Hebrews 6:1-12

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Hebrews 5:11–6:12
• Sermon
• Prayer of Closing

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Sermon Title: The Warning, the Fruit, and the Perseverance of Believers

Scripture: Hebrews 6:1-12

I. Review: Who Is the Person Who Falls Away?

A. The warning passage in Hebrews 6:4-6 is widely considered the strongest warning in all of Scripture

1. The writer pauses his exposition of Christ as high priest in the order of Melchizedek (begun in Hebrews 5:1-10) to address his readers directly
2. Beginning in Hebrews 5:11, the writer rebukes stunted growth and calls the congregation to go on to maturity

B. The person who falls away is like the wilderness generation

1. They had proximity to God's presence, the word, and the privileges of belonging to His people
2. Yet they ultimately disbelieved, grumbled, and refused to trust God to bring them into the promised land
3. In the same way, the apostate in the New Testament church may sit under the ministry of the word, show outward response, and even produce apparent fruit — yet never be truly regenerated

C. The impossibility of restoring such a person to repentance (Hebrews 6:4-6)

1. Proximity to the word, when met with final rejection, results in a hardening of heart so severe that repentance becomes impossible
2. This is qualified by Hebrews 6:3 — "this we will do if God permits" — God's sovereignty governs all
3. Rick Phillips: "Having been so outwardly close to Jesus — like Judas — when they fall away, their heart is so hardened toward him that it is impossible to restore them again to repentance"

II. How Do We Identify Those Who Belong to Christ? The Picture of Two Fields

A. The metaphor of two fields in Hebrews 6:7-8

1. Rain falls on both fields — representing the ordinary means of grace available to all within the visible church
2. One field produces a useful crop and receives God's blessing; the other bears only thorns and thistles and faces the curse
3. This mirrors the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13) — some soil bears temporary growth that is ultimately choked out; no lasting fruit remains

B. The identification of fruit is slow and takes time

1. Both fields receive the same rain; only over time does the difference become clear
2. Peter fell grievously yet ultimately bore lasting fruit; Judas appeared faithful yet in the end fell away for thirty pieces of silver
3. The church is a mixed community — believers must not rush to judge others, but allow time to reveal the character of each field

C. True fruit is distinguished by its purpose — for the glory of Christ's name

1. Mark Jones: outward fruit can be self-serving rather than rendered unto the glory of Christ
2. Hebrews 6:10 highlights "the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints" — the phrase "for his name" is the distinguishing mark
3. God is not unjust to overlook this work; He sees the heart where we cannot

III. The Usefulness of This Warning for Believers

A. The warning is addressed to believers, calling them to go on to maturity

1. The pronouns shift from third person in Hebrews 6:4-6 to second person in Hebrews 6:9-12 — "of you, beloved, we feel sure of better things"
2. The warning is not an end in itself but is embedded in the larger call to maturity throughout Hebrews 5:11–6:12

B. Warnings and exhortations are means by which God preserves His people

1. Kevin DeYoung, Daily Doctrine: "Threats and exhortations do not undermine perseverance — they help to complete it. The God who keeps us means to keep us by means" (cf. Jude 21, Jude 24)
2. The warnings prompt self-examination — not fruit-hunting in others, but looking inward
3. Robert Murray M'Cheyne: examine yourself to know whether you are believing and holding to Christ — but for every look to yourself, look ten thousand times to Christ

C. The Christian life is one of ongoing advance, not sluggishness

1. Hebrews 5:14 — maturity requires powers of discernment "trained by constant practice"
2. Hebrews 6:10-12 — "show the same earnestness… until the end… not sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises"
3. The Great Commission calls disciples to be "taught to obey all that I have commanded" — a life of continual discipleship and progress
4. Progress is not merely doctrinal knowledge but growing in personal, intimate knowledge of Christ — abiding in him and bearing fruit (John 15:5)

IV. The Perseverance of the Saints

A. The Westminster Confession of Faith on perseverance

1. Those effectually called and sanctified by God's Spirit "can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere to the end and be eternally saved"
2. Perseverance rests not on free will but on the immutability of election, the merit and intercession of Christ, the abiding of the Spirit, and the nature of the covenant of grace
3. Nevertheless, saints may fall into grievous sin for a time — incurring God's displeasure, grieving the Spirit, and hardening their consciences — yet this is distinct from final falling away

B. God uses even the grief of sin and the force of warning passages to drive His people forward

1. The key verse of the passage: Hebrews 6:3 — "This we will do if God permits" — God's sovereign decree underlies the whole
2. Christ is a keeping Christ; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all at work to preserve those who are His