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All right, we're here in Hebrews chapter 6, and the name of the sermon is Hebrews chapter 6 verses 4 through 6 Explains. Now Hebrews 6 verses 4 through 6 is one of the most controversial passages in the entire Bible, and it's an important passage for us as soul winners because outside of James 2, I think Hebrews 6 is probably the biggest thing people will tell us about soul winning, like yeah, but the Bible says you can lose your salvation in Hebrews 6. And I would say probably of questions about the Bible I've had over the last six years of ministry, Hebrew 6 is probably the number one thing that people have asked me about like pastor, you know, I ran into somebody out soul winning, and this is what I told them. Is this a good explanation? What do you think this is about? And so since I get asked about this a lot, I just wanted to preach a whole sermon on it, just to kind of explain to you what my view is about this topic. And so obviously when people say you can lose your salvation, we know that's wrong because the Bible says I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. So before I really show you what this is actually talking about, I want to try to help us figure out how do we explain to somebody out soul winning if they bring this up, okay? So let me just read you Hebrews 6 verses 4 through 6 and then we'll talk about it. Verse 4, for it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. And people turn here and say, well see, they're going to be somebody saved, and then they fall away, they lost their salvation. And this is a common passage people often turn to to bring this up. They'll say, well it says they can fall away after being saved. Now of course we realize you cannot lose your salvation, but when I'm going out soul winning, I'm not going to spend an hour explaining what I believe this passage is about to somebody at the door. I'm going to give them a quick and simple explanation where if they just have an honest question I can basically just answer that and they can still get saved, right? I mean if I have to spend an hour on this one verse, you're never going to finish the Gospel. And so the first thing I've said to people before in the past when they bring this up, and if they just want to argue with me, I'm not going to waste my time, but if they just have an honest question about this passage, I'll say, well you know I showed you clear verses like John 3.16. You know we saw a lot of clear verses, John 3.16, Romans 6.23, these are very famous and clear verses, and I said this is a passage there's a lot of different opinions because it's not the simplest passage. So I said we ought to stick to what's clear, whosoever believeth has everlasting life according to the Bible. But I will say to them that if this is saying you can lose your salvation, it's also saying that you can never get that salvation back. Because if this is saying that you lose your salvation by falling away, it says in verse 4, it is impossible. So if somebody falls away, verse 6, it's impossible to be renewed again under repentance. So basically you're saying if you can lose your salvation, that's saying you can never get saved again. Is that what you believe? And they're like, well no, of course you could be renewed again under repentance. It's like okay, well then maybe that's not what this passage is talking about. Because if this was saying you could lose your salvation, it would also be saying you cannot get saved again because it's impossible to be renewed again under repentance. And obviously nobody believes that. Everybody who thinks you can lose your salvation thinks it's possible to come back to God. But if this is saying you can lose your salvation, it's impossible to come back to God. And nobody believes that. Now obviously we know that is the wrong interpretation, that you can lose your salvation. It's probably the most common interpretation out there. But obviously we realize that's wrong because we know you cannot lose your salvation. Outside of that, I'd say that I've heard basically three interpretations. And one of those interpretations that I kind of liked when I first got saved, because when I first got saved I wanted to be able to answer questions on salvation, and I didn't really necessarily care what everything in the Bible said. I just wanted to be able to answer those that were saying you could lose your salvation. But you know what I heard people say is, well, this is just a hypothetical situation that if it were possible to lose your salvation, then you would never get it back. So it's actually proving eternal security. And I like that explanation when I first got saved, but that's not a good explanation to this passage because it is possible to fall away according to this passage. And so I would say that, you know what, I don't think we should read the Bible just to try to be able to answer certain things. We should really just stop and ask ourselves, what are these passages actually saying? What does it actually mean, rather than just trying to come up with the best answer for whatever our goal might be, right? So this passage, Hebrews 6 verses 4 through 6, that kind of leaves us with two big interpretations. One interpretation is that they're saved people. A second interpretation is that it's referring to reprobate. So saved or reprobate, so very different interpretations. And of course there can be kind of subsets or different opinions and certain verses or phrases within this. But what I've heard basically from people is either it's saved people or it's referring to reprobates. And what I would say is that a lot of good people have different opinions on this. I know people on both sides of the fence here, and I don't think it's the clearest passage. And so, you know, I'm not trying to be critical of other people that have a different opinion. In fact, you might hear this sermon here today and search the scripture for yourself and not agree with me, and that's perfectly fine. Because honestly, this is not really a difference in a doctrinal opinion. It's just a difference of an interpretation of a couple verses. I mean, all of us here, we believe salvation is by grace through faith, and we believe there's strong warnings to Christians that live godly. And you know, if you're at this church for a while, you probably believe in the reprobate doctrine too. So we believe the same doctrines. It's just a different interpretation in this one passage. Now, in this passage, I believe this has saved people. I do not believe Hebrews 6 verses 4 through 6 is referring to reprobates. And I'm going to give you kind of the other side during the sermon, kind of, you know, the arguments they would give, and I'll admit, I do believe that there are good arguments on the other side. I've heard people preach sermons, and I think they make a lot of good points. It's just not the conclusion I've come to. I believe this is referring to saved people. Now, before you're looking at a certain passage, Hebrews 6 verses 4 through 6, you probably need to start before the confusing passage to get the context, right? So let's start back at verse number 1 of Hebrews 6. Verse number 1, therefore. Okay, well now, we've got to go back to chapter 5, because therefore connects whatever was being talked with, and the context is still going. When the Bible was written, there were no chapters and verses. There was basically just, you know, the book of Genesis, the book of Exodus. I love the chapters and verses, but I think one mistake people make sometimes when they're reading the Bible or studying it, they think that the end of the chapter is the end of the thought. Now, that's true with a lot of chapters, I mean, it's true for books like Psalms and Proverbs and certain books of the Bible, certain chapters are like that, but a lot of times the thought is still going on as you start the next chapter, and when the first word is therefore, the context is still going on. Can we agree on that? So the context at the end of chapter 5 is the same context at the beginning of chapter 6, okay? So let's go back to chapter 5, and let's start at verse number 10. The Bible says, called of God and high priests after the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have many things to say and hard to be uttered, seeing your dull of hearing. Now, I believe when he says that things that are hard to be uttered, I don't think he's saying it's hard to be uttered because they're confusing. I think he's saying it's hard to be uttered because it is a hard truth, it's hard preaching, and basically it's very offensive because what I believe in Hebrew 6 is it's a strong warning on saved people to get right with God and start serving God, and so he's saying, hey, you know what, it's hard to be uttered, why? Because you don't want to hear what I have to say, okay? Now, I do believe it's a deep passage, I just don't think that's what Hebrews 5 and 11 is actually referring to. I think it's referring to the fact that it's a hard truth that's coming out. So let's go to verse number 12. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. So he's saying to this group of people, he's like, you ought to be a teacher, but you still need the principles of the oracles of God. He said, you have need of milk and not of strong meat. And what he's bringing to our mind is like a newborn baby, right? A newborn baby, physically speaking, what is it that they eat or drink when they're first born? Milk. They survive on only milk, right? You're not going to put a piece of chicken or piece of steak in front of a newborn baby, they're not going to be able to eat it, right? And they're exclusively on milk, at least for a time period, and at certain stages, every parent has different opinions when you introduce other foods into their system. But even when you introduce other foods, it's not like you can just throw a piece of chicken in front of them, and they're going to hold the fork and the knife and start cutting it themselves. You've got to do that and cut it into really small pieces, right? And then you've got to make sure you're giving them water, make sure they're chewing and swallowing and all those things. They're not ready to digest the meat, physically speaking. Well what he's saying to them spiritually is, you're not ready for the meat of the Word. He's like, you've been saved for a long time, you ought to be a teacher because you've been saved for a long time, but you're not ready for the meat. You still need the milk, you still need the basics that you should have learned years ago. It'd be like, for example, if you were at this church for 10 years and you're still like a spiritual babe in Christ, it's like, man, it's time to move on to the meat. It's time to grow spiritually mature. Because physically speaking, if a child is still exclusively on milk when they're 10 years old, something is wrong. Something did not go right. Or if a child cannot take care of themselves, you expect them as they get older to start taking care of themselves, right? And of course that happens where kids have disabilities and everything, I get that, but here's the thing, what he's saying spiritually is, you know what, if you've been saved for a while, it's time to quit being a babe in Christ. It's time to be spiritually mature. It's time to move on to the meat and not just be a spiritual babe in Christ. Then he says in verse 13, for everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. A babe meaning a babe in Christ. But strong meat belongeth to them who are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. What is the context at the end of Hebrews 5? I think there can be no doubt it's baby Christians. I mean, I think we would all agree on that, right? It's clearly baby Christians, newborn babes, they've been saved for a while, but they're spiritual babes because he's saying you ought to be a teacher because you've been saved for a while, but you're not, right? It's kind of like if somebody first starts coming to our church, of course everything's new. They start off as a silent partner. They're figuring out how to read the Bible, develop a prayer list, and all those things. But if you've been here for a while, you know, you don't want to be a silent partner for years and years and years. You want to start being able to teach the other people that are with you, hey, this is how you explain it, this is what you do, and you're the one talking, not being the silent partner. You ought to be a teacher at some point, right? That's the context at the end of Hebrews 5. And of course my contention is that context never gets broken as we're in Hebrews 6. That is still about baby Christians as you get through verses 4 through 6. Verse number 1 of Hebrews 6, it says, therefore, okay, so the same context, therefore, the context of being a baby Christian, so he's kind of moving on from this idea, baby Christians, therefore, as a result of me talking about baby Christians, therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go under perfection. He's saying instead of just being on the very basic and fundamental things, it's time to go under perfection. It's time to go under completion. It's time to go under maturity. It's time to be more well-rounded and be more spiritual. Then he's going to give us a big list of foundational or principle doctrines, okay, things that you learn at the very beginning. Verse 1, he says, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. When a person gets saved, what do they do? They quit trusting in their dead works, and they change their mind and believe on Christ, right? So verse 1 is telling us getting saved. That's as foundational and as principle of a doctrine as you can possibly have, because if you're not even saved, how are you going to understand the rest of the Bible, right? So it starts with salvation, right? I mean, that's the principle doctrine. You repent of your dead works. You quit trusting in your works that could never save you, and you repent of that and put your faith on God. Now, it's not saying that you quit drinking and quit smoking. It's saying that you quit trusting in these things. You quit trusting in these dead works, and you put your faith on Jesus Christ for salvation, right? Now, of course, that is, of course, the big foundational doctrine, because the Bible says when you get saved, other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. So that is the foundational thing. You get saved, and you've got that foundation of Jesus Christ. And you've got a foundation that is perfect. You've got a foundation that has no problems. You've got a foundation that nothing will ever go wrong, because in Jesus Christ, you know you are eternally secure no matter what you do in the future. Whether you're good, whether you're bad, whether you stay faithful, whether you don't, you are eternally secure. You've got a perfect foundation, okay? Another very basic doctrine that you learned pretty early on is of the doctrine of baptisms. And baptism is a pretty foundational doctrine, a pretty early doctrine that you learn. So the first step of obedience after getting saved, we say, is what? Baptism. And, you know, here's the thing. When people first get saved, they don't usually understand what baptism is. You know, I grew up Protestant where you get sprinkled as an infant. So I remember it was maybe eight months after I got saved, and my pastor said, he's like, hey, did you want to get baptized sometime? And I was like, oh, I was baptized as a baby, right? I just didn't have any idea because nobody had ever taught me. And then he explained, he's like, oh, no, this is what the Bible says. I was like, oh, I need to be baptized. Why is it I didn't know that? Because I was a babe in Christ, right? I didn't know that much about the Bible. My pastor showed me. It's like, well, you need to be baptized, right? Not to be saved, obviously, but why do we get baptized? Well, the reason why you get baptized, the reason why you go under the water and come up is because you're showing the world, I believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, right? Now the Jehovah's Witnesses, they don't believe in a bodily resurrection of Jesus. So you know, if they took that logically forward with their baptism, it would be they believe in the death, burial, and then they just keep them there, right? But we do believe in the resurrection of Jesus also, okay? And so the Bible says of the doctrine of baptism, of course, baptism is a very basic, foundational thing you learn after you get saved. I'm sure everyone would say, hey, that's one of the first things I learned after I got saved. It's like, oh, I should get baptized to show the world I believe, okay? And of laying on of hands. I'd imagine in the early church there was a lot of churches being started as Christianity is skyrocketing, and of course there would be the need to explain, hey, this is how churches get started. You have someone who's biblically ordained, and they lay hands on someone and then ordain them for that position to send them in the ministry, whether ordained as an evangelist or a pastor, whatever it may be, but it's by laying on of hands. It's not just, hey, I'm going to start a church on my own, right, or I'm going to go to Bible college for four years. No, it's by laying on of hands. That's a pretty foundational doctrine, especially if a lot of churches are getting started where if you're at the church you're seeing people being ordained in the ministry, right? And of resurrection of the dead. I mean, this is a very foundational, basic thing. I mean, I don't believe this is really referencing Jesus rising again, but the fact that Jesus rose again teaches us that we are also going to get the glorified body. We have that promise, Romans 8 talks about that, and we're going to get that glorified body at the rapture. And if you've been in our church for years, you already know that. You realize, you know the Bible teaches, at the rapture, the dead in Christ shall rise, right? We sing songs that are based on this. So it's a very foundational doctrine. It's like, you know, when you die, it's your soul that goes to heaven or hell, but then one day you're going to get that glorified body, and that takes place at the rapture. Whether you're dead or alive, we'll meet in the air and we get the glorified body. And of eternal judgment. And you know, eternal judgment, you can think of the fact there's obviously hell you could think of. You could also think of this as the great white throne judgment, where unsaved people one day will be judged for all the sins they committed, and they'll be tormented more based on the more sins that they committed, right? I think we'd all agree that verses 1 and 2 give us very basics in Christianity, right? And then it says in verse 3, and this is what we do if God permits. What will we do if God permits? We will go on to perfection, right? That's the context that we're talking about. What we will do if God permits is go on to perfection. You say, well, why does it say God permit or God allow? Well, it's kind of like we say, hey, you know, we're going to have soul winning this afternoon, Lord willing, or if the weather permits, right? And you know, it's what you always do. We're going to have a soul winning marathon, you know, the Lord willing, God willing, you know, I'll be at church next Sunday, God willing. But we realize sometimes things can come up or whatever, so it's just kind of like a part of speech that you use, that's what it's referring to, that we're going to go on to perfection if God permits, if God allows. And of course, God wants you to grow, so God wants you to be in church and grow and learn these things and become well rounded, okay? Now you know, I've listened to several sermons from people that look at this passage that we're going to look at as referring to reprobates, and I'm not sure if they all believe the exact same thing, so I don't want to try to misaccurately represent them. I don't know if they all believe this, but a lot of them would agree with everything I just said, but what they think is verse 4 is the change of context to reprobates, whereas I don't believe that there's a change. I don't know if everybody who teaches that believes that. I know a lot do, though, that in verse 4 there's a change of context where basically, let us go into perfection, let's not talk about basic things, now let's just talk about the reprobate doctrine that's really deep. Now first off I would say this, that I think that would be the most random writing style ever in any book of the Bible. If you've got one congruous thought, let's go on to deep things, let's just talk about this doctrine called reprobates, which it doesn't fit with the context of anything we're looking at. I think that would be very strange, personally, but if you disagree, that's perfectly fine. But I think the context is still about baby Christians. What I believe takes place is that in verses 4 through 6, you have reason number 1 why you should go into perfection, and starting at verse number 7, you have reason number 2 you should go into perfection. You say, well, why do you say reason number 1? Well, what's the first word in verse 4, or verse opot, 4, f-o-r? That is also a word that connects what's being talked about, and I think the logical, simple way to see this connection is, okay, here's a reason, 4, why should I go into perfection? Here's reason number 1. And then verse 7, what's the first word of verse 7? 4. Here's reason number 2. I think a mistake people make is they think verses 4 through 8 is referring to the exact same thing, but it's not, because you have that word for them against verse 7. That's reason number 2. Reason number 1 is starting at verse number 4, okay? And so the other side would say this when it says, for it impossible for those who were once enlightened, they would highlight that there's a change from this will we do if God permit to for it is impossible for those, making a distinction between we and those. What I believe is in Hebrews chapter 5, Paul is basically criticizing them for being baby Christians, and then he is referring to Christians, those saved people, and he lumps himself in and he talks about, you know, let us go into perfection, because all of us need to become more spiritual and more mature, and then basically as he's talking to these people, he's given an example of saved people that are not going on to perfection, and he's like, it's impossible for those. Later on he says, I'm persuaded better things of you, but I think that's an exhortation and encouragement, saying, hey, I'm confident you will start reading the Bible. I'm confident you will start growing in your faith. That's the way that I see the distinction being made here, but the other side would say there's a distinction there in verse 4, and now it's talking about reprobates. So let us read these phrases here in verse 4. And actually before I read all of these phrases, I want you to realize the context of what's being said, because we can get bogged down by verse 5 and most of verse 4. This is really what's being said in verses 4 through 6, for it is impossible if they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance. Do you see that? So basically you take the first four words of verse 4, and then he goes on and on with examples, being enlightened, heavenly gift, partakers of the Holy Ghost, taste of the good word of God, the powers of the world to come, but what he's really saying is it is impossible if they shall fall away, this group that he mentioned, to renew them again unto repentance. But there's all these phrases that kind of go in more detail about what he's saying. As I said, I believe this is a reason why you should go into perfection and become spiritually mature. And reason number one that he's giving here is because of the fact that foundation is not going to be relayed. You have a perfect foundation of Jesus Christ, essentially you only get saved one time, and so there's no need to try to relay the foundation over and over again. Let me help you understand what I'm saying. Let's say somebody's at our church, and they backslide, they become a drunk, and they get kicked out of church, and they decide they want to come back to church. Okay? They used to go soul-willing, they used to read the Bible, they become a drunk and leave church, and they say they want to come back, and I tell them, okay, you know, you've gotten rid of this sin. They say yes. They're like, okay, well let me just have a short conversation with you before you come back to church. So I sit down and talk to them, and I say, okay, Romans 3.23, for all of sin to come short of the glory of God. Did you know that we're all sinners? We come short of God's glory. Romans 3.10, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. You know, nobody always does right. And because we sin, there's actually a punishment after we die, heaven or hell. They're going to look at me like, why are you explaining this? Because there's no point of laying the foundation when the foundation's already laid. It's not that they weren't saved, I mean, they're saved, and it's like, there's no need to lay that foundation. You know, and so on an individual basis, one way you should take this is, in your life, realize you've got to move on to more things. You've got to become spiritually mature. Don't be the person that's constantly being spoon-fed by Pastor Stuckey to learn things. You need to read the Bible and learn for yourself. And I mean this with all sincerity that most of what you learn in the Bible should be from your own personal time with God. And I have learned great things from a lot of great men of God, but I can honestly say that most of what I've learned in the Bible is from my own personal study and reading it. And you're only going to get so much in sermons, and you're only going to hang on to so much information. You might hear something, like, that makes a lot of sense, and then you forget it six months later. But if you do it in your own personal study, it just kind of sticks with you, right? Because on an individual basis, you need to go into perfection. But in terms of me being the pastor of this church, I don't believe somebody can lose their salvation. If I thought that you could lose your salvation when you live a sinful life, you know what I would do every single week? I would preach on salvation. I would relay that foundation because of the fact it's like, well, you might have lost to this last week. I've got to explain the gospel again. And isn't that true with a lot of churches? Because a teacher can lose your salvation, they lay their false foundation every week. They give the gospel every single sermon is about somehow tied or another with salvation pretty much. But the thing is, I'm not worried about your salvation. Yeah, obviously in a big church there might be a couple people that maybe they're just visiting, maybe they're not saved, or maybe they're phonies or whatever. But the vast majority of people in this room are saved, so I don't need to just preach a 20-part series on salvation. From time to time I preach on eternal security, from time to time I preach on salvation, but not that often because of the fact we lay that foundation every single week. We're going to be laying that foundation in about two hours, as long as the sermon is not, you know, very long, right? We'll be laying that foundation. We lay it every single week, so I'm not worried about your eternal security. So you know, as the person who's preaching and leading, it's like, hey, I don't need to lay that foundation every week because it's impossible to lay that foundation again because you've already repented from your dead works and put your faith in Christ, right? But let's look at all these phrases that are mentioned. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, okay? Obviously being enlightened is a good reference to a person getting saved. You know, you're lightened with the gospel, Jesus Christ, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, but it's a great terminology for a person who gets saved. It says here, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come. Now two of these references mention taste or tasted, okay? Now obviously when you're reading verses four and five, if you were to look at each of these references alone, it would sound like somebody getting saved. I don't think anybody would dispute that. I mean, it sounds like somebody getting saved or sounds like someone who is saved. It's like, tasted of the heavenly gift, sounds like somebody that received eternal life. Sounds like they received the gift of eternal life. Made partakers of the Holy Ghost. It sounds like someone that's indwelled with the Holy Ghost because they got saved. Have tasted the good word of God is, you know, basically like hearing preaching. If you're at a church, you've tasted the good word of God, because he's saying you need to go into perfection. You've had the opportunities to grow, you just haven't. And have tasted, and the powers of the world to come. Now what's often said from the opposing view is that each of these phrases on their own could be referring to someone who doesn't get saved. I don't necessarily agree with that, but here's what I would say, that if you look up taste, tasted, tasteth, or tasting every time in the Bible, that there's without dispute and over 95% that you would arrive at the same conclusion that these are people that got saved. It's kind of like earlier in the book of Hebrews that he tasted death for every man. That doesn't mean that he's like, I'm thinking about dying for everybody, but no. And if you look up every reference in the book of Hebrews, there's not a dispute with the definition of taste. And even if you tasted the heavenly gift for a short time, you still had the heavenly gift the way that I see that. But here's the thing about this, you can look at verse 5 where it says, and have tasted the good word of God. Well, if you're hearing sermons, you're tasting the good word of God. Now you might decide that you don't want to keep listening to the preaching, but you got a little bit of the word of God when you're hearing the preaching or when you read the Bible. So you tasted of it at least for a time period. I would say the same thing with the heavenly gift, that you had it at least for a time period. If you had it for generations forever, it's like you had it forever, even though you're not growing. And so I believe what he's saying here is, hey, you were enlightened, you were saved, you tasted the heavenly gift, you're indwelt with the Holy Ghost, you have the eternal salvation, the gift of eternal life, you're indwelt with the Holy Ghost, and you're hearing the word of God preached and the powers of the world to come. You know about the soul winning, you're learning all these great doctrines, and yet you're still a babe in Christ. And it's like a strong warning to those that are hearing good preaching and are saved, where it's like, hey, you need to grow spiritually. Now obviously, we can't see how tall or big any of us are spiritually, but it's like if you've been saved for 20 years and it's like you look like a newborn infant spiritually, it's like it's time to grow up. It's time to become spiritually mature and you're saved and you've tasted the good word of God, you've heard these sermons, it's time to be a doer of the word and not a hearer only, okay? And we're made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and actually, let me just, you know, when it comes to taste, Hebrews 2.9 is a reference to tasting death for every man, which clearly means he died for everybody. You don't have to turn to Hebrews 2.9, you can write that down. But when it says Jesus tasted death for every man, he clearly died for everybody. We're not Calvinists, right? When you look at the phrase, and we're made partakers of the Holy Ghost, yeah, it's true that the Holy Ghost does try to draw people to salvation that are unsaved, and he has a work in people getting saved, but if you were to look up the word partaker, any form of that word, every time it appears in the book of Hebrews, which is Hebrews 2.14, Hebrews 3.1, Hebrews 3.14, Hebrews 12.8, and Hebrews 12.10, then you're gonna come to the conclusion that partakers of the Holy Ghost is referring to people that are saved, right? Now here's the thing about this, obviously when we compare spiritual with spiritual, we can look at the entire Bible, but a better way is to start with the same book that you're in. And what I would say is, if you want to study this out, you know, you should really read the entire book of Hebrews, and really look for the wording and terminology, look at the context. Because I gave you the basic context leading into Hebrews 6, but if you really want to get like an overall good view of what the context is, then you're gonna read the whole book. And what makes it tricky is Hebrews is not the simplest book, it is a bit of a confusing book, right? Now I will say this, I'm not gonna go there for the sake of time, but this is not the only warning in the book of Hebrews that is a really strong warning to Christians. Remember where the Bible says, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins? And it talks about the fiery judgment, so it talks about fire in reference to save people. So here it talks about fire, that doesn't mean that they're going to hell, because the Bible uses that terminology and that reference as a warning to quit being a useless branch or a twig that needs to be burnt up because you're doing nothing, right? But it says here in verse number 6, if they shall fall away, and you know, by the way, at the end of the sermon we're gonna look, there's actually a parallel passage with Hebrews 6, and you're gonna see a lot of the same wording, and you're gonna see that same phrase fall away. But the Bible says here, if they shall fall away, that's a synonym to backsliding, right? So for example, if somebody backslides, they fall away, that's the terminology that we would use for backsliding of a saved person. If they shall fall away, to renew them again under repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put into an open shame. Now I would say that, you know, the way I understand this and the way somebody who has the opposite view would understand this, they would both congruently fit in verse number 6, because when it says seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, well if we're saying you're not laying the same foundation, you're only getting saved once, if you were getting saved a second time or you had to have a second foundation laid because you lost your salvation, well Jesus would have to die for you a second time, right? And so if it's only one time you're getting saved, then forever you got that foundation, and if you were gonna get saved a second time, then you'd be crucifying the Son of God afresh because he's like dying for you twice. The way that other people see this is it's saying someone who gets all the opportunities to hear the Word of God, they hear the gospel, they hear the preaching, they think about it, they consider it, they taste of it, but they decide not to take it, and then basically they become a reprobate and it's impossible to be renewed again under repentance, meaning they have no chance to actually end up believing on Christ and getting saved. Now I don't see that from the context, but that is the view that they have. I would say that verse 6 you could take either way and it would fit congruently because here's the thing, if they became a reprobate, for them to get a second chance to be saved, Jesus would have to die for them again, basically. So I certainly understand where they would say, crucify themselves the Son of God afresh. So verses 4 through 6 is reason number 1 that you should go into perfection quite simply because the foundation gets laid one time. You get saved one time. But reason number 2 mentioned in verses 7 and 8 is because of the fact you want to be blessed by God and not cursed by God. A lot of people get very confused on this because they think verses 7 and 8 they're trying to connect it to verses 4 through 6, when in reality the first word of verse 7 is f-o-r-4, which is a connecting word which means that you're actually looking at something a little bit different. So verses 4 through 6 is one reason, verses 7 through 8 is a second reason. Let me just read verses 7 through 8 and then we'll talk about it in more depth. Verses 7 and 8, For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh off the pond and bringeth forth herbs, meat for them by whom it is dressed receiveth blessing from God. For that which bear thorns and briars is rejected, is not unto cursing, whose end is to be burnt. Now the Bible says in verse number 8 it says, you know, whose end is to be burned and a lot of people immediately when they see burned they think hell. And I understand that because oftentimes when you look at illustrations like this it's referring to hell. But if you're familiar with John 15 you don't have to turn there for sake of time. But John 15 the first six verses is commonly used by people to say you can lose your salvation and it talks about burning as well to save people. Because the example being given in John 15 is the fact that you don't want to basically be a useless branch or tree that's just getting in the way where basically they gather up all the useless parts and burn them. And what God is saying is quit being useless where you have no function. Actually do something. There's no doubt in John 15, I don't think any saved person would dispute this, that that is referring to save people but it uses the terminology of burning up. It's not referring to hell just because it uses that terminology. It uses that terminology because if you're cleaning up a field what you do is you gather together all the useless stuff and then you burn it at the same time. That's what you do. Right? So that's the example being given. So just because it says burned that doesn't mean that it's referencing hell. It can refer to hell sometimes but just because it mentions fire or burning that doesn't mean that it's referring to hell. Later on in Hebrews when it talks about, you know, fiery indignation it's not referring to hell. I mean it's a judgment and warning towards save people. So it's not really a shock. It would be the same thing here in Hebrews 6. So the way I look at this, verse 7 is one person, verse 8 is a second person. And verse 7 is the person that is saved and serving God. And verse 8 is the person that's saved and not serving God. Now the opposing view would be that verse 7 is the saved person and verse 8 is the reprobate. Okay? Now, I believe verse 7 is referring to someone who's saved and actually serving God and here's what it says in verse 7. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it and bringeth forth herbs meat for them by whom it is dressed receiveth blessing from God. And so the Bible uses the example of earth which is bringing forth herbs and the result of that is it is blessed by God. The earth is blessed. So this is the example of the person that's actually doing something for God and what's the result? He's going to receive blessing from God. And of course, you know, the Bible says that if you obey Him and read His word and serve Him, He's going to bless you. But doesn't the Bible say that God can also curse you in this life? I mean, there's the blessings of God and there's the cursings of God, okay? Verse number 8, but that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected and is nigh unto cursing whose end is to be burned. Now it is true that sometimes when it mentions the burning of thorns, it is referencing reprobates, but it is not always referencing that. We're going to look at a parallel passage at the end that is not referring to unsaved people. But here in verse 8, it says that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected and is nigh unto cursing. And look, if you live your life and don't obey God and don't do what He says, you know what your life's going to be filled with? A bunch of thorns and briars and problems. That is what your life is going to be filled with. And you know what you're going to end up needing to do? You're going to need to chop down those thorns and briars and get rid of them, and it's going to take a lot of work. I mean, if you have a field and you have just a bunch of thorns and briars growing in it and it's preventing you from getting the apples or the fruits or whatever, you've got to take the time to get rid of the thorns and briars. And you know, you burn them, you get rid of them, right? And the Bible's saying that, you know what, the person that is not living for God, you're going to have all these thorns and briars in your life and the result is also that you're going to be cursed by God. And what's the end of those thorns and briars? You burn them, you get rid of them, right? Verse 9, But beloved, we are persuaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which He has showed toward His name, and that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. So in verses 9 and 10, verse 9 he said, we're persuaded better things of you. Now the way I interpret this is he's saying, hey, I'm persuaded that you're going to actually do what's right and grow and be a godly person. The other interpretation would be, well, there's a difference between saved and reprobates. I'm persuaded you're not going to be like them that are not actually saved. But wait a second. In verse 10, he says, for God is not unrighteous, and he's connecting back to this thing mentioned in verse 9, for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love. Does every saved person do works? No. Does every saved person love God? No. The Bible says, if you love me, keep my commandments. Do we have to do works to be saved? No. Do good works prove our salvation? No. If we don't have good works, does that mean that we're not saved? No. You can be saved and do nothing for God. But he makes a distinction here. He's like, I see your work and labor of love. You say, say, why is that? Because he's making a distinction between living godly and not living godly. He's saying, I have confidence that you are going to work and have this labor of love. He's not saying, I have confidence that you will always believe in Christ. No. He's saying, I have confidence in your work and labor of love. I have confidence you're still going to go soul winning. I have confidence you're still going to read the Bible. I have confidence you're still going to serve God. I have confidence you're still going to obey the commandments. He's not saying, I have confidence that, you know what, you actually did get saved. No. He's saying, you know what? work and your labor of love because the distinction between those that are saved and serving God and those that are not and he's saying hey I'm persuaded better things of you that you are going to serve God, that you are going to grow spiritually. This is the way that preaching is done. Reprove, rebuke, exhort. You reprove or rebuke and you make people feel guilty and then you give them an exhortation at the end that gives them confidence that they can overcome what they're struggling with. This is what Paul is doing. In Hebrews 5 he criticizes them. What is that? It's reproving and rebuking. But you don't just reprove and rebuke and it's like you're all just wicked people. Let's pray. You got to end with an exhortation and Paul's saying you know what I'm confident I'm persuaded better things of you because Paul knows these you know a lot of these people that he's writing to he's thinking hey I'm confident that you're gonna serve God and he's like you know that you are gonna do what's right and God's gonna see that work that you do and what's the result you're gonna be blessed by actually obeying and doing what God says and so I would say that when you realize salvation has nothing to do with works when it mentions work in verse 10 if you're trying to make a distinction between save and reprobate I just don't understand how you correlate that together I don't really know how you would explain that and look and let me just say this this this is a deep passage and I do believe that every pastor is gonna get to heaven and find out they were wrong on some of the things they believed and I don't think I'm wrong on this I mean it makes sense to me but maybe this is gonna be one of those things I get to heaven I'm wrong on because there's a lot of godly people that have different opinions and with something like this it should teach all of us search the scriptures for yourself because the Holy Spirit is your best guide and your best teacher if two people I mean I've memorized the entire book of Hebrews I don't know the pastor's memorize the entire book of Hebrews with the opposite opinion so it's kind of like well two people that have memorized the same book have a different opinion and so I would just say your face should stand on what the Bible says and not what anybody says don't just believe things well you know this is true because Pastor Stuckey said it that is a bad answer if you and look I would love it if you search this and you come to the same conclusion but you know what if you search it and study it for yourself and look over this and you you have a different opinion that's fine this is not a salvation issue or a church splitting issue it's the reason why this is a big topic is simply because out so many people bring this up but in reality there's a lot of books I mean I'm sure if we opened up the book of Ezekiel here and we took votes on various verses what is this referring to we're gonna have a lot of opinions on stuff it's okay if people have different opinions that's perfectly fine but what you should do if you really want to know this is search it for yourself figure out read the book of Hebrews study it and I would say also if you're kind of newer in the faith I wouldn't suggest this being the first thing that you dive into because you're in need of milk and not of meat but if you've been saved for a long time then yeah this is something and you've been saved for a while you know the Bible we've heard great preaching you've gone so yeah this is something that hey maybe dive into it and you know what search for yourself to see whether these things are so some things in the Bible you got to spend some time studying to figure out verse number 11 and we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope on to the end now if you were to take that phrase by itself the full assurance of hope on to the end the way in our modern vernacular this being said it would almost sound like oh someone could lose it but of course you know the thing is we know a hope is a sure thing it's not something that it's like well I hope I'm going to endure it's a confident we know it's true hope in the Bible is something that you're sure about but it's not something that is actually manifest or seen so we know we're saved and he's saying we desire that everyone you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope on at the end that you be not slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises now here's the thing do we have to hold out faithful on the end to inherit the promise of heaven or eternal life or salvation no I got saved 20 years ago and I already got my ticket to heaven I already got born again I already have eternal life I don't have to wait until the end to receive these promises because notice what it says in verse 13 through 15 for when God made promise to Abraham because he could swear by no greater he swear by himself saying surely blessing I will bless thee and multiplying I will multiply thee and so after he had patiently endured he obtained the promise this is not saying that Abraham patiently endured and as a result boom he's in heaven now it's saying that God blessed him specifically with a child with his wife those past childbearing years he patiently endured though right so the promise is not about going to heaven the promise is about the great blessings of God because here's the thing if you are the earth which is bringing forth the herbs what do you receive from God blessing a lot of these blessings we might have to patiently endure if we're gonna see they're not necessarily gonna come immediately but what it's saying this is all going back to starting at verse 7 it's like you will receive blessing from God just like Abraham if you you you keep doing the work your labor of love you patiently endure and then you inherit those promises look did you know that God has a great plan and a future for every single one of us and we have great promises ahead of us but we have to do the work to get it it's not just going to come like this no matter what we do I mean if you live a sinful and ungodly life you're gonna lose out on a lot of the blessings that God actually has for your life but if you live a godly life and patiently endure you are going to obtain those promises that he talks about so this is the way that I see Hebrews chapter 6 but there's actually a passage in the Bible that is basically parallel to Hebrews chapter 6 now there are chapters in the Bible like 2nd Peter chapter 2 and Jude where it is so obvious they're parallel nobody's gonna deny that I mean there's a lot of the same examples and wording the parallel passage to this you know things are worded differently but you see the exact same words keep popping up and that's where you can see that okay we're referencing the same thing that's being mentioned here and Hebrew 6 is like more in-depth talking about this subject now let me turn to Hebrew 6 myself because I wrote down the wrong verse here to show you certain words that I want you to look for as we see them in another passage okay Hebrews chapter 6 and verse number one you see the word perfection right let us go on to perfection so keep that in mind perfection okay verse number six fall away you see that phrase fall away in your Bible so you see the word perfection in verse 1 you see fall away in verse 6 in verse 8 it mentions thorns okay so you've got perfection in verse 1 you've got fall away in verse 4 you've got or verse 6 I should say fall away in verse 6 you've got thorns in verse 8 and then the Bible mentions patience in verse number 12 right so you see that verse 1 perfection verse 6 fall away verse 8 thorns and verse 12 patience okay turn to Luke chapter 8 Luke chapter 8 Luke chapter 8 now Luke 8 the parable of the sower is also a highly disputed passage and I don't have time to fully go into it in one sermon in fact in Sacramento I preached a sermon series along with brother Oliver we had five sermons on just the parable of the sower it's a very important parable because Jesus said if you don't understand this parable how are you know everything else because it's a very basic thing that we need to be aware of and so maybe you've never heard of the parable of the sower maybe you've never studied it out but in the parable of the sower you're going to see four groups of people and in the parable of the sower everybody would agree that the first group are unsaved and the last group are saved in the parable of the sower the dispute is in the second and the third now if you're a soul winner and you've studied your Bible there is no dispute the second and the third person are saved but they're not actually living a godly life and bringing forth fruits okay and so I don't have time to fully go into that I'll explain it as we look at these verses but you know if you've studied this out you know this that the second and the third are people that are actually saved okay now Luke chapter 8 verse 11 and Jesus is going to explain this parable he says now the parable is this the seed is the Word of God those by the wayside are they that hear then cometh the devil and taketh away the word out of their hearts lest they should believe and be saved so he's saying these are people that hear the Word of God and they don't get saved and of course we go soul winning and sometimes we are so warning and not so winning we give somebody the gospel and they don't believe it or they're not sure or they need time to think about it and you know hopefully they will end up believing in the future maybe later that day they'll think about it and get saved I heard the gospel and I got saved a couple hours later I thought about it and it's like you know what I believe this some people maybe we talked to them in a seed is planted and maybe later on we give them the gospel again or somebody else does and then they hear it and they get say I know people that have been saved through our ministry that heard the gospel several times as we went out so winning someone said yeah you know I talked to someone they said they talked to you before talked to somebody else before it's like yeah they didn't get saved and they weren't before you know they weren't sure they were going to heaven and then someone talked to them and then they end up ended up getting saved because that seed was water they ended up getting saved nobody disputes this verse 12 they're not save people verse 13 they on the rock are they which when they hear receive the word with joy now to be saved we have to receive the word we have to receive Jesus Christ but as many as received him to them gave me power to become the sons of God right and the Bible speaks about receiving the word of God or joyfully receiving or glad fully here it says receive the word with joy but here's the thing we don't have to actually receive the word of God with joy to be saved we have to receive the word of God and what that means is some people get saved and they're very excited about their Christianity in fact in this room probably most people when you got saved you felt a desire I want to start serving God and over time you started making changes and here you are today making changes in your life but just because you did that does not mean that everybody we talked to does that most people we get saved are not going to grow much ever that's just the way that it is I mean I wish that were not the case and we should strive to get people in church and try to help them along as their babes in Christ as we can help teach them as they're at the beginning stage where they don't know a lot of these things most people are never going to grow these people do actually receive the word with joy meaning they actually do something with it a similar cross-reference and you don't have to turn here but in Acts 2 it talks about you know they were glad and the result is they got baptized why because they didn't just get saved they were really glad to be saved they're very thankful to be saved and they proved it by their works and if you are actually really joyful and thankful to God for your salvation what's the evidence of being really thankful works the thing is you don't have to be really thankful to be saved you don't have to receive with joy you just have to receive the word right as these people are saved and then after the word joy you see that you see a semicolon right and here's what he says about these people and these have no root which for a while believing it's in time at time of temptation fall away he says they have no root what he's saying is they were not firmly rooted and grounded in the things of God and when he says which for a while believe that does not say which for a while believe the gospel okay you have to realize that salvation was already settled before the semicolon what he's saying is that basically they start to grow so they start going to a good church they're hearing the preaching and they're starting to make changes and they're believing these doctrines and everything but what takes place if you backslide fall away and get out of church well you're gonna stop believing a lot of the things that you believe right now you're gonna stop being I mean look if you quit church when you backside I promise you all your old music's gonna come back all your old movies are gonna come back all the sudden pastor Stuckey should be more loving or whatever that's the reality right and so they believe for a while but in time of temptation fall away now if you cross reference to the other Gospels talking about this parable this is referring to the time of time of persecution so basically someone is you know in church they're serving God and then their Catholic relatives make fun of them a lot of people quit church for something like that don't they and they say they believe these things but as they leave due to peer pressure they're no longer gonna stand for the same things they did when they were at this church so they believe for a while and time temptation fall away now there's no doubt that this group is save people in my opinion and I do actually want to preach a whole sermon series here in the future on this parable because a very important parable but this phrase fall away appears two times in the entire Bible Hebrew 6 and Luke chapter 8 verse 13 I understand there's the great falling away and similar terminology the exact phrase though fall away appears two times in the Bible and as I said it's a synonym for backsliding and in time of persecution they backslide they get out of church so fall away there's a phrase we saw in Hebrew 6 we see it in Luke 8 verse 14 and that which fell among thorns are they which when they have heard go forth in our choke with cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection doesn't that just seem to really line up with Hebrews chapter 6 I mean this is the field that is not doing what's right it's filled with thorns and briars and instead of actually bringing forth the herbs and the fruit is bringing thorns and briars and it doesn't bring any fruit to perfection I mean that works perfectly with Hebrews chapter 6 thorns was mentioned in Hebrew 6 perfection was mentioned in Hebrew 6 now a lot of people look at this parable and say well this group is unsaved because they did not bring forth fruit to perfection and well here's the thing about this I mean you don't have to be a sole winner to be saved or to prove your salvation I mean the fruit of the rights to the tree of life and he that winneth souls is wise but most people get saved they don't really do much of anything for God but here's the thing if you really actually want to get a lot of people save and do something big for God you really have to go all out I don't know if you're like me but when I when I really started making major changes in my life I've been saved for several years but the preaching really was motivating me and making me feel guilty and stuff and you know I'm going soul winning and I just had this this this terrifying thought in my head that you know what people are going to hell because I'm not more right with God and if I would actually get rid of all my worldliness and stupidity and quit wasting my time people would be saved from hell hey what that's true it's a terrifying thought because it's a reality you know what you got to be moved with fear as Noah was to build that arc I mean people are dying going to hell and the fact is the more righteous you are for God the more you're gonna help save from going to hell right and so the Bible says bring forth no fruit to perfection why because they're choked by all these cares and riches and pleasures they have too many things in their life that are just drowning them out from actually serving God then it says in verse 15 but that on the good ground are they which in an honest and good heart having heard the word keep it and bring forth fruit with patience and here it says the good ground but in Hebrews chapter 6 it talked about the field you have the one that is the good field producing the herbs and the one that's the bad that is producing thorns and briars pretty similar to verse 14 and they fall away you know from the earlier one mentioned Hebrews 6 verse 6 but the Bible says for the person that is actually going to do something big for God it's going to take patience to bring forth that fruit and serve God your whole life right so you know I'm not saying it's an exact parallel to Hebrews chapter 6 I I find it too big of a coincidence that you have all of the same wording and they're very very similar to not say that these are being linked together it's representing the same thought now I'm going to quickly just explain to you verse 15 because a very powerful verse is going to kind of help drive home when we talked on Hebrew 6 also but that on the good ground this is what our goal is you're saved praise God for that but you can be saved be a baby Christian how do you become the person on the good ground are they which in an honest and good heart what does it mean to have an honest heart you know if somebody is trying to quit drinking the first step they always say is you have to admit that you've got a problem you got to be honest that you've got an issue hey here's the thing about this getting saved is step one of your spiritual journey but if you want to draw close to God it's going to take a lot of work and effort and here's the thing you're at a good church where you're hearing the Word of God preached and every time you hear sermons you've got an opportunity to be honest about what you hear or to lie to yourself to make yourself feel better right preaching hurts everybody and look I preach sermons it's not like I'm never guilty of anything that I preach on or I'm perfect I don't try to claim that I hope you understand that I'm trying my best to draw closer to God and you know what for me maybe the way you could look at is when I read the Bible I'm reading what the Bible says and what is the first reaction when you're guilty you try to defend yourself you try to give an excuse it's like a kid that gets in trouble they get caught and the first thing out of their mouth when they're caught red-handed they want to try to blame their brother or their sister that's I mean isn't it I mean if you're a parent you raise young kids this is what they do right and this is what we do as adults when we're in trouble the first thing in my head it's like you know you're a husband and you accidentally you know like broke a glass that was on the table you knocked it off and then your first thought is if my wife hadn't have put it there I would have never knocked it over it's like right in your head an excuse is building up you know what that's called it's called not just being honest with your responsibility for what you did and you know that's a foolish thing to do but this is what people do with preaching all the time they just don't want to be honest with themselves they don't want to admit hey you know what they want to say well I have a reason it's not fair I mean I'm in a different situation you don't understand it's like okay you're forsaking your mercy as Jonah said because you're not willing to admit your faults so first step is honesty but then it says which in an honest and a good heart so it's not just being honest it's also having a good heart meaning you actually do what the Bible says be doers of the word and not hearers only so the thing is you can be honest you could be a drunk and say I got a problem it doesn't mean that you're actually gonna make a change though right you have to have an honest and a good heart and it says having heard the word now having heard the word is not referencing having heard the word in terms of when you got saved because getting saved is not automatically guarantee you serving God it's saying every time you hear the Word of God you have an honest and a good heart okay so the thing is this is not a salvation parable this is a soul winners parable it's a parable to show us you know when we go soul winning different groups of people but also to teach us those that end up serving God and those that don't and so here's the thing serving God means you hear the Word of God and you do something with it in verse 14 they hear but the problem is they're not doing it in verse 15 they are hearing the word they're actually doing it having an honest and a good heart and then it says keep it so basically you hear something at church you apply it to your life you make the change and then next week you hear something else well you don't disregard what you heard the week before and then just go on to that no you keep what you just learned and you do it and then you keep adding on won't you won't eat just little by little right you know sometimes when people are newly saved or they're newly at a church like this it might be a bit overwhelming it's like man I showed up at college and I walked into the wrong classroom it's like the entire class is being taught in Mandarin Chinese it's like what I thought this was you know 101 or whatever subject Chinese 101 yeah and I get that sometimes this is a deeper sermon but here's what you have to understand you know honestly if you just stick at church and you read the Bible every day for yourself you just learn a little bit little by little by little by little by little and it's not gonna seem so complicated I mean if I put a calculus problem up here it'd be very confusing to every child in a room but many of those kids are gonna fully understand that ten years down the road you say why because then they learn algebra then they learn geometry then they learn you know just little by little they learn these things right so it says having heard the word keep it and bring forth fruit with patience and look if if we're gonna be a fruit-bearing tree or an entire lives it's gonna take patience we're gonna have to patiently endured I mean the Bible Bible gave us the example of Abraham who was extremely patient to receive the promises that God had for him and here's the thing I don't know what the future holds for you or it holds for me what I do know is that God has a lot of blessings and great promises in our future if we patiently do what's right and read the Bible and obey so for me when we're looking at Luke 8 and comparing it with Hebrew 6 I I think they line up perfectly Hebrew 6 is a really really really strong warning about get right with God serve God do what's right grow spiritually don't be someone that's just a baby Christian your entire life and look it is very possible for someone to be in church for years and years and years and years and years and they're still a newborn babe in Christ because they've never grown spiritually and they're really at the beginning stages they just you know they're not reading the Bible for themselves they're being spoon-fed they don't really know much about the Bible they're not going soul-winning but because you know one of the distinction the distinctions between a baby versus a child that they get bigger is being self-sufficient I mean I think we'd all agree a baby is completely reliant on mom and dad and most specifically mom right and of course that's understandable that's expected okay if you're a baby Christian yeah you're probably learning most of what you know from church right but eventually it gets the stage where it's like you know I don't want to be feeding my kids you know forever you know I want them to eventually figure out how to feed themselves and it's the same thing spiritually where you shouldn't be here for 20 years and it's just like I'm spoon feeding you everything it's like man it's like I Hebrew I'd never even knew there was a book called Hebrews and it's like it's time for you to start reading the Bible for yourself and learning these things for yourself rather than just everything you knows for me say why cuz honestly I can only I can only teach you so much in a short amount of time and you're only gonna grow so much and you know what I'm thankful for everything everybody that God has blessed us with at church but the reality is we all need to take heed to grow spiritually on our own let's close the word of prayer your Heavenly Father thank you for allowing us be here today and thank you for this deep passage in the Bible thank you for the simple passages that are easy to understand but also thank you for the deeper passages that we have to kind of study and search the scriptures and figure out God and thank you for the warning you give us here in Hebrew 6 about the need to live a godly life and go into perfection and quit being a baby Christian God we just pray these things in Jesus name amen now before brother Rafi leads us in this last song I just want to mention we do have a baptism coming up now and if anybody else would like to be baptized or saved and not baptized that's it's a good principle or foundational thing to get down right if you've been with us for a while but you know we're gonna have a baptism here in a little bit so I brother Rafi lead us in a song