Sermon Tone Analysis

Well, I don’t know about you, but I truly enjoyed going through the book of Jonah.

We saw some of the most important themes of the Bible played out in a story line that puts Hollywood to shame.

But now, we have finished the book of Jonah, and we are moving back to our study of the book of Hebrews.

If you remember, we had been going through Hebrews, and we had made it all the way to the end of chapter five.

But then, I felt as if God was leading me to have a four-week intermission into the book of Jonah.

So that’s what we did.

But now, our intermission is over, and we return to one of my favorite books in the New Testament, the book of Hebrews.

As a pastor, there is both a blessing and a curse that comes from preaching through books of the Bible.

The blessing is that it allows me to preach on a variety of topics, and it allows the word of God to speak for itself.

But sometimes, there is great difficulty associated with preaching through books of the Bible.

It is very exciting preaching a sermon on grace, faith, and love.

But then sometimes, the Bible talks about things that we don’t like to think about very much.

The Bible talks about tithing, confessing sin, and fasting.

Not quite as easy.

And out of all of the topics in the Bible, the one that rises to the top as being the hardest one to preach about is apostasy.

You heard about this concept of apostasy when we studied Hebrews three about two months ago.

But church, the writer of Hebrews doesn’t just write about apostasy once.

No, he talks about it twice.

And so, as your pastor, I had a difficult decision to make.

Should I gloss over Hebrews chapter six because it was a hard sermon to preach?

Or should I go ahead and preach it, knowing that it is my mandate to preach the whole counsel of God?

Well, when I thought about it like that, I really didn’t have a choice.

But as you are going to see for yourself, while this passage talks about apostasy, it doesn’t focus on apostasy.

In fact, the focus is on the exact opposite of apostasy.

It’s all about growing in the faith.

To see what I’m talking about, please turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter six, and we’re going to be reading the first twelve verses.

Again, Hebrews 6:1-12.

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment.

And this will we do, if God permit.

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to open shame.

For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: but that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shown toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Let’s pray.

The title of this morning’s sermon is “Being fertile ground for Christ.”

And remember, this is not a sermon on apostasy.

It’s actually a sermon on growing in the faith.

So if you are the kind of person who benefits from taking notes, I would encourage you to do so today.

Because in this chapter, the writer of Hebrews gives us three awesome ways to grow closer to God, (and by the way, apostasy is only mentioned in one of his three points).

All right, let’s get started.

Way #1 to grow closer to Christ: Have a solid foundation

To see what the writer of Hebrews has to say about developing a solid foundation, look at what he says in verses one through three.

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment.

And this will we do, if God permit.”

Essentially, the writer of Hebrews declares that it’s time to move on to some really difficult doctrines in Christianity.

But before he moves on, he wants to make really sure that his audience understands the fundamentals of Christianity.

Because he knew full and well that you cannot have a growing relationship with Jesus Christ unless you have a solid foundation in the basic principles of Christianity.

It would be like declaring yourself the world’s foremost theologian, and yet not knowing what happens to people after they die.

So the first step in growing closer to Christ is mastering the basics, and this is something that each and every one of us must do in our personal lives.

You know, there are some things in Christianity that it’s okay for a baby Christian not to know about.

It’s okay if you don’t know all sixty-six books of the Bible in order.

It’s okay if you haven’t memorized the Romans road to salvation.

It’s even okay if the Trinity is still a confusing topic to you.

(Guess what, it’s a confusing topic to me, too.)

But church, there are some things that we cannot afford to be confused about.

But that leaves the question, “What are the principles that we need to master?” Well thankfully, the writer of Hebrews gives us what he considers to be the six main principles of the faith in these little verses.

So let’s quickly look at these six things.

The first thing he mentions is “repentance from dead works.”

Repentance is another one of those things that we don’t like to talk about very much, but it is a crucial subject that we need to master.

In short, repentance means that we try to stop doing sinful things, and to start doing the good things that God commands us to do.

We cannot afford to not understand repentance, because repentance is what sets us apart from the world.

If nothing changes in our lives after we accept Christ, then we have not truly accepted Christ.

I’m not saying that we will become overnight-Mother Teresas, but I am saying that God will begin a transformation in us the moment we accept Jesus Christ.

We have to know that with all of our hearts.

The second principle is also in verse one, and that is having faith in God.

This makes sense, doesn’t it?

By definition, every Christian has faith in God for salvation.

That’s what being a Christian is.

But I think the writer of Hebrews is going beyond just faith for salvation.

I think he’s saying that we need to have faith in God in every aspect of our lives.

The third principle kicks off verse two, and that is baptism.

Baptism is something that every believer is supposed to go through after they accept Jesus Christ.

The Bible teaches that baptism will not save us from our sins, but it is something that we have to do in to be obedient to Christ.

Baptism is how the early church made public their decision to be a Christian, and it holds the exact same purpose in our church.

For the writer of Hebrews, baptism was an absolute fundamental part of Christianity, and many modern churches do great damage when they try to sweep baptism under the rug.

So, if there is anyone here who has accepted Christ, but has not yet been baptized, I would love to talk to you more about this.

Baptism is a wonderful privilege, but it is also a command straight from our Lord and Savior.

The fourth principle is the laying on of hands.

This is something that has really fallen out of practice in most churches.

In the early church, any time a person faced an important decision, or any time they were sick or beginning a new ministry, the church would lay hands of them and ask God to help them.

At times on Wednesday nights we do lay hands on people.

This is a practice that so many have forgotten, but it is one that we were never meant to forget.

But I think the idea behind this principle is that we are supposed to uplift each other in prayer.

So church, to the writer of Hebrews, praying for one another is one of the six main principles of the Christian faith.

And obviously, the Holy Spirit agreed, because He helped him to write it.

So it is of the utmost importance that we pray for one another.

The fifth principle is the resurrection of the dead.

And while obviously believing that Jesus Christ rose on the third day is a fundamental for salvation, that’s not what the writer of Hebrews is talking about here.

The word “dead” in the Greek is in the plural.

So what is he talking about?

He’s talking about our resurrection when Christ returns!

For the Christian, it is absolutely essential that we realize that there is life after death.

Paul said that if there was no resurrection, then we would be of all men the most miserable.

The sixth and final principle is the promise of eternal judgment.

So the hope of Heaven is a fundamental for us, but the reality of hell is also a fundamental.

So many people that call themselves Christians have tried to get around the concept of hell.

But in this verse, acknowledging the reality of an eternal hell is one of the primary principles of the faith.

So there you have it.

Six principles that every Christian needs to master in order to grow in Christ.