sure, you have to depart from the old man and put off that former conduct, but you also have to put on the new. The departing and repenting from sin goes back to the starting line. If any sin comes up, you deal with it, but the mature mindset presses on.

Press on to perfection then! Press on to walking like Jesus. Leave the old behind and grow in the new! See that Scripture teaches that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Let your mind be washed in the water of the word. Grow beyond the elementary principles of Christ and press forward to maturity in the faith.

What application are you implementing today?

The instruction that the writer of Hebrews gives here is to go on to perfection, moving beyond the elementary principles of Christ. Many of us may wince at such words. "But we will never be perfect! We cannot be perfect!" The objections are out of our mouth before we even consider what obedience might look like. As such, I have found so much stagnancy in the walks of many. There are many places we are instructed in perfection. The Lord Himself said to, "Be perfect; for I am perfect." Paul to the Philippians says that he presses on to perfection even though he has not yet attained it. Christ has laid hold of it for him, so he seeks to lay hold of Christ. Due to the fact that we do not believe such a thing is possible, we immediately write it off in our own lives.

Do you know that we can in fact be fully pleasing to the Lord? Paul prays that the church of Colossae would be fully pleasing to the Lord. We have it in Scripture. It has been a constant thing for the people of God to disagree with His commands, calling it impossible. When the spies looked at the Promised Land, they saw an amazing land full of all that the Lord had promised. However, there were giants in the land, so they saw it as impossible to conquer. 10 of the 12 spies agreed it couldn't be done. The congregation of Israel sided with the 10 and they were left wandering the wilderness for 40 years. Those that believed got to enter that rest. Those that didn't perished in the wilderness. Do not see these things as too mighty for God. Remember that He has placed His Holy Spirit in you.

That all being said, I want to ease your mind for but a moment to explain what perfection looks like according to this passage. We often look at the term perfect and recognize it as without flaw or without limitation. When we are faced with our own limitations, which God designed in us, we see flaw. We over-define sin all over the place and simple mistakes can cause us to believe that biblical perfection is unattainable. The way Scripture defines perfection is as mature or complete. The goal of the writer of Hebrews is to ask the reader to grow in maturity. Go on to completeness. Don't stay on the milk of the word, but grow up. Now that is something most of us would agree can and should be done. So let us then move on to this completeness and maturity as Scripture instructs. It would do us well, and it is pleasing to the Lord.

What lesson are you taking for today?