Title: What We Learn
Nine years ago I asked the church for the entire hour to preach. Today is only the second in 25 years of serving this church that I’m going to make the same request.
(explain that situation and how different today is.)
So today, no fellowship, go bowling after the business meeting.
No announcements or prayer list; text or call me with your concerns and I’ll update the list.
One song to open, one to close, and whole lotta teaching, amen? It will be fun and informative, I promise.
“What We Know”
1. God is absolutely sovereign over our salvation. Scripture makes that abundantly clear.
2. We must always employ a consistent Hermeneutic. We must be consistent with how we read scripture. We cannot isolate certain verses to make a point, while ignoring what he rest of Scripture says about the same topic. As Chuck Smith said, “We must compare Scripture with Scripture.”
“We come to this passage ourselves with the intention to read it with the simplicity of a child, and whatever we find therein to state it; and if it may not seem to agree with something we have already held, we are prepared to cast away every doctrine of our own, rather than one passage of Scripture.”
-Charles Spurgeon
Romans 11:29
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
John 11:27
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (No one includes US.)
Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
3. Scripture overwhelmingly teaches us that God first chooses us in the salvation process and we can not “lose” the God-Given Gift of Salvation. Therefore, Hebrews 6:4-6 passage can NOT contradict the rest of scripture, it must be saying something else…
So What is Hebrews 6:4-6 saying?
4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
The Four Conditions for the hypothetical person being described here:
- They have once been enlightened. phōtizō (fo-tid’-zo) “to give understanding to” (They UNDERSTAND the Gospel, but do not BELIEVE.) (My four friends)
- Have tasted the heaven gift geuomai (ghyoo’-om-ahee) “to taste, to try the flavor of” (What happens if you taste something and you like it? Don’t like it? Aren’t sure? You can spend a life time eating pizza “because it’s there” but not be a believer in Pizza.)
- Been made partakers of the Holy Spirit ginomai (ghin’-om-ahee) “to become, be made” This is really tough one, but I really like Matthew Henry’s explanation of what the author of Hebrews is most likely referring to:
Henry:
They may be made partakers of the Holy Ghost, that is, of his extraordinary and miraculous gifts; they may have cast out devils in the name of Christ, and done many other mighty works. Such gifts in the apostolic age were sometimes bestowed upon those who had no true saving grace.
In other words, these people have seen some things…they’ve even done some things that make you say “Wow! What a believer!” but, over time, (1st John, do they “abide” do they “remain” their lack of faith trumps that season where we were sure to say they were saved.)
(Hypothetical example of a Deacon, caught in adultery, has his pride/ego/reputation ruined, church, wife tries to rally around him to restore him but he leaves the faith…and NEVER comes back…was he ever saved?)
4. They have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. This is very similar to number 2, (same word “Guenomai”) but this one points to having some degree of understanding of future Christian Kingdom events. Henry describes these people like this: They may have tasted of the powers of the world to come; they may have been under strong impressions concerning heaven, and dread of going to hell.
Question: Is is possible for someone to have amazing spiritual experiences and still not be saved?
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
-Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23
Question: It is possible for someone to display some spiritual fruit and spiritual growth and then fall or fade away from the faith?
And in a similar way these are the ones sown with seed on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and yet they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown with seed among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
-Jesus in Mark 4:16-19
Why is it impossible for someone like this to be restored to repentance if they fall away?
I know Austin and Hannah are traveling today, but this is precisely the question that Hannah brought up at the end of last week’s message.
(take answers)
- You can’t crucify a perfect offering twice.
- If you do, it means something was insufficient with the original offering.
- There is nothing insufficient with Christ’s sacrifice.
- Therefore it would “put to open shame” our Lord and Savior to even SUGGEST he need to do his work again.
Three Perspectives for your consideration:
1. Matthew Henry: (paraphrase)
These people may have tasted of the powers of the world to come; they may have been under strong impressions concerning heaven, and dread of going to hell.
These great things are spoken here of those who may fall away; yet it is not stated in this passage that they were truly converted, or that they were justified; there is more to salvation that these four conditions.
This therefore is no proof of the final “falling away” of true believers.
A True Believer indeed may fall frequently and badly, but yet they will not totally nor finally from God; the purpose and the power of God, the purchase and the prayer of Christ, the promise of the gospel, the everlasting covenant that God has made with them, ordered in all things and sure, the indwelling of the Spirit, and the immortal seed of the word, these are their security.
But the tree that does not have these roots will not stand.
2. Dave Guzik (and Dan Harlan)
This difficult passage is best understood in the context of Hebrews 6:1-2.
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and about the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.
The writer to the Hebrews means that if they retreat back to Judaism, all the religious “repentance” in the world will do them no good.
Retreating from distinctive Christianity into the “safe” ideas and customs of their former religious experience is to forsake Jesus, and to essentially crucify Him again.
This is especially true for these ancient Christians from a Jewish background, since the religious customs they took up again likely included animal sacrifice for atonement, denying the total work of Jesus for them on the cross.
3. PB’s official stance on this verse: 3 Options
1. It may be a hypothetical warning. It is more about verse 6 than about verses 4 and 5. It’s a reminder of the perfection, finality, and sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice. These people can’t exist. You can’t be truly saved and lose salvation. But there is still value in the warning.
2. It is a specific warning to the new Jewish Christians to not return to Judaism and try to replace the sacrifice of Christ with the sacrifice of animals. This would shame Christ and make a mockery of his work on the cross.
3. It is a general warning that someone may look like a believer, act like a believer, teach and lead like a believer, believer that they are a believer, but never actually be regenerate.
Close:
For those who want more:
“When Is Saving Repentance Impossible?”
Hebrews 4:6-8
From John Piper and Desiring God Ministries
Oct. 13, 1996
(6 months AFTER PB got saved, 17 days BEFORE PB and Mary went on their first date.)
Charles Spurgeon
“Final Perseverance”
Sermon (No. 75)
March 23, 1856