HEBREWS – PART TWO – LESSON 6



HEBREWS – PART TWO – LESSON 6

“Understanding Hebrews 6:1-12—Part Two”

Kay Arthur, Teacher

Well, we are back in Hebrews 6, probably one of the most difficult passages in all of the word of God to (supposedly) understand. As we look at it, I want to encourage you, to let you know that I believe that God has a message for you in this chapter, and a message for me. I believe it is an exhortation combined with a warning, a warning that we need to hear, especially in this day and age. I want to encourage your hearts, that although you may find it difficult, I know that God is going to minister to you. If you are tuning in, and you didn’t hear Part I of “Understanding Hebrews 6:1-12, you need to make sure that you get that tape, because this is a continuation of that passage.

I want to start with Hebrews 6:1, and simply put us in context to read through v. 12. I know that that is going to take some time, but I want to make sure that those of you who are just listening by audio tape or listening by radio have the context of the Scripture before you. (1) “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,” [He has just said to them, in Chapter 5:11, “I want to teach you about Christ as the order of Melchizedek, but I cannot teach you that because you have become dull of hearing. You have need to hear once again the elementary teaching, or the principles of the oracles of God. You have regressed instead of gone forward; you need milk instead of meat, and it is time for meat. You are grown up enough to be eating meat.” So he is saying, in Chapter 6, that we are to leave that elementary teaching about the Christ, about Messiah, and the prophecies that pointed to Him, and to press on to maturity. We are not to lay again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,”] (2) “of instruction about washings, and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. (3) And this we shall do, if God permits.” [In other words, we shall press on to maturity, if God permits.]

4) “For 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, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame. (7) For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; (8) but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. (9) But, beloved,” [And this is a very encouraging verse.] “we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. (10) For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. (11) And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, (12) that you may not be sluggish (the same word for “dull of hearing” that is used in 5:11), but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

As we look at Hebrews 6, there are some keys to understanding this passage. I want to go over these keys very quickly, just to put you in context. The first key that is absolutely essential is: #1. Remember to whom the letter was written. Hebrews was written to Hebrew Christians. The second thing is: #2. Remember the author’s purpose. The author’s purpose was to write briefly a word of exhortation. Then as you look at his purpose: What were the exhortations? We went through those exhortations, and in essence, those exhortations were that they were to hold fast the confession of their hope. They were to not drift away from them, but they were to draw near to Jesus Christ. They were to run with endurance, after they laid aside every weight and every sin that so easily beset them. In other words, it was an exhortation that said, “Don’t go back; go forward. Don’t retreat, but press on. Don’t let go, but hold on. Hold fast.” Those, in essence, were the exhortations.

The third thing in understanding Hebrews 6:1-12 is: #3. Remember the condition of those people to whom he was writing. What was the condition of the addressees of this letter? We saw that they were suffering, that it was costing them to belong to Jesus Christ. We saw that trials show us the genuineness of our faith, or of our profession, or of our Christianity. They expose whether we are really saved or not. The fourth key is: #4. You have to understand the structure and the context of the book. In other words, you cannot interpret Hebrews 6:1-12 apart from the structure of the whole book, or apart from the context of the book.

At this point I want to review that context. In Hebrews you see a pattern of a truth that the author lays down, and after the truth comes a warning. I’ve put those warnings down (I’ve symbolized them like a bolt of lightning, and under that warning I have drawn an ear, because in every warning God is telling us that we need to hear, or we need to believe, or we need to receive. All that is done by the fact that I hear, and then I act upon that. In Chapter 1, God lays down this truth: God has spoken in these last days through His Son, His Son who is God, His Son who is better than the angels. Following this, in Chapter 2, in those first four verses, comes a warning. The warning is this: Listen; pay close attention to what you have heard, because if the word that was received by angels received a just recompense of reward when it was disobeyed, how much greater is going to be your judgment if you neglect so great a salvation. So here was a warning, and that warning said, “If you neglect this salvation, then judgment is going to come.”

The next truth comes from 2:5, all the way through Chapter 2. You have the truth laid down that Jesus Christ died, that He took upon Himself flesh and blood, that He as a merciful and faithful high priest might make propitiation for our sins. It shows us that we are to consider Jesus as the apostle and the high priest of our confession. After that comes a warning, and in the midst of that warning he lays a foundational truth for the whole book. That foundational truth (the point that he wants to make sure that his readers understand) is this: Continuance in the faith is the evidence of your salvation. In other words, it is not enough just to believe at the point of your salvation, but you must keep on believing, your must keep on holding fast that confession of hope firm until the end. Then comes the warning, and the warning is this: If you are not faithful, if you do not listen, then you will miss the rest of God. To miss the rest of God is to miss salvation.

Then, at the end of Chapter 4, he moves into Jesus as our high priest, and shows us how He qualifies as our high priest. Right on the end of that, in 5:11, we move into an exhortation and a warning in Hebrews 6, that tells us that if we do not hold fast to these truths about Jesus Christ, and we turn away from (or fall away from them), then there is no repentance. It is impossible to renew you again to repentance. You are going to have judgment, just like the earth that does not bring forth a harvest. So there is a warning again, saying, “You had better hear, and there is judgment if you don’t.”

Then we move into Chapters 7, 8, 9, and the first part of Chapter 10. We see Jesus Christ as our priest of a better covenant, and as our priest, not only of a better covenant, but as our priest who offers a better sacrifice. In Hebrews 7-10, we have that laid down for us, and on the heels of that comes a warning. He has made a sacrifice, the author of Hebrews tells us, which takes care of sin for all time. So the warning comes: Don’t sin willfully, after having received the knowledge of this truth, because if you sin willfully, there remains no more sacrifice for sin. If you are going to go out and trample underfoot the blood of Jesus Christ, and the blood of the new covenant, then God has only one thing that He can do—and that is to judge you. Judgment is coming. And he tells us, “If you do not hear this, then judgment is coming.”

Then we move into the next body of truth. The next body of truth is centered in exhortation, because after 10:18, we move from the doctrinal part of the book to the practical part of the book. In 10:18 through the twelfth chapter, you have him laying an exhortation for the fact that we are to hold fast our confidence, that we are to continue in the faith. He gives us that wonderful “Faith” chapter. Even though we are disciplined, we are to persevere and know that discipline belongs to every child of God. Then he tells us, “Don’t be like Esau, and don’t despise the chastening of the Lord. If you do, and if you refuse Him who is speaking, then there is nothing but judgment that awaits.”

The pattern you see in the book of Hebrews is truth, and then judgment if you do not believe that truth, or if you do not adhere to that truth, or if you do not continually embrace that truth. If you reject that truth and turn away, then there is judgment. He lays down truth, warning, judgment; truth warning, judgment; truth, warning, and judgment. Every time he does that, he says, “Hear, hear, hear,” in essence. Don’t refuse him who is speaking. You need to know the structure and the content of the book.

The fifth thing you need to know if you are going to interpret Hebrews properly, if you are going to understand it, is this: #5. The interpretation of Hebrews 6:1-12 must agree with the whole counsel of God, because Scripture cannot contradict Scripture. The sixth and final key you need for understanding to remember (and I know this is all review, but it is good review because it is important) is this: #6. The author must be allowed to say what he says. You cannot reinterpret what the author has said very clearly. You cannot make the book say what the author does not say. You can’t suggest hidden meanings that the author does not expose, because he is going to expose everything that he wants you to know. You cannot force an interpretation upon the book, no matter what, if you are going to handle the Scripture with integrity.

The second thing we did last week was to look at Hebrews 6:1-3, and we saw that if we were going to press on to maturity (“pressing on the maturity” means that God is going to carry us along to maturity), that is something that happens to every true child of God. Just like a baby cannot help growing up, because everything that is essential or that is needful, or is set up genetically for that child to mature, the same thing is in us. We have to go on to maturity to one degree or another if we are truly born of God. We saw that he is going to tell us, in Hebrews 6:1-3, that we are to press on to maturity. We are not to lay again a foundation--and he talks about that foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith toward God, instructions about washings, etc. All of those teachings, according to the author of Hebrews, point more back to the Levitical cultist, the Levitical rituals, and the way they worshipped God under the old covenant, than they do point forward to new covenant things.

There is debate among the scholars, and I want you to know that. Some say that all of these refer to the elementary teachings about Jesus Christ as Messiah under the new covenant. But when it says, in 6:1, “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ,” that can be translated, “about the Messiah.” You know that the Old Testament lays out those things concerning Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament we have shadow. In the New Testament we have substance. In the Old Testament we have things that, in typology, point forward to Jesus Christ, and then we have Jesus Christ, the anti-type, in the New Testament. I lean toward the fact, because he is talking to Hebrew Christians, because of all these keys to understanding Hebrews that I was sharing with you, that this is pointing more to the Old Testament things than it is pointing to the New Testament.

Now we come to the lesson for today. All that was review, but it is good and essential for you to understand what I am talking about, as we go forward. We want to look at 6:4-6, and see who the “those” are in those verses. (4) “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened…” I want to take every description of them, and look at it quickly. The “those” of Hebrews 6:4-6 have: #1. Been enlightened. They have been enlightened once for all. The word for that is hapax, and it indicates a once-for-all situation. He is saying that these people, the “those”, have once-for-all been enlightened. In other words, they know it. When he uses “enlightened”, we want to see if he uses that any other place within his book. Yes, he does. He uses it in 10:32, and it is interesting, because he uses it in another warning passage. Let me tell you about the word “enlightened.” It simply means “to be illuminated.” It means to have light come into a situation, so that there is understanding, so the darkness of misunderstanding or not grasping it is removed. “Do you see?” “Oh, yes, I see.” “I will shed light on that.” That is what it means to be illumined. Light has been shed. There has been understanding.

In 10:32, it says, “But remember the former days,” [and this is right after the warning passage] “when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, (33) partly, by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.” [He is describing those in Hebrews that he believes are saved. He says that they were enlightened. The “those” in Hebrews 6 were enlightened. When you go through the Scriptures, you can see this same word used in other passages. It is not used a whole lot, but it is used in Ephesians 1, where Paul prays, “I pray that the eyes of your heart might be enlightened, that you might know” (and he wants them to know three things.) It simply means that there is understanding, that there is revelation there.

The second thing that you learn about the “those” (going back to Hebrews 6:4) is: #2. They have tasted of the heavenly gift. This word “tasted” is also used by the author in Hebrews 2:9. “But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” This word “tasted death” does not mean that Jesus just kind of licked a lollipop versus eating a lollipop. He actually experienced death. The author of Hebrews if telling us that “those” in Hebrews 6 have had a taste of the heavenly gift. They have experienced the heavenly gift. You say, “Well, what is the heavenly gift?” We would all like to know the heavenly gift is. There is debate on it. I think that “tasting the heavenly gift” has to do with those things that belong to salvation. The word for “gift” is dorean, or it is from that word. That word is used in John 4, where Jesus is talking to the woman at the well. He said, “If you knew the gift of God (the gift that God has for you) you would ask, and He would give it to you.” He is saying that He is that gift. “I am that gift.” So it is gift of eternal life, the water of life. Here he is saying that these people have tasted of the heavenly gift.

The third thing that we see about “those” is that: #3. They have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit. The word “partakers” is a word that is used several times in Hebrews. I want to show you two times that it is used, because it will give you enough insight into it. Hebrews 3:1 says, “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.” [So he calls them holy brethren. He says that they are partakers of the heavenly calling.] It is also used in 3:14, “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.” [The word “partaker” means to share, to partake of.] What have we seen about “those” in Chapter 6? #1. They have been enlightened; #2. They have tasted the heavenly gift; #3. They have been made partakers, or sharers, with the Holy Spirit.

The fourth thing is: #4. They have tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. That is the same word for “tasted” as “tasted death,” and the same word as “tasted of the heavenly gift.” These people have tasted the good word of God. What is the good word of God? I would say that the good word of God is the good news of God. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. So they have tasted of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have tasted of the powers of the age to come. Those powers of the age to come might refer to the miracles that they saw in those that had given them the gospel. This is found in 2:4. “God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.” Those that give the gospel to the Hebrews were those that had these signs and miracles. They were people that had heard Jesus Christ. So it could be that the powers of the age to come could refer to this. I have given you four characteristics of “those”. We have seen that they had been enlightened. We have seen that they have been partakers of the Holy Spirit. We see that they have tasted of the heavenly gift; and they have tasted the good word of God and the powers to come. We have seen four things.

There is one more thing that you need to see, and it has equal import with it. #5. They have fallen away. He is saying, in the case of those who have experienced these four things and have fallen away. This word “to fall away” is parapipto, and it means “to fall in one’s way.” It is only used here in all the New Testament, and it means “to fall away from adherence to the realities and facts of faith.” It is the same thing as apostatizing; only it is a different word. It means “to fall away from the reality and the fact of their faith.” These people have been enlightened; these people have tasted; these people have been partakers; and these people have fallen away. In the case of fallen away, some translations (NIV, KJV) have translated it, “if they should fall away,” making it like a hypothetical case, or making it a conditional thing. “If they have experienced all of this,” and then “if they shall fall away,”--but the “if” is not there.

It is poor translation to translate it as “if”, and I will tell you why. This is according to Greek scholars. You say, “Didn’t Greek scholars translate this passage?” Yes, they translated this passage in the NIV, and they translated it in the KJV, but the problem is that they didn’t adhere to the Greek. I don’t know if it was because they wanted to put in their own interpretation, or because they thought if they didn’t, it would be like a person losing their salvation, or what. But let me just state the case for the Hebrew, just simply. I think you need to see that all of these descriptions of them (enlightened, tasted, partakers, and fallen away) are all adjectival participles. They are all aorist tense; they are participles, but they are adjectival participles, rather than adverbial participles. All of them are exactly the same construction, as far as the tense of the verb, as far as the fact that they are participles, and as far as the fact that they are adjectival participles rather, than adverbial participles. Therefore, if you are going to be true to the text, you have to translate them all the same way. If you are going to translate this “if”, then you are going to go back and translate “if they have been enlightened,” “if they have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit.” You cannot change horses in the middle of the stream. The other thing that you need to know is that to add an “if” to an adjectival participle is an incorrect translation from the Greek. So, the “if” is not there.

What is the question that comes to your mind? What is that question? The question is this: Is he talking about Christians who have lost their salvation? Because it says, (6) “and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance,” [In other words, once they have the enlightenment, have been made partakers, do the tasting of all these things, and then they fall away, God is saying that it is impossible (and “impossible” means impossible) to renew them again to repentance. The reason that it is impossible to renew them again to repentance is because they are crucifying again the Son of God, and they are putting Him to open shame. In other words, what have these people done? These are people that have had tremendous light; these are people that have tasted these things that belong to salvation; these are people that have been made partakers (to one degree or another) with the Holy Spirit. They have had all these experiences, and revelations, and understandings, and yet they are saying, “I refuse it; I’ll walk away. I don’t believe it; I am departing from that. I am not holding those truths to be true anymore.” When they do that, he is saying that what they are doing is saying, “Yeah, they were right to crucify Christ. They were right to put Him to death. They were right to hang Him on the cross and put Him to all that open shame, because it is not true.” And they have departed from what they once professed to be true.

So the question is this: Are these Christians that the author is describing in Hebrews 6:4-8, or are they people that have been exposed to the gospel, have seemingly believed the gospel, have seemingly believed the gospel, and yet are shown to be apostates, because they departed, because the turned away, or because they have fallen away? Our question is: Who are the “those” of Hebrews 6:4-6? The first possibility: #1. Are they Christians who have lost their salvation? #2. Are they people who have been exposed to the gospel, had it explained to them very clearly, and have seemingly believed, yet have shown themselves to be apostates because they have departed, or turned away, or fallen away from a position or a profession they once held?

Let’s look at it. Let’s suppose that they are Christians, because some people say, “These people are Christians.” You can’t be enlightened, you can’t taste the good word of God and the powers to come, and all of this, and be partakers of the Holy Spirit, and not be saved. I have to tell you that it sure does sound like a good description of a Christian. I mean, it sounds like that, doesn’t it? Let’s suppose that they are Christians. If they are Christians, then they have lost their salvation. And not only have they lost their salvation, but it is impossible for them to get it back. Now catch that, because some people will use this passage to say that a Christian can lose their salvation. Let’s agree; let’s say that this passage does teach that a Christian can lose his salvation. If that is so, then what is the conclusion to that? The conclusion to that is: If they do fall away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, because they have crucified again the Son of God, and they have put Him to open shame. It is then impossible for them to be saved. So if you are to teach this, that you can lose your salvation (according to Hebrews 6), then you have to say, “Once you lose it, that is it.”

But then you have to come back and say, “Does the author of the book of Hebrews teach that you can lose genuine salvation?” You say, “Yes, right here.” Well, let’s hold it for a minute, because in other places, right here in Hebrews 6, as a matter of fact, he tells us that we have a hope that is anchored and sure, and is within the veil, and we can trust in that hope. Now remember, we can’t make the author of Hebrews say something that he is not saying, so let’s see what the author teaches about eternal security.

I believe that what the author wants to get across in Hebrews is this: He wants them to know that continuance in the faith is the evidence of your salvation. I believe that is very clear. I believe that is one of the main thrusts of the book. As far as exhortations and warnings, it is the main thrust. If you are truly God’s child, you will continue in the faith. But that does not contradict eternal security. It does not contradict the fact that if God saves me and brings me into the new covenant, then He will complete that work which He has begun. Philippians 1 says, “Faithful is He who began a good work in you, who will also complete it.” Continuance in the faith as the evidence of your salvation does not contradict eternal security.

Does the author talk about our eternal security? I believe he does. Let’s look at several passages. What does he say in Hebrews 6:9? “Beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation,” [What does he say accompanies salvation? He is saying that continuance in the faith accompanies salvation. Falling away does not accompany salvation.] “though we are speaking in this way.” Then he goes on to say in v. 11, “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end.” [What is he saying? He is saying, “You have a hope of salvation. You can have a full assurance of it.” You say, “How do I get the assurance of my salvation? Is it by pointing back to one day, one time, one hour, when you believed in Jesus Christ? No, you get the full assurance of your salvation by continuing in the faith.]

(12) “that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” [In other words, when you are truly born again, precious one, it is not a matter of just believing at one point in time, but it is a matter of continuing to believe. It is continuing to have faith; it is continuing to persevere through patience, no matter what affects you. Remember, they were in suffering, and that suffering was challenging their faith. He is saying, “It is through faith and patience that you inherit the promises.” [Now what are the promises? We will look at them in just a minute, but let’s take hope for just a minute.]

Go to Hebrews 6. Right in the middle of this difficult passage that sounds like you can lose your salvation, he tells us this: (19) “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul,” [What is an anchor? An anchor is something that holds you; an anchor is something that keeps you from drifting away. What was his warning in Hebrews 2? “Don’t drift away.” Can a true Christian drift away? Not very far, because his anchor is going to hold. Sometimes your anchor holds, and you go around in circles for awhile, but your anchor holds.] (19) “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,” [I just have to stop and tell you that I love you. I appreciate you, and I thank you for listening and studying. I thank you for wanting to go on, and I thank you for enduring sound teaching and exercising your senses. I just had to tell you that, because my heart was full.]

Now let’s go back to hope. It is a hope both sure and steadfast. It is one which enters within the veil (20) where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us,” [If He is a forerunner for us, who is on His heels? Who is following? We are.] “having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” [Remember that I told you that this is a hope, a hope of promise, a promise of eternal salvation.]

Go to Hebrews 7:24-25. (24) “But He, on the other hand, because He abides forever (after the order of Melchizedek), holds His priesthood permanently. (25) Hence (since He holds His priesthood permanently), also He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” [You say, “Yes, but it is only for those who draw near to Him.” You are right, but if you are really and truly saved, you will draw near to Him. You say, “Well then, who is he talking to in Hebrews 6?” Just a minute, and I will be right there. Let’s catch this first.]

Hebrews 9:11 says, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; (12) and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” [If Hebrews 6 is speaking to Christians who have lost their salvation, and there is no way for them to be saved again, then they do not have eternal redemption.]

Let’s go on to Hebrews 9:15. “For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant (the old covenant), those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” [When we get to covenant, you will understand it; or if you have had our “Covenant” course, you understand it. Covenant is a solemn, binding agreement. God cannot lie. When He makes a covenant, He stands on that covenant. His covenant is a promise to you and to me, that if we will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, if we will accept Him as our Lord and Savior, that He will give us eternal life. “He that has begun a good work in you will complete it, even until the day of Christ.” So it is an eternal inheritance.

Then in 10:14, it says, “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” [So when I truly get saved, He perfects me for all time.] (15) “And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying (16) ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,’ says the Lord: ‘I will put My laws upon their heart, and upon their mind I will write them, (17) and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’” [Isn’t that exciting? What is He saying? “I have made a covenant, and I am God, and I do not lie.” He has already said that He does this by two immutable things—His promise and His oath. He says that in Hebrews 6, and you have already studied it (if you have done your homework). So you see that because God is a covenant keeping God, because God does not lie, because He has sworn by Himself and He keeps His promises, then He will never, ever remember your sins. They are all taken away at Calvary. So you cannot lose your salvation. The reason that a man goes to hell is because he has no sacrifice for his sins, because he has rejected the one sacrifice for sin for all time.]

Hebrews 10:39 says, “But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction,” [In other words, Christians, true Christians cannot shrink back to destruction.] “but we are of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.” [In other words, you get a true faith, God writes His laws upon your heart and upon your mind, He has forgiven you your sins, so you will not shrink back to destruction, but you will have faith to the preserving of the soul. By the way, that “shrink back to destruction”, the word for destruction is apoleia. You are going to look it up later, but it is the word for apolion; it is the word for perdition. Judas was the son of perdition, the same word for destruction here.

So what do you see? One more passage, Hebrews 13:5, says, “Let your character (way of life) be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself (God) has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’” [That has five negatives in it. I will never, never, never leave you, nor never forsake you. So if I am saved, what does the author of Hebrews tell me? He tells me that the things that accompany salvation will be in my life, that I will have an eternal inheritance, that God will never leave me, He will never forsake me, my sins will be forgiven, and they will be remembered absolutely no more, that I am sanctified once for all, for all time. That is what the author of Hebrews says, and that is why you have got to let the author speak for himself.]

You say, “But they sound like Christians.” Let’s go back to the “those” of Hebrews 6. Yes, I have to admit they do sound like Christians, and I tell you that I have wrestled and wrestled and wrestled with this. But, as you look at this, you have to remember the context, as I was telling you. We have looked at this: What if they are Christians? If they are Christians, then they have lost their salvation, and they can’t get it again. Once it is lost, it is gone. But, if they are Christians, and they have lost their salvation, then it contradicts all the other things that the author of Hebrews says about our salvation. So, let’s see if they are simply professors of believing in Christ, but not possessors of eternal salvation.

Is it possible to be enlightened, is it possible to have tasted the good word of God and these other things, is it possible to be to some degree a partaker of the Holy Spirit, and fall away? Well, if not, they why the warning? If not, why any of the warnings in Hebrews? Because we know that Hebrews is directed to those that profess to know Jesus Christ, yet I believe that among that group there are some wolves in sheep’s clothing, so to speak. I believe there are some that have put on all the appearances of Christianity, but they can’t say, “Ba-a-a.” All they can do is howl like a wolf, because their character has not been changed. If they are simply professors, is this possible? If not, why the warning? And if not, why the exhortation? If once they were saved, and that was it, then it wouldn’t matter at all what they ever did. He is showing them that their salvation is not just based on a one-time profession. Your salvation is based on a continuance in the faith. You can’t look back to one experience. The thing that testifies to the reality of your salvation is continuance.

I don’t know if you have heard our message on eternal security, but you need to hear that. That is very vital. Let’s look at the “those” of Hebrews 6:4-6. You notice the terms—enlightened, tasted, partakers. It sounds like a Christian. But suppose I wrote the words—regenerated, justified, redeemed, born again, sons of God. That wouldn’t just sound like a Christian; those are terms that describe a Christian. Those are terms that belong uniquely to Christians. I believe that the author is showing us, “Out there there might be one of you, there might be those of you, that have all the trappings of Christianity, who have had experiences so that you have tasted certain things that belong to Christianity, you have had relationships with the Holy Spirit, so that you have been sharers in some of the work of the Holy Spirit, and yet, you have fallen away. And because you have fallen away, I want to tell you something, “There is no salvation for you, because you have rejected Jesus Christ, you have crucified Him, you have put Him to open shame. You never were saved.”

Let’s look—can this description fit non-believers? Was there anybody that could have some of these same experiences, and still wasn’t a believer. Right away one man ought to come to your mind, and that is Judas. When you look at Judas, in John 6, in the passage that I use to teach eternal security, because John 6 tells us that we are given to the Father. (37) “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me (Jesus is speaking), and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” [Listen, if Hebrews 6 is speaking about a Christian that got involved in sin, and then there is no repentance for them, then it contradicts this verse. But if Hebrews 6 is talking somebody that looked like a Christian, talked like a Christian, and yet was not a Christian, because they rejected the truth about God, then it does not contradict this verse. Remember, Hebrews 6 cannot contradict the clear teaching of the counsel of God.]

John 6:39 says, “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” [As you read through John 6, all the time he says, “I will raise it up; I will raise it up; they will live forever; I will raise them up.” He says it over and over again. In other words, all that the Father gives to Jesus, Jesus will lose nothing; Jesus will not cast them out; He will raise them up.] (44) “No one came come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. (45) It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard (there you go with the “hearing”) and learned from the Father, comes to Me.” [So it is a hearing that results in belief.] Then go down to v. 65. “And He was saying, ‘For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.’”

Now watch—in this same passage, the disciples look at Him, and He says, “Are you going to walk away?” Some of the disciples had walked away, and Jesus looks at them and says, “Are you going to walk away?” (68) “Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. (69) And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.’ (70) Jesus answered them, ‘Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?’ (71) Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.”

From there I want you to go to Matthew 10, where you see Judas able to do the same things that the twelve disciples could do. (1) “He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every king of sickness.” [He sent them out.] He sent them (6) “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (7) And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ (8) Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, etc.” [Here was Judas, able to do all these things as a partaker with the Holy Spirit, so to speak, but still not saved. He was called “the son of perdition.”]

Go to I Corinthians 10, and let me show you another incident of people who can profess and experience many of the same things, and yet not be saved. We studied this in Hebrews, Part One. (1) “I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; (3) and all ate the same spiritual food; (4) and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. (5) Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.” [They were put to death. I believe that they were people who, as Hebrews 3 says, had missed God’s rest.]

Compare this with Jude, verse 5. Jude is just before Revelation. (5) “Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.” [What is he saying? Those in Hebrews 6 that have all these same experiences, and yet did not really believe in their heart, and have fallen away, there is no repentance for them. There is simply the judgment of God, like the ground that is close to being cursed, and whose end shall be burned. In other words, the cursing is on its way, and the burning is going to happen.

In I Corinthians 10, he gives us an admonition. (12) “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” [What is Hebrews saying? Hebrews is saying, “Listen; listen. Know this, that continuance in the faith is the evidence of your salvation, and if you are going to depart from God, then there is no repentance, there is no other means of salvation. So we see that this description (I believe) can fit non-believers. It fits Judas; it fits the warning in I Corinthians 10; it also fits the warning that he says to the same church, in II Corinthians 13, where he says, “Examine yourselves to see if you in the faith.” He has commended them, but he says, “You can be sitting in church (and this is what God is saying to you today), you can be sitting in church, you can go through all the motions, you can quote your doctrine, you can know it backwards and forwards, you can have had enlightenment, you could have had thrills and chills at different times as you listened to the word of God. You could have been a partaker of the conviction of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit convicts of sin and righteousness and judgment, and still miss salvation--still fall away. But if you are truly saved, you will not fall away, because that does not accompany salvation.

Finally, as you look at the parable of the sower, in Matthew 13, what do you see? You see four types of soil. The first type totally rejects the word of God; doesn’t know it came, doesn’t know it went. But the other three receive it, and for awhile it seems like they are going to bear fruit. One springs up, but its soil is rocky, and it does not have roots, so when tribulation and persecution comes, it falls away. It falls away. I believe that is a description of what has happened in Hebrews 6. They looked like they were saved, but they were not rooted. They were not grounded. They had all the appearance of a plant that would bear fruit, but they fell away under persecution and suffering. I believe also the thorns and the thistles is another picture. Something choked out the word, and it became unfruitful. Only the fourth soil shows true Christianity. In true Christianity there is always fruit, and it is fruit that remains.

O, precious one, as you look at Hebrews 6, I want to ask you a question. Have you really and truly believed? If so, you will continue in the faith. I believe those people had all the trappings, all the makings, all the looks of Christians, and yet they had missed true salvation. Remember this—continuance in the faith is the evidence of your salvation, so persevere, precious one, persevere. I will see you next week, and we will finish this, and move into Chapter 7. Bless you.

Let’s pray. Thank You, Father, for your word. O Father, seal it to our hearts, and use it in its sword like quality to convict of sin and righteousness and judgment. Let it discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. Let it show us, Father, what our hearts are truly like, if we have truly believed or not. We commit this to You now, and we thank You, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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