The Superiority of Christ, continued
So, the Author believes there is hope, he believes that some will heed his
warnings, that there will be an awakening and that they will leave the "elementary
doctrines", the milk, and go on to maturity, and progress in their growth toward
the fundamental doctrines of the church. Here he lists six of them:
- Repentance from dead works. These could have been the
works of unsaved people, or works that were not properly
motivated.
- Growth in faith. This is a big part of spiritual maturity.
Repentance and faith go hand in hand, one cannot exist
without the other.
- Baptism of the Spirit. (ablution) Washed in the water of
spirit. This is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit the
promotes spiritual growth and enlightens our minds.
It also makes us aware of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
- The laying on of hands. This was the way the early church
indicated their reception of members into the "body of
Christ".
Matthew Henry says that once the first four fundamental doctrines have been
understood and acted upon, they never need to be done again. The ability to do
these is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8) From this point on, we need to exercise the
willingness to grow spiritually.
- The fifth fundamental doctrine of the church is the
"resurrection of the believer". This doctrine declares
that at the "Second Coming" of the Lord, the bodies of
those who have died in Christ, will be resurrected and
united with their souls that had gone on to be with the
Lord.
- The sixth and last doctrine deals with the "judgment".
Everyone will be judged according to what they have done
with Christ. The lost, those who have rejected Him, will
be sent to everlasting punishment, the saved, those who have
accepted Christ, to eternal life with the Lord.
These are the six fundamental doctrines of the Christian Church. The Author says
that they are basic and that every Christian should know and believe them, "and
this we will do," the Author says, "if God permits." Thus the Author, with that
last statement, establishes the Calvinistic doctrine of complete dependence upon
God, not only for salvation, but also for spiritual growth.
Now lets get into verse 4, which seems to substantiate Apostasy. "For it is
impossible to restore again to repentance, those who have once been enlightened,
who have tasted the heavenly gift, and who have become partakers of the Holy
Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God, and the powers of the age
to come, if they then commit apostasy." (RSV). Who are these people who appear
to have fallen out of Grace?
Lets examine them as the Author describes them.
- They have been "enlightened". This does not refer to the
enlightenment of the Holy Sprit. It is earthly enlightenment.
An intellectual understanding of the Bible and the fundamental
principles of Christianity. A good case in point was Balaam
whose eyes were opened (Num. 24:3) and yet, with his eyes opened,
he went down into utter darkness.
- They have tasted the heavenly gift. Having a experience of religion,
Tasting it, they seem to like it, desiring it, on their own terms.
- They have become partakers of the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote in one
of his letters of those who were witnessing in Corinth and elsewhere
and were actually leading some to Christ. They were doing this
"out of envy and strife" and their dislike of Paul, but never the
less, the Holy Spirit was using them to accomplish His work. So
Paul did not object to them even though their motives and calling
was false. A lot of good work is done by those who do not know
the Lord.
- They have tasted the goodness of the Word of God. They have some
knowledge of God's Word, but Paul says that they deny the power
of it. They hear it, they like it, they talk well of it, but
never become cast into its mould, nor have it dwelling richly
in them.
- The may have tasted the power of the world to come. They knew and
understood the blessings of Heaven and the punishment of Hell,
but do not know the One who will judge where they will go in
the world to come.
It is the experience of most ministers that it is next to impossible to convince
people like this of their need of a conversion experience. They have convinced
themselves that their knowledge, or their works, or their church membership is all
that is necessary to obtain for them eternal life. This attitude is apostasy. It
says that Christ died in vain, that it was not necessary for him to have been
crucified when "good works" on the part of the believer could do the same thing.
Please observe the following deductions:
- This warning is given to those who were never truly converted.
Who never truly accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Those, who for one reason or another, have found the fellowship
of believers a good place to be.
- This warning does not, in any way, support the belief of Apostates
that true believers can fall out of Grace. While even true
believers may, at times, back slide, they do not loose their
salvation, but may very well, loose the Joy of their salvation.
Salvation is a gift of God, purchased by Him and given to believers
as a gift apart from works. He who is able to save us is able to
keep us, often in spite of ourselves. So Saints do fail and may
do so frequently, but they never fall totally away from God.
What then, is the source of our security? It is the purpose
and power of God. The purchase and the prayer of Christ, the
promise of the Gospel, the everlasting covenant of God, the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the unerring nature of God's
Word.
- The Warning is given to those who cannot claim these securities.
Those who have not been "called", those who have only a "form"
of religion, whose salvation is based upon themselves and what
they can do.
Notice their sin and the judgment of it. They are guilty of crucifying Christ
twice. We who believe that Christ's death on the cross was sufficient payment for
our sins, accept His salvation as a gift for eternity. Those who believe they are
working for their salvation, may not even realize it, but they are saying that His
death was not sufficient to purchase salvation for them, therefore, they seem to
think that they need to do some to obtain or deserve it. This is apostasy. These
people, according to the Author, "hold Christ up to contempt", by belittling the
sacrifice of the cross.
For this apostasy, it is impossible for them to ever be brought to the point of
repentance again. Why? Either their pride, or their ignorance or the fact that
the Holy Spirit will not strive with them again. There a very few cases where
people have come that far in their approach to Christ and then admitted that they
never knew Him. Therefore, Verse 8 says, "Their end is to be burned." Apostasy
will be punished with everlasting fire.
Thus having gotten them to take a good look at themselves, and surly shook them up
a bit, he now attempts to excite their hopes. Verse 9, "In your case Beloved, we
feel sure of better things." The Author had just warned them of how it could be
for those who "paraded" as Christians, now he assures them that he believes that
they are not like that, but are heirs to better things, things that are reserved
for those who are truly saved. When we see the evidence of salvation in people we
should encourage them and assure them of position with God.
Notice how the Author does this:
- By reminding them that God will not overlook their work of love.
Works motivated out of love are pleasing to the Lord.
- By encouraging them to lay hold to the joy of their salvation.
Those who are assured of their salvation and the impossibility
of loosing it, can truly know the full joy of it.
Then the Author proceeds to tell them that those who have the assurance of their
salvation, will do two things:
- They will be enthusiastic, not self satisfied and constantly
seeking out opportunities for service and witness.
- They will seek out good examples to follow. This is not only
good advice for those who are seeking out their assurance but
it is also good advice for those who are assured of their
salvation and are looking for ways to show this to others
and they can find those ways by looking at the lives of others.
Then the Author closes the chapter with a clear account of the "assured truth" of
God's promises. Notice the Author uses an example that the Hebrews could
understand because they were familiar with it.
- God assured Abraham of His covenant and Abraham, by being
patient, obtained the promise.
- God's word is always true, what ever He says, He will do.
Blessed assurance is a covenant with the believer. Like
Abraham, we can obtain this by patience. Verse 19 says,
"We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor." This is
assured because, "Jesus has entered into the inner shrine,
behind the curtain." This "inner shrine" is a parallel
to the Holy of Holies which laid in the Temple behind the
veil (curtain). It was accessible only to the Priests
who entered for the atonement of the people. In Christ,
we have an atonement, His inner shrine is the Thrown Room
of God. He is now our High Priest, after the order of
Melchizedek.
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