HEBREWS 11


     We will begin this lesson in Hebrews 6:1 "Therefore leaving the
principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection;
not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of
faith toward God," Hebrews 6:2 "Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of
laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal
judgment."

     We see from this, that basic Christianity includes repentance of
sins, being baptized into new life, receiving the promise of the
resurrection, being warned of the judgement to come, and even includes
the laying on of hands by the presbytry whereby we receive the
gifts,of the Holy Spirit. You might say, then, what is left that is
not basic? This is where we walk in the knowledge of God producing
fruit fit for the kingdom. We have already been saved, now it is time
for us to work for the Lord, in whatever job He has for us to do. We
will find, that we, like the disciples of old, have been given a
commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel. I said in a
previous lesson, that all who have passed beyond the basic
Christianity and who have studied and know the Word of God, are
obligated to teach those who do not know.  This next Scripture tells
us exactly what God would have us to do.  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:" We are in a war with
the devil. We must do our best to win our young people back to God,
before the devil enlists them.

     Hebrews 6:3 "And this will we do, if God permit."

     Almost everyone who is studying this Bible study has already gone
beyond the step of basic Christianity. We are all seeking for the
deeper truths which the Holy Spirit of God teaches us. The most
important statement in this short verse above is, [if God permit].
Without His permission, we would not even wake in the morning. The
first thing, for a true Christian to do, is turn our will over to God.
James 4:15 "For that ye [ought] to say, If the Lord will, we shall
live, and do this, or that."

     Hebrews 6:4 "For [it is] impossible for those who were once
enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made
partakers of the Holy Ghost,"  Hebrews 6:5 "And have tasted the good
word of God, and the powers of the world to come," Hebrews 6:6 "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."

     This is one of the most severe warnings in the Bible to the
Christian. Enlightened in this case means to illuminate or make
apparent. This means, not a babe in Christ, but a seasoned Christian
who is fully aware of the will of God. It, also, means someone who has
received not only the baptism of water, but of the Holy Ghost, as
well. This has to do with sinning in full knowledge that what you are
doing is a sin. This falling away is a free will act on the part of
this Christian to depart from Christianity and go back into the world.
This would be turning your will over to the lust of your flesh and not
only committing sin, but having it to be the desire of your heart to
sin.  Once we have accepted the free gift of salvation through the
shed blood of Jesus Christ; we are washed in His blood and our sins
are done away with. It would be like writing all your sins on a black
board and having Jesus erase them. To willfully go back into a sin
habit in your life, would be as if you did not have respect for the
sacrifice that Jesus made. It reminds me of Esau thinking so little of
his birthright that he sold it to Jacob for a bowl of soup. When Jesus
died for our sins, He grafted us into the tree  of Life, and we became
adopted children of the Father. To choose to turn our back on this
adoption would greatly anger God. It would be as if we wanted Jesus to
die over and over for our sin. John 15:6 "If a man abide not in me, he
is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and
cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned." To abide means to
dwell continuosly. It is possible to have your name blotted out of the
book of life.  You have to be saved for your name to be written in the
book of life, and your name has to be in there, before it can be
blotted out.  Read this Scripture and you will see it is very
important to continue with Christ after you have received Him.
Revelation 3:5 "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white
raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but
I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."  We
must walk daily in the salvation that we have received.   Hebrews
10:29 "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought
worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted
the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" This says it
all.

     Hebrews 6:7 "For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh
oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is
dressed, receiveth blessing from God:"

     We hear so much about the devil being in control of the earth,
but he has to get God's permission for what he does. Jesus is the
ruler of the earth. Philippians 2:10 "That at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and
[things] under the earth;" Notice, also, that God is the one who
allows the rain. Matthew 5:45 "That ye may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil
and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." We
know that God withholds the rain, sometimes for years to cause
repentance of the people. Deuteronomy 11:17 "And [then] the LORD'S
wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be
no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and [lest] ye perish
quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you."  The earth
receives the blessings of rain from God, just as our blessings come
from God. We could go into this in greater detail by telling how Jesus
told the sea to be still and it had to obey. Do not be deceived, God
is in control of everything.

     Hebrews 6:8 "But that which beareth thorns and briers [is]
rejected, and [is] nigh unto cursing; whose end [is] to be burned."


     The easiest way to explain this, is, by their fruits you shall
know them. Thorns and briars are part of the curse on the ground when
Adam fell. They are of no use to anyone, so their fate is burning to
get rid of them. Genesis 3:17 "And unto Adam he said, Because thou
hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree,
of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed
[is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the
days of thy life;" Genesis 3:18 "Thorns also and thistles shall it
bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;"
Matthew 7:19 "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn
down, and cast into the fire."  We can easily see from this what God
has in mind for useless things. Are you a fruit bearer?

     Hebrews 6:9 "But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you,
and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak."

     We see here, that he is not just speaking of just plants which
are thorns, but people, as well. As we said before, it is terribly
important that we be doing the work God has called us to do. We want
Him to say when we stand before Him, Well done thy good and faithful
servant. The fruit that should be showing in our life is spoken of in
these next two verses. Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,"
Galatians 5:23 "Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
We need to be working to get as many more people in the kingdom as we
can, when the Lord returns. Some of us work in small places and may
just have a few, but the angels in heaven rejoice when you bring one
sinner to Jesus. There are a few more Scriptures here that I will give
you on this subject. Titus 2:11 "For the grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to all men," Titus 2:12 "Teaching us that,
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world;" Titus 2:13 "Looking
for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and
our Saviour Jesus Christ;" Titus 2:14 "Who gave himself for us, that
he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a
peculiar people, zealous of good works."

     Hebrews 6:10 "For God [is] not unrighteous to forget your work
and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye
have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

     Everything we are doing in the name of the Lord here on the earth
is being recorded right now in heaven. Your rewards will be in heaven.
Jesus said, In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these, you
have done it unto me. These Scriptures in Jesus' own words say it much
better than I can. Matthew 25:35 "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me
meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye
took me in:" Matthew 25:36 "Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and
ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me." Matthew 25:37
"Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee
an hungred, and fed [thee]? or thirsty, and gave [thee] drink?"
Matthew 25:38 "When saw we thee a stranger, and took [thee] in? or
naked, and clothed [thee]?" Matthew 25:39 "Or when saw we thee sick,
or in prison, and came unto thee?" Matthew 25:40 "And the King shall
answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have
done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done
[it] unto me."

     I will end this lesson by saying, If we are to be like our
Saviour [Jesus Christ], then we must forget about ourselves and the
so-called pleasures of this world, and spend every extra moment
telling someone about Jesus. Won't it be wonderful to see the people
you brought to Christ in heaven?  Lay up your treasures in heaven; not
on this earth.








































                             Questions 11

1.  In Hebrew chapter 6 verse 1, we are told to leave the principles
    of doctrine and go on to what?
2.  Name some of the things that are covered in basic Christianity.
3.  When we go beyond basic Christianity, what is left?
4.  What are we Christians, who have already received basic
    Christianity, and have studied the Word, obligated to do?
5.  Quote the great commission given believers in Matthew Chapter 28
    verse 19.
6.  What are three very important words found in Hebrews chapter 6
    verse 3?
7.  What is it like when a seasoned Christian, operating in full
    knowledge, chooses again a sinful way of life?
8.  What does enlightened mean here?
9.  This person spoken of in question 7, not only sins, but it is the
    desire of their ______ to sin.
10. John chapter 15 verse 6 says, what happens to those who do not
    abide in Jesus.
11. Who shall be clothed in white raiment in heaven?
12. Who is really in control of the earth?
13. Phillipians chapter 2 verse 10 says, who must bow to the name of
    Jesus?
14. Who does God send rain on?
15. Where in Deuteronomy do we read that God would not let it rain
    because of His wrath?
16. In Hebrews chapter 6 verse 8, we read that worthless things shall
    be _______.
17. Who brought the curse of thorns and briars to the earth?
18. Are you a fruit bearer?
19. What fruit should be showing in a Christian's life?
20. How does Titus chapter 2 say we should live?
21. What are we Christians to be zealous of?
22. When will you reap the rewards for what you have done on earth?
23. What does the 25th chapter of Matthew teach about doing for
    others?
24. If we are to be like Jesus, what must we do?
25. Where should our treasures be?