perfection', or of being disqualified or disapproved in the race. The entry into the land of promise is placed in the

same place as the crown at the end of the race. The showers of God's love and grace had fallen for many years upon

Israel, but comparatively few brought forth fruit.

We must observe that it does not say that the alternatives are blessing or cursing, but blessing or disapproval,

which places such nigh unto a curse. Take for example the two servants of Matthew 24:44-51. The one is rewarded

by being made ruler over all his Lord's goods, the other servant is cut asunder, and finds his position with the

hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The same fate awaits the unprofitable servant of

Matthew 25 who hid his talent in the earth.

Both suffer loss and are certainly perilously `near unto a curse'. In neither case is salvation in view, but service.

`The end of which is for burning'. When a field produces thorns and thistles `the end' is burning. The field itself is

not destroyed, but that which it has produced. This is quite in harmony with 1 Corinthians 3. The foundation

remains unchanged whether the building be destroyed by fire or whether it stands the test:

`He shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; YET SO AS BY FIRE' (1 Cor. 3:15).

In Hebrews 12:16,17, Esau is brought before us as one who forfeited his birthright. There is an evident parallel

with Hebrews 6, the words `he found no place of repentance' echoing `it is impossible to renew unto repentance'.

So also the word adokimos (disapproved or rejected) is echoed by Hebrews 12:17, apodokimazo (`rejected').

The `blessing' also is one received `by inheritance'. The chapter ends with the words `For our God is a

consuming fire', which are parallel with the words `whose end is burning'. The whole situation is summed up in

Hebrews 6:9 where the apostle says:

`But, beloved, we are persuaded of you THE BETTER THINGS' (not AV JP).

Readers will remember that the word `better' is a key word of Hebrews, closely associated with `perfect'

throughout the epistle. `The better resurrection' is expressed by the words, `The spirits of perfected righteous ones'.

Here in chapter 6, those who go on unto perfection produce `the better things, even those things which accompany

salvation although we thus speak' (verse 9). The word `accompany' is a rendering of the middle voice of echo, `to

have, to hold'. So in Mark 1:38, `next towns', and Luke 13:33, `the day following'. The epistle to the Hebrews does

not deal with salvation, but the things that accompany it; not the `resurrection of the dead' (6:2) but the `better

resurrection'; not the exodus from Egypt, but the entrance of the land of promise; not justification by faith, but the

emphasis upon the fact that the just shall live by faith. We find the distinction observed in 6:9 and throughout the

chapter. May we, called though we are with a different calling, produce the better things, even those things that

`follow' or `go with salvation'.

The apostle, though uttering the terrible warnings against apostasy, hastens to tell his readers that though he thus

speaks, he is persuaded that they possess those things that accompany salvation. He now proceeds to unfold these

`better things that accompany salvation' and to consider them from various points of view. It is evident from the

very next verse (10) what these `better things' include.

`For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward His name, in that ye

have ministered to the saints, and do minister' (Heb. 6:10).

In 10:22-24 we have a somewhat similar passage. There we have `full assurance of faith'; in 6:9-11 we have

`full assurance of hope'. In the former the exhortation is based upon the fact that `He is faithful that promised',

whilst in the latter we are told that `God is not unrighteous to forget your work', etc., and moreover that `He sware

by himself' (verse 13) to make the assurance of hope doubly sure. In the former the believers are exhorted to

`provoke unto love and good works', whilst in the latter `your work and love unto His name' is remembered. The

things that accompany salvation are those things that indicate the perfecting of faith. We have only to remember

James 2:17, where we learn that `faith, if it hath not works is dead, being alone'. The great illustration of James 2 is

the faith of Abraham, but not the faith of Genesis 15 when Abraham believed God and it was reckoned unto him for

righteousness, but the faith of Genesis 22 when Abraham was willing to offer up his beloved son. Of this James