I. Introduction: We have been on a journey through Hebrews since the beginning of the year. The trip is becoming long. Perhaps you’re feeling tired of it by now. If so, we need to stir up ourselves to keep pressing on. It is not right to punish the second half of the book with our boredom, just because it comes after the first half. Remember that this is God’s word to us.
II. Explanation of Hebrews 6:9–12
A. 9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.
1. What a wonderful thing to say after all the negative — but important — things he’s been saying in 6:4-8 about the danger of falling away from Christ and being thrown into the fire.
2. You can tell from 1-8 and elsewhere that he fears these Jews who had converted to Christ are on the verge of falling away. And then here he follows that up with these affirming, trusting words.
3. What a wonderful example of speaking the truth in love! He has said some pretty hard and challenging things. But now he throws in some very warm and encouraging words: beloved, we believe in you, we believe you’re going to make it, we believe you’re going to remain with Christ and finish the race.
4. Affirmation along with warning or rebuke demonstrates that you’re coming to someone in love.
5. Hebrews gives us an exquisite model for how to deal with someone who is wavering in his faith.
a. Take note of the pattern here: The author of Hebrews is not hesitant to warn about the dire consequences if they should fall away. He is very ready to give answer to the arguments which have begun to erode their faith. He is forceful in exhorting them to remain faithful and not give up. He reminds them that they have a sympathetic savior who will help them in their struggles.
b. But he is also consistent and passionate to reassure his readers of his confidence that they will keep pressing on, with their great savior’s help.
(1) 9 “Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.”
(2) He says the same thing in Hebrews 10:39. Again after warning them not to throw away their confidence in Christ nor to shrink back (Heb.10:35-38), he assures them in these words: “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”
6. One of the aspects of love which we extend toward those in the body of Christ is the benefit of the doubt re: their salvation, and that's what the author's doing here.
a. He is not just being polite. He is not just being positive. He really does feel sure of better things in their case, but he feels that way because of love. Love causes you to believe in others. And a failure to believe in others is a failure to love.
b. But none of this stops him from giving a loving warning.
B. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.
1. One of the reasons that the author feels confident about their salvation is because of the significant outpouring of love which they have shown to one another.
2. (Further details of their acts of loving service are given later, in Heb.10:32–34.)
3. This serving one another in love is a demonstration of their love “for his name.”
4. This might sound strange, but these Hebrew believers are on the one hand wavering in faith but on the other hand abounding in love.
a. They sure are a mixed bag, aren’t they? — just like us.
b. We’ll talk more about this later on, but now I want you to notice that...
5. Love has an important role in assurance of salvation. 1John, the NT book which talks most about assurance of salvation, says this several times:
a. 1John 3:10 “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”
b. 1John 3:14 “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.”
c. 1John 3:18–19 “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him.”
6. The principle is that true faith bears the fruit of love — especially love for Christ’s people. And so if you bear the fruit of love, you can have confidence that your faith is true. So, the fruit of love the author observes in his readers makes him feel confident that they are truly saved by Christ in spite of their wavering.
C. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,
1. Expecting the best doesn’t mean that you don’t urge people on.
2. They were doing well in the category of love, but he tells them they need improvement in their assurance of hope. What he means by assurance of hope is not feeling sure that you’re saved, but feeling sure of the truthfulness of the Christian faith, certain that Jesus is who He said He was: the Messiah, the crucified and resurrected Son of God, whose word and promises are true.
3. This is what the author longs for them to have, and what he labors hard to encourage in this letter.
4. In fact, this theme of certainty is what the author picks up on next, in vv.13ff.
D. V.12 (We desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,) so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
1. “so that you may not be sluggish”
a. This isn’t talking about general sluggishness or laziness. It’s talking about sluggishness or laziness with regard to our certainty in faith.
b. Faith is not something merely to enjoy and rest in, but something to pursue/seek/work at/fight for.
c. It’s something we need to be earnest about, something we must persevere in, and make sure to finish.
2. To illustrate, verse 12 points us to the examples of our faithful brethren who through patience finished and won the race of faith: “but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises”
a. Here the author pulls out yet another tool to help strengthen his readers’ faith: the example of faithful believers who have gone before them.
b. Here he anticipates Hebrews 11 (and 13:7, 17), where he goes into detail about some of “those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” He talks about Abel, and Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph and Moses, and others.
c. What a rich treasury of examples we have! In addition to many wonderful Bible examples, we have well-written biographies of great Christians. And there are many we have known personally as well.
d. Inspiring examples of faith are resources God has given us to fight to make our faith strong.
3. Notice that the author throws in patience here.
a. We’ve already talked a lot about faith, but not about patience.
b. In every Christian’s life there are times when it doesn’t look like things are going well.
c. Those are the times which require patience, which require us to wait on the Lord, trusting that He’s going to change things eventually.
d. It’s sort of like superhero movies — in every movie Spiderman or the Fantastic Four or Ironman or Captain America or the Avengers come through in the end and win the day.
(1) But one more thing is true about every superhero movie. There is a period of time when it looks like our hero is going to lose, when things look hopelessly dark.
e. And the same thing is true about the Christian life. There are times when it looks like it’s not going to work, like Jesus is not actually going to pull this off, like He’s not who we thought He was. These dark moments even happen to great men of faith — like John the Baptist in prison (Matt.11:2-3).
f. But Jesus is going to win in the end! The question is, when Jesus returns, will He find faith in the earth (Luke 18:8)? Will He find people waiting for Him? Will He find people expecting Him and eagerly anticipating His return? The return and the victory are going to happen. The question is, Who is going to get the benefit of it? Who will be those who have loved His return? (2Tim.4:8)
III. Let’s draw this all together now.
A. There is a danger of being strong in love but weak in faith as we see here in Heb.6:11-12.
1. It is a beautiful thing for the people of God to love one another. It is a beautiful thing for the people of God to serve one another in love.
2. But it’s possible to be diligent in love, and yet sluggish in faith/hope; to have a zealous love for the brethren, and only a lukewarm love for the Savior.
a. For some, horizontal relationships come easier than vertical ones. You can always find them in fellowship but not so much in worship or listening to Bible teaching.
b. Even many churches are this way: big on love but not so big on believing in the Son of God.
3. All of us have ways that we’re lazy.
a. No one can be diligent about everything. You’ve got to let some things slide a little.
b. Seminary prof: choose what to succeed at, what to get by at, and what to fail at. That makes sense for all of us.
4. What are you earnest about? What are you lazy about?
a. But don't give into the temptation to be laid back about your faith, about your hope. That’s the one thing everyone needs to be earnest about.
b. And yet, like the Hebrews, there are many who are lazy in terms of growing in their faith.
(1) Getting to church seems like a big accomplishment. (And, yes, I know it’s hard for some.)
(2) And yet you never find them reading the Bible much less studying/learning/memorizing the Bible. They don’t engage in fervent prayer; they’re not involved in a Bible study; they don’t listen to recorded sermons, read Christian books, or go to Christian conferences.
5. These Hebrews were being sluggish about their faith. They were not working at it. The author longed to see them be as earnest about their faith as they were about serving each other in love. He longed for them to have the full assurance of hope until the end.
B. Behind the thought of Hebrews is one large idea.
1. There’s lots of things in life. There’s lots to do, there’s lots to think about, there’s lot to learn.
2. But the book of Hebrews— and the whole Bible, really — screams out to us that there is one thing that must be given an importance high above all the rest, so much so that it would be better to lose everything else, including one’s very life, than to lose this one thing.
3. If our lives are built solidly on that one thing, then we can talk about other stuff.
4. But if not, then there’s really only one thing to talk about.
5. Jesus doesn’t want to fit into your life, He wants to take over your life. He didn’t come saying: “Give me a little love.” He said, “Love me with all your heart, soul, mind & strength.”
6. This isn’t just because He demands first place in our hearts. It’s because He loves us and He knows that only through loving Him and being filled with Him can we have abundant life.