You assume much when you infer that the record in Heb 12:17 relates to "the ex-believer".
It doesn't say it can't be talking about those who used to believe. You're impressing your 'once saved always saved' bias on the passage and can only see it applying to those who never believed when in fact the passage doesn't say that:
" 14Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.15See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; 16that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. "-Hebrews 12:14-17
In the record in Hebrews 12, the believer is shown as the one who endures the chastisement of Father God. The chastisement of the Father yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them who are exercised thereby (Heb 12:11).
Yes, to "those who are trained by it"-Hebrews 12:11. You've concluded that the author is saying all true sons of God respond to discipline and continue in the faith and so further down in vs. 14-17 he can only be talking about those who never believed and became sons. But the author makes it clear that the effectiveness of God's discipline is for the sons who are trained by it. Not all sons are, obviously.
[QUOTE="reneweddaybyday, post: 3659299, member: 237620"
Those who are bastards, and not sons (Heb 12:8) are those who would rather continue in fornication and profanity (Heb 12:16).
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You're impressing your bias onto the passage by automatically concluding that they could have never been sons to begin with. Nothing in the passage even suggests that. You're adding that to it's meaning.
[QUOTE="reneweddaybyday, post: 3659299, member: 237620"
There are people sitting in churches who believe it's enough to go to a church service once a week (or on Christmas/Easter – those are big "church" days). They might even pitch in every now and again. But every other day of the week, they live just as the rest of the world does. They do not continue in the things they've been taught.
These are the ones who "despise the birthright". They listen to the pastor who preaches the gospel and do not believe.
[/quote]
Now, without using the argument
'because once saved always saved is true' explain to us
using the passage itself how Hebrews 12:14-17 can
only be talking about people who never believed and can't be talking about people who used to believe.
[QUOTE="reneweddaybyday, post: 3659299, member: 237620"
These are the ones who are as Esau (Heb 12:16). They would rather continue in sin than receive the birthright – the right to be called sons of the Most High God. To enjoy the pleasures of sin for the moment is enough for them to reject what God is offering to them – the right to become a child of God.
And there will come a time when they stand before Father, and they will wail and gnash their teeth, but they will be rejected. Sad to say that after all God has gone through to reconcile mankind back to Himself, there were / are / will be some who reject God's grace in order that they may continue in the enjoyment of worldly pursuits.[/QUOTE]
There's no reason that the author can't be talking about people who never believed. I agree with that. Certainly they are included in the warning the author is giving. What you have to do is show why he can't be talking about people who stopped believing and went back to the world in unbelief, like the person represented in the 2nd type of soil. You can't say, "because once saved always saved is true". That's answering the question with the question.
You will see that, once again, this is a passage of scripture that automatically gets stripped of any potential for it to apply to former believers, not by what the passage actually says, but by impressing 'once saved always saved' bias onto it from the outside to make it only about people who never believed.