The thoughts of our discussion this morning (1/16) are fresh in my mind and so I felt the need and the desire to write some things down right now. Hebrews 6:4-8 is indeed a hard passage, but I do not want it to be one that causes us to doubt or to be afraid- I do not think that is the author's intention or the Author's intention.
First I would like to re-emphasize this, (I think we mentioned it somewhere in the course of our discussion); when the NIV uses the phrase "fallen away" in verse 6, it is referring to apostasy. Just so we are clear, let me pass along the words of bible commentator Matthew Henry:
"But the falling away here mentioned, is an open and avowed renouncing of Christ, from enmity of heart against him, his cause, and people, by men approving in their minds the deeds of his murderers, and all this after they have received the knowledge of the truth, and tasted some of its comforts."
So, we see that the falling away mentioned in Hebrews 6 is a willful, knowing rejection of the person and the ministry of Jesus Christ. It does not refer to our human failings and our temporary digressions from the "straight and narrow". The book of 1 John stresses the habitual pattern of our lives and reassures us that the temporary diversions into sin that are a result of our weakness do not cost us our salvation. Rather it is the what we intend in our lives that is critical. We must assess what it is that we are trying to do with our lives. If we strive to live our lives as an appropriate response to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, then we can live with every confidence.
And speaking of confidence...
One of the things that we must do with any difficult passage is examine it in the context of the whole of scripture. We have to look at over-arching biblical truths and themes and interpret a given passage within that kind of context. Now it is easy to look at Heb. 6:4-8 and conclude that our salvation is "not sure". But that is in contradiction with what we know is a firm biblical truth, the assurance of our salvation. Consider...
2 Tim. 1: 12
12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
Heb. 10:22
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
1 John 3:19-20
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
Eph. 1:13-14
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
The scripture teaches that our salvation is secured through the work of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. So, any interpretation of Hebrews 6 has to take that truth into consideration. We cannot and should not live our lives constantly worrying about whether we have "crossed the line". (That kind of outlook is not consistent with scripture either since scripture teaches us to strain toward what is ahead- Phil. 3:13)
Having said that, it sure seems that if we "apostatize", then we are in danger.
There are some who say that this passage, (Heb. 6), is not about salvation at all. Rather the thought is that what is at stake is reward and earthly discipline. If we "fall away" after coming to Christ then we lose reward we might have had.
There are some who say that anyone who falls away could never have been a true believer in the first place, and so salvation is very much at stake.
Some even say that the argument is hypothetical. That is, they say "If a believer were to fall away in this manner, then they would be in trouble, but it can't happen, so it's on we go."
And I should mention this- there is a school of thought that says that this scripture was prompted by the problem of people in this "church" sliding back into Old Testament, Traditional Jewish, Law of Moses rituals. They say that there must have been converted Jews who came to a belief in Jesus Christ, but as time marched on, they began to slip back into their old ways- rituals, sacrifices etc. Now remember, "righteousness" in the old testament was obtained through sacrifice, (bulls, calves, doves...). The thought here is that the Hebrew writer meant that if a believer has slipped back into those "old ways", then those "old sacrifices" are powerless to restore the errant believer.
I don't know that we can ever presume to say that we know exactly what God intended with this scripture. But there are a few things I fall back on.
I fall back on the fact that God will not make a wrong decision- ever. We can be assured all eternal rewards will be appropriately dispensed.
I fall back on 1 John, which tells me that what I need to pay attention to is the habitual pattern of my life and that I need to be concerned with the intention of my life. My lapses do not make me happy, but neither do they cost me my salvation.
I fall back on the teaching of the scripture that tells me that my salvation is sure. Jesus has done everything necessary to secure my salvation, and apart from a willful, intentional rejection and renouncing of Jesus, I cannot lose it.
There are many more things that come to my mind as I think about this passage, but I do not want this to turn into a thesis. But I do have this one final thought. We do not like to think of there being a "point of no return". That is an uncomfortable idea for us. And I do not know if there is or is not. (This scripture kind of makes it sound like there is...) But if there is a point of no return, I know this- I am going to stay the heck away from it. In the end, as much as I love many people, I can only be responsible for myself. And I can make choices. And I can stay as far away as possible from anything that looks like apostasy- which is what is in question here.
Pasta for thought...
Just Keep Swiming....
Jon
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great post! :)
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