A real-time blog: The Letter to the Hebrews - 5
The gospel writers provide us with a pitch-side view of individuals and their encounters with Jesus of Nazareth.
Jews at the time were deeply divided over Jesus. Some came to him humbly for teaching, or healing, or deliverance, or simply to follow him. Others were opposed. None of those who came humbly remained the same.
Once we encounter Christ, all is left behind, like the fishermen’s nets, and we start growing spiritually; like newborn babies, we need milk, then solid food.
‘Let us go on to maturity not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God, the doctrine of baptisms, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgement. And this we will do if God permits.’
Repentance from dead works and faith toward God
This is not referring to the crisis at the time of conversion to Christ, it is addressed to believers. This is the John 15 father with the knife again, coming to us as a vinedresser, ready to cut out any dead branches. Dead works are not necessarily ‘sinful’ at all, they can appear to be very good…but they are not what the Spirit is witnessing in your spirit…and they must go. From now on it is faith toward God. It’s learning to respond to the voice of the Spirit in your spirit.
Baptisms
There are three main baptisms. The Father baptizes us into Christ. Jesus baptizes us in the Spirit, and the Spirit baptizes us into the church as the body of Christ. Our water baptism is a burial of a dead body. We have died to our former life and are open to the above three baptisms. Resisting any one of them is a contradiction of our water baptism.
Resurrection of the dead
There is a future and a present dimension to this. In the parable of the Prodigal son, the son was ‘dead but is alive again’. As far as God is concerned, we were dead but we were brought back to life when we are born again by the Spirit. God’s life is now in us; Christianity is a Spirit/spirit operation. And, of course, there is a future greater fulfilment of resurrection, the day of resurrection. ‘I tell you a mystery…in a moment, at the last trumpet…the dead will be raised incorruptible and this mortal will put on immortality’ 1 Cor 15 v51-54. But our resurrected life, fused with Christ, has begun.
Eternal judgement
This is a living word, alive 24/7 in us; it is not reserved exclusively for the future. God accurately discerns between good and evil and therefore makes sound judgements. If we are being ‘transformed’ or ‘growing up into all things into Christ’ we must learn to operate with the same ‘eternal judgement’. The writer of Hebrews expresses his frustration over the recipients’ lack of progress: ‘…but solid food belongs to those who are mature, those who by practice have their senses exercised to discern good from evil’. Just like Jesus who ‘knew what was in the heart of men’. We begin to discern what lies at the heart of an issue or a person as the Spirit witnesses with our spirit. It is not a ‘natural’ ability.