Proclaimer Blog
Hebrews 6: make sure you ask the right question
Next week I've got to preach Hebrews 5.11-6.20 which includes the nutty section on apostacy. It's easy to get really distracted by this section and miss the strong exhortation to maturity that comes before and the confidence the writer expresses about the Hebrews themselves – in other words, whatever else you may think about Hebrews 6.4-6, the writer is confident: "we feel sure of better things, things that belong to salvation." And later on, "we have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul…"
So, the writer is not answering the theological question, "Can I fall away?" or even "If I fall away, will I be able to get back?" Preachers do well to remember that. Nevertheless, it is a perplexing part of the passage and with our Sunday evening congregation where I'm going for a simple approach, it needs an illustration to help people understand why it is here and what purpose it is serving. Here's what I'm going for.
See the sign? What do you think when you see this sign? I guarantee that you are not asking, "If my car goes over the edge will I be able to get it back onto the road again or is it the end for my car?" No! Of course not. Instead, you're saying "I am going to make pretty darn sure I don't go anywhere near that edge." And after you have passed the danger zone you breathe a sigh of relief and say "I'm glad that sign was there and I didn't let myself get too close to the quayside." That is essentially the purpose of the warnings throughout Hebrews. They are not answering theological questions about one of the five points of Calvinism. Rather they stand as stark and sober warnings to be heeded. I'm hoping that this simple illustration will help me keep to the main thrust of the passage and not get too sidetracked by this vexing issue.