Hebrews 6:11-12 (ESV Strong's)
And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
We are not to be sluggish!
The world “sluggish” in the above text is used only here and in the following verse in Hebrews. In this verse, the same word is translated “dull.”
Hebrews 5:11 (ESV Strong's)
About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
The writer in this section of Hebrews is telling us that we should continue, as believers, to show “work and love” for his name by “serving the saints.” The writer of Hebrews is worried about people not following through in their love for Christ. He is worried about them falling away. Therefore he write several warning passages that tell us to continue on in our faith and allow God to produce fruit in us. The above passage comes on the heals of one of the more powerful warnings in the book. So, when he warns us to not be “sluggish,” he is telling us that those who come to faith in Christ are to be “imitators” of Christ and “through faith and patiences inherit promises” (meaning “external life”). Being sluggish or dull is about letting your faith sit on a shelf and not continuing in growth. The author is wearing us that this is not what true believers do. We are to be fully committed to growing our faith and to live by the promises Christ gave through His finished work. We are not to be slugs.
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