“For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, who tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, and who have fallen away. This is because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt. For the ground that drinks the rain that often falls on it and that produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned.” Hebrews‬ ‭6:4-8‬

Most possibly this one of the hardest portions of scripture throughout the New Testament to digest, but this is the Word of God and we cannot argue with Him. After much time sitting on this portion I believe the key to understanding the harshness of vs 4-6 is found in the parable in vs 7-8.

One thing we must all establish is that we all have sinned and continue to sin, and we all have fallen short of the glory of God. To believe anything but this is to call God a liar (go read 1 John if you do not believe me). This is why it is so important to be meek, humble, poor in spirit and continually hungry and thirsty for God.

So then, how do we understand this scripture? That if we sin and fall away from God’s holy way there is no hope? Absolutely not. It is understanding that we are the ground that the rain falls upon. The rain is the salvation available to us through the spilt blood of Jesus. We are then to produce fruit as a result of the rain falling on us. If we do not produce fruit but instead produce thorns and thistles (behaviours of the world and sin) we will therefore be burned away at the final judgement. So once you have received the revelation of salvation and tasted the heavenly waters that is life through Jesus, there is now an expectation to bear good fruits for God’s kingdom.

Today ponder, do you bear fruit or do you bear thorns?