Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV)
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.
~ Contributor: Adelene
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
24 Mar 10: Memory Verse
Friday, 2 April 2010
Will we lose our salvation?
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Brother Justin from Speedlight recommended this passage to me. I hope you will find it useful, just as I did. Be steadfast in your faith. I believe God will not short-change us and will reward us as He has promised.
Agape,
Fiona
Hebrews 6:4-6 and the Possibility of Apostasy
Sam Storms
Nov 7, 2006
Series: Eternal Security
This is undoubtedly one of the most controversial and frequently debated passages in all of Scripture. It would not be going too far to say that those who believe a genuine believer can forfeit (or lose) his/her salvation appeal to this passage more often than any other. Read the passage closely.
Who are these people 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, and then have fallen away”? It is important for us to know because “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.”
There are probably a dozen or more interpretive options of this passage that may be found in the commentaries and journal literature. It isn’t my purpose to interact with them here. Rather, I am focusing solely on the question of whether the terminology in vv. 4-5 would lead us to conclude that these individuals were born-again, justified, believers.
Are these born-again Christian men and women? If so, the doctrine of eternal security is shattered. Or is it possible for a person to experience some form of spiritual “enlightenment” and to “taste” spiritual blessings and to “partake” of the Holy Spirit and yet never know Jesus in a saving way? I believe the answer to this latter question is Yes. Let me begin by giving six reasons from the book of Hebrews itself why these people are not born-again believers who have apostatized.
First, the situation described in vv. 4-6 is illustrated in vv. 7-8. There we read, “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it [this drinking of frequent rains refers to the blessings of vv. 4-5: enlightenment, partaking of the HS, tasting spiritual blessings, etc.] 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 [this corresponds to the “falling away” of v. 6a], it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.”
Rain falls on all kinds of ground, but one cannot tell from that alone what kind of vegetation, if any, will appear. The picture here is not of ground that receives frequent rain, yields life and vegetation, and then loses it. The picture is of two different kinds of ground altogether. One responds to the rain [spiritual blessings and opportunities] by producing bountiful vegetation, while the other is barren, lifeless, and thus condemned. Likewise, people who hear the gospel and respond with saving faith bring forth life. Others, however, who sit in church and hear the truth and are blessed by the ministry of the HS but eventually turn their back on it all are like a field that never yields vegetation and thus comes into judgment.
As Wayne Grudem notes, “the idea of land that once bore good fruit and now bears thorns is not compatible with this picture. The implication is this: While the positive experiences listed in verses 4-6 do not provide us enough information to know whether the people were truly saved or not, the committing of apostasy and holding Christ up to contempt do reveal the true nature of those who fall away: all along they have been like bad ground that can only bear bad fruit. If the metaphor of the thorn-bearing land explains verses 4-6 (as it surely does), then their falling away shows that they were never saved in the first place” (“Perseverance of the Saints: A Case Study from Hebrews 6:4-6 and the Other Warning Passages in Hebrews,” in Still Sovereign, Baker; 156-57).
Second, in 6:9 we read of a significant contrast: “But beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking this way.” The “better things” in view are stated in vv. 10-12, things like “work” and “love” and “ministry” and “diligence” and “full assurance of hope” and “faith” and “patience” and “inheriting the promises.” These “things” are “better” than the experiences of vv. 4-6 precisely because they “belong to” or “accompany” salvation. In other words, “the author says he is confident that most of his readers have better things than the people he described in verses 4-6, and these things are better in that his readers also have things that belong to salvation. This implies that the blessings in verses 4-6 were not things that belong to salvation” (Grudem, 159).
Before going further, let’s summarize vv. 7-12. “Verses 7-8 describe the people in verses 4-6 as unfruitful land that repeatedly bears thorns and thistles, and thus indicate that they were never saved. Verses 9-12 say that the readers, in general, have better things than the temporary experiences of vv. 4-6, and that those better things include salvation. Therefore both verses 7-8 and verse 9 indicate that the people in verses 4-6 who fell away never had salvation” (Grudem, 160).]
Third, according to Hebrews 3:14 (and 3:6), “we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.” Note well: he says we “have become” partakers of Christ, not “will become” or “are now partakers,” if we persevere in faith. In other words, holding fast in faith, i.e., persevering, proves that you became a partaker of Christ in the past. Failing to hold fast, i.e., apostatizing from the faith, proves that you never were a partaker of Christ. Apostasy or falling away (6:6a) doesn’t mean you once were in and have now fallen out of partaking in Christ. It means you never were or never became a partaker in the first place.
Fourth, we read in Hebrews 10:14 that “by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” Here we are told that for those who are now being sanctified (i.e., indwelt by the HS, growing in holiness by faith) “the offering of Christ on the cross has perfected that person for all time. For all time! In other words to become a beneficiary of the perfecting, justifying work of Christ on the cross is to be perfected in the sight of God forever. This suggests that Hebrews 6:6 does not mean that those who re-crucify Christ were once really justified by the blood of Jesus and were really being sanctified in an inward spiritual sense” (John Piper, Sermon, 5).
Fifth, our author concludes this letter with a prayer relating to the fulfillment in us of the blessings of the New Covenant. He prays that God would “equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ” (13:20-21). The promise of the new and “eternal” covenant is that God will put in his people a new heart and cause them to walk in His ways and not turn away from doing them good (see Ezek. 11:19; 36:27; Jer. 24:7; 32:40). Thus, Piper concludes that “in verse 21 he says that it is not finally dependent on us whether we persevere in faith and bear fruit. It is finally dependent on God: He is working in us that which is pleasing in his sight. He is fulfilling the new covenant promise to preserve us. This means that Hebrews 6:6 would contradict the new covenant if it meant that people could be truly justified members of the new covenant and then commit apostasy and be rejected. That would mean that God did not fulfill his promise to ‘work in them what is pleasing in his sight.’ He would have broken his new covenant promise” (Piper, 5).
Sixth, we must take note not just of what is said of these people in vv. 4-6 but what is not said of them that is usually said of Christians. Typical terms used to describe believers, such as regeneration, conversion, justified, adopted, elect, faith in Jesus, are conspicuous by their absence. This is more than merely an argument from silence when we consider the way Christians are described in the book of Hebrews itself. Here is a listing of what is true of the true believer, all of which are absent from the description of those who apostatize in 6:4-6.
(1) God has forgiven their sins (10:17; 8:12)
(2) God has cleansed their consciences (9:14; 10:22)
(3) God has written his laws on their hearts (8:10; 10:16)
(4) God is producing holiness of life in them (2:11; 10:14; 13:21)
(5) God has given them an unshakable kingdom (12:28)
(6) God is pleased with them (chp. 11; 13:16,21)
(7) They have faith (4:3; 6:12; 10:22,38,39; 12:2; 13:7; etc.)
(8) They have hope (6:11,18; 7:19; 10:23)
(9) They have love (6:10; 10:33-34; 13:1)
(10) They worship and pray (12:28; 13:15; 4:16; 10:22)
(11) They obey God (5:9; 10:36; 12:10,11,14)
(12) They persevere (3:6,14; 6:11; 10:23)
(13) They enter God’s rest (4:3,11)
(14) They know God (8:11)
(15) They are God’s house, his children, his people (3:6; 2:10,13; 8:10)
(16) They share in Christ (3:14)
(17) They will receive future salvation (1:14; 7:25; 5:9; 9:28).
Someone might object by saying: “O.K., typical descriptions of the saved are not found in 6:4-6, but neither are typical descriptions of the lost found there either!” Grudem responds: “I agree that the phrases [in 6:4-6] alone do not match the author’s descriptions of the lost, and they do not indicate that these people are lost (before they commit apostasy). But that is just the point: Before they commit apostasy their spiritual status is uncertain. It remains to be seen whether they are among the saved or the lost. They have not yet given decisive indications either way. That is the reason the author warns them not to turn away – they are still at a point where a decision to be among the saved or the lost must be made” (171).
What about the terms used in 6:4-5 (enlightenment, tasting, partakers, etc.)? On the one hand, it is certainly the case that all Christians experience these realities. But do only Christians experience them? Or is it possible for these experiences also to be true of people who have been repeatedly exposed to the gospel and to the benefits it brings, yet without personally embracing the person of Christ as Lord and Savior? Let’s look at each one in turn.
They have “once been enlightened” – Have true Christians been “enlightened”? Yes. But this term need mean no more than to hear the gospel, to learn or to understand. “Certainly such intellectual understanding of the facts of the gospel is an important step toward saving faith, but it does not itself constitute the element of personal trust in Christ that is essential to faith” (Grudem, 142-43). All of us know people, perhaps family members, who have been repeatedly exposed to the truth of the gospel, understand what it means, can articulate the claims of Christ with incredible precision, yet refuse to put their trust in Him as Lord and Savior. Thus, whereas all true Christians have been enlightened, not all those who are enlightened are true Christians.
They have “tasted of the heavenly gift” and “the good word of God” and “the powers of the age to come” – This certainly points to a genuine spiritual experience. But must we conclude that it was a genuine saving experience? These are not strangers to the gospel or to the church. These are people who have come under conviction of the HS, who have experienced some degree of blessing both through common grace and through their close, intimate contact with genuine believers. Perhaps they have been healed. Perhaps a demon has been cast out. They have heard the Word of God and have come to taste and feel and enjoy something of its power and beauty and truth. They have felt the “wooing” of the HS and have seen great and wonderful things in the body of Christ. Those in Matthew 7:22-23 preached, prophesied, performed miracles, and cast out demons in Christ’s name . . . but were not saved. Jesus said to them: “I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers” (v. 23). These, then, “have tasted” the power and blessings of the new covenant, but they have not personally prized, cherished, embraced, loved, trusted, treasured, or savored the atoning death of Jesus as their only hope for eternal life.
They have been made “partakers of the Holy Spirit” – Whereas the word translated “partaker” can certainly refer to a saving participation in Christ (cf. Heb. 3:14), it can also refer to a looser association or participation. See Luke 5:7; Heb. 1:9 (“comrades” or “companions”). These people had in some way come to share in some aspect of the HS and his ministry. But in what way? Must we conclude that it was a “saving” way? Why does our author not use terminology that would put the question of their spiritual status to rest, such as “filled with” or “baptized in” or “indwelt by” the Holy Spirit?
They have in some sense “repented” – There is a “sorrow for sins” and a turning from them that even non-believers can experience. This is clear from Heb. 12:7 and the reference to Esau, as well as the “repentance” of Judas Iscariot in Mt. 27:3. Paul refers to a repentance “without regret that leads to salvation,” the implication being that there is a repentance that does not lead to salvation. As with “belief” and “faith”, so too with “repentance,” we must always distinguish between what is substantial and saving, on the one hand, and what is spurious on the other.
Wayne Grudem provides this helpful summation:
“What has happened to these people? They are at least people who have been affiliated closely with the fellowship of the church. They have had some sorrow for sin and a decision to forsake their sin (repentance). They have clearly understood the gospel and given some assent to it (they have been enlightened). They have come to appreciate the attractiveness of the Christian life and the change that comes about in people’s lives because of becoming a Christian, and they have probably had answers to prayers in their own lives and felt the power of the Holy Spirit at work, perhaps even using some spiritual gifts (they have become ‘associated with’ the work of the Holy Spirit or have become partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the heavenly gift and the powers of the age to come). They have been exposed to the true preaching of the Word and have appreciated much of its teachings (they have tasted the goodness of the Word of God). These factors are all positive, and people who have experienced these things may be genuine Christians. But these factors alone are not enough to give conclusive evidence of any of the decisive beginning stages of the Christian life (regeneration, saving faith and repentance unto life, justification, adoption, initial sanctification). In fact, these experiences are all preliminary to those decisive beginning stages of the Christian life. The actual spiritual status of those who have experienced these things is still unclear” (153).
I conclude that the people described in 6:4-5 who, according to v. 6, “fall away” are not now and never were born-again believers. They are not Christians who have “lost” their salvation.
I believe the spiritual state and experience of those described in Hebrews 6:4-6 is virtually identical to that of the first three of four soils in the parable of the sower (see Matthew 13:3-23; Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-15). In that parable, only the fourth soil is called “good” and subsequently bears fruit. The other three represent those who hear the gospel and respond with varying degrees of understanding, interest, and joy, none of which, however, bear fruit that would testify of genuine spiritual life. That is to say, they experienced “enlightenment” and “tasted” the goodness and power of the ministry of the Spirit and the blessings of the kingdom, yet turned their back on the truth when trials, troubles, or temptations came their way. Their apostasy was proof of the falsity of their initial “faith” (see esp. John 8:31; Heb. 3:6,14; 1 John 2:19).
Brother Justin from Speedlight recommended this passage to me. I hope you will find it useful, just as I did. Be steadfast in your faith. I believe God will not short-change us and will reward us as He has promised.
Agape,
Fiona
Hebrews 6:4-6 and the Possibility of Apostasy
Sam Storms
Nov 7, 2006
Series: Eternal Security
This is undoubtedly one of the most controversial and frequently debated passages in all of Scripture. It would not be going too far to say that those who believe a genuine believer can forfeit (or lose) his/her salvation appeal to this passage more often than any other. Read the passage closely.
Who are these people 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, and then have fallen away”? It is important for us to know because “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.”
There are probably a dozen or more interpretive options of this passage that may be found in the commentaries and journal literature. It isn’t my purpose to interact with them here. Rather, I am focusing solely on the question of whether the terminology in vv. 4-5 would lead us to conclude that these individuals were born-again, justified, believers.
Are these born-again Christian men and women? If so, the doctrine of eternal security is shattered. Or is it possible for a person to experience some form of spiritual “enlightenment” and to “taste” spiritual blessings and to “partake” of the Holy Spirit and yet never know Jesus in a saving way? I believe the answer to this latter question is Yes. Let me begin by giving six reasons from the book of Hebrews itself why these people are not born-again believers who have apostatized.
First, the situation described in vv. 4-6 is illustrated in vv. 7-8. There we read, “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it [this drinking of frequent rains refers to the blessings of vv. 4-5: enlightenment, partaking of the HS, tasting spiritual blessings, etc.] 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 [this corresponds to the “falling away” of v. 6a], it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.”
Rain falls on all kinds of ground, but one cannot tell from that alone what kind of vegetation, if any, will appear. The picture here is not of ground that receives frequent rain, yields life and vegetation, and then loses it. The picture is of two different kinds of ground altogether. One responds to the rain [spiritual blessings and opportunities] by producing bountiful vegetation, while the other is barren, lifeless, and thus condemned. Likewise, people who hear the gospel and respond with saving faith bring forth life. Others, however, who sit in church and hear the truth and are blessed by the ministry of the HS but eventually turn their back on it all are like a field that never yields vegetation and thus comes into judgment.
As Wayne Grudem notes, “the idea of land that once bore good fruit and now bears thorns is not compatible with this picture. The implication is this: While the positive experiences listed in verses 4-6 do not provide us enough information to know whether the people were truly saved or not, the committing of apostasy and holding Christ up to contempt do reveal the true nature of those who fall away: all along they have been like bad ground that can only bear bad fruit. If the metaphor of the thorn-bearing land explains verses 4-6 (as it surely does), then their falling away shows that they were never saved in the first place” (“Perseverance of the Saints: A Case Study from Hebrews 6:4-6 and the Other Warning Passages in Hebrews,” in Still Sovereign, Baker; 156-57).
Second, in 6:9 we read of a significant contrast: “But beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking this way.” The “better things” in view are stated in vv. 10-12, things like “work” and “love” and “ministry” and “diligence” and “full assurance of hope” and “faith” and “patience” and “inheriting the promises.” These “things” are “better” than the experiences of vv. 4-6 precisely because they “belong to” or “accompany” salvation. In other words, “the author says he is confident that most of his readers have better things than the people he described in verses 4-6, and these things are better in that his readers also have things that belong to salvation. This implies that the blessings in verses 4-6 were not things that belong to salvation” (Grudem, 159).
Before going further, let’s summarize vv. 7-12. “Verses 7-8 describe the people in verses 4-6 as unfruitful land that repeatedly bears thorns and thistles, and thus indicate that they were never saved. Verses 9-12 say that the readers, in general, have better things than the temporary experiences of vv. 4-6, and that those better things include salvation. Therefore both verses 7-8 and verse 9 indicate that the people in verses 4-6 who fell away never had salvation” (Grudem, 160).]
Third, according to Hebrews 3:14 (and 3:6), “we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.” Note well: he says we “have become” partakers of Christ, not “will become” or “are now partakers,” if we persevere in faith. In other words, holding fast in faith, i.e., persevering, proves that you became a partaker of Christ in the past. Failing to hold fast, i.e., apostatizing from the faith, proves that you never were a partaker of Christ. Apostasy or falling away (6:6a) doesn’t mean you once were in and have now fallen out of partaking in Christ. It means you never were or never became a partaker in the first place.
Fourth, we read in Hebrews 10:14 that “by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” Here we are told that for those who are now being sanctified (i.e., indwelt by the HS, growing in holiness by faith) “the offering of Christ on the cross has perfected that person for all time. For all time! In other words to become a beneficiary of the perfecting, justifying work of Christ on the cross is to be perfected in the sight of God forever. This suggests that Hebrews 6:6 does not mean that those who re-crucify Christ were once really justified by the blood of Jesus and were really being sanctified in an inward spiritual sense” (John Piper, Sermon, 5).
Fifth, our author concludes this letter with a prayer relating to the fulfillment in us of the blessings of the New Covenant. He prays that God would “equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ” (13:20-21). The promise of the new and “eternal” covenant is that God will put in his people a new heart and cause them to walk in His ways and not turn away from doing them good (see Ezek. 11:19; 36:27; Jer. 24:7; 32:40). Thus, Piper concludes that “in verse 21 he says that it is not finally dependent on us whether we persevere in faith and bear fruit. It is finally dependent on God: He is working in us that which is pleasing in his sight. He is fulfilling the new covenant promise to preserve us. This means that Hebrews 6:6 would contradict the new covenant if it meant that people could be truly justified members of the new covenant and then commit apostasy and be rejected. That would mean that God did not fulfill his promise to ‘work in them what is pleasing in his sight.’ He would have broken his new covenant promise” (Piper, 5).
Sixth, we must take note not just of what is said of these people in vv. 4-6 but what is not said of them that is usually said of Christians. Typical terms used to describe believers, such as regeneration, conversion, justified, adopted, elect, faith in Jesus, are conspicuous by their absence. This is more than merely an argument from silence when we consider the way Christians are described in the book of Hebrews itself. Here is a listing of what is true of the true believer, all of which are absent from the description of those who apostatize in 6:4-6.
(1) God has forgiven their sins (10:17; 8:12)
(2) God has cleansed their consciences (9:14; 10:22)
(3) God has written his laws on their hearts (8:10; 10:16)
(4) God is producing holiness of life in them (2:11; 10:14; 13:21)
(5) God has given them an unshakable kingdom (12:28)
(6) God is pleased with them (chp. 11; 13:16,21)
(7) They have faith (4:3; 6:12; 10:22,38,39; 12:2; 13:7; etc.)
(8) They have hope (6:11,18; 7:19; 10:23)
(9) They have love (6:10; 10:33-34; 13:1)
(10) They worship and pray (12:28; 13:15; 4:16; 10:22)
(11) They obey God (5:9; 10:36; 12:10,11,14)
(12) They persevere (3:6,14; 6:11; 10:23)
(13) They enter God’s rest (4:3,11)
(14) They know God (8:11)
(15) They are God’s house, his children, his people (3:6; 2:10,13; 8:10)
(16) They share in Christ (3:14)
(17) They will receive future salvation (1:14; 7:25; 5:9; 9:28).
Someone might object by saying: “O.K., typical descriptions of the saved are not found in 6:4-6, but neither are typical descriptions of the lost found there either!” Grudem responds: “I agree that the phrases [in 6:4-6] alone do not match the author’s descriptions of the lost, and they do not indicate that these people are lost (before they commit apostasy). But that is just the point: Before they commit apostasy their spiritual status is uncertain. It remains to be seen whether they are among the saved or the lost. They have not yet given decisive indications either way. That is the reason the author warns them not to turn away – they are still at a point where a decision to be among the saved or the lost must be made” (171).
What about the terms used in 6:4-5 (enlightenment, tasting, partakers, etc.)? On the one hand, it is certainly the case that all Christians experience these realities. But do only Christians experience them? Or is it possible for these experiences also to be true of people who have been repeatedly exposed to the gospel and to the benefits it brings, yet without personally embracing the person of Christ as Lord and Savior? Let’s look at each one in turn.
They have “once been enlightened” – Have true Christians been “enlightened”? Yes. But this term need mean no more than to hear the gospel, to learn or to understand. “Certainly such intellectual understanding of the facts of the gospel is an important step toward saving faith, but it does not itself constitute the element of personal trust in Christ that is essential to faith” (Grudem, 142-43). All of us know people, perhaps family members, who have been repeatedly exposed to the truth of the gospel, understand what it means, can articulate the claims of Christ with incredible precision, yet refuse to put their trust in Him as Lord and Savior. Thus, whereas all true Christians have been enlightened, not all those who are enlightened are true Christians.
They have “tasted of the heavenly gift” and “the good word of God” and “the powers of the age to come” – This certainly points to a genuine spiritual experience. But must we conclude that it was a genuine saving experience? These are not strangers to the gospel or to the church. These are people who have come under conviction of the HS, who have experienced some degree of blessing both through common grace and through their close, intimate contact with genuine believers. Perhaps they have been healed. Perhaps a demon has been cast out. They have heard the Word of God and have come to taste and feel and enjoy something of its power and beauty and truth. They have felt the “wooing” of the HS and have seen great and wonderful things in the body of Christ. Those in Matthew 7:22-23 preached, prophesied, performed miracles, and cast out demons in Christ’s name . . . but were not saved. Jesus said to them: “I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers” (v. 23). These, then, “have tasted” the power and blessings of the new covenant, but they have not personally prized, cherished, embraced, loved, trusted, treasured, or savored the atoning death of Jesus as their only hope for eternal life.
They have been made “partakers of the Holy Spirit” – Whereas the word translated “partaker” can certainly refer to a saving participation in Christ (cf. Heb. 3:14), it can also refer to a looser association or participation. See Luke 5:7; Heb. 1:9 (“comrades” or “companions”). These people had in some way come to share in some aspect of the HS and his ministry. But in what way? Must we conclude that it was a “saving” way? Why does our author not use terminology that would put the question of their spiritual status to rest, such as “filled with” or “baptized in” or “indwelt by” the Holy Spirit?
They have in some sense “repented” – There is a “sorrow for sins” and a turning from them that even non-believers can experience. This is clear from Heb. 12:7 and the reference to Esau, as well as the “repentance” of Judas Iscariot in Mt. 27:3. Paul refers to a repentance “without regret that leads to salvation,” the implication being that there is a repentance that does not lead to salvation. As with “belief” and “faith”, so too with “repentance,” we must always distinguish between what is substantial and saving, on the one hand, and what is spurious on the other.
Wayne Grudem provides this helpful summation:
“What has happened to these people? They are at least people who have been affiliated closely with the fellowship of the church. They have had some sorrow for sin and a decision to forsake their sin (repentance). They have clearly understood the gospel and given some assent to it (they have been enlightened). They have come to appreciate the attractiveness of the Christian life and the change that comes about in people’s lives because of becoming a Christian, and they have probably had answers to prayers in their own lives and felt the power of the Holy Spirit at work, perhaps even using some spiritual gifts (they have become ‘associated with’ the work of the Holy Spirit or have become partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the heavenly gift and the powers of the age to come). They have been exposed to the true preaching of the Word and have appreciated much of its teachings (they have tasted the goodness of the Word of God). These factors are all positive, and people who have experienced these things may be genuine Christians. But these factors alone are not enough to give conclusive evidence of any of the decisive beginning stages of the Christian life (regeneration, saving faith and repentance unto life, justification, adoption, initial sanctification). In fact, these experiences are all preliminary to those decisive beginning stages of the Christian life. The actual spiritual status of those who have experienced these things is still unclear” (153).
I conclude that the people described in 6:4-5 who, according to v. 6, “fall away” are not now and never were born-again believers. They are not Christians who have “lost” their salvation.
I believe the spiritual state and experience of those described in Hebrews 6:4-6 is virtually identical to that of the first three of four soils in the parable of the sower (see Matthew 13:3-23; Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-15). In that parable, only the fourth soil is called “good” and subsequently bears fruit. The other three represent those who hear the gospel and respond with varying degrees of understanding, interest, and joy, none of which, however, bear fruit that would testify of genuine spiritual life. That is to say, they experienced “enlightenment” and “tasted” the goodness and power of the ministry of the Spirit and the blessings of the kingdom, yet turned their back on the truth when trials, troubles, or temptations came their way. Their apostasy was proof of the falsity of their initial “faith” (see esp. John 8:31; Heb. 3:6,14; 1 John 2:19).
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Preparation for Cell: 24 Mar 10
Do highlight to me if you are not able to make it (especially for rostered members) so that I can make advance planning and adjustments. Thanks much!
Worship Lead: Stanley
Preparation for Questions (don't know which team you belong to?):
God bless and see you all tomorrow! :)
Worship Lead: Stanley
Preparation for Questions (don't know which team you belong to?):
- Priscilla's Team - 5. Why is it that many people cannot cope with wealth, success and power?
- Stanley's Team - 6. If a handpicked disciple like Judas who had seen Jesus in the flesh could betray Him, how easy it is for us to fall. Do you agree with this and why?
- Adriel's Team - 3. Samson's unguarded strength and unprepared heart had finally put him in bondage. Please comment.
- Gabriel's Team - 4. How could a wise ruler like Solomon allow rampant compromises into his personal life?
God bless and see you all tomorrow! :)
Thursday, 18 March 2010
17 Mar 10: Memory Verse
Ephesians 2:8 (NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
~ Contributor: Troven
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Preparation for Cell: 17 Mar 10
Do highlight to me if you are not able to make it (especially for rostered members) so that I can make advance planning and adjustments. Thanks much!
Worship Lead: Adriel
Preparation for Questions (don't know which team you belong to?):
God bless and see you all tomorrow! :)
Worship Lead: Adriel
Preparation for Questions (don't know which team you belong to?):
- Priscilla's Team - 1. Who is God's anointed? What constitutes "touching God's anointed"?
- Stanley's Team - 2. State Joshua's basic life conviction found in Joshua 1:8 in your own words.
- Adriel's Team - 3. Samson's unguarded strength and unprepared heart had finally put him in bondage. Please comment.
- Gabriel's Team - 4. How could a wise ruler like Solomon allow rampant compromises into his personal life?
God bless and see you all tomorrow! :)
24 Feb 10: Memory Verse
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)
However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"
~ Contributor: Adelene
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Pain and Growth
I am currently reading the book Boundaries with kids by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. Though I'm not a parent but a teacher, this chapter speaks to me so much that I couldn't help but to share it.
Lesson number one in parenting and life is "Growth involves pain." Lesson number two is "Not all pain produces growth." Learning to tell the difference is the key to having someone stay on the bottom, or grow past where he or she is.
When I played basketball in junior high, our coach had a big banner across the locker room that read, NO PAIN, NO GAIN. This saying became our team's mantra as we conditioned, trained, and practiced, sometimes past the point we thought we could endure.
I had experienced the reality of this phrase before, but I had never understood it quite like this. If I'm not struggling, I'm not getting better at what I have to do. This lesson has served me well for life. If you are independent, you are used to doing things that "hurt" so you can receive something you desire.
For example, as I write this chapter, I am very tired. I'm tired from traveling, and I'm tired of writing. It's a weekend, and I don't like working on the weekend. In addition, I haven't managed my time too well lately, and I'm behind. But as I write, I also know that to continue through the struggle is the only way to get what I desire. I want this book to be published. I want you, the parent, to have it. I want to fulfill this part of what I think God has called me to do. And if the book sells, I can also buy food.
As I write at this late hour, I also groan and gripe about it. Luckily, no one is listening. But what if I called my mother and cried to her about how difficult writing is, how hard it is to make things work in today's world, how cruel life is? And what if she had no boundaries herself, felt "sorry" for my pain, and sent me a check? What if she "compassionately" listened and agreed that I should not push myself so hard? (Don't worry, this is not killing me. But good complainer I am, I could make it sound that way for a codependent mother.) I could be assuaged out of my suffering enough to just let it go and feel okay about not accomplishing my task.
I can actually remember just such a day when I was in the sixth greade and tried this with my mother. I had had mononucleosis and had missed a month of school. When I came back, I was overwhelmed with the amount of work I had to catch up on. I remembered going to my mother and saying, "I do not want to go to school today. It's just too much. I can't take it anymore."
I will never forget what she said. I can see her and hear her words tonight as if I were standing there today: "Sometimes I don't want to go to work either. But I have to go." Then she hugged me and told me to get ready for school.
I was hurting. I was tired. I was in pain. But my mom knew it would not harm me to keep going. She evaluated my pain - the pain of momentary discipline - and encouraged me to keep going. Today, I am thankful for her boundaries. Without them my life would be full of half-done projects and unfulfilled goals. Later, I talked to her about this, and she told me parts of the story I had never heard before.
When I was four years old, a childhood bone disease caused me to lose the use of my left leg for two years. At times I had to use a wheelchair, and at other times I wore restrictive braces and walked on crutches. I was unable to get around much and play with other children.
As you can imagine, this was difficult for my parents to watch. However, when I see home movies, I see an active youngster wheeling through the zoo, going to birthday parties, and hopping around on braces and crutches. For a crippled kid, I did a lot.
I never knew what my parents had to go through to help me become this self-sufficient. The orthopedist told them that they were going to "ruin" me if they did things for me. She told them that they had to let me suffer through learning how to walk on crutches, steer the wheelchair, and explain to others what was wrong with me.
It was extremely painful for my parents to watch me struggle. They already felt sorry for their four-year-old son, who had lost the ability to walk like other children. They wanted to rescue me when I cried about having to wear the brace, or when I was in pain. Instead, they spanked me for trying to walk on my bad leg (something that would have deformed me for life). After she disciplined me, my mom revealed later, she would have to call a friend and cry.
My mother also told me of one day when I was struggling to get up the stairs to church. She overheard someone say, "Can you believe those parents, making him do that? How cruel they are!" But she was able to keep the limits. Another day, my crutch slipped on the marble steps of the post office; I came tumbling down, shaken, bruised, and cut up. But Mom continued to make me go up stairs on my own.
I cried, complained, and tried all of a four-year-old's games to manipulate my mom and dad into not allowing me to suffer the pain of learning self-sufficiency. But they kept their limits, and we made it through.
The end result is that I was soon able to get around and live a reasonably active and normal life with other children, and my leg eventually healed. Today I am grateful for their making me go through pain that hurt me, but did not harm me.
The parent who hears every cry or complaint as the ultimate concern will never develop boundaries and character in the child. When your children cry about homework, chores, or a missed opportunity because they did not do their part, what are you going to do? How you answer this question will have a tremendous effect on the course of your child's life.
Lesson number one in parenting and life is "Growth involves pain." Lesson number two is "Not all pain produces growth." Learning to tell the difference is the key to having someone stay on the bottom, or grow past where he or she is.
When I played basketball in junior high, our coach had a big banner across the locker room that read, NO PAIN, NO GAIN. This saying became our team's mantra as we conditioned, trained, and practiced, sometimes past the point we thought we could endure.
I had experienced the reality of this phrase before, but I had never understood it quite like this. If I'm not struggling, I'm not getting better at what I have to do. This lesson has served me well for life. If you are independent, you are used to doing things that "hurt" so you can receive something you desire.
For example, as I write this chapter, I am very tired. I'm tired from traveling, and I'm tired of writing. It's a weekend, and I don't like working on the weekend. In addition, I haven't managed my time too well lately, and I'm behind. But as I write, I also know that to continue through the struggle is the only way to get what I desire. I want this book to be published. I want you, the parent, to have it. I want to fulfill this part of what I think God has called me to do. And if the book sells, I can also buy food.
As I write at this late hour, I also groan and gripe about it. Luckily, no one is listening. But what if I called my mother and cried to her about how difficult writing is, how hard it is to make things work in today's world, how cruel life is? And what if she had no boundaries herself, felt "sorry" for my pain, and sent me a check? What if she "compassionately" listened and agreed that I should not push myself so hard? (Don't worry, this is not killing me. But good complainer I am, I could make it sound that way for a codependent mother.) I could be assuaged out of my suffering enough to just let it go and feel okay about not accomplishing my task.
I can actually remember just such a day when I was in the sixth greade and tried this with my mother. I had had mononucleosis and had missed a month of school. When I came back, I was overwhelmed with the amount of work I had to catch up on. I remembered going to my mother and saying, "I do not want to go to school today. It's just too much. I can't take it anymore."
I will never forget what she said. I can see her and hear her words tonight as if I were standing there today: "Sometimes I don't want to go to work either. But I have to go." Then she hugged me and told me to get ready for school.
I was hurting. I was tired. I was in pain. But my mom knew it would not harm me to keep going. She evaluated my pain - the pain of momentary discipline - and encouraged me to keep going. Today, I am thankful for her boundaries. Without them my life would be full of half-done projects and unfulfilled goals. Later, I talked to her about this, and she told me parts of the story I had never heard before.
When I was four years old, a childhood bone disease caused me to lose the use of my left leg for two years. At times I had to use a wheelchair, and at other times I wore restrictive braces and walked on crutches. I was unable to get around much and play with other children.
As you can imagine, this was difficult for my parents to watch. However, when I see home movies, I see an active youngster wheeling through the zoo, going to birthday parties, and hopping around on braces and crutches. For a crippled kid, I did a lot.
I never knew what my parents had to go through to help me become this self-sufficient. The orthopedist told them that they were going to "ruin" me if they did things for me. She told them that they had to let me suffer through learning how to walk on crutches, steer the wheelchair, and explain to others what was wrong with me.
It was extremely painful for my parents to watch me struggle. They already felt sorry for their four-year-old son, who had lost the ability to walk like other children. They wanted to rescue me when I cried about having to wear the brace, or when I was in pain. Instead, they spanked me for trying to walk on my bad leg (something that would have deformed me for life). After she disciplined me, my mom revealed later, she would have to call a friend and cry.
My mother also told me of one day when I was struggling to get up the stairs to church. She overheard someone say, "Can you believe those parents, making him do that? How cruel they are!" But she was able to keep the limits. Another day, my crutch slipped on the marble steps of the post office; I came tumbling down, shaken, bruised, and cut up. But Mom continued to make me go up stairs on my own.
I cried, complained, and tried all of a four-year-old's games to manipulate my mom and dad into not allowing me to suffer the pain of learning self-sufficiency. But they kept their limits, and we made it through.
The end result is that I was soon able to get around and live a reasonably active and normal life with other children, and my leg eventually healed. Today I am grateful for their making me go through pain that hurt me, but did not harm me.
The parent who hears every cry or complaint as the ultimate concern will never develop boundaries and character in the child. When your children cry about homework, chores, or a missed opportunity because they did not do their part, what are you going to do? How you answer this question will have a tremendous effect on the course of your child's life.
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