<p>6:1 <i>Therefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on to completion- </i>The &quot;us&quot; would refer to Paul and his team. He wants to press on beyond teaching or re-teaching &quot;doctrine&quot; = teaching of the &quot;first lessons&quot; of Christ (GNB). They had heard those &quot;first lessons&quot; from Peter and the apostles when the Gospel was first preached to the Hebrews in Jerusalem. Paul felt that &quot;completion&quot; or &quot;perfection&quot; was to be pushed on towards after the first teachings had been believed. 1 Cor. 13 and Eph. 4 likewise envisage a point of &quot;perfection&quot; or completion. It seems Paul expected the Lord's return in the first century, and saw it is as coming when the fruit was ripe to harvest, i.e. when the believers had spiritually matured into the image of Christ.</p><p>We must not see the learning of the basic doctrines and baptism as an end rather than a beginning. It is a tragedy if a man dies knowing and appreciating little more than he did at his baptism. Sunday School Christianity isn't the stuff of the Kingdom of God. We must go on unto perfection. &quot;Let us cease to speak of the first principles of Christ, and press on unto full growth&quot; (Heb. 6:1 RV). It almost implies that the Hebrews were so busy <i>talking</i> about the first principles that they had omitted to use them as the springboard to <i>growth</i>. See on Heb. 5:12.</p><p><i>Not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, faith toward God</i>- &quot;Dead works&quot; could refer to the idea that works of legalistic obedience could bring salvation, without the life of the Spirit. Their &quot;repentance&quot; would have been a re-thinking about such justification by works. Likewise &quot;faith toward God&quot; does not imply that previously the Hebrews were atheists, but rather that the first principle of Christ was of faith in God's justification through His Son, rather than by works.</p>