Warning against Retrograding, which leads to Apostasy—Encouragement to Steadfastness from God’s Faithfulness to His Word and Oath. Heb. 6:1-3
“The Hebrews had confessed their faith in Christ, and by so doing had forsaken the shadows for the Substance. But hope had been deferred, faith hath waned, persecutions had cooled their zeal. They were being tempted to abandon their Christian profession and return to Judaism. The apostle shows that by so doing they would be laying again “a foundation” of things which had been left behind. Rather than this, he urges them to be carried forward to “perfection” or “full growth.” That meant to substitute “repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18), for “repentance from dead works;” trust in the glorified Savior, for a national “faith toward God;” the all-cleansing blood of the Lamb, for the inefficacious “washings” of the law; God’s having laid on Christ the iniquities of us all, for the Jewish high-priest’s “laying on of hands;” a resurrection “from the dead,” for “a resurrection of the dead;” the Judgment-seat of Christ, for the “eternal judgment” of the Great White Throne. Thus, the six things here mentioned belonged to a state of things before Christ was manifested.” Pink Athur W
“And of laying on of hands” The Jews practiced the laying on of hands on a great variety of occasions. It was done when a blessing was imparted to any one; when prayer was made for one; and when they offered sacrifice they laid their hands on the head of the victim, confessing their sins; Lev. 16:21; 24:14; Num. 8:12.The “laying on of hands” to which the apostle refers is described in Leviticus 16:21, “And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness.” This was an essential part of the ritual on the annual Day of Atonement. Of this the Hebrews would naturally think when the apostle here makes mention of the “doctrine (teaching) … of laying on of hands”. Pink Arthur W.
“The resurrection of the dead was a clearly revealed doctrine under Judaism. “We make a great mistake when we assume that the resurrection as taught by the Pharisees, held by the Jews, believed by the disciples, and proclaimed by the apostles, was one and the same” (C.H.W.). The great difference between the former and the latter may be seen by a comparison of the scriptures that follow. And of resurrection of the dead “After the way which they call heresy, so worship I… believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: and have hope toward God… that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust” Acts 24:14, 15. “Martha saith…he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day” John 11:24. Now in contrast, note, “He charged them that they should tell no man… till the Son of man were risen from the dead. And they kept… questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean” Mk 9:9, 10. It is this elective resurrection which the epistles emphasize, a resurrection of the redeemed before that of the wicked:” Rev. 20:5, 6; 1Cor. 15:22, 23; 1Thess. 4:16.
“And of eternal judgment.” To the Jewish church, “For God shall bring every work into judgment…” Eccl 12:14, it is the final judgment. Rev. 20:11-15. There are other Judgments. Believer’s sin Jn.12:31, self-judgment 1Cor. 11:32, believer’s works 2Cor. 5:10, the nations Matt. 25:32, and fallen Angels Jud 6.
