¹⁵ Be diligent to ^(A)present yourself approved to God as a worker who ^[a]does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling ^(B)the word of truth.

¹⁸ And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “^(A)All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. ^19 [a](B)Go, therefore, and ^(C)make disciples of ^(D)all the nations, ^(E)baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to ^[b]follow all that I commanded you; and behold, ^(F)I am with you ^[c]always, to ^(G)the end of the age.”

¹¹ Concerning ^[a]him we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become ^[b]poor listeners. ¹² For though ^[c]by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you ^(A)the ^[d](B)elementary principles of the ^(C)actual words of God, and you have come to need ^(D)milk and not solid food. ¹³ For everyone who partakes only of milk is unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is an ^(E)infant. ¹⁴ But solid food is for ^(F)the mature, who because of practice have their senses ^(G)trained to ^(H)distinguish between good and evil.

The Danger of Falling Away

6 Therefore ^(I)leaving ^(J)the ^[e]elementary teaching about the ^[f]Christ, let us press on to ^[g](K)maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from ^(L)dead works and of faith toward God, ² of ^(M)instruction about ^[h]washings and ^(N)laying on of hands, and about the ^(O)resurrection of the dead and ^(P)eternal judgment. ³ And this we will do, ^(Q)if God permits. ⁴ For it is ^(R)impossible, in the case of those who have once been ^(S)enlightened and have tasted of ^(T)the heavenly gift and have been made ^(U)partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and ^(V)have tasted the good ^(W)word of God and the powers of ^(X)the age to come, ⁶ and then have ^[i]fallen away, to ^(Y)restore them again to repentance, ^[j](Z)since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.