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The Pharisees and Sadducees kept demanding for more signs from Jesus, even though He already fulfilled so many Messianic prophecies. Find out what is the ultimate sign that is the basis of our faith!
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Who Can’t be Renewed to Repentance?
“Therefore leaving the teaching of the first principles of Christ, let us press on to perfection—not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith toward God, of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. This will we do, if God permits. For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame. For the land which has drunk the rain that comes often on it, and produces a crop suitable for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is rejected and near being cursed, whose end is to be burned.” (Hebrews 6:1-8 WEB)
Everything that the author listed from “repentance from dead works...and of eternal judgment” are considered first principles of Christ—basic Gospel truths.
So a believer who advocates keeping the works of the Law is a baby Christian who isn’t ready for deeper revelations of God—he must be taught and grounded in the basics first.
Those who are impossible to be renewed to repentance are not believers. Notice that the author says “concerning those”, not “concerning you”.
They are unbelievers who heard the Gospel, felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, experienced God’s miracles and still choose not to place their faith in Jesus.
The author was directly addressing those Jews at the time who had experienced the truth of the Gospel and yet chose to return to the works of the Law so as to escape the severe persecution upon Christians.
Judas Iscariot was a partaker of the Holy Spirit—Jesus gave him authority to preach, heal and cast out demons as like the other eleven apostles.
Even though Judas witnessed these miracles of God worked through his own hands, he didn’t place his faith in Jesus.
The author proceeds to use an illustration. The rain represents the God’s word and the land represents a person’s heart.
If a person hears the Gospel and believes, then he is saved—the land bears crops and becomes fruitful.
If a person hears the Gospel and doesn’t believe then he remains in his sins and will be cast into Hell after death—the land bears thorns and thistles which is a sign of choosing to follow the world instead of Jesus.
Other examples of such Biblical characters who were impossible to be renewed to repentance: the chief priests, Sadducees, Pharisees who saw Jesus’ miracles, heard His words and still chose to reject Him as Messiah, even after He rose from the dead.
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God Takes No Pleasure in Doing This
“Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me by proving me, and saw my deeds for forty years. Therefore I was displeased with that generation, and said, ‘They always err in their heart, but they didn’t know my ways;’ as I swore in my wrath, ‘They will not enter into my rest.’” Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God; but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called “today”; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm to the end: while it is said, “Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion.” For who, when they heard, rebelled? No, didn’t all those who came out of Egypt by Moses? With whom was he displeased forty years? Wasn’t it with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? To whom did he swear that they wouldn’t enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient? We see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:7-19 WEB)
The unbelieving generations of the children of Israel in the wilderness represent unbelievers who stubbornly refuse to place their faith in Jesus for salvation.
Even though the children of Israel experienced God’s goodness in the wilderness and His deliverance from Egypt, they didn’t place their faith in Him as their Savior.
They kept complaining against Moses even after seeing miracle after miracle from Yahweh (the pre-incarnate Christ).
Examples of people who saw and experienced Jesus’ miracles and didn’t place their faith in Him: Judas Iscariot, the chief priests, Pharisees, scribes and Sadducees.
There are people who won’t even place their faith in Jesus if they see Him and His works in person—salvation is not for everyone.
Some people use their free will to choose to be separated from Jesus—probably not believing the eternal implications of their choice.
Some people blame God for condemning people to the lake of fire and say that a gracious, loving, merciful God won’t do that.
However God is not just gracious, loving and merciful.
He is also holy and righteous, meaning sin has to be punished, no matter how He hates to punish mankind for it.
If unbelievers refuse to accept the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus, then they have chosen to pay the penalty of death for their own multitude of sins committed against God.
Entering God’s rest means being saved. The children of Israel crossing the River Jordan into the Promised Land of Canaan is a picture of being baptized into Jesus’s death and resurrection—passing from death into eternal life.
It’s a sinner’s unbelief alone that separates him/her from God—not any other sins.
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