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Foundational Facts

Hebrews 6:1, 2

The writer of Hebrews, instead of allowing readers to stay content with beginner's knowledge, challenges them to go on to maturity by listing some foundational principles, or spiritual ABCs. These six principles—organized into categories of past, present, and future realities—represent a sort of catechism that these new Christians learned at the beginning of their faith in Christ. The author urges the Hebrew Christians to move beyond these foundational beliefs to the next stage of spiritual development.

  1. Things Pertaining to the Past
    • Repentance from dead works. The dead works refer to their former life and practices apart from God. They have left these works behind (9:14).
    • Faith toward God. This is the positive side of repentance from dead works. Now they have turned in faith to God for salvation. Repentance and faith are the fundamental requirements for salvation (Acts 20:21).
  2. Things Pertaining to the Present
    • The doctrine of baptisms. Notice the plural baptisms. This may refer to the ceremonial washings that were part of Judaism. But the plurality of the baptisms is also reminiscent of the baptisms of John and the water baptism of believers (John 3:23; Acts 19:3–5; Titus 3:5).
    • The laying on of hands. In the early church, the laying on of hands symbolized the imparting of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17; 19:6). Although the practice was gradually phased out, the laying on of hands became part of the ceremony of ordination to the ministry (Acts 6:6; 13:3; 1 Tim. 4:14; 5:22; 2 Tim. 1:6).
  3. Things Pertaining to the Future
    • The resurrection of the dead. Believers will be raised at the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:16, 17); OT saints will be raised at the end of the Tribulation (Dan. 12); unbelievers will be raised at the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20).
    • Eternal judgment. Believers will be judged after the Rapture at the judgment seat of Christ (Rom.14:10–12; 1 Cor. 3:12–15; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Thess. 2:19; Rev. 22:12), while unbelievers will be judged after the Millennium at the great white throne of judgment (Rev. 20:11–15).
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