Therefore, leaving the teaching of the fundamentals of Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of trust in God,
of the teaching of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of judgment in the age to come.
And this will we do, if God permits.
For it is impossible, in the case of those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of holy spirit,
and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
and then have fallen away, to renew them again to repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
For the land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it and produces plants useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God,
but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is useless and close to being cursed; its end is to be burned.
But, beloved, we are persuaded of better things about you, even things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.
For God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work and the love that you showed toward his name by having ministered to the holy ones, and in your continuing to minister.
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to have the full assurance of the hope until the end,
so that you will not become sluggish, but will be imitators of those who through trust and patience inherit the promises.
The Certainty of God's Promise
For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself,
saying, Surely I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply you abundantly.
And thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
For people swear by that which is greater than themselves, and for them an oath given for confirmation is an end of every dispute.
In the same way, God, intending to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his purpose, guaranteed it with an oath,
so that by two unchangeable things, in each of which it is impossible for God to lie, we have strong encouragement, we who have found refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast, and extending into the inner part, behind the curtain,
where, as a forerunner, Jesus entered on our behalf, having become a high priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.