Guarding spiritual well-being
…and who have fallen away. This is because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt. For the ground that drinks the rain that often falls on it and that produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned. Hebrews 6:6-8 CSB
Continuing from last week on those that initially confessed that they had a relationship with Christ but ultimately reject Him, these individuals commit apostasy and are unable to be restored. Their actions “to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding Him up to contempt.” These individuals have heard the gospel message over and over again, followed for a time, but in the end, chose to not only reject Christ, but publicly hold Christ up for contempt. They are actively hostile towards Christ and His followers. That is why the author of Hebrews believes it is not possible for these individuals to have a relationship with Christ due to the hardness of their hearts. Yes, there is still grace and mercy available to them, for God promises to restore those that choose His Son, but these individuals have constantly chosen to not repent, which will lead to their demise. Romans 1:28 describes this condition, “And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right.” As Donald Guthrie writes that these individuals’ hearts are hardened with “an impenetrable casing which removes all sensitivity to the pleadings of the Spirit.” What follows in verses 7 and 8 reinforce this point by giving a farming analogy. A farmer would expect that a patch of land that had received plentiful rainfall would produce wonderful crops, yet, to his dismay, that patch of land produced thorns and thistles. Therefore, that patch of land would be deemed unusable, and the crop of weeds that it brought forth would be burned. The same is with our actions reflecting our hearts. Those that claim to be believers, and yet, through their actions do not produce spiritual fruit (as seen in Galatians 5:22-23), and instead sin, are in danger of judgment. But, those that claim to be believers and produce fruit in their lives, they may receive “a blessing from God,” to continue to produce fruit. The author provided a lengthy discussion about falling away from faith because God wants Christians to truly live out the new life they have received from God by guarding their spiritual well-being “so that no one will fall into the same pattern (the Israelites in the wilderness after Exodus from Egyptian bondage) of disobedience (Hebrews 4:11). When true spiritual rebirth takes place, spiritual life develops and brings forth fruit. The words of our Lord Jesus Christ testifies to this truth: “you’ll recognize them by their fruit” (Matthew 7:20).
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
