Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

The Peril of Immaturity

6 Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teachings about the Messiah,^[a] let us continue to be carried along to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead actions, faith toward God, ² instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³ And this we will do,^[b] if God permits.

⁴ For it is impossible to keep on restoring to repentance time and again people who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have become partners with the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of God’s word and the powers of the coming age, ⁶ and who have fallen away, as long as they continue to crucify the Son of God to their own detriment by exposing him to public ridicule. ⁷ For when the ground soaks up rain that often falls on it and continues producing vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated, it receives a blessing from God. ⁸ However, if it continues to produce thorns and thistles, it is worthless and in danger of being cursed, and in the end will be burned.

Be Diligent

⁹ Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case, things that point to salvation. ¹⁰ For God is not so unjust as to forget your work and the love you have shown him^[c] as you have ministered to the saints and continue to minister to them. ¹¹ But we want each of you to continue to be diligent to the very end, in order to give full assurance to your hope. ¹² Then, instead of being lazy, you will imitate those who are inheriting the promises through faith and patience.

God’s Promise is Reliable

¹³ For when God made his promise to Abraham, he swore an oath by himself, since he had no one greater to swear by. ¹⁴ He said, “I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants.”^{[d] 15} And so he obtained what he had been promised, because he patiently waited for it. ¹⁶ For people swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all argument. ¹⁷ In the same way, when God wanted to make the unchangeable character of his purpose perfectly clear to the heirs of his promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, ¹⁸ so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us. ¹⁹ That hope,^[e] firm and secure like an anchor for our souls, reaches behind the curtain ²⁰ where Jesus, our forerunner, has gone on our behalf, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

The Messiah is Superior to Melchizedek

7 Now this man Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, met Abraham and blessed him when he was returning from defeating the kings. ² Abraham gave Melchizedek^[f] a tenth of everything.^[g] In the first place, his name means “king of righteousness,” and then he is also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.” ³ He has no father, mother, or genealogy, no birth date recorded for him, nor a date of death.^[h] Like the Son of God, he continues to be a priest forever.

⁴ Just look at how great this man was! Even Abraham—the patriarch himself—gave him a tenth of what he had captured! ⁵ The descendants of Levi who accept the priesthood have a commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their own brothers, even though they are also descendants of Abraham. ⁶ But this man, whose descent is not traced from them, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the man who had received the promises. ⁷ It is beyond dispute that the less important person is blessed by the more important person. ⁸ Mortal men collect tithes, but we are informed by Scripture^[i] that^[j] Melchizedek^[k] keeps on living. ⁹ One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, ¹⁰ because Levi^[l] was still inside his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

¹¹ Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—for on this basis the people received the Law—what further need would there be to speak of appointing another kind of priest according to the order of Melchizedek, not one according to the order of Aaron? ¹² When a change in the priesthood takes place, there must also be a change in the Law. ¹³ For the person we are talking about belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served^[m] at the altar. ¹⁴ Furthermore, it is obvious that our Lord was a descendant of Judah, and Moses said nothing about priests coming from that tribe. ¹⁵ This point is even more obvious in that another priest who is like Melchizedek has appeared ¹⁶ who was appointed to be a priest,^[n] not on the basis of a genealogical registry, but rather on the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is declared about him,

¹⁸ Indeed, because it was weak and ineffective, the former commandment has been annulled, ¹⁹ since the Law made nothing perfect, and a better hope is presented, by which we approach God.

²⁰ Now none of this happened without an oath. Others became priests without any oath, ²¹ but Jesus^[p] became a priest^[q] with an oath when God^[r] told him,

²² In this way, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

²³ There have been many priests, since each one of them had to stop serving in office when he died. ²⁴ But because Jesus^[u] lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵ Therefore, because he always lives to intercede for them, he is able to save completely^[v] those who come to God through him.

²⁶ We need such a high priest—one who is holy, innocent, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ He has no need to offer sacrifices every day like high priests do, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he sacrificed himself. ²⁸ For the Law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promised oath, which came after the Law, results in a Son who is eternally perfect.