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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>Hebrews 6 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/expositors/hebrews/6.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; 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not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,</div><span class= "bld">VI.</span><p>(1) <span class= "bld">Therefore.</span>—Since “for the time ye ought to be teachers,” but have so perilously sunk down into the lower state of Christian knowledge and experience.<p><span class= "bld">The principles of the doctrine.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">the doctrine of the first principles.</span> The margin gives the literal meaning of the Greek, <span class= "ital">the word of the beginning.</span> Comp. <a href="/hebrews/5-12.htm" title="For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.">Hebrews 5:12</a>, “the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God.”<p><span class= "bld">Let us go on.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">let us press onwards unto perfection.</span> There is an urgency in the words which is missed by the ordinary rendering. The word “perfection” (<span class= "ital">teleiotes</span>) answers to that rendered “full grown” (<span class= "ital">teleios</span>) in the preceding verse, and expresses maturity, fulness of growth. There the contrast is with “babes,” and the whole context relates to Christian instruction—the elementary and the complete. The closeness of the connection would seem to show that the same meaning must be intended here also: “Let us—I, as your teacher, leading you on with me—press on to maturity of Christian knowledge.” But if what precedes makes this reference clear, the following verses show not less clearly that teaching and learning are not alone in the writer’s thoughts. The relation between <a href="/context/hebrews/6-3.htm" title="And this will we do, if God permit.">Hebrews 6:3-4</a> proves that, as is natural, he assumes a necessary union between learning and practice: indeed, the connection between immaturity of apprehension of Christian truth and the danger of apostasy is a thought present throughout the Epistle. Hence, though the direct meaning of “leaving the doctrine of the beginning” is <span class= "ital">ceasing to speak of</span> elementary truths, there is included the further thought of passing away from that region of spiritual life to which those must belong who choose the “milk” of the Christian word as their sole sustenance.<p><span class= "bld">Not laying again the foundation.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">a foundation.</span> There can be no doubt that the particulars which follow are intended to illustrate the nature of the elementary teaching which will not be taken up in this Epistle. It will be observed (1) that there is no disparagement of these subjects of teaching. They belong to the foundation; but neither teachers nor learners must occupy themselves with laying a foundation again and again. (2) That the subjects here specified are not in themselves distinctively Christian. One and all they belonged to the ancient faith, though each one became more or less completely transformed when Jesus was received as the Messiah. Hence these were literally first principles to the Hebrew Christian,—amongst the truths first taught and most readily received. We have many indications, both within and without the pages of the New Testament, that the tendency of Jewish converts was to rest satisfied with this class of truths.<p><span class= "bld">Repentance from dead works.</span>—Of “dead works” we read again in <a href="/hebrews/9-14.htm" title="How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?">Hebrews 9:14</a>, “shall purge our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (see Note). The meaning cannot be “works that bring death,” as some have supposed; rather, works in which there is no principle of life, wrought by those who are “alienated from the life of God” (<a href="/ephesians/4-18.htm" title="Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:">Ephesians 4:18</a>), in whom there is not the spirit of “life in Christ Jesus.” The law, indeed, promised that the man who should do “its statutes and judgments” should find life in them (<a href="/leviticus/18-5.htm" title="You shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.">Leviticus 18:5</a>, quoted in <a href="/galatians/3-12.htm" title="And the law is not of faith: but, The man that does them shall live in them.">Galatians 3:12</a>); but even these works are “dead,” for no man can show more than partial obedience, and the law exacts the whole. The first step toward Christianity involved the acknowledgment of this truth, and the separation by repentance from all “dead works.” On the importance assigned to repentance in the Jewish creed little need be said. The teaching of the prophets (Ezekiel 18, <span class= "ital">et al.</span>) is faithfully reflected in the sayings preserved in the Talmud: “The perfection of wisdom is repentance;” “Repentance obtains a respite until the Day of Atonement completes the atonement;” “Without repentance the world could not stand.”<p><span class= "bld">Faith toward God.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">faith upon God.</span> (Comp. <a href="/acts/16-31.htm" title="And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house.">Acts 16:31</a>; <a href="/romans/4-5.htm" title="But to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.">Romans 4:5</a>.) The Hebrew doctrine <span class= "ital">of</span> faith connected itself closely with a cardinal passage of prophecy (<a href="/habakkuk/2-4.htm" title="Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.">Habakkuk 2:4</a>), “the just shall live by his faith; and there is a Jewish saying that on this one precept rest “all the six hundred and thirteen commandments of the Law.” (See the Note on <a href="/hebrews/10-38.htm" title="Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.">Hebrews 10:38</a>, and the <span class= "ital">Excursus</span> on <a href="/romans/1-17.htm" title="For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.">Romans 1:17</a>, Vol. II., p. 274.) This faith became new and living when the Jew believed in God <span class= "ital">through Jesus the Christ</span> (<a href="/john/14-1.htm" title="Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me.">John 14:1</a>; <a href="/1_peter/1-21.htm" title="Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.">1Peter 1:21</a>). It is hardly necessary to say that it is of repentance and faith as a foundation, not as belonging to later Christian experience, that the writer speaks.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-2.htm">Hebrews 6:2</a></div><div class="verse">Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.</div>(2) <span class= "bld">Of the doctrine of baptisms.</span>—The meaning of these words has been much controverted. The order of the Greek has been thought to require the rendering <span class= "ital">baptisms of doctrine</span> (or, <span class= "ital">teaching</span>)<span class= "ital">;</span> and it has been believed that the writer in this manner seeks to characterise Christian baptism as contrasted with the Jewish lustrations. <a href="/matthew/28-19.htm" title="Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:">Matthew 28:19</a>, “baptising them . . . teaching them,” is often quoted in favour of this view. The whole question of baptism amongst the Jews of the Apostolic age is full of difficulty, since the first references to the rite in connection with proselytes belong to a much later date. But, waiving this, we must surely regard it as most unlikely that the baptism specifically Christian would be marked as “baptism <span class= "ital">of teaching.”</span> Teaching would rather be the point of resemblance than the point of contrast between the Jewish and the Christian rite. We must, therefore, adhere to the ordinary view. The word <span class= "ital">doctrine, </span>or <span class= "ital">teaching, </span>seems to be introduced in order to avoid the ambiguity which would lie in the words, “a foundation of repentance, faith, baptism,” &c.; not a doctrine, but the repetition of a rite might seem to be intended. But what are we to understand by teaching regarding <span class= "ital">baptisms?</span> Both the word itself and the use of the plural are remarkable. The word (which is not the ordinary term <span class= "ital">baptisma, </span>but <span class= "ital">baptismus</span>) occurs in <a href="/hebrews/9-10.htm" title="Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.">Hebrews 9:10</a>, <a href="/mark/7-4.htm" title="And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables.">Mark 7:4</a>, in the plural, and in <a href="/colossians/2-12.htm" title=" Buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who has raised him from the dead.">Colossians 2:12</a> in the singular; in the last of these passages it denotes Christian baptism, but in the others the ceremonial <span class= "ital">washings</span> of the Jews. We must not forget the importance which of right belonged to these washings in the Levitical law, as one of the appointed modes of removing that uncleanness which excluded from every sacred place. The baptism of John attached itself to passages in the Scriptures in which this symbol was taken up by the prophets with profound spiritual application (Ezekiel 36, <span class= "ital">et al.</span>)<span class= "ital">.</span> Both John’s baptism and that of Christ, therefore, would, from the Hebrew point of view, be “washings”; and the teaching which every new convert must receive would include instruction on the symbolical purifications of the Old Covenant and the New. (See the very interesting Notes in Vol. II. on <a href="/context/acts/18-24.htm" title="And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.">Acts 18:24-25</a>; <a href="/acts/19-4.htm" title="Then said Paul, John truly baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.">Acts 19:4</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">And of laying on of hands.</span>—This ceremony is repeatedly mentioned in the Old Testament, and also in the New. Besides the sacrificial use of the symbol, we find imposition of hands connected with blessing (<a href="/genesis/48-14.htm" title="And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.">Genesis 48:14</a>; <a href="/matthew/19-13.htm" title="Then were there brought to him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.">Matthew 19:13</a>, <span class= "ital">et al.</span>)<span class= "ital">;</span> with works of healing (<a href="/2_kings/5-11.htm" title="But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.">2Kings 5:11</a>; <a href="/mark/8-23.htm" title="And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands on him, he asked him if he saw ought.">Mark 8:23</a>; <a href="/mark/16-18.htm" title="They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.">Mark 16:18</a>, <span class= "ital">et al.</span>)<span class= "ital">;</span> with ordination (<a href="/numbers/27-18.htm" title="And the LORD said to Moses, Take you Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand on him;">Numbers 27:18</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/34-9.htm" title="And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands on him: and the children of Israel listened to him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.">Deuteronomy 34:9</a>; <a href="/1_timothy/4-14.htm" title="Neglect not the gift that is in you, which was given you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.">1Timothy 4:14</a>, <span class= "ital">et al.</span>)<span class= "ital">;</span> and with the gift of the Holy Spirit (<a href="/acts/8-17.htm" title="Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.">Acts 8:17</a>; <a href="/acts/19-6.htm" title="And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied.">Acts 19:6</a>). In every case the figure denotes either a transfer, or the communication of a gift from (or, through the medium of) the person who lays his hands upon another. Neither transfer of guilt, nor blessing, nor miracle can be in point here; nor is it conceivable that ordination could be referred to in such a context. As the passages quoted from the Acts of the Apostles agree with this in closely connecting the rite with baptism, we can have little doubt that the meaning in all is substantially the same. The believers in Samaria had been baptised by Philip; when Peter and John came, they “prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost; then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.” In the second case, which in other respects is similar (whether Paul himself baptised, or not, we are not informed), there is reference to the special gifts of the Holy Ghost which were bestowed: “they spake with tongues and prophesied.” There seems no reason for believing that there was a designed connection between the imposition of hands and the bestowal of <span class= "ital">miraculous</span> powers; such imposition was rather the recognised symbol of the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, in whatever manner the Spirit might be pleased to work in those who received His influence. The early Church naturally retained the rite, making it the complement or adjunct of baptism; whilst the one symbolised the putting away of sin, the other was the emblem of the reception of new spiritual life. Historical testimonies extend as far back as Tertullian (A.D. 200): “Then the hand is laid on, calling for and inviting the Holy Spirit.” To trace the relation between this imposition of hands and the later practice of confirmation would lead us beyond our limits.<p>The two points which remain do not require an extended notice. We know (<a href="/acts/23-8.htm" title="For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.">Acts 23:8</a>) that, though the Sadducees denied that there was any resurrection of the dead (and the Alexandrian philosophy seems to have held only the immortality of the soul), yet by the most influential amongst Jewish teachers this doctrine was held and enforced, as indeed it was plainly taught in their Scriptures (<a href="/daniel/12-2.htm" title="And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.">Daniel 12:2</a>). On the nature and extent of the resurrection—whether it would be universal, and whether it would precede or follow the Messianic age—varying opinions prevailed. Nor were the Pharisees less clear in their teaching of a future “judgment,” the reward of which should be “eternal” bliss for the godly, punishment for the sinners in Israel and for Israel’s enemies. These doctrines, then, would place no obstacles in the way of a convert to the Christian faith. Instead of vagueness and discordant opinion he now received a clear statement of truth: the Messiah, Jesus, in whom he has placed his trust, will judge the world; and of this God has given a pledge “in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (<a href="/acts/17-31.htm" title="Because he has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained; whereof he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.">Acts 17:31</a>). It is noteworthy that, of the four particulars which are mentioned after repentance and faith, two relate to the commencement and two to “the last things” of the Christian life.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-3.htm">Hebrews 6:3</a></div><div class="verse">And this will we do, if God permit.</div>(3) <span class= "bld">And this will we do, if God permit.</span>—There may be some with whom it will be impossible for him thus to press on to maturity of teaching and of Christian experience. There is a case excepted by God Himself from all efforts of the Christian teacher; in this case, though nothing can avail except the laying of a new foundation of repentance, God has appointed no agencies by which such foundation can be laid.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-4.htm">Hebrews 6:4</a></div><div class="verse">For <i>it is</i> impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,</div>(4) <span class= "bld">For it is impossible for those . . .</span>—The connection of thought has been already explained (<a href="/hebrews/6-3.htm" title="And this will we do, if God permit.">Hebrews 6:3</a>); the general meaning will be examined below (<a href="/hebrews/6-6.htm" title="If they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.">Hebrews 6:6</a>). It will be seen that the greater part of this long sentence is dependent on the word “renew” in <a href="/hebrews/6-6.htm" title="If they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.">Hebrews 6:6</a>, “It is impossible to renew again unto repentance those who were once,” &c.<p><span class= "bld">Those who were once enlightened.</span>—This metaphor is introduced again in <a href="/hebrews/10-32.htm" title="But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great fight of afflictions;">Hebrews 10:32</a>; neither there nor here does the context contain any notice or expansion of the figure. In that passage, however, it is applied generally to all who are addressed, and includes everything that was involved in the reception of the Christian faith. This inclusive application of the term (familiar from prophecy, from our Lord’s own words, from Apostolic usage; see <a href="/acts/26-18.htm" title="To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.">Acts 26:18</a>; <a href="/ephesians/1-18.htm" title="The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,">Ephesians 1:18</a>; <a href="/1_peter/2-9.htm" title="But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;">1Peter 2:9</a>) throws light on the construction of the verse before us. As the words stand in the Authorised version, “enlightened” is but the first term of a series; but it is far more probable that the clauses which follow should be regarded as explanatory of the enlightenment itself: “. . . those who were once enlightened, having both tasted . . . and been made partakers . . . and tasted . . .”<p><span class= "bld">Tasted of the heavenly gift.</span>—On the first word, see the Note on <a href="/hebrews/2-9.htm" title="But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.">Hebrews 2:9</a>. From the clear parallelism which exists between these verses and <a href="/context/hebrews/2-3.htm" title="How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by them that heard him;">Hebrews 2:3-5</a> we may infer that the “salvation” offered in the gospel (<a href="/hebrews/2-3.htm" title="How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by them that heard him;">Hebrews 2:3</a>) is intended by this “gift.” It is a gift which belongs to heaven (comp. <a href="/hebrews/1-14.htm" title="Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?">Hebrews 1:14</a>), bestowed by Him from whom has come the “heavenly calling” (<a href="/hebrews/3-1.htm" title="Why, holy brothers, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;">Hebrews 3:1</a>; <a href="/hebrews/2-10.htm" title="For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.">Hebrews 2:10</a>). The following words at once recall <a href="/hebrews/2-4.htm" title="God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?">Hebrews 2:4</a>, “gifts (<span class= "ital">distributions</span>) of the Holy Ghost.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-5.htm">Hebrews 6:5</a></div><div class="verse">And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,</div>(5) <span class= "bld">Tasted the good word of God.</span>—There is a change of construction in the Greek which suggests that the words rather mean, <span class= "ital">tasted that God’s word is goody</span>—tasted the excellence of God’s word, and of the powers, &c. God’s word was “spoken through the Lord” (<a href="/hebrews/2-3.htm" title="How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by them that heard him;">Hebrews 2:3</a>); the Hebrew Christians had heard and received this word, and had proved for themselves its excellence. (Comp. <a href="/1_peter/2-3.htm" title="If so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.">1Peter 2:3</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Powers of the world to come.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">powers of a coming</span> (or, <span class= "ital">future</span>)<span class= "ital"> age.</span> As has been before remarked, the last word is different from that which we find in <a href="/hebrews/2-5.htm" title="For to the angels has he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.">Hebrews 2:5</a>, the one relating to time, the other to the world as inhabited by man. Perhaps we may say that this is the only difference; the same <span class= "ital">future</span> is contemplated in both places, namely, the age of the Messianic reign. We have seen (see <a href="/hebrews/1-2.htm" title="Has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;">Hebrews 1:2</a>) that in the earliest days of the Church little account was taken of the period separating the pre-Christian age from that of the full manifestation of the kingdom of God; the “powers” received from God by those who believed (<a href="/hebrews/2-4.htm" title="God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?">Hebrews 2:4</a>) belonged to no earthly state, but were as truly anticipations of a future age of glory as was the “heavenly gift” an anticipation of the “heavenly fatherland” (<a href="/hebrews/11-16.htm" title="But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: why God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he has prepared for them a city.">Hebrews 11:16</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-6.htm">Hebrews 6:6</a></div><div class="verse">If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put <i>him</i> to an open shame.</div>(6) <span class= "bld">If they shall fall away.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">and</span> (<span class= "ital">then</span>) <span class= "ital">fell away.</span> There is no doubt that the ordinary translation is altogether incorrect, the Greek admitting of one rendering only. At the same time, the suspicion sometimes expressed that this is one of the (very few) instances in which our translators have been misled by dogmatic bias seems altogether unfounded. On tracing back the translation we find it due, not to the Genevan versions, in which the influence of Calvin and Beza is predominant, but to Erasmus, Luther, and Tyndale. The contrast with the preceding description is presented in the fewest possible words. The successive clauses have shown that all the marks of the divine working in and with His word (<a href="/hebrews/2-4.htm" title="God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?">Hebrews 2:4</a>) have been found in these men, who, notwithstanding, “fell away.”<p><span class= "bld">To renew them again.</span>—A second time to make “the old” into a “new man.” In this place “renew” is distinctly used in reference to the action of man. Similarly, by the side of <a href="/1_peter/1-3.htm" title="Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,">1Peter 1:3</a>, “God . . . who hath begotten us,” we may set St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians, “In Christ Jesus I have begotten you;” so also St. Paul can say, “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit;” and St. James can speak of a man’s saving a soul from death. In these and the many other examples of a similar kind there is no thought of human power acting by itself, but of the human appropriation of divine power, in accordance with the laws of the kingdom of God. The verse before us is often read as an assertion that men who have thus fallen <span class= "ital">cannot be renewed;</span> and therefore it is the more necessary to lay stress on the simple meaning of the words, as relating neither to the absolute power of God, nor to the efforts of the Christian teacher in unassisted human strength, but to the economy of God’s spiritual kingdom, in which Christ’s servants achieve every great result by claiming and obtaining the “fellow-working” of their Lord.<p><span class= "bld">Seeing they crucify.</span>—The apostasy was indicated by a single word; these added clauses describe the depth of the fall, whilst they explain the futility of all effort towards recovering the fallen. Both the writer and his readers knew well what was involved in “falling away” in such a case as this. To go back to Judaism implied an acceptance of all that Jews had said and done against the Son of God, a return to the bitter hate cherished by the falling nation against the Crucified, a repetition in spirit of all that Pharisees had done, and without the palliation of ignorance; for the highest evidence for Christianity—that of true and deep Christian experience—had been given to them. Again, the words used clearly describe a continuing state. Not the punishment for a past act, but the hopelessness of an existing state, is brought before us here. It is therefore of those who, with a distinct conviction of the divine mission of Jesus, have deliberately joined His foes, unite in denouncing Him as a “deceiver” (<a href="/matthew/27-63.htm" title="Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.">Matthew 27:63</a>), rejoice in His shame, and thus “for themselves crucify a second time the Son of God,” that the writer says, “It is impossible to renew them again unto repentance.”<p>That this impossibility relates to the action of man is shown very clearly by the writer’s words in <a href="/hebrews/6-3.htm" title="And this will we do, if God permit.">Hebrews 6:3</a>, “This will we do if God permit; . . . . <span class= "ital">for</span> it is impossible.” He is ready to lead his readers on with him—unless, indeed, he is addressing any whom no man can thus lead. In that case the means which God has appointed have no application; such wilful and persistent hardening of heart must be left with Him.<p>The perplexity and trouble of mind to which these verses have given rise will furnish an apology for the length of these remarks. It is a true Christian instinct that has protested against the misuse of this passage by men who have doubted whether those who, after receiving the knowledge of the truth, fall under temptation, can again receive forgiveness; but the difficulty has been met by hazardous expedients. Some have denied that <a href="/context/hebrews/6-4.htm" title="For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,">Hebrews 6:4-5</a> necessarily describe real Christian experience. By others it has been held that “impossible” was not intended to express more than the great difficulty of the attempt; others, again, have believed that in <a href="/hebrews/6-6.htm" title="If they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.">Hebrews 6:6</a> the writer brings before us a supposed case only, one that cannot really occur. The passage, together with <a href="/context/hebrews/10-26.htm" title="For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins,">Hebrews 10:26-29</a>, <a href="/matthew/12-32.htm" title="And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.">Matthew 12:32</a>, <a href="/1_john/5-16.htm" title="If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not to death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not to death. There is a sin to death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.">1John 5:16</a> (see the Notes), occupied an important place in early controversies, as those of the Montanists and Novatians, who refused absolution to those who, after baptism—or, in the language of the early Church, after “illumination” (<a href="/hebrews/6-4.htm" title="For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,">Hebrews 6:4</a>)—fell into heinous sin.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-7.htm">Hebrews 6:7</a></div><div class="verse">For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:</div>(7) <span class= "bld">For the earth.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">For land which has drunk in.</span> Land which not only receives but also drinks in abundance of rain (<a href="/deuteronomy/11-11.htm" title="But the land, where you go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinks water of the rain of heaven:">Deuteronomy 11:11</a>), in such a climate as is here thought of, must either “bring forth herbage” or be condemned as irretrievably barren.<p><span class= "bld">By whom it is dressed.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">for whom it is also tilled.</span> This clause is added to show that nothing is wanting on the part of the owner or of the tillers of the land.<p><span class= "bld">Receiveth blessing from God.</span>—Receives as a reward a share in the blessing which God pronounces on the fruitful earth, resulting in increased fertility (<a href="/genesis/27-27.htm" title="And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed:">Genesis 27:27</a>; <a href="/genesis/49-25.htm" title="Even by the God of your father, who shall help you; and by the Almighty, who shall bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:">Genesis 49:25</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/33-13.htm" title="And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,">Deuteronomy 33:13</a>). In the application of the parable, God is the owner of the land, men the tillers; men also are “God’s field” (<a href="/1_corinthians/3-9.htm" title="For we are laborers together with God: you are God's husbandry, you are God's building.">1Corinthians 3:9</a>), who bring forth fruit unto God,<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-8.htm">Hebrews 6:8</a></div><div class="verse">But that which beareth thorns and briers <i>is</i> rejected, and <i>is</i> nigh unto cursing; whose end <i>is</i> to be burned.</div>(8) <span class= "bld">But that which beareth.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">But if it bear thorns and briars it is rejected.</span> We are told that the presence of briars (<span class= "ital">i.e., </span>caltrops) is a sure evidence of a poor soil, on which labour will be wasted. The words are partially a quotation from <a href="/genesis/3-18.htm" title="Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you; and you shall eat the herb of the field;">Genesis 3:18</a>. The change of translation here is important; if that very land, which has drunk in the abundant rain and has received careful culture still prove unfruitful, it is rejected. Man can do no more; and the curse of God is “near”; its end is “for burning.” The explanation of the last words is probably found in <a href="/deuteronomy/29-23.htm" title="And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:">Deuteronomy 29:23</a>, which speaks of the land of Sodom which God overthrew, which “is brimstone and salt and burning.” The connection between these two verses and the preceding passages is obvious. In the case of the apostates there described, man is helpless; God’s curse is near. But, as Chrysostom says, in this very word there is mercy; “the end” is not yet come.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-9.htm">Hebrews 6:9</a></div><div class="verse">But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.</div>(9) <span class= "bld">Better things.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">the better things;</span> that is, the alternative spoken of in <a href="/hebrews/6-7.htm" title="For the earth which drinks in the rain that comes oft on it, and brings forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receives blessing from God:">Hebrews 6:7</a>. He has not written in despair, but for warning only; believing that to them belongs, not the state which is “nigh unto a curse,” but that which borders on salvation (<a href="/hebrews/5-9.htm" title="And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him;">Hebrews 5:9</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-10.htm">Hebrews 6:10</a></div><div class="verse">For God <i>is</i> not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.</div>(10) In expressing the ground of his hope he does not directly say, “For I have heard of your fruitfulness;” he implies this, and then, in accordance with the parable of <a href="/hebrews/6-7.htm" title="For the earth which drinks in the rain that comes oft on it, and brings forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receives blessing from God:">Hebrews 6:7</a>, he declares that God will surely bestow the promised reward. Herein lies his hope. Man’s work cannot in itself merit reward from God, but (<a href="/1_john/1-9.htm" title="If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.">1John 1:9</a>) the righteous God cannot neglect His own promise and law that such works shall receive reward.<p><span class= "bld">Your work and labour of love.</span>—The best MSS. omit “labour”; so that the words run thus: <span class= "ital">to forget your work, and the love which ye showed toward His name.</span> The “fruit” consisted in brotherly love, but it was offered <span class= "ital">unto God</span> (<a href="/hebrews/6-7.htm" title="For the earth which drinks in the rain that comes oft on it, and brings forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receives blessing from God:">Hebrews 6:7</a>); the bond of brotherhood was the joint relation to “His name” (<a href="/hebrews/2-10.htm" title="For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.">Hebrews 2:10</a>). With the last words compare <a href="/romans/15-26.htm" title="For it has pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.">Romans 15:26</a>; <a href="/romans/15-31.htm" title="That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints;">Romans 15:31</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-11.htm">Hebrews 6:11</a></div><div class="verse">And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:</div>(11) <span class= "bld">Full assurance.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">fulness</span> (full productiveness) <span class= "ital">of hope</span> (<a href="/hebrews/10-22.htm" title="Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.">Hebrews 10:22</a>). His desire is that the zeal which they have manifested in works of love may be directed toward the attainment of the full harvest of Christian hope—may be shown until the very end (<a href="/hebrews/3-6.htm" title="But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.">Hebrews 3:6</a>; <a href="/hebrews/3-14.htm" title="For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end;">Hebrews 3:14</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-12.htm">Hebrews 6:12</a></div><div class="verse">That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.</div>(12) <span class= "bld">That ye be not slothful.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">that ye become not sluggish.</span> The same word is used as in <a href="/hebrews/5-11.htm" title="Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing you are dull of hearing.">Hebrews 5:11</a>, there applied to apprehension of truth, here to the Christian hope and life; if the truth be not welcomed, there will be no vigour in the life.<p><span class= "bld">Followers.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">imitators.</span> (Comp. <a href="/hebrews/13-7.htm" title="Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken to you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.">Hebrews 13:7</a>; <a href="/1_corinthians/11-1.htm" title="Be you followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.">1Corinthians 11:1</a>, <span class= "ital">et al.</span>)<span class= "ital">.</span> They are not the first to whom “hope” has been given, and who have needed zeal that they might not fail of their hope. As in Hebrews 11 the writer appeals to precursors <span class= "ital">of faith, </span>so here of <span class= "ital">hope;</span> to men who, having lived in hope, passed to the actual possession of the promised blessings by means of faith (which accepted and clung to the promise) and patience. The last word is not that which occurs in the similar exhortation in <a href="/hebrews/10-36.htm" title="For you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.">Hebrews 10:36</a>. That is a brave endurance; this is the word usually rendered “long-suffering,” which here and in <a href="/james/5-7.htm" title="Be patient therefore, brothers, to the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and has long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.">James 5:7</a> signifies <span class= "ital">patient waiting.</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-13.htm">Hebrews 6:13</a></div><div class="verse">For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,</div>(13) The connection seems to be this: “You, like them, have promises—promises to which God has given all possible certainty; you, like them, can attain the fulfilment only through faith and patient waiting.”<p><span class= "bld">For when God made promise.</span>—It is better to follow the words literally, <span class= "ital">For when to Abraham God had made promise.</span> Abraham is chosen for special mention as the most illustrious example of those who “inherit the promises” (comp. <a href="/john/8-58.htm" title="Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am.">John 8:58</a>); also because (1) the assurance given to him was confirmed by oath; and (2) in it lay included the promise of the Christ. The promises made to Abraham were essentially one, with various parts progressively fulfilled. It seems likely that, though the next verse is quoted from <a href="/genesis/22-17.htm" title="That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;">Genesis 22:17</a>, the writer also has in mind (“<span class= "ital">had</span> promised”) <a href="/genesis/12-3.htm" title="And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.">Genesis 12:3</a>, and especially Genesis 15.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-14.htm">Hebrews 6:14</a></div><div class="verse">Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.</div>(14) <span class= "bld">Saying.</span>—The words of the oath itself, “By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord” (<a href="/genesis/22-16.htm" title="And said, By myself have I sworn, said the LORD, for because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son:">Genesis 22:16</a>), are not repeated, because they are almost identical with the writer’s own words introducing the citation (<a href="/hebrews/6-13.htm" title="For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself,">Hebrews 6:13</a>). It will be observed that one change is made—in the last word; for in Genesis we read, “I will multiply <span class= "ital">thy seed.</span>” The alteration may be made for brevity, as the quotation is abridged; but it will be seen that the effect of it is to direct greater attention to the first words, and to fix the thought on the blessing promised to Abraham himself.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-15.htm">Hebrews 6:15</a></div><div class="verse">And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.</div>(15) <span class= "bld">And so, after he had patiently endured.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">and thus</span> (thus being in possession of the promise and the oath of God), <span class= "ital">having patiently waited</span> (<a href="/hebrews/6-12.htm" title="That you be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.">Hebrews 6:12</a>) <span class= "ital">he obtained the promise</span>—the promised gift. Though some portions of the promise received a partial accomplishment during Abraham’s life, it is not this that the writer has in view. (See <a href="/hebrews/6-12.htm" title="That you be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.">Hebrews 6:12</a>, and <a href="/hebrews/11-13.htm" title="These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.">Hebrews 11:13</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-16.htm">Hebrews 6:16</a></div><div class="verse">For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation <i>is</i> to them an end of all strife.</div>(16) <span class= "bld">And an oath for confirmation.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">and of every dispute in their case the oath is an end</span> (is final) <span class= "ital">to settle the matter.</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-17.htm">Hebrews 6:17</a></div><div class="verse">Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed <i>it</i> by an oath:</div>(17) <span class= "bld">Wherein.</span>—Since this is the case.<p><span class= "bld">Of promise.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">of the promise.</span> The promise made to Abraham was substantially and really (see <a href="/hebrews/6-13.htm" title="For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself,">Hebrews 6:13</a>) that which embraced all Messianic hope; of this promise not Abraham’s sons only, but all “they which are of faith” (<a href="/galatians/3-7.htm" title="Know you therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.">Galatians 3:7</a>; <a href="/galatians/3-29.htm" title="And if you be Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.">Galatians 3:29</a>), Abraham’s spiritual seed, are the heirs. In an Epistle so distinctly Pauline there can be no doubt as to this interpretation.<p><span class= "bld">Confirmed it by an oath.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">mediated with an oath.</span> When a man confirms a promise or declaration to another by solemn appeal to God, between the two God is Mediator. Condescending to man’s weakness, that the certainty may be “more abundant,” God. thus confirms His word, at once the Promiser and the Mediator: God the Promiser (if we may so speak) makes appeal to God the Hearer and Witness of the oath. We cannot doubt, as we read this whole passage, that there is a special reason for the emphasis thus laid on God’s <span class= "ital">oath</span> to Abraham. The writer dwells on this confirmation of the divine word of promise, not merely because it is the first recorded in sacred history, but because he has in thought the declaration of <a href="/psalms/110-4.htm" title="The LORD has sworn, and will not repent, You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.">Psalm 110:4</a>. To this as yet he makes no reference; though he has quoted from the verse repeatedly, it has been without mention of the divine oath: but throughout the section before us he is preparing the way for his later argument in <a href="/hebrews/7-21.htm" title="(For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said to him, The Lord swore and will not repent, You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)">Hebrews 7:21</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-18.htm">Hebrews 6:18</a></div><div class="verse">That by two immutable things, in which <i>it was</i> impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:</div>(18) <span class= "bld">Two immutable things.</span>—The promise and the oath.<p><span class= "bld">Consolation.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">encouragement.</span> For us, rather than for Abraham alone, was the encouragement designed; for us, who (as men in danger of their lives flee to the sanctuary) “fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us” in the promise. Up to this point we read of what God has done; here of what must be done by man. The <span class= "ital">laying hold</span> expresses the “faith,” and implies the “patient waiting” (<a href="/hebrews/6-12.htm" title="That you be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.">Hebrews 6:12</a>); by it we become true “heirs of the promise” (<a href="/hebrews/6-17.htm" title="Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show to the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:">Hebrews 6:17</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-19.htm">Hebrews 6:19</a></div><div class="verse">Which <i>hope</i> we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;</div>(19) <span class= "bld">Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul.</span>—A beautiful image, introduced for a moment only to set forth the security of the soul, though tossed by the waves of trouble. This symbol of hope, so familiar to us in Christian art, is not mentioned in the Old Testament, but is found in Greek proverbial sayings, and (it is said) appears on ancient coins.<p><span class= "bld">Both sure and stedfast.</span>—These words and the following <span class= "ital">may, </span>indeed, form part of the figure; but more probably relate to the hope itself—a hope unfailing, firm, which entereth where no human sight can follow, even into the Most Holy Place, into heaven itself. The hope becomes personified, that the reader’s thought may be led to Him who is Himself our hope.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/hebrews/6-20.htm">Hebrews 6:20</a></div><div class="verse">Whither the forerunner is for us entered, <i>even</i> Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.</div>(20) <span class= "bld">Whither the forerunner.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">Whither, as forerunner, Jesus entered for us, having become High Priest after the order of Melchizedek for ever.</span> The Jewish high priest entered the Holiest Place by himself—a representative but not a leader. Jesus has entered the true sanctuary (<a href="/hebrews/9-24.htm" title="For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:">Hebrews 9:24</a>) that He may give His people entrance there (<a href="/hebrews/10-19.htm" title="Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,">Hebrews 10:19</a>; <a href="/context/john/14-2.htm" title="In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.">John 14:2-3</a>). With this renewed mention of the great high-priestly act (<a href="/hebrews/4-14.htm" title="Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.">Hebrews 4:14</a>), the writer returns to the words of Scripture on which he was about to dwell (<a href="/hebrews/5-10.htm" title="Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.">Hebrews 5:10</a>), when the painful thought of the unpreparedness of his readers for higher Christian teaching forced itself upon his mind. In this verse the order of the words taken from the Psalm is changed; in the last words “for ever” is declared with unequalled impressiveness the permanence of our Christian hope.<p><span class= "bld"><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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