Warning Against Apostasy Hebrews 6:1-12 Jeremy Bell I. A Solemn Warning (verse 4-8) II. A Reassuring Encouragement (verses 9-12) Questions for Discussion/Application: *Consider taking time to read Hebrews 6:1-12 out loud. Then read the excellent article (attached in the links below) by Sinclair Ferguson out loud. This article is an excellent compliment to the sermon we heard on Sunday and will be referenced throughout this discussion. *Discussion Introduction: This passage is a warning passage and intended to sober and to warn us. It is not intended to make us hyper-introspective and inspect every nook and cranny of our souls for sin. It is however here to help us to honestly assess ourselves–which we should as a reminder, always do with the gospel and God’s grace in view. This text is here to help us to take sin, compromise and spiritual sluggishness in our lives seriously and to challenge us to live for Christ. So as we discuss this passage, let’s allow the text to have that effect on us. *Of those this passage describes in verses 4-6, Ferguson writes, “The truth and the power of the gospel were experienced. But ‘experience’ in itself is not regeneration unless gospel grace penetrates into the heart.” What is Ferguson getting at in that statement? *Ferguson writes, “The solemn fact is that none of us can tell the difference between the beginning of backsliding and the beginning of apostasy. Both look the same.” How should this reality sober us in our Christian walk? *What “thorns and thistles (verse 8)” can reveal that we are spiritually not in a good place? When we notice thorns and thistles in our own lives what should we do? How should we respond? *What are some of the fruits of the spirit you hope to see in a genuine Christian? If fruit is lacking in our own lives in specific ways, how should we respond? *Ferguson points out this identifying mark from the text that we are not spiritually in a good place: “The third thing is perhaps the most alarming: The failure to show 'diligence' and a tendency to become 'sluggish' (Heb. 6:11–12, NKJV). Earlier the writer had warned how easy it is just to 'drift away' (Heb. 2:1). But this drifting happens slowly, and it often goes unnoticed." What kinds of spiritual sluggishness can you see at at times in your own life? *Ferguson writes: "Yes, apostasy happens. Sometimes the catalyst is flagrant sin. The pain of conviction and repentance is refused, and the only alternative to it is wholesale rejection of Christ. But sometimes the catalyst is a thorn growing quietly in the heart, an indifference to the way of the cross, a drifting that is not reversed by the knowledge of biblical warnings." How does that quote land on you? *Consider taking time to pray, asking God to help us to be faithful to in His grace, be faithful to be diligent in our walks with Christ and to not yield to sin and compromise–but rather to live wholeheartedly for Him.