Hebrews 6:1-20

6:1-2 | The writer lists six building blocks for an unchanging foundation of faith. the elementary principles includ baptisms, spiritual gifts (laying on of hands), and eschatology (resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment) - issues that believers often debate but that are not central to the gospel and to which these new Christians were exposed at the beginning of their faith.

6:1 | The writer does not urge them to abandon what they have learned but to move forward to reach the next stage of spiritual development.

6:7-8 | The warning of the previous verses is followed by an illustration from the soil. Both soils receive rain. But the difference between being blessed and being rejected is found in the word cultivation (Matt. 13:23). Those who tend to their faith produce fruit, while those who ignore matters of faith produce nothing but thorns.

6:10 | Because of the work of Christ on the cross, God forgets every sin (8:12; Ps. 103:12), but He never forgets any act of love expressed towards Him and others.

6:12 | To imitate those who through faith inherited the promises is the way to avoid becoming spiritually sluggish and dull. Believers should be examples for other believers to imitate (13:7; 2 Thess. 3:7-9).

6:13-14 | When God made His covenant (promise) to bless Abraham, multiply Abraham’s descendants, and ultimately bless the entire world, God swore by Himself because He could swear to no one greater. He is the ultimate authority, and His promises are sure because His character is true.

6:18-19 | Ordinary hope is a state of mind whereby one faces uncertainty with varying shades of expectation, depending on how the prospects look (“I hope it rains tomorrow”). But Christian hope is a fact - a firm expectation - that believers can lay hold of, like an anchor. This hope in turn lays hold of a person so that they have confidence in all that has been promised.