Chapter five closed with a strong criticism. The Hebrews are to accept God's word as fact and grow up –to quit living on milk like an infant at his mother's breast. God's desire is for them to become mature –familiar with righteousness –able to distinguish good from evil. Instead they remain tethered to the traditions of the Law and every time they hear the gospel –living by faith rather than works– they trip and fall and have to start all over again with the basics.

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ [Messiah], let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works [or useless rituals] and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings [or baptisms –that is, cleansing rites] and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits. (Hebrews 6:1-3 )

Repentance from useless rituals (religious works that lead nowhere but to death) is simple in concept, but far from trivial for someone who has practiced them for their entire life. It demands a life-change –an identity change. Reliance on religious works to gain or even maintain righteousness must end. Simultaneously, a new life must begin –one that is founded on righteousness attained only through faith in Yeshua, the Messiah –Jesus. Religious practices, works, or traditions, are all reliant upon human ability and tenacity; they are foreign to a submissive trust in God –faith. This is radical to a Hebrew whose relationship with God has been based on heavenly ordained traditions. Similarly, we Christians spend much of our lives trying to understand the differences between Law vs. Grace.

Faith toward God is what every Hebrew claims he has. But if that faith does not lift Jesus above Moses and the Law, above the prophets, above the Levitical Priesthood and Law, and above the angels, then God's promise of rest can never be entered. Faith must be like Abraham's by which righteousness was credited to him; not earned by religious works. The Lord has declared that Jesus –the fulfillment of Joshua, or Yeshua– must be followed to enter His rest.

Instruction about washings (or baptisms) are what a Hebrew must follow when he becomes unclean according to the Levitical Law. That Law however, points out the difference between truly becoming "clean" and ceremonial cleansing. Baptisms are a picture of what must take place for a person to be washed of sin to become acceptable to God.

Laying on of hands refers to ceremonially transferring sins to a substitute sacrifice in order to become sinless and receive God's forgiveness. The high priest laid his hands on a spotless bull and sacrificed it for his own sins before he could approach God in the Tabernacle (Leviticus 4:3-5). In the same way when the whole community sinned, the elders would lay their hands on a spotless bull and the priest sacrificed it for the forgiveness their sins (Leviticus 4:13-15). When a leader or any individual sinned, he brought a spotless animal to the priest who laid his hands on it and then it was killed in place of the sinner (Leviticus 4:22-26). On the Day of Atonement, the high priest sacrificed a bull for his own sins, then a goat for the sins of the people. Next, he laid his hands on a second goat to ceremonially transfer the sins of the people to a substitute which was then condemned to wander in the wilderness (Leviticus 16:20-22). What a vivid foreshadow of the crucifixion where the sins of the people were transferred to Jesus on His altar.

The resurrection of the dead is not some obscure concept that comes from a few Old Testament Scriptures. The most significant reference is found in Isaiah 53:10-11; it's where Jesus' life, death and restoration to life are captured in unmistakable words. His resurrection is critical because He had to establish the pathway –He took away our sins –cleansed us with His blood –pleads the case for our mercy. David describes it in Psalm 16:7-11 and Psalm 17:14-15. Isaiah talks about it in Isaiah 26:19. Job contains two clear depictions of the resurrection, Job 14:13-15 –the most notable from Job 19:25-27. Certainly the reference in Daniel 12:13 can' t be ignored. Lastly, there's a passage that answers some basic questions about our difficulties in this life –Hosea 6:1-2.

Eternal judgment was the subject of Jesus' story in Luke 16:19-31 where He told about the afterlife of Lazerus and a rich man. After they died, angels carried Lazerus to Abraham's bosom (also known as Paradise); but the rich man went to the grave (also known as Hades, hell, or torment). That parable poises the age-old question: "If there is a second life, what will it be for me?" Jesus answered it for the Hebrews saying that they all have known what Moses taught –and those teachings were to lead them to Him. In the Old Testament, there are two explicit references to the judgment, Isaiah 66:22-24 and Daniel 12:1-3.

Let's put it together now. A Hebrew is to put aside his legalistic relationship with God based on useless rituals. He is to build a new relationship based solely on faith in God through Jesus –the new High Priest. Washings (or baptisms) with water are ceremonies to show the need for cleansing the outside of the body from unrighteous acts. Laying on of hands –another ceremony– is to demonstrate the need to transfer the sins that contaminate the soul onto a substitute sacrifice. Jesus provides a total cleansing of both the outside and the inside. The resurrection of the dead is the hope that there is more than just physical life. It logically follows that people need to know what to expect in that life. The answer is, that everyone will face eternal judgment –the final decision of punishment or reward. Jesus was proof of the resurrection to come and He told all who would listen that there will be eternal rest with God or eternal torment away from Him. These are all founded on one choice: Is the Hebrew going to enter the true Promised Land by following Jesus? Or reject the promise –deciding instead to wander until his death in the wilderness?

For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. (Hebrews 6:4-6)

Who saw the light –the bright glory of God on the mountain and the column of light every night in the desert for forty years? Over six hundred thousand Hebrews saw them both and still perished because they refused to enter God's rest. Who tasted the heavenly gift –the manna which was gathered every day except on the Sabbath day of rest? The same people who tested their Lord all along the way to the promised land. Who were partakers (sharers) in the Holy Spirit –the One who gave Moses and the Hebrew elders insight into God's will? The same ones who cast a golden calf and angered God to the point of nearly destroying them. Who tasted the goodness of the word of God –the Passover Lamb? Those who God led out of slavery to a land of milk and honey. Who saw the powers of God yet to come –miracle after miracle from the time of their release from Pharaoh until their entry into Canaan? The Hebrews who by their mouths praised God; but by their actions they denied Him.

Obviously, repentance is a description of change –from one thing –to something that is exactly the opposite. It's a change of the heart –the very core of a person. It's not about impulsive actions –those don't necessarily reflect the heart. That's key to understanding repentance. Earlier, in chapter 4, we read that God's judgments are based on the heart.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4:12-13)

The Hebrews claimed to have become a people whose lives were based on trusting God. According to their words, "We will do whatever God tells us!", they repented from being faithless to being faithful. They supposedly changed their minds about the basis of life itself. But their response to God's plea to "Enter My rest" was deliberate –a vote was taken –time elapsed –and the decision was made. They chose to not enter. That choice revealed the truth. They didn't trust God to preserve them at the start of their journey and they were a resolved, stubborn, unchanged, unrepentant people at their destination. This people was led up to the border of the Promised Land after seeing God's faithfulness every day. Nonetheless, they fell away from –they refused to enter– a new life.

The spiritual equivalent of crossing the River Jordan and entering the Promised Land is following Jesus from an unbelieving life into a life based on faith where the promised eternal life is realized. His death provides access to all who follow Him. If another entry way is to be provided –one other than what is offered– then another perfect Lamb of God would have to die just like Jesus did. Remember, the ones who refused to enter through the first entry way died in their sin. In the same way, God will not provide another way into His presence.

For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. (Hebrews 6:7-8)

Land is a metaphor for the human heart. God is the farmer who sows His seed –the word of life. In the end-time, He will harvest every heart and judge its crop. The heart that refuses to let His seed –Jesus, the seed of Abraham– sprout and ripen into His desired fruit will not gain entrance.

But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:9-12)

Through these stern warnings, God offers hope for salvation to these people who helped the ones who have already entered –the receivers of His promise. It's an appeal for them to recognize where they are in their journey through the desert of legalistic obedience to the Law –and the endless number of falls into sin's temptation. The Law can only lead them up to the promise; it's Jesus who has to take them in.

For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU." And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. (Hebrews 6:13-15)

Abraham did not see the future life that was coming, but he trusted that by a single sacrifice –the sacrifice provided by God Himself– there was a life to follow his physical existence in which everything good would be realized and experienced.

For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:16-20)

The two unchanging attributes of God are that He is eternal and He is truth. So unlike men's promises which are often empty, His promise will never be broken. That promise is a fruitful life with God. The first to receive God's promise was Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-2). Those who live by faith are also heirs to the promise. That includes the Old Testament saints (Hebrews 11:17, Romans 4:13) as well as New Testament saints (Galatians 4:4-7). He is the High Priest who has already been in the Promised Land and came to tell all about its riches.

God designed His rest such that it satisfies mans' greatest emotional need –security –specifically security related to being acceptable and pleasing to God. Doubts about His faithfulness and the certainty of our own unfaithfulness do come as the waves of life crash around us. The anchor of the soul –emotional security– is attained by trusting that His entry way into His Promised Land (a fruitful eternal life) is sufficient –enough to complete it. No more offerings are required to gain fellowship with Him. Jesus –the Messiah– was the last offering required.

Next: Hebrews Chapter Seven: The Change of the Priesthood