1 Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance to maturity, without laying the foundation all over again: repentance from dead works and faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms[a] and laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. 3 And we shall do this, if only God permits. 4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift[b] and shared in the holy Spirit 5 and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,[c] 6 and then have fallen away, to bring them to repentance again, since they are re-crucifying the Son of God for themselves[d] and holding him up to contempt. 7 Ground that has absorbed the rain falling upon it repeatedly and brings forth crops useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is rejected; it will soon be cursed and finally burned.
9 But we are sure in your regard, beloved, of better things
related to salvation, even though we speak in this way. 10 For God is not
unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his
name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones. 11 We earnestly
desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of
hope until the end, 12 so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of
those who, through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises.[e]
God’s Promise Immutable.
13 [f]When God made the promise to
Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, “he swore by himself,”
14 and said, “I will indeed bless you and multiply” you. 15 And so, after
patient waiting, he obtained the promise.[g] 16 Human beings swear by someone
greater than themselves; for them an oath serves as a guarantee and puts an end
to all argument. 17 So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise an even
clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose, he intervened with an
oath, 18 so that by two immutable things,[h] in which it was impossible for God
to lie, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to hold fast to
the hope that lies before us. 19 This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure
and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil,[i] 20 where Jesus
has entered on our behalf as forerunner, becoming high priest forever according
to the order of Melchizedek.
6:2 Instruction about baptisms: not simply about Christian baptism but about the difference between it and similar Jewish rites, such as proselyte baptism, John’s baptism, and the washings of the Qumran sectaries. [This is the Sacrament of Baptism in the Catholic Church]
Laying on of hands: in Acts 8:17; 19:6 this rite effects the infusion of the
holy Spirit; in Acts 6:6; 13:3; 1 Tm 4:14; 5:22; 2 Tm 1:6 it is a means of
conferring some ministry or mission in the early Christian community. [This is the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Catholic Church]
6:4 Enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift: this may refer
to baptism and the Eucharist, respectively, but more probably means the
neophytes’ enlightenment by faith and their experience of salvation. [Grace is a gift that moves man to conversion and repentance of sins. By conversion to Christ he seeks baptism and be allowed to partake of the Eucharist, the free bread and drinks from heaven which is the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ]
6:5 Tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to
come: the proclamation of the word of God was accompanied by signs of the
Spirit’s power (1 Thes 1:5; 1 Cor 2:4).
6:6 They are re-crucifying the Son of God for themselves: a colorful description of the malice of apostasy, which is portrayed as again crucifying and deriding the Son of God.
6:12 Imitators of those…inheriting the promises: the author
urges the addressees to imitate the faith of the holy people of the Old
Testament, who now possess the promised goods of which they lived in hope. This
theme will be treated fully in Hb 6:11.
6:13-19 The surety of the promise of God to those who will believe and have faith that persevere to the end.
6:13 He swore by himself: God’s promise to Abraham, which he
confirmed by an oath (“I swear by myself,” Gn 22:16) was the basis for the hope
of all Abraham’s descendants.
6:15 He obtained the promise: this probably refers not to
Abraham’s temporary possession of the land but to the eschatological blessings
that Abraham and the other patriarchs have now come to possess.
6:18 Two immutable things: the promise and the oath, both
made by God.
6:19 Anchor…into the interior behind the veil: a mixed metaphor. The Holy of Holies, beyond the veil that separates it from the Holy Place (Ex 26:31–33), is seen as the earthly counterpart of the heavenly abode of God. This theme will be developed in Hb 9.
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