Can a Believer Lose His Salvation?

Part I

Hebrews 6:1-8

February 25, 2001

 

The church houses a mixed bag. Like a box of assorted delicacies, the church is filled with varying personalities, gifts, interests, and levels of maturity. But assortment is not a problem; it is natural in the dynamic of the body of Christ. The problem arises when the assortment is of a different nature than all the rest. An assortment of different chocolates works well, but if you add a jalapeno pepper to the mixture you realize how distinctly different is the nature of the pepper compared to the chocolates. Differing personalities and gifts within the church are expected; different natures are not.

 

For centuries Christian leaders have sought to have a regenerate church membership. This theme characterized the early Baptist leaders who had witnessed the confusion of what constitutes a Christian due to the majority who were born into the state church, some of whom later apostatized. Yet the predicament was not new. Even the early church suffered with apostate members. We need only think of Simon Magus in Samaria or Judas Iscariot or Paul's companion, Demas, to realize that the early church struggled at this point. The Epistle to the Hebrews clearly warns of the problem of apostasy.

 

But when someone uses the word "apostasy" we wonder exactly what is meant by the term. If one comes from an Arminian theological tradition, apostasy implies that one loses his salvation. In the Five Arminian Articles, it is supposed that, "no craft or power of Satan, can" mislead or pluck the believer out of Christ's hands. However, the article goes on to question whether the Scripture teaches that the believer can himself, through negligence or a return to the world, lose his salvation. The implication is that he possibly can; and the followers of this theological tradition through the centuries have insisted that true believers can become unbelievers through their own negligence [Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, 548-549, vol. III].

 

However, if one comes from a reformed/Calvinistic tradition, then apostasy implies a falling away of one who appeared to be a Christian but over time was proven to be unregenerate. Typically, the text that is most tossed in the face of believers who hold convictions that a true Christian can never be lost is the very one of our text. Does Hebrews 6 teach that a believer can lose his salvation?

 

In both theological traditions there is a falling away. None of us should duck this issue as though we are afraid to investigate what the Bible has to say about it. We must never hold a view just for the sake of tradition when it clearly contradicts Scripture. For certain, the Scripture cannot speak affirmatively of both views! So it is necessary to not only consider a given text on the subject but also to keep in mind the whole of Scripture. The weight of Scripture clearly rests in favor of true salvation being eternal-it is even called eternal life-rather than something that you are in one day and out the next.

 

Maybe the question, "Can a believer lose his salvation," is not the most accurate as we consider our text. Perhaps it could be put, "How close can one come to being a Christian without being a Christian?" Within a single paragraph, the writer exhorts one group while warning another. Christians are to mature. Hypocrites face eternal danger. Both must see the seriousness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our writer also firmly removes the complacency of those who hide behind this doctrine of the believer's security while continuing a lifestyle that is anything but Christian. It calls for Christians to act like Christians, to press on into maturity, while exposing those who masquerade as saints. Where does this text apply in your life?

 

I. An encouragement toward maturity  

 

Hebrews is known for its warnings. They flow from one chapter to the next. But as we have already noted, this epistle is not a sledgehammer used for pounding a church, but it is a tender, compassionate pastoral letter. It breathes the air of discernment coupled with forthright instruction. Such is the case of our text.

 

The pastoral writer has just told this church that many of their number were "dull of hearing" and were in need for someone to again teach them "the elementary principles of the oracles of God"-the basics of the faith. He explains that what they need is to get off of the milk diet and begin to satisfy themselves on the "solid food" of the Word. To do so involves not only ongoing study of the Word but practicing and applying it to daily life. In this sort of process the believer has his "senses trained to discern good and evil."

 

With this as the motivation, our writer now exhorts these scraggly believers to move on into spiritual maturity. It is not only their privilege, but it is a necessity. They cannot content themselves with passivity and neglect. There's no room for this in the faith. And so he tells them, "Let us press on to maturity."

 

Perhaps we need to clear the air about "maturity" before going further. The word is the same basic root used throughout the epistle and in 5:14. We might even add that the theme of Hebrews is "going on into maturity," as some have expressed it. But does this imply some sort of elite status in the Christian life that few attain? I have often heard people express that they could never be spiritually mature because of its apparent impossibilities. They have therefore sloughed off the exhortations to maturity and thought that such talk did not apply to them. But let us keep in mind our 1st century audience. They were not highly schooled in the Christian faith; none of them had professional seminary degrees (as though that would qualify you for maturity!). The writer has just characterized their being babyish in development and in the same breath has no hesitation to exhort them on to maturity. So if you have been using some kind of excuse for developing in spiritual maturity, this passage undermines your argument! It leaves no room for believers to piddle in the faith and muddle along in spiritual immaturity.

 

The word used can be translated "perfect" or "perfection," which in our normal use means that there is no more room for growth or improvement. We naturally run from the idea of "perfection." In this sense, perfection can only be applied to God who has no capacity for improvement or growth. But for us, "maturity" is a growth in the direction of completing the course set before us in the new birth. We are saved to be like Christ in our attitudes, thoughts and actions. None of us, like Paul, can claim to have arrived! But the sign of maturity is that we have made progress toward that goal from where we started (e.g., Philippians 3:1-16).

 

In the physical realm, we might comment on a mature ten-year old. We do not mean that the ten-year old has completely developed in mind and body so that there is no room for improvement, but that he or she has advanced in growth to display characteristics of thinking and acting like an adult. It is not that the ten-year old always does this, but that is the inclination or direction of that particular child. We also would not say that the ten-year old has the same maturity level as a 40-year old. They are in different phases of maturity, yet both are maturing. So when we speak of maturing as a Christian, we are not identifying a set, defined standard that is equal across the board. But we are insisting that in spiritual maturity we are moving toward the goal of Christ being formed in us (Galatians 4:19). Some are further along the way than others in the process. Yet all believers are to be moving in that direction of spiritual maturity, so that the world about us and even our fellow believers can see the evidence of Jesus Christ abiding in us.

 

1. Cooperative effort  

 

Spiritual maturity is not to be a lonely road for the Christian. I realize that it happens like this at times, but that is not to be the normal process. "Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity." The use of the plural, "let us," helps us to grasp that growth in grace is to be a church-affair. All of us are to be joining hands, exhorting one another, stimulating faithfulness in one another in the goal of spiritual growth. This writer included himself, "let us press on to maturity." Though he was the pastoral instructor for the struggling congregation he realized that he too was on the road to spiritual maturity. He too must continue making progress in the faith. And he wanted these believers to join him on the journey.

 

As several of our men met for prayer this week, we were talking about the nature of the church. One thing we discussed were the many instances in the New Testament in which Christians are exhorted to action on behalf of others. We are told to "love one another," "encourage one another," "stimulate one another to love and good deeds," "admonish one another," etc. All of these express a sense of responsibility we must have for each other in the journey of spiritual maturity. In light of this, it is important that each of us search our hearts to consider what we are doing to help others in the church grow in spiritual maturity.

 

We might feel a sense of inadequacy in helping others grow spiritually. This passage alleviates the fear when we consider that we are never alone in the process. The verb phrase's voice, "let us press on to maturity," is known as a divine passive. This means that while we think of the work we do to press on in spiritual maturity, there is the invisible hand of God at work. The passage can be more clearly translated, "let us be carried along [by God] to maturity." It is reminiscent of Paul's helpful word about sanctification given to the Philippians, "For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (2:13). It is not that we fold our hands and wait for God to do all the work! Rather God is working to bring us into maturity. He is affecting our wills and providing grace enough to work, while at the same time we are exercising our minds, wills, and energies in the task of spiritual growth. It is a cooperative effort. We are taking action while submitting to the will and working of God.

 

What is the Lord working in your life? Have there been some spiritual promptings lately that you have ignored or stuffed or just plainly turned away from? What has He been directing your attention on lately in the Word of God? Have there been passages that have spoken to you and pointed you in the direction of specific application? Have you obeyed the Lord in these things? Have there been circumstances in your life that have been designed by the Lord to teach you his grace, to refine your spiritual development, to help you learn greater dependence upon Him?

 

This writer is instructing us that we are to travel together in spiritual maturity, knowing that the Lord is the one who ultimately is leading and instigating the process. He is carrying us along. He knows our weaknesses (4:15) and therefore has taken on the responsibility of bringing us into maturity. The closing benediction of this epistle really describes what the Lord is doing in the form of a prayer-wish:

Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen (13:20-21).


2. Beyond the basics  

 

How could these believers "press on to maturity"? Keep in mind that they were in the midst of facing persecution and threats concerning their faith in Christ. Life was not easy. Distractions were plentiful. They had concerns for their health, safety, and future. If they were like most Jews in that era, they struggled to make ends meet, a struggle that we cannot even begin to imagine in our society. Some of them had been thrown in prison for their faith in Christ. Some would face prison; maybe even death. Was this pastoral writer being unreasonable? He was asking, even exhorting them, to go beyond where they were spiritually; to move away from the dullness and complacency that characterized so many of them. It would require changes on their part, in their routines, their conversations, their disciplines, and their relationships. It meant they would have to change their thinking and maybe even some of their beliefs if they were going to press on to maturity.

 

Maybe you can identify. You hear this exhortation to spiritual maturity, but a barrage of excuses comes to mind. Your life is very busy. You have other things to do besides devoting excessive attention to your spiritual life. Perhaps that is why this writer couples the exhortation to spiritual maturity with the warning against apostasy. And maybe this is why he counsels them-and us, to "take care," "fear," and "be diligent" in light of the gospel of Christ and the nature of true conversion. He does not leave wiggle room for complacency. For the danger of those who ignore calls for spiritual growth and maturity just might be apostasy. They are not there. Certainly, not yet. Hopefully, never! But the reality of what he has been setting before this church is that true Christianity must be nurtured, developed, and given priority in the believer. The deceit of the human heart, even in the professing believer, is scary! So "press on to maturity." Cast aside the entrenched excuses and "press on to maturity."

 

To do so requires some changes. There are things that we are comfortable with in our thinking and level of Christianity. There are other things that we might not want to hear about. We may prefer staying at an elementary level. That is where these believers appeared to be. So they are told, "Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity." As we have already seen in a previous study, this writer had no cause to denigrate the basics of the Christian faith. The basics are foundational. Everything else is built upon a right understanding of the gospel of Christ and the basic revelation concerning Christ. These truths introduced them to Christ in the first place. We can translate this as, "Therefore leaving the beginnings of the word of the Christ," which demonstrates that he is talking about the introductory matters of the gospel. "Leaving" is not the same as abandoning, rather "the beginning is not a stopping place: it is the door to progress and the springboard to achievement" [P. Hughes, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 195]. They were to progress beyond simply repeating their "ABCs."

 

When I was a first-year Greek student in college, we would recite the Greek alphabet each day for a while. But the time came to get beyond alpha-beta-gamma and on to using the alphabet in understanding and constructing words. I must admit that I would gladly have preferred to just repeat the alphabet rather than facing the tests and demands of learning the language! It was much easier to repeat the ABCs than to do something with the ABCs. Maybe that is where you find yourself in the Christian life. The ABCs are comfortable and familiar. You can handle hearing them and repeating them over and over. You have applied them adequately and feel no great pains to do more with them. So you stay with the ABCs. But when you get beyond this you balk. And why does this happen? Because you are being stretched, re-shaped, honed, purified, and transformed. The process is difficult; but the product is glorious.

 

To help these Jewish Christians, our writer identifies what he means by "the elementary teaching about the Christ," or the ABCs: "not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment." You might have noticed that there are three sets of twos the writer couples. Kent Hughes helpfully points out that the writer addresses the basics of soteriology-teaching on salvation, pneumatology-teaching on the Spirit, and eschatology-teaching regarding last things [Hebrews: An Anchor for the Soul, vol. 1, 154-155]. These were the basic truths that the Lord used to introduce them to the Christian faith. What are we to make of these things?

 

"Repentance from dead works," in a Jewish context, points to attempts to adhere to the Law as a means of self-justification before God. It is man's attempt to save himself through his own efforts. But the gospel of Christ undermines any attempts to do so! For the gospel exposes the weakness of our efforts against the righteousness in the moral law of God. It exposes our hearts, with all the blackness of sin. And the gospel calls for our repentance, changing our minds about being able to save ourselves, changing our minds about our rebellion against God, and turning from our sin. It is true that as Christians we are to go on practicing repentance on a daily basis. But this is only after the initial repentance, when we decisively turn from our sin and rebellion against God and turn to Christ. Conversion is the act of repenting of sins and turning in faith to God through his revelation in Christ. So he speaks also of the basics of "faith toward God." While repentance is the negative part of conversion, faith is the positive side. This epistle teaches that faith is to be an ongoing part of the believer's life, but only after the initial embracing of Jesus Christ and the sufficiency of his work on the cross. Paul taught "repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" to the Ephesians as the elementary foundation of their conversion (Acts 20:21). Even so this writer states that repentance and faith are the basics that need not be rebuilt but stood upon as adequate for eternity.  

 

"Instruction about washings and laying on of hands" are a bit more difficult to grasp in our context. But in a Jewish context they were likely references to the Jewish cleansing rites that prefigured the cleansing that Christ would accomplish permanently. This gave them a healthy appreciation for the New Testament teaching regarding baptism and its central position in expressing the believer's faith publicly. "Laying on of hands" was also typically Jewish, though we have retained some of this in our own practices. Leon Morris points out that the widespread use of "laying on of hands" was found in doing so with new converts (Acts 8:17), on new elders (I Tim. 4:14), on commissioning believers for ministry and the beginning of Christian service (Acts 13:1-3) [EBC, 53]. As they grasped something of their customary, "Old Testament" background, they were led to faith in Christ who fulfilled the demands of the law on their behalf. They understood the meaning in their historical context of these practices and applied them to the rudiments of the gospel and early Christian practice. To our writer, these were still ABCs.

 

"The resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment" gave cause to looking ahead and evaluating one's standing with God. What would happen beyond this life? Though there are surely some deep issues related to this, these believers were looking at the rudiments: there is a resurrection (just as the Gospels and Paul affirmed so clearly in I Corinthians 15) and beyond this life, eternal judgment. To understand this is to call us into accountability, that every person must face death; and every person must face judgment. It is these realities that have awakened the slumbering to see their sin and the need for repentance and faith in Christ. But, again, this is basic.

 

With these elementary issues as foundational, our writer instructs, "let us press on to maturity." He is not tossing out any of what they have learned or applied. Instead he is saying that there is more. You've had a good beginning in the Christian life. Now keep going on to maturity in your knowledge and application of divine truth.

 

We might put some other things on our basic list, but this one is pretty clear. I think we have a handle on the essential need for repentance and faith. We see baptism as the entr�e into the Christian community, our identification with the body and with Christ. We have perhaps participated in laying hands on someone while praying, or at the very minimum, holding another's hand while praying for their needs or joining them in Christian service. We've accepted the clear truths that this life is not all there is; a resurrection of the dead-righteous and unrighteous-awaits the end of this life; and beyond that is eternal judgment. These are the ABCs that have laid a good foundation for us. But, as in the case of the author's teaching concerning Christ as high priest according to the order of Melchizedek, there is much more to understand and apply.

 

3. Pursuit without presumption

 

And so the question must be asked of each one among us who claims to know Christ, "Are you pressing on to maturity?" Are you moving beyond the basics, the ABCs, to a fuller, richer, deeper, more expansive, more consistent, dependable, and joyous Christian life? The writer believed that his audience would join him; and I believe the same thing. So we confess together in regard to spiritual growth into maturity, "And this we will do, if God permits."

 

Why does the author add the if-clause? He recognizes that all spiritual growth into maturity comes by God's grace alone. It is not because we are enrolled in the right programs or excel others in diligence. There's nothing wrong with those things. But spiritual maturity comes at the pleasure of God. It is only as he wills and works in us that we can "press on to maturity." John Piper is right in saying, God "has final say in whether we overcome our bent to sinning and make progress toward maturity. We will press on to maturity if God permits it. That is, we will make progress in our sanctification and holiness if God permits it. He decides ultimately if and how fast we advance in holiness" [www.soundofgrace.com/pier96/10-06-96.htm].

 

But we might react to this and falsely accuse God of hindering our good intentions for spiritual growth. My brethren, the fact that we have any inkling of desire for growth is because God put it there! In this we must rejoice. We can pursue spiritual growth, but not with presumption as though it comes about apart from healthy doses of grace, along with encouragement from the body of Christ.

 

The writer was not making this statement with reluctance but with rest. He rested in the sovereign goodness and mercy of the Lord toward his children. He just wanted to acknowledge it and remind these struggling believers who faced almost insurmountable odds in their growth, that there is a God in heaven who permits our growth. Upon him we rest our confidence in the spiritual journey.

 

Conclusion to part I

 

All of this teaching on spiritual maturity takes place in a context of warning against apostasy. We will reserve that portion in our next study on the text. But in doing so we must keep this firmly in mind: you are either making progress toward maturity or you are in danger of dullness, and worst yet, in danger of slipping away from Christ.

 

Spiritual maturity is not an option. It is our prerogative as believers. Are you making progress in spiritual maturity?

 

Part II-March 4, 2001


II. A warning against apostasy

            1. So close

            2. Impossible repentance

 

III. A picture for clarity

            1. Same rain

            2. Different rain  

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