What of those Christians in Hebrews 6:6 who fell away?
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 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.
It says that it's impossible for them to be brought back to repentance (unto salvation). To say that it means that one
loses their salvation is forcing a meaning into the text that is not there.
Why is it impossible to be brought back to repentance to salvation? Because Christ would have to come back and die the death of the Cross again to provide for forgiveness for continued sin.
That is Old Covenant thinking - sin, repent, sacrifice, sin, repent, sacrifice, rinse and repeat.
The whole letter to the Hebrews is about the superiority of the New Covenant which is a better Covenant based on better promises. The interpretation you're referring to reduces the New Covenant to Old Covenant practices.
It is impossible to be brought back to repentance unto salvation because the Work of Christ saves
completely. (Heb. 7:25)
To say that one can lose their salvation is saying that Christ did not go far enough on our behalf - and that puts Him to open shame (vs. 6), making Him equal with animal sacrifices that had to be offered time after time, when His Sacrifice was Once-for-all, for-all-time (Heb. 10).
The wages of sin is eternal death. Not repentance. Not crying or moaning or being sorry.
Death. That never changes.
But those in Christ are forgiven. Completely, utterly forgiven. When they sin (and we all do, but less so as we learn to be led by the Spirit), in Christ, God is not counting our sins against us. (Rom. ch. 4-10, 2 Cor. 5, Ps. 103) We, in Christ die to the Law (
that which condemns, 2 Cor. 3, Rom. 7, Gal. 2) and live in Christ. Where there is no Law, sins are not counted against us:
14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. (from Rom. 4)
13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. (from Rom. 5)
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (from 2 Cor. 5)
It is impossible for us to be brought back to repentance not because we cannot come back to walk in the Light of Christ,
but because we are so secure in Christ and His Work that it's impossible to be saved, then lost, then saved, then lost . . .
What of all those exhortations to stay upon the path? Or if one sees a BROTHER sinning into a sin which is into death, noting that he is a BROTHER?
The wages of sin (eternally) is death, yes?
Yet the passage below from 1 Jn. 5 says that there is a sin that does not lead to death.
How can that be?
It can be because of consequences in THIS life. There are sins that do not lead to death (slander, cheating, lying, divisiveness, etc.) and sins that lead to death (driving while drunk, murder, suicide, substance abuse, physical abuse of others, etc.).
Now read the passage, with the understanding that the passage is talking about physical death, not eternal death (and the Greek here for 'death', G2288 -
thanatos supports this):
16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death.
There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
Why should we not pray about the sin that leads to death?! Shouldn't we be praying all the harder??
No . . . we should STEP IN. Stop that impaired driver before they kill themselves or someone else. Attempt to stop the substance abuser. Stop that abusive person, by either stopping them or removing the victim(s) and caring for them. Stop that person from killing themselves if we're able. You get the idea.
In those circumstances, physical action, not prayer, is warranted.
Again, you're forcing a meaning into the text (that salvation can be lost by sinning) that is not there, provable by the quote, "
All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death." If the wages of sin is death, and in this passage there are sins which lead NOT to death, then this passage MUST be talking about
physical death and not spiritual death.
What of being erased from the Book of Life? What of the Prodigal Son? Is not the Hebrews in the wilderness an example of how we can fall by our stubbornness to hearken unto the Voice of the Lord? What if a Christian became like one of them who fell in the wilderness?
What if an elephant falls from an airplane and crashes into my livingroom? Not likely. Until you view everything through the finished Work of Christ, it will be skewed and you will come out with false conclusions.
Has a Christian lost his will once he believes in Christ? Or does it warn us about falling from grace?
No, free will remains. As do consequences for our actions. Sinning is destructive. Don't do it. But Grace
teaches us to say no to ungodliness (Tit. 2); some are just slow learners. I'm so thankful that God is far more patient with us than most fellow-humans are!
You are correct, suicide is not okay. Neither is lying, stealing, lusting, those things which are contrary to the leading of the Spirit. I must say, if one is being lead on a darkened path of suicide, are they really being lead by the Spirit on the path of Life?
The answer is obvious. Not being submitted to His Spirit does not equal His Spirit abandoning us, however.
-JGIG
