6
Warning Against Falling Away
1 Therefore, let us leave behind the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith in God,
2 and of instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
3 And this we will do, if God permits.
4 For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
5 who have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the coming age,
6 and yet have fallen away, since, to their own harm, they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and exposing him to public shame.
7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls upon it, and produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.
8 But land that bears thorns and thistles is worthless and on the verge of being cursed; its end is to be burned.
9 Even though we speak in this way, beloved, we are confident of better things in your case, things that pertain to salvation.
10 For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the labor of love that you have shown toward his name by serving the saints, as you still do.
11 We want each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope to the very end,
12 so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and patience.
The Certainty of God's Promise
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself,
14 saying, “I will surely bless yoʋ and multiply yoʋ.”
15 And so Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise.
16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and in every dispute among them an oath is final for confirmation.
17 So when God wanted to show the unchangeable nature of his purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath,
18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.
19 We have this hope as a sure and steadfast anchor for the soul. It enters into the inner sanctuary behind the veil,
20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, because he has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.