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HeBrews: A Better Blend
Today as we continue our HeBrews: A Better Blend Bible study, we come to one of the most hotly debated passages in the Word. The topic of whether one can lose their salvation or not has divided congregations, classes, friends, and family. Friend, we must be deliberate in not allowing this to happen. We can agree to disagree without being disagreeable.
Without further ado, let’s dive in. Read Hebrews 6: 1-6 for reference, please.
1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. 4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Hebrews 6:6 is one of the key verses used by those who believe we can lose our salvation to support their position. For the record, I do not believe that salvation can be lost. There was nothing you and I could do to provide salvation for ourselves, therefore, there is nothing we can do to cause it to be lost. If we could lose our salvation, then the work of Jesus on the cross was deficient and lacked keeping power. God does not do anything halfway. He does His work with excellence and completion; therefore, I believe the work Jesus did on the cross was full and complete for the saving of you and me. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Let’s turn to the issue of falling away. Keep in mind the FINISHED work of Christ on the cross (Hebrews 7:26-27) and that He SAT down at the right hand of God when the work was done (Hebrews 8:1).
Verses 4 and 5 describe a group of people or persons in general. It is unclear whether the author of Hebrews was speaking in generalities in these two verses or if he was pointing a finger at his audience as if to say, “this describes you”. We simply do not know.
The other great unknown in this set of verses is what exactly the author meant by ‘fall away’. Does this phrase ‘fall away’ mean apostasy (renouncing the faith) or not? Did he really mean one could lose their salvation? Let’s tap the minds of a few scholars and get their thoughts.
Expositor’s Bible Commentary puts forth the opinion that these verse deal with apostasy from the Christian faith or even making progress in the faith. These commentators explain the meaning of ‘fall away’ in verse 6 as saying that the author of Hebrews does not say the people described in verses 4 and 5 cannot be forgiven or restored to salvation. They believe that the author had repentance in mind and that when a person backslides from the faith, they cannot bring themselves to this repentance. (Expositor’s Bible Commentary P. 963.)
Warren Wiersbe offers an understandable and quite reasonable explanation of these verses in Be Confident. He first explains that the word used for ‘fall away’ in verse six is not the Greek word, apostasia, but rather, parapipto, which means ‘to fall alongside’. (p.64) In addition, Wiersbe offers several verses in Holy Writ that assures the believer that she cannot lose her salvation. Some of the best are the verses that follow verse 6 which we will look at a bit later. Let’s take a look at a few of these.
Consider the following verses:
- John 5:24 – 24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent mehas eternal lifeand will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
- John 10: 27-30 – 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them,and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life,and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
Wiersbe believes that the writer of Hebrews was “describing a hypothetical case to prove his point that a true believer cannot lose his salvation.” He goes on to explain: “Let’s suppose that you do not go on to maturity. Does this mean that you will go back to condemnation, that you will lose your salvation? Impossible! If you could lose your salvation, it would be impossible to get it back again; and this would disgrace Jesus Christ. He would have to be crucified again for you, and this could never happen.” (p. 65-66)
John MacArthur, on the other hand, believes that Christians are not the intended audience of the letter to the Hebrews, so it is the opportunity for receiving salvation that is being addressed here. MacArthur does not believe that Christians can lose their salvation and he uses passages from John 10 and Romans 8: 28-39 as a reference for his belief. He goes on to say, “If the power of God cannot keep us, nothing is dependable or trustworthy or worth believing in.” (MacArthur p. 146)
Dear student of God’s Word, I am convinced that the work Jesus did on the cross is permanent and completely able to keep us for eternity. We are secure for all eternity. The problem in all this is the free will that God gave you and me. We can choose, at any time, to walk away from God, but that does not mean He will walk away from us. Once we belong to Him, He never leaves us or forsakes us. We are always His….the problem is that He may not always be ours. That is our choice.
MEDITATION MOMENT: What choice are you making today? Are you His or have you walked away? If you have walked away, please come back. He is waiting with open arms to welcome you back.
