The Warnings of the New Testament #4
The message of many frequently
avoided New Testament passages.
by Anastasios Kioulachoglou
by Anastasios Kioulachoglou
4
“FAITH WORKING THROUGH LOVE”
Now, having seeing the above and before we continue
with additional material, I would like to make a parenthesis here
and say some things concerning love. I believe that this is
necessary as the works of faith the New Testament refers to are
works whose motivating force is love. Galatians 5:5 summarizes
this excellently when it says:
Galatians 5:6
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts
for anything, but only faith working through love.
Here we have everything in one phrase: Faith, love, works!
None of these can stand alone. Works without faith have no
validity. Without benefit are also works not motivated by love. As
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3:
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic
powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I
have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am
nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be
burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
And then he moves on giving what exactly love does and
what it does not:
1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not
arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not
irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but
rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. .. So now
faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is
love.”
It is obvious that real love is not just a nice feeling.
Now as the works without love as motivator are without
gain, so also love without works is not real love. As John tells us:
1 John 3:16-18
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we
ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the
world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart
against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let
us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
Love is true love when it becomes action, when it is
working, in deed and in truth.
Therefore we see that faith, works and love are not things
that can really exist as stand alone separately from each other.
Faith without works is dead tells us James (James 2:17) and works
without love are without gain tells us Paul. Furthermore, love
without works is not true love tells us John. What is then true faith?
It is a faith that has it all. It is very plainly: “faith working through
love”.
5
THE WARNINGS OF THE EPISTLES
Moving on in our study we will now pass to the epistles.
5.1. ROMANS 11:22 – GOD’S KINDNESS, IF YOU CONTINUE IN
HIS KINDNESS
To start let’s go to Romans 11:19-22. There we read about
Israel and those of us who believe:
“Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be
grafted in." That is true. They [he means Israel] were broken off
because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do
not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural
branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and
the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but
God's kindness to you, provided you continue in His kindness.
Otherwise you too will be cut off.”
This passage refers to people who “stand fast through
faith”. For such people, for those of us who stand fast through
faith, the kindness of God is upon us. But this is not unconditional:
the word “provided”, or “if”, as other translations have it, clearly
introduces a condition, an “if statement”. What is the condition?
That we will continue in His kindness. If we abandon this
kindness and no longer continue with God, then the answer the
Word gives is clear: we too will be cut off.
That there are limits after which one is no longer in the
faith, is clear also by what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:5:
2 Corinthians 13:5
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test
yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus
Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
From this it is evident that it can happen that a Christian is
no longer in the faith i.e. he has implicitly or explicitly abandoned
it. If there was no such case, there would also be no reason for
Paul to tell us to examine ourselves whether we are really in the
faith. Perhaps that is why we find him and Barnabas in Acts 14:21-
22 doing the following:
“And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had
taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and
Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to
continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation
enter into the kingdom of God.”
There would be no point in the apostles exhorting the
believers to continue in the faith, if there was no possibility to
discontinue in the faith. It is therefore possible for a believer to
discontinue in the faith, to discontinue in God’s kindness. What
will happen in that case? Romans 11:22 gave us the answer in no
unclear terms: he will be cut off.
Jesus said exactly the same about those who no longer
abide in Him:
John 15:1-2, 6
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every
branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away [i.e. “cuts
off”] … “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch
and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and
burned.”
impossible, as various people would have us believe, but a serious
possibility that will materialize for whoever no longer abides in
the vine, according to John’s words, or discontinues in the faith,
discontinues in His kindness, according to Paul’s words.
5.2. COLOSSIANS 1:21-23 – “HOLY AND BLAMELESS, IF YOU
CONTINUE IN THE FAITH”
Moving on, in Colossians 1:21-23 we read:
Colossians 1:21-23
“And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by
wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh
through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above
reproach in His sight — if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded
and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which
you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven,
of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
Christ has indeed reconciled us to God in the body of His
flesh through death, to present us holy and blameless. But this is
not unconditional, as there is again an “IF” here, a condition
which must be kept in order for these wonderful truths to become
a full reality to us in the day of the Lord. What is this condition?
Here it is: “if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast,
and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel”. Again see this
“continue in the faith”. We saw in Romans 11, that if we do not
continue in His kindness we will be cut off. The same we see also
here: if we do not continue in the faith i.e. if we discontinue in the
faith, then we are not going to be counted among those whom He
will present as “holy, blameless and above reproach”.
As also the epistle to the Hebrews tells us:
Hebrews 12:14
“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which
no one will see the Lord.”
Only holy people are going to see the Lord and have
eternal life. And only Christ can present us as such! But when? “If
indeed we continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not
moved away from the hope of the gospel”.
5.3. THE RACE OF FAITH: THE EXAMPLE OF PAUL
That faith is rather a race to be run and a fight to be fought,
is obvious from what Paul said and instructed. As he said to
Timothy:
1 Timothy 6:11-12
“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you
were called and about which you made the good confession in the
presence of many witnesses.”
From this instruction, two things become apparent:
1. Faith IS indeed a fight. “Fight the good fight of the faith” says
Paul.
2. We were called unto eternal life, but we also have to take hold
of it. The Greek word translated as “take hold” here is the word
“epilavou” and means “catch, lay hold on, take” (Strong’s
dictionary). We have been called to eternal life but this does not
mean that we have “caught” it yet. We are running towards it.
But Paul did not only give instructions. First of all he
applied these to himself. As he says:
Philippians 3:8-15
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing
worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have
suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order
that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a
righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which
comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that
depends on faith — that I may know him and the power of his
resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in
his death, that by any means possible I may attain the
resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or
am already perfect, but I press on if that I may apprehend that for which
also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider that
I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies
behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward
the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those
of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think
otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.”
And again in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one
receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete
exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a
perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run
aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my
body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself
should be disqualified.”
As Paul said concerning himself: “Not that I have already
obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on if that I may
apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ
Jesus. … I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward
call of God in Christ Jesus”. And again: “Brothers, I do not
consider that I have made it my own.” The picture we get from
Paul is not the picture of a Christian who has achieved his aim
and is now sitting back. In contrast, the picture we get is that of an
athlete running towards his goal, “that by any means possible” he
may attain it. It is the picture of a good fighter who does not box
as one beating the air, but fights having his eyes on victory, on the
prize waiting for him.
Only at the end of his life Paul said the following:
2 Timothy 4:6-8
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the
time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for
me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also
to all who have loved His appearing.”
Faith is for Paul something that needs keeping. “I have
kept the faith” he said. Obviously then faith is not something
static, something which once you are in, it is a done deal: you can
sit back and reach the end automatically. In contrast faith is for
Paul a good fight to be fought and a race to be run. The eternal life
is not something we have already caught. It is something we have
been called to and we are running to take hold of it, to set our
hands on it.
May all of us be able at the end of our life to say what Paul
said: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept
the faith”. May none of us consider that he received the prize when
Paul himself would not think this for himself but only at the end.
Let us all run the race of faith as he did and let us imitate him, as
he also tells us to do (1 Corinthians 11:1).
5.4. HEBREWS 12:22-25: “WE SHALL NOT ESCAPE IF WE TURN
AWAY FROM HIM”
We will now go to the epistle of Hebrews, where many
warnings are found. Let’s start from Hebrews 12:22-25. There we
read:
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living
God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of
angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who
are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of
just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant,
and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that
of Abel. See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not
escape who refused him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not
escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven”
The epistle to the Hebrews, as every other epistle is
addressed to believers. When the word “you” therefore is used,
this can only refer to believers. And indeed only to believers could
the following phrase apply: “you have come to Mount Zion and to
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem”. No unbeliever
has come or will ever come into the city of the living God, unless
of course he becomes a believer. The author is clearly addressing
believers. Then, using the example of the Israelites and how they
perished, he warns his audience, telling them: “See that you do
not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who
refused him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape
if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven” From this
warning two things become once again apparent:
i) a believer, somebody who has come to the city of the living God,
can turn away, can refuse God.
ii) if he does this, then the faith he once had – but he has no more –
will not really make him escape, save him.
one accord for the promised land. But on the way almost everyone,
turned away, rejecting God and His plan. Did God allow them to
enter the promised Land, for which they had started to go and
into which God had originally called them to enter? No, He did
not. Those who refused Him on the way died in the wilderness.
This is not an analogy that I give, but an analogy that the Word of
God gives concerning those who decide to turn away from God.
As the Israelites, who turned away did not enter into the
promised land, so also we, though we have been called to eternal
life, we will not escape, we will not enter into the promised
Kingdom, if on the way we turn away from God.
5.5. HEBREWS 4:1-3, 9-12: “STRIVE TO ENTER THE REST OF GOD”
Moving to the next passage, from Hebrews 4 this time, we read:
"Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us
fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good
news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did
not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those
who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,
"As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest,' although
his works were finished from the foundation of the world. ...So
then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for
whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as
God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no
one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is
living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to
the division of soul and/ of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and
discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. "
Entering the rest of God, which I take it to be an alternative
expression for entering the Kingdom of God, being saved, living
eternally, is something designed for those of us “who have
believed”. This is the plan, the design of God for every believer.
And this is exactly what will happen, unless somebody falls by
disobeying God, refusing Him, turning away from Him, like the
Israelites did. That is why the writer is saying: “Let us therefore
strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of
disobedience”. It is interesting to look at the Greek word translated
as “strive” here: this is the word “spoudazo” which means “to
make effort, be prompt or earnest: do (give) diligence, be diligent,
endeavor, labor, study” (Strong’s dictionary). We are to strive to
enter into the rest of God. From this it is clear that entering the rest
of God is neither something guaranteed nor something that
happens automatically, once and for all, when one first believes.
In contrast it is something we need to give diligence, in order to
enter. This is what those of the second and third category of the
parable of the sower did not do and as a result the seed of the
Word never gave fruit. In contrast to them, the picture we get
from Hebrews fits perfectly with the picture of the athlete Paul
gave us previously in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one
receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete
exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable
wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not
box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it
under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be
disqualified.”
The true believer tries to make good of his faith, striving to
enter into the rest of God, practicing his faith, yes perhaps with
failures, but not giving up. May we all do this and keep doing this
to the end.
5.6. HEBREWS 6:4-9 – THOSE WHO BECAME PARTAKERS OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT AND FELL AWAY
Continuing in Hebrews we read:
Hebrews 6:4-9
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and
have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the
Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the
powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to
repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of
God, and put Him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks
in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for
those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if
it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed,
whose end is to be burned. Though we speak in this way, yet in
your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that
belong to salvation.”
Three questions that one may ask concerning this passage:
i) does this passage speak about believers? This I believe is
obvious, as it speaks about people who “have tasted the heavenly
gift, and have become partakers of the holy spirit and have tasted
the good word of God and the powers of the age to come”. Can
unbelievers or pretenders –who deceive others but not God – be
for example partakers of the holy spirit? No, they cannot.
Therefore, it is clear that the passage is addressing believers.
ii) Does this passage imply that people - who “were once
enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become
partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of
God and the powers of the age to come” - can “fall away”, drop
out? Yes, this exactly is what the text says.
iii) What will happen to those who fall away? Their end is
resembled to the end of the earth that “bears thorns and briers,
and it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be
burned”.
This again is a rather strong warning for those of us who
have started the race of faith: starting the race is a great thing. But
we also need to run it till the end. To fall away from the faith, to
turn back abandoning the race, to abandon Christ the vine, is
something that none of us should ever choose to do.
Now the passage makes clear that it is impossible “for those
who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift,
and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the
good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall
away, to renew them again to repentance”. In other words there is
no way of return for such people. And as reason the passage gives
the following:
“since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to
an open shame.”
It is my opinion that most of the cases of backsliding can
be forgiven, when there is true repentance and return. However
this case here is something different. “It is impossible”, the passage
says, that these people renew themselves again to repentance. I
would not say that I understand 100% the reason that is given and
I would not want to say things that the text does not clearly say.
However, what the text does clearly say is that their act would be
equal to crucifying the Lord again and putting Him to open
shame. In other words with their example not only it would be
like they themselves took part in the crucifixion but also they
would demonstrate that he was supposedly worthy to be crucified.
And this would not happen in ignorance but by people that had
known the Lord and His goodness 3. In my opinion we do not
3 Those who originally crucified the Lord, crying in front of Pilate “crucify Him,
crucify Him”, did it in ignorance (Acts 3:14-21). The door of repentance was open
to them. But those of Hebrews 6 are something else. These ones had they rejected
the Lord, they would have done it not in ignorance but in full knowledge and after
have here “simply” a move to a wrong path but a public denial,
an open rejection, of Christ by people who “were enlightened, and
have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the
Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the
powers of the age to come”. For such a behavior there is no way
for repentance.
Perhaps the public renunciation of Christ is something
whose motives may be difficult to be understood by those of us
living in the “secure” and without particular persecution western
societies. But it was not like this in the first century AD.
Christianity was then an illegal religion and was punished with
death, torturing and confiscations. The public renunciation of
Christ and the return to a religion recognized by the Roman State
(such as paganism or even Judaism) was presented by the
persecutors of the Christians as solution to the “problem”.
Especially for those with Jewish background as the Hebrew
believers, who were the original recipients of the epistle, the
return to the synagogue and to the familiar Judaism might have
seemed appealing. However such a return demanded the public
renunciation of Christ in front of the synagogue, thus putting Him
in open shame4. Perhaps that’s why the author takes special effort
to warn his audience against something like this, making also
clear the consequences.
Closing this strong warning we find the encouraging
words of verse 9:
“Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel
sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.”
__________________________
they “were enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become
partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the
powers of the age to come”.
4 For more on the background of Hebrews see: David Pawson, Unlocking the
Bible, Harper Collins Publishers, 2003, pp. 1115-1118 and Roger Hahn, The Book
of Hebrews Lesson 1, found online here:
http://www.crivoice.org/biblestudy/bbheb1.html
And with the words of John Wesley: “We are persuaded of
you things that accompany salvation. We are persuaded you are
now saved from your sins; and that you have that faith, love, and
holiness, which lead to final salvation. Though we thus speak - to
warn you, lest you should fall from your present steadfastness.”
62
5.7. HEBREWS 10:23-29, 35-39: “IF WE SIN WILLFULLY”, “IF
ANYONE DRAWS BACK”.
Continuing in Hebrews, we find one more strong warning
in Hebrews 10. There we read:
Hebrews 10:23-29, 35-39
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for
he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up
one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet
together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and
all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we sin willfully
after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment,
and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who
has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of
two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you
suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of
God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he
was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
…. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great
reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have
done the will of God, you may receive the promise: "For yet a little
while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now
the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, my soul has no
pleasure in him." But we are not of those who draw back and are
destroyed but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”
Again three fundamental questions, whose answer is
obvious from the text:
i) Does this passage and especially its strong warning refer to
believers? The answer is yes it does: it speaks about people who
have been sanctified with the blood of the covenant and no doubt
such people can only be Christians. As 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says,
speaking to Christians:
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually
immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice
homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor
revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such
were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our
God. "
Sanctification and forgiveness of sins is something
reserved for those who believe, and the means to obtain it is the
“blood of the covenant” (Matthew 26:28).
ii) Now is it possible for someone who was sanctified with the
blood of the covenant – the blood of Christ - to turn around and
count this most precious blood as common, trampling the Son of
God underfoot and insulting the holy spirit? Is it possible for
someone who once believed to “draw back”? It is clear from this
passage, and from the other passages we have looked at, that this
is indeed possible.
iii) The next question is: is salvation what awaits those who
though sanctified with the blood of the covenant they counted it
as common insulting the spirit of grace? It is obvious from the text
that the answer is negative.
Furthermore I want to point out the following part of the
passage:
“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of
the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain
fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will
devour the adversaries.”
Later in the book we will speak more about sinning and
when someone is really out of the faith. But whoever wants a
short answer now, this perhaps is in the “sinning willfully after
we have received the knowledge of the truth”. “Sinning willfully”
does not mean to sin once, having an episode of sin in a life that
otherwise strives to practice righteousness. Instead, what is meant
is a life that practices sin, a life that habitually, and as a way of life
sins, despite the knowledge of the truth. This willful and habitual
disregard of whatever we know God’s Word says is deadly and
the respective person should immediately repent instead of
resting in a false sense of security concerning his salvation.
5.8. EXPLAINING AWAY HEBREWS 6 AND HEBREWS 10
Many of those who cherish the belief that the moment
somebody believes he is saved once and for all and regardless of
what will happen to his faith after that, seeing that Hebrews 6 and
Hebrews 10 do not line up with this belief, have tried to find ways
to explain these passages. Most of these explanations basically
support that these do not refer believers. But if a person who has
been sanctified by the blood of Jesus and has been a partaker of
the holy spirit was never a believer, then who is a believer?
Others though, despite that they still support this
doctrine, they cannot deny the obvious taught in these passages
that they indeed refer to believers. One of them is Barnes, a wellknown
commentator, whose commentaries one can find in many
online Bible programs. He said the following in his comments on
Hebrews 10:26:
“If after we are converted and become true Christians we should
apostatize, it would be impossible to be recovered again, for there
would be no other sacrifice for sin; no way by which we could be
saved. This passage, however, like Hebrews 6:4-6, has given rise
to much difference of opinion. But that the above is the correct
interpretation, seems evident to me from the following
considerations:
(1) It is the natural and obvious interpretation, such as would
occur probably to ninety-nine readers in a hundred, if there were
no theory to support, and no fear that it would conflict with some
other doctrine.
(2) it accords with the scope of the Epistle, which is, to keep those
whom the apostle addressed from returning again to the Jewish
religion, under the trials to which they were subjected.
(3) it is in accordance with the fair meaning of the language - the
words “after that we have received the knowledge of the truth,”
referring more naturally to true conversion than to any other state
of mind.
(4) the sentiment would not be correct if it referred to any but real
Christians. It would not be true that one who had been somewhat
enlightened, and who then sinned “willfully,” must look on
fearfully to the judgment without a possibility of being saved.
There are multitudes of cases where such persons are saved. They
“willfully” resist the Holy Spirit; they strive against him; they for
a long time refuse to yield, but they are brought again to
reflection, and are led to give their hearts to God.
(5) it is true, and always will be true, that if a sincere Christian
should apostatize he could never be converted again; see the notes
on Heb. 6:4-6. The reasons are obvious. He would have tried the
only plan of salvation, and it would have failed. He would have
embraced the Savior, and there would not have been efficacy
enough in his blood to keep him, and there would be no more
powerful Savior and no more efficacious blood of atonement. He
would have renounced the Holy Spirit, and would have shown
that his influences were not effectual to keep him, and there
would be no other agent of greater power to renew and save him
after he had apostatized. For these reasons it seems clear to me
that this passage refers to true Christians, and that the doctrine
here taught is, that if such an one should apostatize, he must look
forward only to the terrors of the judgment, and to final
condemnation.”
refer to real Christians. However, he chose to explain the above
facts away. How? Through the following theory:
“If then it should be asked whether I believe that any true
Christian ever did, or ever will fall from grace, and wholly lose his
religion, I would answer unhesitatingly, no! If then it be asked
what was the use of a warning like this, I answer: it would show
the great sin of apostasy from God if it were to occur. It is proper to
state the greatness of an act of sin, though it might never occur, in
order to show how it would be regarded by God.” (emphasis
added).
In other words, according to Barnes, God is basically
kidding us! He tells us what a great destruction one would suffer
if he would abandon the faith, though such thing is, supposedly,
impossible. He devotes passage upon passage with the sole
purpose of warning us of something that – according to Barnes - is
not really a danger! Would our God ever do something like this?
No, He would not. God does not play with us. Let us be assured:
what He says, He also means it!
From our side now, we can choose a bizarre explanation to
avoid Hebrews 6 and 10 or we can just choose to believe what we
read not just in Hebrews but also in the other passages covered in
this study.
67
5.9. HEBREWS 3:4-6: HOLDING FAST OUR CONFIDENCE UNTIL
THE END
Hebrews 3:4-6
“For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things
is God. Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a
testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; but
Christ was faithful as a Son over His house — whose house we are, if
we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”
And the passage continues:
Hebrews 3:7-14
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing
in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw
my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that
generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; they
have not known my ways.' As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall
not enter my rest.’ Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an
evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But
exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that
none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we
have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence
firm to the end.”
Is it possible for a Christian “to fall away from the living
God”? “Take care brothers” is how the related passage starts.
Therefore, yes it is possible for a brother to fall away from the
living God.
Furthermore, see also the two conditional statements
starting with an “if”. We are the house of Christ “if we hold fast
our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end”. And
again “we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original
confidence firm to the end.” Here we see once more what we have
seen several times up to now: faith is a race with a beginning and
an end. When is the end? If Christ has not come back during our
lifetime, then the end is the end of our life. Else, it will be the time
of His coming and our gathering to Him. Those who “hold their
original confidence firm to the end”, i.e. the ones who kept the
faith to the end will enter the kingdom of God. But those who gave
up the faith will not be there. They will NOT “share in Christ”,
nor will they be His house. This is what the “if” statements in
these passages clearly say.
Posted January 7, 2015
To be continued on next post....
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