Remember, this passage originally had a first-century, Jewish audience. Judaism and Christianity have a common foundation based on repentance, faith, washings, laying on of hands, resurrection, and judgment. In that context, the Foundation Sitters were those who happily stayed with that foundation; they resisted stepping up to the next level introduced by the Messiah Jesus.
The Structure Builders were those believers who didn’t forsake the foundation but recognized that Jesus called us to build on it. They recognized Jesus’ call to enlightenment, received His gift, communed with His Holy Spirit, heard His good word, and believed in His power.
In this section, we’ll study Hebrews 6:7-10. I encourage you to read it. We’ll consider the evidence that reveals the group in which we might belong. Even more, we’ll realize Jesus desires for us to go beyond being a Structure Builder.
Going Beyond
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| Click picture for a printable handout for this section |
Sometimes it’s hard to tell who is who (6:7-8)
It’s a rough job to tell whom God has made new and whom He hasn’t. That’s why God doesn’t call us to do it; He does it Himself.
These two verses insert a little parable into our passage. Jesus often used this teaching method so that only those with ears to hear would discern His message (Matthew 13:11-13). I believe the author of Hebrews was remembering one of Jesus’ parables when he wrote this section.
Jesus taught a similar parable in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43. I encourage you to read it. God allows false followers to mix and mingle among those who truly follow Him. He allows them to be together until His final judgment at the end of time when the true followers enter eternity with Him and He casts the false followers into the lake of fire. This parable – along with all of the kingdom parables – has some incredible wisdom for us. I’ve written about it in more detail in Everything We Need.
Hebrews’ parable also reminds us of Genesis 3:17-18. After Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, God pronounced consequences and curses on them, the serpent, and the ground. Adam and Eve received some specific consequences but God didn’t curse them. Instead, He promised a plan of redemption to restore their relationship with Him. God did, however, curse Satan and the ground. Satan’s promised end is the lake of fire; the earth He will destroy by fire. Because the ground is cursed, it now produces thorns and thistles as does the ground in our Hebrews’ parable. Like the cursed ground, if we produce thorns and thistles instead of the crop which God cultivates in us, then we’re about to be cursed. Note, we aren’t cursed yet but it is coming.
All three of these passages – Hebrews, Matthew, and Genesis – have something in common. They all consider the type of fruit as a method of discernment. In short, our fruit is evidence of our relationship with God. I encourage you to read each of these passages and think about the full message it has on fruit in our lives. If you’re following along with the printable handout, you may even write your notes in the appropriate place.
- Matthew 3:7-10 – We may be a blood descendant of Abraham but that isn’t a sign of our relationship with Him. We must produce good fruit consistent with the grace given in our lives.
- Matthew 7:15-20 – We can discern false teachers by their fruit.
- Romans 6:20-23 – Slavery to sin produces the fruit of death; slavery to righteousness produces the fruit of sanctification and eternal life.
- Romans 7:4-6 – A relationship with the Messiah bears fruit for God. This relationship is through the Spirit, not through the Law.
- Galatians 5:22-23 – Our fruit is defined as things like love, joy, peace, etc.
- Ephesians 5:9 – Our fruit is also things like goodness, righteousness, truth, and discernment.
The Better Things Lead to Salvation (6:9)
The author of Hebrews was “confident” the Jerusalem Jewish believers were part of “the better things connected with salvation.” In other words, he was confident they were Structure Builders, not Foundation Sitters.
He makes a powerful connection, though. He notes that the better things – the Structure – is that which is associated with salvation. Remember, the first century was a time of transition. This whole section of Hebrews encourages the Jewish believers to no longer rely on their sacrifices for salvation but rather to rely on the Messianic Lamb whose sacrifice paid the penalty for sin once and for all. In their past, their salvation came through faith in a coming Messiah. Now, their salvation would come through the finished work of that Messiah. Therefore, salvation is now for those who were willing to make that transition.
Our works are the evidence of our salvation (6:10)
Don’t misread me on this! Our works aren’t the source of our salvation – they are the evidence of it. That’s a huge, important distinction.
The man writing this letter to the Hebrews looked at their lives and saw good fruit. He saw acts of service inspired by love, the first in our list of fruits of the Spirit. Their actions demonstrated their faith. After all, God’s love is a love based on sacrifice. Only when His Spirit dwells in us and works through us can we begin to love sacrificially in service to a lost and hurting world.
Why the harsh warning?
Seems kind of odd, doesn’t it? Ever since Hebrews 5:11, the writer has been pretty harsh with the readers. He accused them of laziness, saying they had reverted back to infantile behavior in their spiritual walk. He felt they should be teaching others and yet they still needed to be taught. After such harsh words, why does he say he’s confident of the structure in their lives? After all, lots of people have no relationship with Jesus but still do a lot of good works.
I think the answer may be in this – the believers had a foundation on which they built a structure which led them to action and service. However, when they reached out to serve, perhaps they weren’t offering those whom they served a relationship with Jesus. Their actions displayed their love and faith but they never offered that love and faith to someone new. They let their friends be content as Foundation Sitters rather than step up to a Structure Builder.
This would explain why the author said they still need to be taught even when they should be teaching (Hebrews 5:12). It would explain why he called them to leave the elementary message – the Foundation – and move on to maturity – the Structure. He didn’t want them to keep laying the same foundation again and again (Hebrews 6:1).
A few years ago I traveled to Haiti to work in a rural orphanage. The devastating earthquake of 2010 had occurred two years previously but as I flew into Port-au-Prince, row after row of blue disaster relief tents still filled the landscape. Many aid agencies – some religious and some not – donated millions of dollars and thousands of hours to help people recover from the great tragedy. As I flew in and looked over the devastation, I thought and later wrote on my blog, “the sights over the city looked much as I expected. And you might think I'm crazy, but it looked beautiful. I don't know why but the city held a certain beauty. It was in that moment, flying into the poverty and desperation, that all my confusing thoughts became clear. The slums of Port-au-Prince are no more awful than the subdivisions of home or any other place. Every place is the home of the poor and destitute. Oh, we in America may have beautiful homes, cars, and clothing, but we are as spiritually poor and destitute as any Haitian. And in the end, that is what matters.
“It doesn't matter how much we gain if we don't gain eternal salvation along the way. And to go one step further, if you'll permit me to rephrase Mark 8:36, it doesn't matter how much we give if we aren't giving the message of eternal salvation. All the humanitarian aid in the world means little if the recipient still loses his own soul.”
How does this affect me?
First, let’s allow God to judge the crops. Yes, some among us may be weeds instead of wheat. Some may be thorns and thistles. It’s not up to us to make that call. It’s our job to extend grace and love balanced with truth. We’ll allow God to bring them to conviction or eventually to judgment.
The second effect for us today goes right along with the first one. God judges the crops but we need to give Him a crop to judge. In other words, we need to bear some fruit. The Spirit gives us the ability to show love, to be patient, to exercise self-control, to find peace, and all the other qualities listed in Galatians 5:22-23. We also want the fruits of truth, discernment, and more from Ephesians 5:9 to be evident in us. The capacity for them is worthless if we don’t share them with the world. They have to grow out and impact those around us.
Third, are you a Foundation Sitter or a Structure Builder? Are you content to rest in the way it used to be or are you ready to go beyond that and build a little structure in your relationship with Jesus?
Finally, if you are a Structure Builder, is it evident by the works of love in your life? Even more, are you using those acts of love to bring others to Jesus? Remember, we can serve the whole world but it means nothing if we don’t tell them about Jesus in the process.
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