Ephesians 2:11a
"Wherefore remember, (he’s writing to Gentiles. He’s writing to us) that ye being in times past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision…"
Which remember was a derogatory term that the Hebrews used concerning Gentiles. And usually they made it a little more derogatory by adding the word dogs. Gentiles were uncircumcised dogs in the Jewish vernacular and so Paul is alluding to that same thing. That that’s what the circumcision in the flesh called Gentiles. Now verse 12.
Ephesians 2:12
"That at that time (while God was dealing with Israel back there in that Old Testament economy and during Christ’s earthly ministry and yes, even these Hebrews to whom Paul is addressing in this Epistle) ye (Gentiles) were without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel (we weren’t citizens of Israel. We’re not Hebrews. We were uncircumcised Gentiles) and strangers from the covenants of promise,(consequently where were the Gentiles before the Age of Grace?) having no hope, and without God in the world." But verse 13, This is the flipside – we’re no longer in that time, we are now in this Age of Grace,
Ephesians 2:13
"But now in Christ ye who sometimes were far off (we Gentiles) are now made nigh (not through the Mosaic Law. Not through Judaism. Not through legalism of some form of religion. But through what?) by the blood of Christ." Through the blood of Christ. And remember what the Book of Romans said concerning the blood of Christ? "Put your wholehearted trust in it through His faith in it, and believe it with all your heart." God has said that the blood of Christ has paid your sin debt. But when and how did we become accounted worthy of His blood, at the Lord's table during the meal of the Lambs Wedding feast when He said "this is the blood of the New Covenant"(Matthew 22:1-14, 26:28, Mark 14:24; Jeremiah 31:31, Leviticus 17:11; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32) Alright, Hebrews chapter 6 verse 9 again,
Hebrews 6:9-10
"But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, through we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." So these people Paul is commending because they were true believers.
We’re going to jump right in at Hebrews chapter 6 verse 11. Just for a little bit of review so that we can pick up the flow, we have been coming through those verses that dealt with a portion of Scripture that has confused a lot of people. It is not a matter of being saved and lost, and saved and lost. But for those who have deliberately scorned and turned their backs, they have no more opportunity for forgiveness, as we have seen in verses 4-6, which of course, was applied primarily to Jewish people who were not willing to let go of all the ramifications of the Levitical Law with its ordinances and rituals here in this Epistle of Hebrews. They had come far enough to recognize that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, their promised Messiah, but to step on into the doctrines of Grace as we understand them, they were having a problem. Then for some, of course, they just deliberately turned their backs on everything and went back into Judaism. And that’s why the term was used ‘there is no further repentance,’ and sacrifices and so forth. For they were no longer worthy of the Lord's table not His alter because they've made a mockery of His Blood and the Cross.
Then we saw in verse 10 where we left off, that God is not unrighteous. He’s never unfair. And God will never forget the work of the believer in love. Now, before I go any further, I guess I might as well point it out right now. You can do this in your own Bible. Remember when we were back in I Corinthians 13, the very last words of that chapter are:
I Corinthians 13:13
"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, (love) these three; but the greatest of these is charity." (love)
Now I made the point when we were there, that if you’ll watch all through Paul’s Epistles, you constantly see those three words popping up. Sometimes one at a time, maybe here and there, and sometimes all three together. But here’s another good example. Up here in verse 10, we have "He will never forget your work and labor of (what?) love." Then you come down to verse 11 and "…to show diligence to the full assurance of (what?) hope." Then to verse 12, "…that you be not slothful but followers of them who through faith...."
If you’re looking for them, they’ll just jump off the page at you. "Faith, hope and love." See, these are little tidbits of Scripture that just show us how intricately this whole Book is put together. It’s not just a bunch of stuff thrown in by various authors. This Book is Divinely inspired. It has been Divinely programmed so that everything fits. Alright, let’s jump in in verse 11 where Paul writes to these Jewish people:
Hebrews 6:11
"And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:"
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