Title: The Calm Before The Storm (Part Two)
1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
2 of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and about the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.
3 And this we will do, if God permits.
Initial note on Greek:
Look at verse two in these other two popular translations and see if you can spot an important difference:
NKJV:
of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
ESV:
and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
NIV:
instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
What’s the difference here?
The word the author uses in Hebrews 6 is important to our fuller understanding of the passage.
baptismos
a washing, purification effected by means of water
of washing prescribed by the Mosaic law (Heb 9:10)
which seems to mean an exposition of the difference between the washings prescribed by the Mosaic law and Christian baptism
Two other uses of baptismos in the NT:
Mark 7:4
And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables.
Hebrews 9:10
Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation
This is a slightly different greek word than the more familiar baptizo found in verses like:
Romans 6:3
Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? (NASB)
Matthew 28:19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (KJV)
Conclusion:
Many modern versions (NIV, ESV, NASB) use baptismos as “washings” or “cleansing rites.”
This seems to indicate that the author of Hebrews is speaking more generically, and not specifically about the public sacrament of faith we call “baptism.”
Now, why did I spend so much time at the top of this morning’s message unpacking the difference between those two Greek words? Because if we have a proper understanding of the difference of those two words, it helps unpack the bigger question that we’re now about to tackle.
I was approached by no less than three people after last week’s message, and they all expressed some version of the same question:
“PB, it seems the author is saying that things like washings, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment are the elementary teachings of the faith that we need to move on from???
What is basic or elementary about these things???”
Guzik:
Many people regard this as a Biblical list of important elementary principles for the Christian life. Bible study and discipleship series have been taught developing each one of these topics, with the thought that this is a good list of basic doctrines. But that wasn’t the writer’s point here at all.
To understand this list, one must ask basic questions:
What is distinctively Christian about this list?
Where is the specific mention of Jesus or salvation by grace alone?
Could one believe in or practice these things and still not be a follower of Jesus Christ, and not believe Him to be the Messiah?
“When we consider the ‘rudiments’ one by one, it is remarkable how little in the list is distinctive of Christianity, for practically every item could have its place in a fairly orthodox Jewish community… Each of them, indeed, acquires a new significance in a Christian context; but the impression we get is that existing Jewish beliefs and practices were used as a foundation on which to build Christian truth.” (Bruce)
“It is profoundly significant to observe how little distinctively Christian there is in this statement. Repentance, faith, resurrection, and judgment were certainly Jewish, and on this account the reference seems to be the Jewish foundation, and they are urged to avoid these elementary things which they are to leave for something higher and richer.” (Griffith Thomas)
In this case, the elementary principles to move beyond are all items in a common ground of belief between Christianity and Judaism. This was a safe common ground for these discouraged Jewish Christians to retreat back to.
Because Christianity did grow out of Judaism, it was a more subtle temptation for a Jewish Christian to slip back into Judaism than it was for a formerly pagan Christian to go back to his pagan ways. (Guzik)
“Part of the problem facing the Hebrews was the superficial similarity between the elementary tenets of Christianity and those of Judaism, which made it possible for Christian Jews to think they could hold on to both.” (Guthrie)
Of course, these Jewish Christians did not want to abandon religion, but they did want to make it less distinctively Christian. Therefore, they went back to this common ground to avoid persecution. Living in this comfortable common ground, one did not stick out so much. A Jew and a Christian together could say, “Let’s repent, let’s have faith, let’s perform ceremonial washings,” and so forth. This was a subtle yet certain denial of Jesus.
This is entirely characteristic of those who feel discouraged, and wish to give up. There is always the temptation to still be religious, but not so fanatical about Jesus. (Guzik)
Application:
What is the parallel (especially for new Christians) who want to “have their feet in both camps” and be “religious” but not “radically Christian”?
PB’s answers:
Someone who says “I identify as spiritual, but not religious.”
A “Christian” who picks and chooses which parts of the Bible apply to them. (Homosexuality is fine because “love is love”, Living with a partner before marriage is fine because “we love each other”, abortion is a right because “nobody can tell me what to do with my body.”)
At it’s basic level, this is someone who may claim Jesus as their savior, but there is little, if evidence that Jesus is their LORD. The evidence for this is in their utter lack of respect for our Lord Jesus’s commands as they are laid out in scripture. As Victor Kuligan would say “Jesus light: great taste, less demanding”