Hebrews 6:1

1. Therefore In view of their humble attainments portrayed in Hebrews 5:11-14.

The principles Literally, the beginning of Christ; equivalent to first principles in Hebrews 5:12.

Let us go on In the word us St. Paul identifies himself with his Hebrews, and moves for a common advance. See note on Hebrews 2:1. But, does he mean go on in this his present discourse; or go on in acquiring new accessions of Christian knowledge in addition to these first principles; or go on in increase of Christian life and power? All three. The unfolding of his grand views of the high priesthood of Christ in the future chapters, is one with the acquisition of new volumes of spiritual knowledge, and new forces of Christian character and power. It is the want of their taking this fulness of the atoning Christ into their mind and heart and life that renders them babes, Hebrews 5:13. And when this text, let us go on to perfection, is adduced as an exhortation to advancing to a perfected Christian character, it is no misquotation. Perfection is here an antithesis to the babyhood of Hebrews 5:13. It is the noun form of the Greek adjective rendered of full age, in Hebrews 5:14, and signifies adulthood.

Not laying again the foundation A non-advancement is merely re-laying the elementary foundation; it is erecting no superstructure. Our apostle now enumerates six elements of which the foundation is composed, really arranged as three couplets in order. These were, probably, the elemental points of Christian doctrine anciently taught to the catechumen at his baptism. As a foundation they are important, nay, necessary to the superstructure, but very likely to be of no value without the superstructure. The three couplets are, repentance and faith, baptism and imposition of hands, resurrection and judgment. The first two are conditions to being Christian; the second are institutes in Christianity; the third are Christian doctrines of eschatology. As the Hebrews to whom St. Paul now writes were once Jews, they were educated upon a Jewish platform of the entire six elements, which had been reconstructed into the Christian view. We are not certain (though no commentator has suggested it) but that this re-laying the foundation meant a re-establishing in their own belief of the old Jewish view, and so relapsing from Christianity to Judaism. Certainly the staying on the foundation without advance would not be a re-laying. Laying again would be laying it over again, substituting the past for the present, the old Jewish for the new Christian one.

Foundation of That is, consisting of.

Repentance A mental turning away from dead works, that is, works which have no saving life in them, whether positive sins or an unsaving ritual. The Jewish platform would acknowledge only the former sense of the words; the Christian would emphasize the latter as against Judaism. Faith toward (literally, upon)

God The second element. Between the Jewish and Christian platform, the former would make faith upon God a blank monotheism; the latter would include faith in Christ as embraced in faith upon God.