Chapter 6

The Peril of Falling Away

1 Therefore aleaving bthe 1elementary teaching about the 2Christ, let us press on to 3cmaturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from ddead works and of faith toward God,

2 of ainstruction about washings and blaying on of hands, and the cresurrection of the dead and ceternal judgment.

3 And this we will do, aif God permits.

4 For in the case of those who have once been aenlightened and have tasted of bthe heavenly gift and have been made cpartakers of the Holy Spirit,

5 and ahave tasted the good bword of God and the powers of cthe age to come,

6 and then have fallen away, it is aimpossible to renew them again to repentance, 1bsince they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

7 For ground that drinks the rain which often 1falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those afor whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God;

8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and aclose 1to being cursed, and 2it ends up being burned.

Better Things for You

9 But, abeloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that 1accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.

10 For aGod is not unjust so as to forget byour work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having cministered and in still ministering to the 1saints.

11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence 1so as to realize the afull assurance of bhope until the end,

12 so that you will not be sluggish, but aimitators of those who through bfaith and patience cinherit the promises.

13 For awhen God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He bswore by Himself,

14 saying, “aI will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.”

15 And so, ahaving patiently waited, he obtained the promise.

16 aFor men swear by 1one greater than themselves, and with them ban oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.

17 1In the same way God, desiring even more to show to athe heirs of the promise bthe unchangeableness of His purpose, 2interposed with an oath,

18 so that by two unchangeable things in which ait is impossible for God to lie, we who have 1taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of bthe hope set before us.

19 1This ahope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which benters 2within the veil,

20 awhere Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a bhigh priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.