Big Idea: Death is a constant and blessings are to be enjoyed, so enjoy them while you can. God has given you enough to enjoy so find freedom in contentment.

Today we are going to examine the priesthood of Melchizedek. Although he is mentioned just twice in the Old Testament, he is central to the extended discussion here in the book of Hebrews. We will also consider an important comcept in the study of God's Word - typology.

After a sober warning given in chapters 5 and 6 of this letter, we find some words of encouragement. While it is possible for believers to get sidetracked by sin or to shrink back in doubt, the writer expected better things concerning the Christian people he was writing to. The last part of the 9th verse mentions there was an expectation of things that accompany salvation. What is meant by this? Salvation brings change for the better. The child of God is transformed by God’s grace and our new faith should produce love for God (shown by obedience) and love for others (shown by our service).

The passage we’re considering this morning is the most controversial passage in the book of Hebrews and perhaps in the whole of scripture. Oak Lawn Bible church believes in the eternal security of the believer - meaning that once someone receives Christ as their Savior, God keeps them saved until they appear before Christ Jesus. As a pastor, I’ve been asked about Hebrews 6:4-8 on a very consistent basis by those who fear that it teaches the loss of salvation.The major disagreement in interpretation stems from what does it mean to “fall away” and what is meant by “it’s impossible to renew to repentance.” For those who use this passage to support the doctrine that one can lose their salvation, if they are consistent with that interpretation, the text is saying that once salvation is lost it’s impossible for them to ever be saved again. A scary proposition because if we must remain faithful to keep saved at where is the line drawn?Others take this passage and reject the idea of losing salvation, but then use hermeneutical hijinks to say that those described in the passage were not believers or that the passage itself is hypothetical.In order to understand this or any passage of scripture, we have to look at the context. As one of my seminary profs used to say, “Any text without context is pretext for error.” Today we’re going to consider what it means to “fall away” and why those who do fall away are impossible to "renew to repentance”.

Hebrews 5:11-6:3

The office of High priest was a significant one for the people of God in the Old Testament. In fact, this was so important the choice of the High priest was taken out of the hands of men and was to be communicated by God. They weren’t elected, they were appointed by God.

This passage challenges us to consider that there is a limited window available to us in which we have the opportunity to enter God's rest, just as the people who were to enter the Promised Land had a limited opportunity as well when they came to the border of it. We're warned to "be careful" or more literally "be afraid" to be found to have fallen short of what God wants for us. None of us want to fall short of his 'rest', the promise of entering it still awaits us all.

For those who face hard times or persecution, there is the temptation to turn away from God and actually harden your heart toward Him. The writer of Hebrews wants to warn the believer that there is the danger of that for any of us and all of us when we allow our disappointment or discouragement to take control of our thoughts.

Continuing in Hebrews. . . .