Discussion Questions

1) Have you known friends or family who have fallen away from their faith in Christ? What impact has that had on you?

2) When you look at the fruit in your life, where are you encouraged that God is at work? Where are you discouraged?

3) How does this passage help you see that perseverance is a necessary part of the Christian life? What are some practical ways you can be earnest in your faith in the months to come?

Sermon OUtline

Scripture: Hebrews 6:4-12

I. If you fall away from Christ and His church, you will face judgment.

A. An apostate is someone who once seemed to be a Christian, who was a part of a visible church and did the things that Christians do, but who one day rejected Christ, turned away from the truth taught in Christianity and left the church. Apostasy is described in the first words of Hebrews 6:6: and then have fallen away. Apostates fall away in the sense that they abandon the gospel of Jesus Christ and its privileges. The privileges that the readers of the book of Hebrews had received are described in verses 4 and 5.

B. The author gives his Christian readers a serious warning. He says that it would be impossible (vs. 4) for them if they fell away into apostasy to restore them again to repentance (vs. 6). Why? Verse 6 says that these apostates would be crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. If you were to turn your back on Jesus, you would be saying that Jesus is nothing special. You don’t need Jesus to save you. You would be just like the people in the crowd on Good Friday who mocked Jesus while he was being crucified.

C. In Hebrews 6:7-8, the author gives a picture from farming. It is a picture of the consequences of apostasy. He writes in verse 7 about land that has received refreshing rain. The author is saying, “You have been given great privileges from God. Therefore, you should produce good fruit in your lives and persevere in your faith.” But what happens if the rain produces only thorns and thistles? Verse 8 says that such land is worthless and about to be cursed and will finally be burned. This is a picture of what will happen to those who are apostate: judgment.

II. If you are a true Christian, you will produce good fruit.

A. Up until verse 9 of Hebrews 6, the author has been giving a serious warning to those who were tempted to fall away from Jesus. But in verse 9, the author changes his tone. He moves from warning his readers to encouraging his readers. He was confident that they were truly saved. And he encourages his readers with the good fruit that he sees in their lives. You know you are a Christian because of the fruit your life produces. Look at three of those fruits that your life produces in verse 10.

B. The first fruit of the Christian has to do with your work. Is your life a life of service to God and God’s people? The second fruit of the Christian is an affection for God. We read in verse of 10 of how the readers have love that they have shown for His name. The readers of Hebrews did not work for God merely out of a sense of duty. No. They really loved God in their hearts. Nothing meant more to them than the honor and glory of God’s name. The third fruit of the Christian is serving the saints. The readers of Hebrews were practically taking care of other Christians’ needs. The readers are finally told that the Christian life is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. So, he says in verse 11, “we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end.” Don’t give up in the race. Don’t fall away from Christ. Be earnest. Take your faith seriously and persevere. Perseverance is necessary in the race so that the hope of salvation that you have now will be realized in heaven one day.

Application:
You need warnings and encouragements if you are going to finish the race of the Christian life.

Sources:
The letter to the Hebrews
Commentaries on Hebrews by Tom Schreiner and Raymond Brown
Bible study on Hebrews by Michael Kruger