Can a Believer Lose His Salvation?

Part II

Hebrews 6:1-8

March 4, 2001

 

Warnings have varying effects upon intended audiences. If we are warned not to remove a contents tag from a pillow, we take it lightly. Comedians have made much of these little warning tags. Only small children, just able to read, seem to find any seriousness in pillow tags. But if we are warned that our home is in the path of a tornado, we take action to protect ourselves. We've all witnessed in some fashion the devastation of tornadoes, as they rip through buildings as though they were made of cardboard. Removing a pillow tag has no consequences. But tornadoes can change everything about our lives. The reality behind the warning is what gets our attention.

 

In the case of our text, the warning about falling away from the gospel is eternally serious because God has spoken. The writer was not taking up space or trying to offer conjectures. He writes with anguish of soul, realizing that some 

hearing his letter read might very well be in danger of the things he is expounding.

 

But offering warnings are nothing new in either Scripture or pulpits. It has been happening for thousands of years with varying response. Unless a person has high regard for the Word of God and a reverence toward God as Judge, then he will look the other way when being warned of eternal loss. He will think that the warning has no application in his own life, only for those in worse condition spiritually. But the truth is that this text serves as a warning for all of us. It is not just for the 1st century audience living so close to the beginning of the advent of gospel ministry. It is also for us, who are surrounded by opportunities to hear, read, and partake of the gospel, yet there are multitudes that look the other way rather than heed the call to Christ.

 

Not everyone in this ancient church was heading toward judgment. The writer is "convinced of better things concerning" his hearers, so why does he offer such sobering warnings? There are at least four reasons:

(1) The reality of God's judgment is an undeniable fact of Scripture. I realize that there are clever ideas about us to deny this truth, but to do so is to deny God himself.

 

(2) The danger of false professions of Christ is multiplied every week as hundreds unite with churches without first being regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Their identity is with a church externally rather that with Christ. Their affections have never shifted from the world to Christ in repentance and faith. Yet most of this number is complacent about their need for salvation.

 

(3) The need for developing serious thinking about our Christianity helps us to see that for the believer, Jesus Christ has no rival. The Christian's affections are fixed upon Christ. Misplaced affections bring questions about the reality of our faith.

 

(4) To encourage us in the pursuit of maturity, the writer couples his exhortation to maturity with a warning of falling away. There can be no middle ground for the believer. He is either pressing on to maturity or falling away as a false believer.

So was our biblical writer dealing in mere hyperbole or was it stark reality? Our text answers this question forcefully. Can a believer lose his salvation? Let us seek to understand the warning clearly set before us.

 

I. A warning against apostasy

 

Some commentators and students of this text suggest that the pastoral writer was using hyperbole in his warning. He is not really serious about people actually falling away. But he is conjecturing that if it could happen then it would be impossible to renew those individuals unto repentance. I think we must reject such an interpretation because it does injustice to the text. For one, it would have been cruel on the part of this pastor to give them suppositions when they were in the midst of trials and opposition. He would be guilty of playing mind games and manipulating them. For another reason, he continues his warnings throughout the entire epistle. Do we reject those warnings as mere hyperbole as well? To do so is to toss aside critical warnings that are meant to keep us assured of our faith and pressing on to maturity. He is really concerned about the happiness of these Christians as well as their seriousness in the faith.

 

C. S. Lewis wrote, "There is a kind of happiness and wonder that makes you serious." That seems to be the aim of this writer. On one hand he wants them to know the incredible happiness of being assured of their salvation; but he wants this to take place within the framework of seriousness. John Piper adds, "It seems to me that the book of Hebrews has a special way of making us serious. It is a very sobering book. It is not a sad book. But it is a serious book. If you hear what it says, it blows away glib, trite, trivial attitudes about life. It does this not to make us sad, but to make us unshakably happy in God (see 10:34; 12:2; 13:17)" [www.soundofgrace.com/piper96/10-13-96.htm].

 

So what kind of people does this book address? He has been hearing of possible defectors from the faith living among that small band of Christians, so the pastoral writer intends to get their attention; to warn them before they go too far so that there is no turning back from their inevitable destruction.

 

We might think that we can shut our minds down at this kind of warning, thinking that it has no application to us. The only reason to do this is if you have a misunderstanding of the perseverance of the saints. We are told to persevere, endure, hold fast, and be steadfast. Never are we told to rest on our laurels as professing Christians. Never are we told to find security in a decision we made years before. Rather assurance is found as we press forward in the Christian life. Assurance is ongoing. And there is the danger that some among us might fall into the category of which the ancient audience was warned. At present, things look okay. We talk about Christ, the faith, and join in worship. But what if someone among us removes himself from the fellowship of believers, the worship of our God, the disciplines of the Christian life, and really wants nothing to do with Christianity. Is this person just a backslider who will get back on track in due time? We would certainly hope this might be the case. Or is that person a fallen believer who has lost his salvation? Can this be possible? Or is he someone who is exposed over time as a false professor of Christ?

 

1. So close

 

The description in verses 4-5 present the picture of a person that has been so close to the Christian faith in every way that you would almost guarantee that he was a believer. Notice the description: "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, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come." Those who believe that Christians can lose their salvation insist that each of these experiences describes someone who is clearly a Christian. But to believe this is to contradict not only the breadth of Holy Scripture but also the truths set forth in this epistle. For instance, in 3:14 the tense of the verb, "we have become partakers of Christ," demonstrates something that has already taken place (rather than taking place in the future) and will surely be evidenced by perseverance ("if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end"). In other words, those who are in Christ will assuredly persevere. That is the best evidence of real faith in Christ.

 

A parallel text follows in 6:9 where he writes, "But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way." He had just warned them of apostasy, but quickly adds that he does not think that any of them are apostates, and he asserts, there are certain things that will definitely accompany your salvation-again, perseverance is the evidence of faith.

 

In the grand statement of 10:14, the writer insists that those for whom the atoning death of Christ justified (a past, completed act) are also being sanctified (a present, ongoing action). "For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." If justification has taken place, then sanctification is also taking place.

 

So is this writer talking out of both sides of his mouth? Can he give them assurance that the work of Christ applied by faith to their lives is a certainty for eternity, then turn around in our text and tell them that they can lose their salvation? It is obvious that he cannot do this. But what does he mean in the description of these verses?

 

"For in the case of those who have one been enlightened," speaks of those who have been under the influence of the preaching and teaching of the gospel. They are no longer in the dark in their understanding. They have heard the revelation concerning the person of Jesus Christ and the reason for his death and resurrection. John Brown explains, "A person is enlightened on any subject on which he possesses information. An unenlightened man is an ignorant man; an enlightened man is a well-informed man" [The Epistle to the Hebrews, 284]. This may be the person who was brought up in a Christian home and heard his parents talking of the gospel. He may have even been catechized concerning gospel truths and joined in talk of the gospel during Sunday School. There are no questions concerning the bare truths of the gospel. He knows them.

 

But the description intensifies: "and have tasted of the heavenly gift." Not only is this person's knowledge of the gospel clear, but he also knows something of the experience of the Christian faith. He has been around Christians. He has joined in the wonder of the people of God worshiping, praying, singing, and fellowshipping. He has felt the presence of the Lord among the people of God and perhaps has even felt something himself that gave rise to thoughts of being a Christian. He may have gone so far as to profess to be a Christian, having had wonderful experiences around believers.

 

I cannot help but think of the dozens of young people who professed faith in Christ within a two or three-year period thirty years ago in my home area. Some have gone on in faithfulness to Jesus Christ, giving evidence of a faith that perseveres. But there are others who made a great showing in a "youth revival" or "testimony meeting" or church service that lasted for a few weeks or months, but that was all. They would give testimonies at meetings and plead with others to be saved. But one by one they faded from the scene, stepping back into the world, and turning their backs on the gospel of Christ. I would submit to you, on the basis of this text, and now evidenced in practical experience, that you can get further talking to a Muslim or animist than one of these who has turned away in spite of having "tasted of the heavenly gift."

 

In addition he writes that they "have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit." This phrase more than the others seems to imply salvation. But the implication is that they had some experience beyond the "common" working of the Holy Spirit, yet an experience that stopped short of regeneration. For instance, Simon Magus in Samaria was involved in the wondrous working of the Holy Spirit in that city. He saw and perhaps even experienced, miraculous works of the Spirit, so much so that he wanted to buy the power of the Spirit for his own use! In this sense he was a "partaker of the Holy Spirit" without being a true believer (see Acts 8).

 

Next the writer goes back to tasting: "and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come." The "good word of God" is an obvious reference to the gospel. I think this suggests that some who fall away might even be Bible students! They have read the Old Testament prophecies concerning Jesus Christ and traced their fulfillments in the New Testament. They have seen the consistency of God's Word and marveled at how "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself." They have caught a glimpse of "the powers of the age to come," that we are standing on the edge of eternity that will be filled with the wondrous revelation and experience of God's eternal power manifest in his kingdom. They have comprehended something of divine judgment to come as well as eternal blessing in Christ.

 

2. Impossible repentance

 

Can you get any closer to being a Christian and not be one than you can see described in this text? These persons have grasped the bare truths of the gospel, felt something of the presence of Christ, known in a personal way the miraculous working of the Spirit, virtually sampled the realities of the gospel, and comprehended eternity. And then what happens? "And then have fallen away," implies that it was all for naught. For they, by their own action and desire, have turned away from Christ with such decisiveness that "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." This is not a bump in the road, a few days of struggle and doubt. It is not even a year of wrestling with faith in Christ. It is an open, defiant, decisive turning away from Jesus Christ. It is a callous rejection of the gospel. It is turning away when one knows better. John Brown explains it clearly.

This does not consist in an occasional falling into actual sin, however gross and aggravated; nor in the renunciation of some of the principles of Christianity, even though these should be of considerable importance; but in an open, total, determined renunciation of all the constituent principles of Christianity, and a return to a false religion, such as that of unbelieving Jews or heathens, or to determined infidelity and open ungodliness [289].

Is repentance out of the question? I would insist that nothing is beyond the power of God! But what the text implies is that there is absolutely no ability or desire to repent and trust in Christ on the part of the apostate. Instead he has joined hands and minds with those who crucified Jesus Christ. He is so filled with animosity for the gospel, so against the gospel, that he would have been chanting, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" He would have joined the mob, pushing Jesus Christ to the cross. He would have gladly grabbed the mallet from the Roman soldier's hand and driven the iron spikes into the wrists and feet of Jesus. He would have been part of those who jeered and cursed and mocked the dying Lamb of God. Even though he has been exposed to the gospel and has tasted something of its wonder and power, he would gladly join in crucifying Christ again. John Piper hits this squarely.

It is one thing for a stranger to the faith to resist Christ. But it is another thing for a person who has been in the church and has been enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift and become a partaker of the Holy Spirit and tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the age to come-it's another thing for that person to say after all those blessings and all those experiences: I think what the world offers is better that this. That is a re-crucifying of Jesus a putting him to public shame worse than any outsider could, who never tasted the truth [Piper, p. 2].

"But I would never do something like this!" Here is the danger: we have deceitful hearts that are capable of any sin imaginable. The ones described in verses 4-5 would not have thought themselves possible candidates of apostasy. They would have argued with you if you had even hinted at the idea. But it happened. Here is the stark reality of the author's warning: you are either pressing on in maturity as a believer or you are in danger of having tasted the gospel yet turning away in callous rejection as an apostate.

 

II. A picture for clarity

 

This text has troubled many interpreters through the years. And if we stop at the end of verse 6 then I can understand why! But the little word picture offered in verses 7-8 open the truth of this text for all eyes to see. "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; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned."

 

1. Same rain

 

The picture sets out two different plots of ground, maybe even side by side. The "rain which often falls" on the two plots of ground is not different rain on different soil. It is of the same nature. It is the same rain, which in this context is clearly the revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the very truths that the writer has described in verses 4-5 that have dispelled the darkness concerning Christ, salvation, and eternity. Both plots (individuals) are on the receiving end of knowledge and experience that can lead to salvation. Both have heard the truth of the gospel that must be received by repentance from sin and faith in Christ.

 

While one plot of ground received the gospel truth in faith, the other was what we might call a "gospel sampler." These are individuals who listen to sermons or hear Bible studies and maybe even participate, but they are not serious about responding to the gospel. They are out to increase their knowledge and seemingly "toy" with the gospel. But the gospel heard must have an obedient response. Paul wrote to the Romans, "But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed" (Rom. 6:17). The teaching of the gospel was heard and believed. It was not simply "tasted" as though one can "try Jesus" in the same way you test-drive a new automobile. Something happened in their hearts. Their faith was more than mere head knowledge; it was a faith that ushered forth in obedience. It was a faith that decisively committed heart, soul, and life to Jesus Christ.

 

2. Different fruit

 

The rain falls on two different plots of ground. The rain that waters a luscious garden also waters a thorn patch. Some hear the gospel and responds, thus producing the fruit of a new creation: "and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God." Just as Jesus described in the parable of the sower, the one upon whom the seed of the gospel finds an obedient reception produces fruit, "some thirty, some sixty, and others a hundred-fold." That is precisely what is happening in perseverance. Fruit is being produced (see Matthew 13). 

 

Others hear the gospel, but reject its message, producing "thorns and thistles." Both received the benefit of the rain. One responded while the other rejected the gospel. And the evidence is that "it yields thorns and thistles." Later this writer offers an exhortation then gives an example of what he is speaking of (12:14-17):

Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See 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; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For 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.

 

The exhortation is that if there is not a pursuit of holiness in one's life it is because there is no salvation. And like Esau who wanted the blessing without the obedience, such a life is "worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned."

 

"The issue of apostasy," writes Piper, "is not primarily doctrinal, but practical." It is not that the apostate does not know the gospel or does not have opportunity for repentance and faith. It is not that God is unfair to him. But though he knows the gospel, he turns away from it, refusing to obey, refusing to commit himself to Christ alone. He prefers the enticements of the world to the joy found in Christ. He would rather please himself than to pursue holiness. He would rather take his chances with eternity than to heed the ample warnings of God [www.soundofgrace.com/piper88/pipe0018/htm].

 

Conclusion

 

How far can you go before becoming an apostate? I cannot answer that question. But I can heed the warning and make sure that I do not drift down the river of rebellion and disobedience that leads to apostasy. Can a believer lose his salvation?--absolutely not, if one is truly in Christ. But can you presume to be a believer if you have no interest in pressing on to maturity? This is the danger of apostasy.

 

Are you pressing on to maturity or are you in danger of falling away from the gospel and any opportunity to ever know Christ as your Redeemer?

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