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Hebrews 6:12

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

That ye be not slothful - This shows how the full assurance of hope is to be regulated and maintained. They must be diligent; slothfulness will deprive them both of hope and faith. That faith which worketh by love will maintain hope in its full and due exercise.

Followers of them - Μιμηται δε - κληρονομουντων τας επαγγελιας· That ye be mimics or imitators of them who are inheriting the promises. And they inherited these promises by faith in him who is invisible, and who, they knew, could not lie; and they patiently endured, through difficulties and adversities of every kind, and persevered unto death. "The promises made to Abraham and to his seed were,

  1. That Abraham should have a numerous seed by faith as well as by natural descent.
  • That God would be a God to him and to his seed in their generations, by being the object of their worship and their protector.
  • That he would give them the possession of Canaan.
  • That he would bless all the nations of the earth in him.
  • That he would thus bless the nations through Christ, Abraham's seed.
  • That through Christ, likewise, he would bless the nations with the Gospel revelation. Four of these promises the believing Gentiles were inheriting at the time the apostle wrote this letter.
  • They were become Abraham's seed by faith.
  • God was become the object of their worship and their protector.
  • They were enjoying the knowledge of God in the Gospel Church, and the gifts of the Spirit. Galatians 3:4.
  • All these blessings were bestowed upon them through Christ. By observing that the believing Gentiles were actually inheriting the promises; i.e. the four promised blessings above mentioned, the apostle appealed to an undeniable fact, in proof that the believing Gentiles, equally with the believing Jews, were heirs of the promises made to Abraham and his seed." See Dr. Macknight. The promises may be considered as referring to the rest of faith here, and the rest of glory hereafter.

    Albert Barnes
    Notes on the Whole Bible

    That ye be not slothful - Indolent; inactive. This was what he was especially desirous of guarding them against. By diligent and strenuous effort only could they secure themselves from the danger of apostasy.

    But followers - Imitators - that you may live as they lived.

    Of them who through faith and patience - By faith, or confidence in God, and by patience in suffering - referring to those who in times of trial had remained faithful to God, and had been admitted to heaven. In Hebrews 11, the apostle has given a long list of such persevering and faithful friends of God; see the notes on that chapter.

    The promise - The promise of heaven.

    Matthew Henry
    Concise Bible Commentary
    The hope here meant, is a sure looking for good things promised, through those promises, with love, desire, and valuing of them. Hope has its degrees, as faith also. The promise of blessedness God has made to believers, is from God's eternal purpose, settled between the eternal Father, Son, and Spirit. These promises of God may safely be depended upon; for here we have two things which cannot change, the counsel and the oath of God, in which it is not possible for God to lie; it would be contrary to his nature as well as to his will. And as He cannot lie; the destruction of the unbeliever, and the salvation of the believer, are alike certain. Here observe, those to whom God has given full security of happiness, have a title to the promises by inheritance. The consolations of God are strong enough to support his people under their heaviest trials. Here is a refuge for all sinners who flee to the mercy of God, through the redemption of Christ, according to the covenant of grace, laying aside all other confidences. We are in this world as a ship at sea, tossed up and down, and in danger of being cast away. We need an anchor to keep us sure and steady. Gospel hope is our anchor in the storms of this world. It is sure and stedfast, or it could not keep us so. The free grace of God, the merits and mediation of Christ, and the powerful influences of his Spirit, are the grounds of this hope, and so it is a stedfast hope. Christ is the object and ground of the believer's hope. Let us therefore set our affections on things above, and wait patiently for his appearance, when we shall certainly appear with him in glory.
    Ellen G. White
    God's Amazing Grace, 266.1

    That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:12. AG 266.1

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