Want to grow strong and make good decisions? Dig in!
Read / Listen to the chapter:
Other resources for this chapter
Read the chapter in an outlined format
Hebrews 6 Summary
CHAPTER SHIFT: Remember our chapter shift is still on. Chapter 6 really ought to begin in 5:11 and chapter 7 should begin at 6:13. Thankfully things will be back to normal by chapter 8.
The writer here expresses frustration with his audience; they have a need to be digging into deeper and deeper truth but yet all they want to do is scratch the surface.
Yet this chapter once again makes clear the unsurpassed value that knowing God conveys, and lovingly encourages those who read it to persevere.
Dig Deeper
We've come to expect that since the knowledge we need will be available when we need it, there's no point in developing it ahead of time. Why memorize something you can easily google?
But our theology - our knowledge of God communicated in the Bible - isn't just something to use to win a trivia game or reference some obscure fact in a conversation. Rather it's practical and continually useful! Here's how it's described in 5:14 -
Theologians have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
In other words, theologians are often able to discern the right thing to do when others can't.
This theology must be trained by constant practice. It's not just something you google when you face crisis. Making yourself a mature theologian takes hard work: reading the Bible, hearing it preached & explained, praying the Bible and thinking deeply about what it says.
God makes it clear the kind of theologian He desires you to be:
We desire... that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (6:12)
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: God is just and will bless your efforts as you work hard to grow in your faith (v10)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God will give you an appetite for solid doctrinal food (6:12)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
