Hebrews: Better Things for the Beloved
Hebrews 6:9-12 - God sees our works and love but we must remain diligent.
“But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
Hebrews 6:9-12 NASB1995
After the serious chastising in verses 4-8 of Hebrews 6, the author appears to soften his tone. He addresses the audience as “beloved” (the only occurrence in Hebrews) and is convinced that there are better things to know concerning them. God is not unjust and will not forget their work and the love that they have shown towards others by ministering in His name. But they must be diligent to realize the full assurance of their hope until the end and not become sluggish.
According to Precept Austin the word “better” is a key word in Hebrews. So far, we have encountered it twice (Hebrews 1:2 - “having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.” Hebrews 6:9 - see above). Let’s do a word study on “better”:
Of better things comes from the Greek adjective κρείττων or kreíttōn (Strong’s G2909) with the following Biblical usages:
more useful, more serviceable, more advantageous
more excellent
The “better” things are those that accompany salvation. The late John MacArthur is quoted in Precept Austin describing those things that accompany salvation from the standpoint of the epistle of Hebrews:
Many things accompany salvation. The entire fifth and six chapters of Romans (see notes Romans 5:1ff; Romans 6:1ff) are devoted to these accompaniments. But the particular ones mentioned in this section of Hebrews are those that contrast with the accompaniments of unbelief mentioned in Hebrews 5:11-6:5. For example, accompanying salvation is not infancy but maturity, not milk but solid food, not inexperience in righteousness but perfect righteousness, not repentance in dead works but repentance toward God unto life.
The accompaniments of salvation are primarily positive, not negative. They do not reflect external ceremonial religion but internal regeneration, transformation, new life. Their significance comes not from repeated sacrifices but from the one perfect and complete sacrifice of Jesus Christ. They do not focus on the elementary truths of resurrection and judgment but on the believer’s blessed hope, not just on being enlightened but on being made new, not just on tasting salvation but feasting on it, not just partaking of the Holy Spirit but having Him indwell, not just getting a taste of God’s good word but of drinking and eating it, not just seeing God’s miracles but being one. These are the things that accompany salvation. (MacArthur, John: Hebrews. Moody Press ).
I think there are key takeaways that should be repeated in a convenient list. The accompaniments of salvation, according to Hebrews, are:
Maturity
Perfect righteousness
Repentance toward God unto life
Internal regeneration
Transformation
New life/being made new
The one perfect sacrifice of Christ
Blessed hope
Feasting on salvation
Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
Drinking and eating the solid food of God’s Word
Being one of God’s miracles
Charles Spurgeon also has beautiful words on verses 9-11, as quoted in Precept Austin (Spurgeon was of the opinion that Paul wrote Hebrews):
Harsh as the apostle’s words may seem, they are not meant for you who are really believers in Christ, and in whom the Holy Spirit has wrought a complete change of heart and life; Paul is not speaking of such as you.
If you have proved by your works that the grace of God is within you, God will not forget you; he will not leave you, he will not cast you away. You know the contrast in the speech between different persons concerning this doctrine. One will wickedly say, “If I am a child of God, I may live as I like.” That is damnable doctrine. Another will say, “If I am a child of God, I shall not want to live as I like, but as God likes, and I shall be led by the grace of God into the path of holiness, and through divine grace I shall persevere in that way of holiness right to the end.” That is quite another doctrine, and it is the true teaching of the Word of God.
Keep it up; be as earnest to-day as you were twenty years ago, when you were baptized and joined the church: “Show the same diligence unto the end.” Still, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
Those promises we shall inherit most surely, for we shall by grace be enabled to remain faithful until death.
We should be as earnest in our faith now as when we asked for His salvation and redemption. I never realized on that night in December 2006 that I would now be writing a devotional every other day and putting it out for any random stranger (and some good friends) to read. I never realized on that night that we would move in our new faith journey from a mainstream church (that was rapidly headed towards full apostasy) to churches that are non-denominational and are still preaching the unvarnished Word of God. I never realized that my charitable giving would change from secular and environmental organizations (don’t ask on that second one) to ones that are fulfilling God’s mission for people on Earth and helping others in His name. Praise God!
In an amazing coincidence (there no such thing with our Almighty God), while I was writing this I took a short break and glanced at my Facebook feed. I follow many religious writers and sites, but this gem came from a site that shares words of wisdom from A.W. Tozer. A.W. Tozer was a famous self-taught Christian pastor and writer who influenced many through his thoughtful expositions on faith. Here is what I saw in that post (I copied it to post it here):
Heart-Seekers
A. W. Tozer
The amount of loafing practiced by the average Christian in spiritual things would ruin a concert pianist if he allowed himself to do the same thing in the field of music. The idle puttering around that we see in church circles would end the career of a big league pitcher in one week. No scientist could solve his exacting problem if he took as little interest in it as the rank and file of Christians take in the art of being holy. The nation whose soldiers were as soft and undisciplined as the soldiers of the churches would be conquered by the first enemy that attacked it.
Triumphs are not won by men in easy chairs. Success is costly. If we would progress spiritually, we must separate ourselves unto the things of God and concentrate upon them to the exclusion of a thousand things the worldly man considers important. We must cultivate God in the solitudes and the silence; we must make the kingdom of God the sphere of our activity and labor in it like a farmer in his field, like a miner in the earth.
These are wonderful words of wisdom for those who are inclined to sluggishness or slowness in their faith journey. Sometimes faith and righteousness take a back seat to all of the other things in our lives, when those should be front and center and to the exclusion of those things that the world says are important (yup, this is difficult, to say the least).
My next devotional examines Hebrews 6:13-18 - God’s promises are reliable!
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Help me to finish the race at a faster pace than when I started on that December night in 2006. I have learned so much about You, Your Word and my salvation but I’m still probably in the infant stage. Thank you for the assurances of my salvation that I learned about when preparing my least devotional. I love You Lord! Amen
Credits and Citations:
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.
G2909 - kreittōn - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb95). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2909/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/
Precept Austin was accessed on 11/26/2025 to review commentary for Hebrews 6:9-12.
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com (Note: no commentary excerpts in this devotional).