Our security

This is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all which he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day (John 6:39)

There is not a shadow of doubt in the Christian's hope. There is not a broken link in the chain that binds the believer to eternal blessedness. There is not a step wanting in the ladder that reaches up from the depths of sin to the heights of glory. ''Whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son...and whom he foreordained, them he also called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.''These are the links in the Christian's hope as St. Paul saw them; in the words of today's text, we have the same links as they appeared to our Saviour's eye.

The assurance is, that Christ will never lose any soul that interests itself to Him for salvation. ''Yet Christians die, just like other people,'' says some one. Yes, but they are not then lost; their spirits pass at once into glory with Christ, and their bodies will only rest in the grave until the resurrection. An old sailor put it well. When asked if he was not afraid when the storms were very high, he answered that according to the Bible, God held the waters ''in the hollow of his hand;'' and ever if the ship were wrecked, and he should fall into the sea, he would but drop into his Father's hand. That's what death is to a Christian, however and wherever he may die, breathing his soul into the hands of God.

The grave seems dark, but we have Christ's own pledge here that not one of His own shall be lost or left in the grave. No matter where we die, or where our bodies lie, we have the Saviour's word--which we had better receive in simplicity, without questioning or doubt--that He will lose nothing, but will raise it up again at the last day. However, God has promised to fulfil the number of our days. Until we finish our cause here on earth, we are not expected to depart. And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil. (Exodus 23:25-26) God wants us to be blessed; He wants us to be healthy, and He definitely wants us to live long.

Hi John, I agree with you concerning the eternal security of believers, the only "doubt" being whether or not those claiming to be Christians were ever saved in the first place, yes .. e.g. Matthew 7:22-23; Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23, 24-30, 36-43.

There is this as well.

While I agree with you, from a certain POV anyway (see the above in bold), that's not what the Bible actually says. There are MANY who show an "interest" in God and/or in church/the Christian faith, but it's only those who have been drawn/given to the Son by His Father first who will come to saving faith in Him and persevere to the end, yes? The Bible also makes it clear that ~ALL~ who are drawn/given by the Father ~WILL~ come to saving faith in the Son, and that none of these drawn/given ones will ever be lost .. John 6:37-40, 44, 65.

~Deut

Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." 2Timothy 2:19

"The Lord knows those who are his..."

Truly

Those who have confessed His name and regularly, "turn away from wickedness", as a result, can live with the knowledge/assurance that they are truly His as well .. cf 1 John 5:13.

~Deut

"But if (conditional statement) you (the bible is written only to christians, not to the worldly) sin willfully (premeditated without goal and effort to stop) there no longer (THERE ONCE GENUINELY DID) remain a sacrifice (Christ's sacrifice) for your (Christian's) sins."

Let's say that again...

"But if you sin willfully there no longer remains a sacrifice for your sins."

So what we have here is a genuine christian, who is genuinely saved by Christ, who is now no longer receiving salvation through Christ's blood, because Christ's blood was taken away from them because they started using Christ's blood as a license to sin. Don't tell me they were not saved in the first place- the bible clearly says they had Christ's blood, and Christ's blood saves.

Why is it so hard to understand the term "no longer"?

"Hey Janet, I saw you wearing the necklace I gave you the other day, but I don't see you wearing it now, do you still have it? I wondered if I could borrow it tonight." "I no longer have it, I lost it at the gym. I'm so sorry."

Can I really say she never had the necklace in the first place? How can having it, then no longer having it, mean that it was never had?

Every truly and genuinely born again Christian is expected to live as a child of God by keeping a distance between him and the things of the word. However, our heavenly Father is more than willing to forgive and welcome us if we miss it or make a mistake.

''Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?''
(Ezekiel 18:23) We have a lovely Father, who does not want any of His children to perish...He will leave the 99 and go after the 1 lost soul. That's the God we are saving.



Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:21-22) If God expects us, His children to do that, He will do much more than that. God will not ask us to do what He Himself cannot do. If a child of God, makes a mistake or falls, repents and confesses his sin , he will be forgiven. ''If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'' ( 1 John 1:9) Paul is not writing to unbelievers here; he is writing to born again Christians.

Jesus Christ is not going to suffer again for our sins; He is not going to shed His blood again for another sacrifice for our sins, and He is not going to die again, but the fact is, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our past sins, died for our present sins, and died for our future sins.

The only time when there will be no forgiveness or mercy for a sinner who wishes to repent is, when the sinner dies in his sin. The Bible says, '' And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.'' (Hebrews 9:27)

Hebrews 10:26

The Greek in this case, ἁμαρτάνω [hamartano] "sinning willfully" carries with it the idea of a deliberate intention that is also habitual, so it is best translated as those who, "go on sinning willfully".

This verse (and much of this passage) is speaking of those who are:

.........1. new to Christianity/the church ~but~
.........2. never change/never stop living in willful sin.

Does that sound AT ALL like the description of someone who was just saved to you (ESPECIALLY when you consider that the principle sin being referred to in this case is the sin of habitually rejecting Christ)? I doesn't to me!

The ones being spoken of here were 1st Century Jewish ~ALMOST~ Christians who had all the knowledge and understanding they needed to come to saving faith in Christ, but they still chose not to. They were church goers, but like the tares, or the ones planted on the rocky soil/among the thorns bushes (in Matthew 13), they came right to the precipice but never took the leap (of faith). They rejected the Savior with the full knowledge and understanding of who He was, so for them, there "no longer" remained a sacrifice for their sins (because there is no other sacrifice for sins than Jesus', for them, or for anyone else .. cf Acts 4:12)

Check out v39, where I think it's made clear that those spoken of earlier in Chapter 10 (starting with v26) are not Christians, because 'true' believers (rather than those who simply "claim" to be believers) "are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul" ~Hebrews 10:39

~Deut

May the Lord help us.

Everyone is expected to not live worldly lives, but not all will choose not to live worldly. God wants everyone to repent, but not all will choose to. And yes, those in Christ will be forgiven of every sin, but those who were in Christ but are no longer will not be forgiven.

There is nothing in Scripture to suggest this or even hint at at. Instead we have this:

1 PETER 1
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively [LIVING] hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

So take some time to grasp the meaning of "elect", "sanctification unto obedience", "begotten", "reserved in heaven for you", and "kept by the power of God... unto salvation".

Salvation begins with the new birth and justification by grace through faith, and ends with glorification ("salvation ready to be revealed in the last time") and the receiving of an incorruptible inheritance. And those who are elect are kept by the power of God until they are perfected and glorified. THERE IS NOTHING TEMPORARY IN ANY OF THIS.

Post 5 not only suggests it, but proves it.

If a man adopted 10 children, and they all grew into adults, and two of them went to court to divorce him from being their dad, and the man died, and a brother said, "As sad as this day is, we need to go claim our inheritance." That "we"&"our" no longer includes the two who left, but the eight who remained. In the same way, God will save His children, but that no longer includes those who used to be His children but are no longer His.

Hebrews 10:14-18
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

So which is it?

Are they perfected forever?

Or have they lost Salvation and the covering of Christs Blood?


"But if (conditional statement) you (the bible is written only to christians, not to the worldly) sin willfully (premeditated without goal and effort to stop) there no longer (THERE ONCE GENUINELY DID) remain a sacrifice (Christ's sacrifice) for your (Christian's) sins."

This statement is entirely incorrect. What is the original subject? Go back to Hebrews 10:1 and you will find it is the law.

So you have a statement that is going to people who used to practice Judaism. So if they sinned they could sacrifice a bull or goat the next week to cover it.

That's not how Christianity works. That is the statement that is being expressed in Hebrews 10:26

This does not mean what many think. Perfected INTO forever is what it should say....and this harmonizes with the rest of the NT that the spiritual place in Christ is eternal life. When we enter INTO Christ we experience His resurrection life. When we lut on Christ we put on HIS perfected human life...so as to walk as he walked. THAT is what grace is. So the verse in question is just saying what many other verses say...and that is...put on Christ and put on His eternal type of life. Sound spiritual? Well, the NT is spiritual. Not to be understood from a human legal POV. We are to read the word by the same Spirit that wrote it.

Eternal life is now!

We are to put on Christ and walk in the power of the Spirit as Jesus did. He came to give us HIS life....His KIND of life. Not as the world gives.


One doesn't lose salvation...one comes in and out of the Spirit. Drinking His blood means that we are actively partaking of His life. The life is in the blood.

IOW we are to continue to seek to enter into Christ where there is no sin. We are only covered by the blood (life) of Christ when we enter into Christ. So then a person who has given up on entering into Christ is logically no longer covered by the blood of Christ.

This is true. But there are many reasons why a person would not believe in the power of Christ in our mortal flesh. Unbelief takes many forms. How many here believe they can walk as Jesus did by simply putting on Christ? How many believe in the resurrection power of Christ to no longer sin? You will find that few have that kind of faith.

Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!
As I give myself to be part of the chosen few and receive His words of life and instruction, (where He doesn't mince words through many of your posts), I am gaining confidence that He will finish the work He started in me. Bless His holy Name.

So what you are saying is that it is all dependent on our Faith.

So then those who are the enemy of the Faith are the enemy of Christ.

So the OP's original statement is absolutely faith based and an encouragement to all real Christians.


There is not a shadow of doubt in the Christian's hope.

Amen

It is the race of faith. It is a spiritual race. What is the prize? Christ! We run to win Christ.

Now I know that this doen't mean anything unless one understands what Paul is speaking of...

There is only one certainty. That salvation is found by entering into Christ. Walking with Him...knowing Him...living in HIS life and power. Holiness is a constant even as righteousness is a moving target. We are constantly being put to the test...a testing that reveals if we truly love God and others. A testing that reveals if we have truly understood the gospel and the kingdom of God.

Doubt leads to real faith. But certainty is our real adversary...when we think we know something for sure...unless we are walking in the same truth as Jesus that is.

The Pharisees had not a shred of doubt in the genuineness of their claims on being in God's will. They just had to compare themselves to the sinners around themselves to see how justified they were...or so they thought. Humility comes before honour.

Yeah doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do but count them as dung that I may win Christ. Phil 3:8, 14
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
As for me I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied when I awake, with thy likeness. Ps 17:15

Heb. 6:4. 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 on 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, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. (NASB, 1995)

Up until the 16th century, this passage was universally interpreted as teaching that a Christian could lose his salvation, and the large majority of Bible scholars today still hold to that position. Indeed, this passage of Scripture gives us the most detailed description of what it means to be saved that we find anywhere in the Bible, and the end of these saved persons who subsequently fall away from the Christian faith is eternal damnation in the fires of hell. This was also the doctrine of our earliest Baptist forefathers before some Baptists heard a brand new doctrine that had been recently conceived by some men in Europe, and spread this new doctrine among their Baptist brothers causing it to take over like a firestorm.


The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews wrote his Epistle using the terminology and phraseology of the very early Church. Therefore, in order to accurately interpret the Epistle to the Hebrews, it is essential to have a solid background in the writings of the very early Church and the terminology and phraseology that they used.

The phrase in verse 4, “those who have once been enlightened,” is a reference to water baptism. Indeed, Justin Martyr (died in 165 A.D.) wrote that the term “enlightenment” was used as a synonym for water baptism of converts to Christianity and he uses the term “the enlightened one” for a person who has been baptized. And the Peshitta, an ancient Syriac translation of the Greek New Testament, renders (when translated into English) the phrase in verse 4, “who have gone down into baptism.”

The phrase in verse 4, “have tasted of the heavenly gift,” was variously interpreted during the first 1500 years, but it was ALWAYS interpreted as describing a born-again Christian. Some, for example, saw it to be a reference to the Eucharist; others saw it to be a reference to the teaching of Christ in John 6:31-58. Still others saw it to be a reference to the forgiveness of sins; others saw it to be a reference to the blessings conferred upon the Christian believer.

The phrase in verse 4, “and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,” is an obvious reference to receiving the Holy Spirit, something that, in the New Testament, happens EXCLUSIVELY to those who have been saved.

The phrase in verse 5, “and have tasted the good word of God,” is a clear reference to the Christian’s experience of hearing the word of God preached and taught and the consequential experience of it in his life as a believer.

The phrase in verse 5, “and the powers of the age to come,” is a reference to the miracles that were performed by the Apostles and other Christians as a foreshadowing of the kingdom to come, and to the other blessings that Christians experience now in part but shall experience in their fullness in the future kingdom.

The phrase in verse 6, “and then have fallen away,” can be properly interpreted only to be speaking of falling from grace and the Christian faith, something that can NOT happen until AFTER a person is saved.

The phrases in verse 6, “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,” tell us of the absolutely horrendous consequence of a Christian falling from grace, making the death of Christ on the cross for his sins to be of no effect. This passage expressly speaks of a person who has heard the Gospel, believed it, was saved and baptized, repented of his sins, and enjoyed the blessing of being a born-again Christian—but who subsequently chose to reject Christ and return to his sins. And the fate of such a person could not possibly be any worse—it is “impossible to renew them again to repentance.” Most obviously it is not impossible to renew an unsaved person to repentance if they have repented but not been born again and then fall back into sin. Therefore, the person spoken of has necessarily been born again but has fallen away from the Christian faith. And the born-again Christian who, of his own free will, chooses to reject the Christ who redeemed him is beyond redemption and damned to the fires of hell for eternity.

Verses 7 & 8 are an analogy used to support the author’s statements. Just as the ground which once brought forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled received a blessing from God, and the ground that now yields thorns and thistles is worthless and ends up being burned, so the Christian which once brought forth good fruit unto God but who now brings forth bad fruit ends up being burned in the fires of hell.

Verse 9 tells us that the author has been warning his Christian readers about things that do not accompany salvation, things that happen to Christians who fall away from the faith. Nonetheless, he is reassuring them that that he does not expect them to fall away, as some others had done, but is convinced of better things concerning them, and things that, in their case, accompany salvation, even though he felt that he needed to warn them of the horrendous consequences of apostasy from the Christian faith.

There is only one certainty. That salvation is found by entering into Christ...walking with Him, knowing Him...living in His life and power.
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled WE SHALL BE SAVED BY HIS LIFE...

...and be found I'm Him...in His Life