A Call to Maturity
1Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3And this will we do, if God permit. 4For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 7For 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: 8But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
9But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. 10For God is 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. 11And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 12That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
God's Promise is Certain
13For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 14Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 15And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 17Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18That by two immutable things, in which it was 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: 19Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 20Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
A Call to Maturity
1 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, 2 of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 This will we do, if God permits. 4 For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, 6 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. 7 For the land which has drunk the rain that comes often on it, and brings forth a crop suitable for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is rejected and near being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
9 But, beloved, we are persuaded of better things for you, and things that accompany salvation, even though we speak like this. 10 For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in that you served the saints, and still do serve them. 11 We desire that each one of you may show the same diligence to the fullness of hope even to the end, 12 that you won’t be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherited the promises.
God’s Unchangeable Promise
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he could swear by none greater, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 Thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by a greater one, and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation. 17 In this way God, being determined to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil; 20 where as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
A Call to Maturity
1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, a and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, b the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do, if God permits.
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age— 6 and then have fallen away—to be restored to repentance, because they themselves are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to open shame.
7 For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.
9 Even though we speak like this, beloved, we are convinced of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation. 10 For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12 Then you will not be sluggish, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
God’s Unchangeable 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 you and multiply your descendants.” c 15 And so Abraham, after waiting patiently, obtained the promise.
16 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and their oath serves as a confirmation to end all argument. 17 So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath. 18 Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
Footnotes:
1 a Or from acts that lead to death
2 b Or cleansing rites
14 c Genesis 22:17
A Call to Maturity
1Wherefore, having left the word of the beginning of the Christ, unto the perfection we may advance, not again a foundation laying of reformation from dead works, and of faith on God, 2of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on also of hands, of rising again also of the dead, and of judgment age-during, 3and this we will do, if God may permit, 4for it is impossible for those once enlightened, having tasted also of the heavenly gift, and partakers having became of the Holy Spirit, 5and did taste the good saying of God, the powers also of the coming age, 6and having fallen away, again to renew them to reformation, having crucified again to themselves the Son of God, and exposed to public shame. 7For earth, that is drinking in the rain many times coming upon it, and is bringing forth herbs fit for those because of whom also it is dressed, doth partake of blessing from God, 8and that which is bearing thorns and briers is disapproved of, and nigh to cursing, whose end is for burning;
9and we are persuaded, concerning you, beloved, the things that are better, and accompanying salvation, though even thus we speak, 10for God is not unrighteous to forget your work, and the labour of the love, that ye shewed to His name, having ministered to the saints and ministering; 11and we desire each one of you the same diligence to shew, unto the full assurance of the hope unto the end, 12that ye may not become slothful, but followers of those who through faith and patient endurance are inheriting the promises.
God's Promise is Certain
13For to Abraham God, having made promise, seeing He was able to swear by no greater, did swear by Himself, 14saying, 'Blessing indeed I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee;' 15and so, having patiently endured, he did obtain the promise; 16for men indeed do swear by the greater, and an end of all controversy to them for confirmation is the oath, 17in which God, more abundantly willing to shew to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, did interpose by an oath, 18that through two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, a strong comfort we may have who did flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us, 19which we have, as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and entering into that within the vail, 20whither a forerunner for us did enter -- Jesus, after the order of Melchisedek chief priest having become -- to the age.
The Favor of God paraphrase
Moving Forward in Spiritual Maturity
¹ So let’s move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and press on to maturity! We don’t need to lay the foundation of repentance again from dead works, or the basics of faith in God. ² We don’t need to go back to teachings on ritual washings, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³ And God willing, we will move forward with deeper things!
The Danger of Falling Away
⁴ It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened—who have tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and experienced the goodness of God’s word and the powers of the coming age—⁶ if they fall away, to be restored again to repentance. They crucify the Son of God all over again, exposing Him to public disgrace. ⁷ Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives a blessing from God. ⁸ But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless—it is in danger of being cursed. In the end, it will be burned!
Encouragement and Confidence in God’s Promise
⁹ Dear friends, even though we speak like this, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. ¹⁰ God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you help His people and continue to do so. ¹¹ We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that your hope is fully realized. ¹² Don’t become lazy, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
The Certainty of God’s Promise
¹³ When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself, ¹⁴ saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” ¹⁵ And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. ¹⁶ People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. ¹⁷ Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. ¹⁸ God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.
Hope as an Anchor for the Soul
¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, ²⁰ where Jesus, our forerunner, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Footnotes:
1.“Elementary teachings” (verse 1) refers to foundational principles of faith, emphasizing the need to grow beyond spiritual infancy and into maturity.
2.“Dead works” (verse 1) refers to efforts at righteousness that are without the life-giving power of faith and grace.
3.“Enlightened” (verse 4) implies a deep spiritual understanding and experience of God’s grace through the Holy Spirit.
4.“Impossible to restore” (verse 6) refers to a theological warning about the seriousness of apostasy, not as a lack of forgiveness but as a warning against turning away from the faith after knowing Christ.
5.“Anchor for the soul” (verse 19) is a metaphor for the steadfastness of hope in God’s promise, secure and unshakable, even in trials.
