The Price of Rejection

A person can go to skydiving school, pass all the exams, even be able to teach the course; but if they think they will be able to jump out of a plane, while choosing to not use the parachute, all the training and knowledge in the world means nothing when dealing with gravity and the laws of physics.

Likewise, being a part of a church, being able to quote the Bible, being able to teach the Bible, will do nothing to save your soul, if you’ve never made that commitment to following Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

In this section, the author is writing specifically to those Jews who had heard all the information about what Jesus Christ had done for them, yet they felt this was not the right way or the only way, for they wanted to hold onto their Judaism. The reality is that the Bible is relevant for all time, so the applications apply to all of humanity. Knowledge about Jesus does not save; knowing Jesus through a personal commitment to Him is what saves.

We need to understand that a person can verbally say they believe in Jesus, yet they’ve chosen to reject Jesus as their Lord and Savior. My friends, nobody knows when that point of no return takes place. To attempt to live without surrendering your life to Jesus until you feel like it, will lead to a person paying a terrible price—eternity in hell, forever separated from God.

Remember what Jesus stated in Matthew 7.21-23.

Matthew 7:21–23 NASB95

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

What I am praying will impact all of us here is the need to be diligent in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not assume that someone is going to heaven because they attend church or are nice people.

We must press for others to decide to follow Christ as Savior, lest they pay the horrible price for rejection of Jesus.

Move Forward - 6.1-2

The author is moving forward in his reprimand of those readers who wanted to go back to a spiritual diet of milk and who were unwilling to dig deeper into the Word. If these individuals are saved, then they needed to move forward. If they were still unsaved, they needed to make the break from trusting in the Law and place their faith in Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 6:1–2 NASB95

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, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

A key action word is leaving. The readers needed to sever their ties and connections with all the requirements and demands of the Law. They needed to quit hanging onto that which only condemned and did not truly provide freedom. They needed to move on to accept that which had been revealed in Jesus Christ. They needed to go beyond the shadow of what was to become the reality fulfilled in the Person of Jesus Christ. They were not to hold on to any part of that shadow found in the Old Testament, as we see in the meaning of leaving; total abandonment and total forsaking.

This is not to say that there was to be a wiping of the Old Testament from their memories. It is the law that points out our need for the Savior. But they needed to move beyond that, to where they would actually place their hope and faith in Jesus Christ. They were to forsake that which was a false hope and pursue that which was true hope.

So, what were some of the things they were holding onto that needed to be released completely? . . . repentance from dead works, faith toward God, instruction about washings, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. The author is not suggesting that Biblical truths from the Old Testament be rejected, as that is never taught in the Bible. The author is speaking of concepts that do not lead to salvation.

Yes, we are taught to repent from dead (evil) works, for those result in death. But this is only a part of the gospel. There was still a need to turn to Jesus and accept what He did on our behalf. Unless there is something to turn to that will truly result in a person’s salvation, there is always the question of what now?, after a person repents of their evil. Apart from turning to Jesus for salvation, repentance is only partial and incomplete.

Faith toward God is simply understanding that apart from Jesus Christ, faith in God is also incomplete. Acts 4.12 reminds us that salvation is only found in Jesus. John 14.6 reminds us that Jesus is the only way to eternal life.

Instruction about washings, is in reference to ceremonial cleansing. Ceremonial washing on the outside will not cleanse a person from their sins. We are told in Titus 3.5, that God washes us within, giving us regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. This is the picture of being born again.

Laying on of hands is in reference to the Old Testament practice of identification by putting their hands on the sacrifice, showing that their sins are being placed on the animal who would be killed to cover the sin with its blood.

Resurrection of the dead is really dealing with something that has very little Old Testament teaching. However, the New Testament is where this is taught more deeply by the apostles, particularly, and is seen most obviously in Jesus Christ. Our resurrection is based upon what we know absolutely from the resurrection of our Savior.

Eternal judgment is also just touched upon in the Old Testament. It is in the New Testament that we learn so much about judgment in all its aspects.

All of these things were to be left behind and the path was and is to be that of pursuing Christ who fulfilled all that was foreshadowed in the Old Testament.

Move Beyond - 6.3-6

I recall an individual who loved college. This person loved the social life, the tasting of all the various subjects, the extra-curricular activities. Quite frankly, this person was thought of as a perpetual student who would never mature and move on in their life. Fortunately, this individual did make a decision to pursue a specific course of action.

Sadly, in the spiritual world, there are the same types of individuals who just love everything there is about Christ’s Church. Yet, they want to keep on enjoying all the wonderful blessings, and still do not want to totally commit to following Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Hebrews 6:3–6 NASB95

And this we will do, if God permits. For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

Verse 3 stands out as if it were inserted as a reminder. If nothing else, the author is reminding all the readers that God is the Sovereign Lord who allows and enables everything to happen. Nothing happens without his permission and consent.

It is helpful to realize that many of these readers were not helplessly in the dark. Instead, they were willfully and ignorantly rejecting Jesus as the only way to salvation. We can be assured of this because they had the information, but needed to move beyond just having and knowing the facts. We’re not dealing with people who have been saved here, for there is no usage of salvation terminology.

The phrase who have once been enlightened is in reference to having an understanding of the Scripture. The Greek word is used to refer to being mentally aware, instructed, informed. This is the language of having access to information. It has nothing to do with a person accepting or rejecting the information. Even during Jesus’ time on this earth, many experienced and observed the incredible things which Jesus did. However, not everybody chose to believe on Him. The multitude which Jesus fed were participants and blessed by Jesus, but how many actually chose to believe in Him as a result of what they heard and experienced.

In other words, the readers of this letter or sermon knew the information and the facts about Jesus, but they had done nothing about it. And none of us knows when the last opportunity for salvation will be given offered. Sadly, these Hebrews, like many in our world today, had the information, but had rejected it because they thought the old ways were actually better.

The author also says that they had tasted of the heavenly gift. The greatest gift I can think of which could be described as heavenly, would be that of the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. The problem, as we recognize even today, is that people had known about this offer of salvation, they had observed the results of those who had been saved, but they had chosen not to submit and receive this free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ for themselves. You know, I can lick a piece of meat, or any other food, but unless I choose to eat the food, it does my body no good. Even today, there are many who have seen what Jesus has done in the lives of so many, yet they refuse to surrender to Christ as Lord and Savior.

Partakers of the Holy Spirit does not refer to actual possession of the Holy Spirit. The word for partakers is used to speak of commonality. A simple case in point is the example I shared earlier about how so many had been blessed by the food provided by Jesus at the seashore, but did not accept Jesus as their Messiah. We are not partakers in this sense. Rather the Holy Spirit is living within all who are born again. We are in possession of the Holy Spirit, as He is also in possession of us.

The author speaks of the readers having tasted the good word of God. The word given is not logos, but rather rhema. This shows that there were parts of God’s Word they had experienced and knew about, but they had not experienced the whole of God’s Word in such a way that they would be transformed and regenerated. They were familiar with the teachings, they had participated in the life of the church, they were probably quite active in worship services. However, they were unwilling to choose to follow Jesus. It was more to their liking to just enjoy all of that and continue on with their belief that the old ways were just as good and would get them to heaven.

Tasted of the powers of the age to come simply shows that they had observed all the amazing things which Jesus had done. Just like many today see the amazing power of God at work, yet do nothing to follow after Christ as Lord and Savior.

Verses 6-8 are a warning the author shares that every unbeliever needs to heed. This is not a reference to believers losing their salvation. A person cannot pass back and forth, in and out of salvation. I have spoken multiple times, sharing numerous Scriptures, showing that our salvation is secure. If any of you are still unsure about this, contact me afterwards, even those online, and I will be glad to share God’s Word which shows that if you are genuinely saved, you are indeed saved.

These verses are focused on the unsaved. The danger is that they would never again have the opportunity to be saved. In the efforts of the readers to go back, they could become so hardened against the spiritual truths of God’s Word, they would experience eternity in hell. After all, they had experienced all they needed to know to choose Jesus; instead they chose to reject that message. Saying that you believe the facts to be true, yet never doing anything about it by accepting Jesus’ mercy and grace to your own life will cause you to pay a terrible price. The word impossible in verse 6, truly means impossible. It does not mean difficult. It is impossible. People need to understand that the price is something which cannot be overemphasized.

Because of their wanting to go back to Judaism, they were in essence siding with those who called for the crucifixion of Jesus. They were participating in agreeing that Jesus was guilty of the charges and should be crucified. When you think about it, if you are rejecting what Jesus has done for you in providing you with the opportunity for forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Him, you are in essence crucifying Jesus, all over again.

Move Over - 6.7-8

There comes a point in time when the realization will have to become the reality. Weeds that end up taking the nutrients and moisture will not produce anything beneficial to the farmer. Thus, they have to be removed and are condemned to being destroyed.

Hebrews 6:7–8 NASB95

For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

Interestingly, these 2 verses are so straightforward, I’m almost embarrassed to elaborate on them. You might consider the rain, the message of the gospel of Christ. The goal here is that crops would come forth and produce wonderful food. However, the very same ground that should produce wonderful crops, will also produce weeds and plants that will actually look like the real crop (ex. wheat and tares, wheat and cheat). It is worthless and will actually try to choke out the good plants. It has no value, except to be burned and destroyed. Something else which is interesting, is that when it gets closer to harvest time, the wheat heads will actually bend over, bowing, if you will. The cheat or the tares will actually stay standing upright, refusing to bow. What a picture of the proud who have rejected the Savior!

Within a church or wherever, there will be those who experience the blessings of the gospel. However, some will just take it in and choose to be whatever they want to be, unwilling to surrender themselves to Jesus Christ. In the eyes of many people, they may look like the real thing, but when harvest time comes, it will be obvious that they were not the real thing. Even though they had heard the truth, even though they had experienced the blessings associated with those who belonged to Jesus, they chose to reject Jesus; either outrightly, or by negligence.

Conclusion

If you are listening to this message and you think you’re safe by just waiting things out, while enjoying all the good things that come with being connected to a church or other Christians, beware. You may not be against the Gospel outright, or against those who follow after Christ, yet if you continue to reject accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are truly against God. You also need to be aware that the longer you play this game, the easier it becomes to reject Jesus. The price of rejection is beyond terrible.

Maybe you’re someone who has professed Jesus Christ, but right now you are uncertain if you’re really saved. I don’t know your heart, only God knows. So what should you do? Take Paul’s advice in 2 Corinthians 13.5: Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! If there are genuine questions and concerns, then make that choice to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Seek out someone to help you grow in your faith. If you’re not connected to a Bible-teaching church that strives to live out what the Bible teaches, then find one and become part of a group of growing Christians.

We must press for others to decide to follow Christ as Savior, lest they pay the horrible price for rejection of Jesus.

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