Hebrews 6:9-12 – Exhortation #3 – Move On to Maturity Part 3

A loving encouragement: I am confident of better things for you

Session 15 – August 21, 2020 – Men’s Morning Hebrews Haverim

Our Men’s Haverim group is reading through and discussing the book of Hebrews during the months of August and September. For more information, see this blog post.

9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, 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 have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Hebrews 6:9-12 New International Version

Summary:

• After the stern rebuke to grow up in the faith and the solemn warning that you could fall away, the author now offers encouragement: he’s convinced of better things for them related to their salvation.
• God isn’t unjust but sees their work and love for Him and how they’ve served His people.
• He explains why he offered the rebuke and warning: he wants them to fully realize their hope and to not become lazy.
• He calls them to imitate the examples around them of faith and patience so that they can share in the inheritance God has promised.

Other Thoughts:

• The author addresses them as “beloved” or “dear friends” and his word to them shows he has great hope for them. In our language today, the message might be something like “you can do this… keep the faith… stay strong… don’t turn away!”.
• “Better things” – might be a willingness to learn, to go from milk to solid food, to being fruitful and not thorns.
• “Things that have to do with salvation” may refer to the work and love they have shown to their fellow disciples in v. 10. The fruit of our life can be seen in how we show our love to others.
• This exhortation, to “move on to maturity” is like a pep talk at halftime in the letter. It’s a call to persevere and don’t become lazy. It’s also a call to imitate those who’ve gone before them and made it to the end of the race.
• To imitate we need to be close and have the kind of relationships where we share our struggles and how we overcame them. If we imitate the faith and patience of those who’ve persevered, we can gain spiritual strength to persevere.
• One area for perseverance is in continuing to do good (v. 11-12). Galatians 6:9 also is a call to continue to do good, and Jude :3-4 is similar to the text here – a call to continue to “contend for the faith” along with a warning against those who are not obeying the faith.
• The exhortation ends with a call to imitate, which is counter-cultural in our times of individualism. We need to fight against individualism so that we can know the power of imitating others as they imitate Christ. Paul called others to imitate him and to follow his example as he followed the example of Christ (1 Cor 4:16, 2 Cor 3:9, 1 Cor 11:1, etc.).
• Are you persevering in loving and serving others? Are you imitating the faith and patience of the faithful examples who’ve gone before you?