Can a Christian Permanently Fall Away? Hebrews pt.4 (6:1-12 & 10:26-39)

  • What do these passages actually say?
  • And how do they fit in with other Scriptures that speak of the ‘Unforgivable Sin?’.

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The Story so far:

  1. Jesus is Better than Everything! —The Message of Hebrews
  2. Making an Effort to Rest our problems and stresses on Jesus
  3. Jesus our Sympathetic Priest, giving confidence and support to our prayers

Can a Christian fall away?

  1. The Problem
  2. The “Unforgivable Sin”
  3. Encouragement and Motivation

1. The Problem

Hebrews Warning Passages

Hebrews 3,4

  1. Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
  2. Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.

Hebrews 6

  1. It is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
  2. tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age,
  3. and then have fallen away, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt.

Hebrews 10

  1. For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us,
  2. but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume God’s enemies.
  3. Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
  4. How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for the Son of God, and profanes the blood of the covenant that made him holy, and insults the Spirit of grace?

Hebrews 12

  1. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no one be like a bitter root springing up. and causing trouble, and through him many become defiled.
  2. And see to it that no one becomes an immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.
     
  3. Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven?

NET

  • Let’s focus on Heb 6

Hebrews 6:

  1. It is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
  2. tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age,
  3. and then have fallen away, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt.
  • On the surface this seems to teach that you can become a Christian and fall away
    • Even worse, that once you have fallen away, you can no longer be forgiven
    • Let’s look at whom this is talking about”
  • received light «– what this really means
  • tasted supernatural power
  • were involved with the Holy Spirit
    • It’s possible to have the power of the Holy Spirit on you and not be truly saved
    • Jesus said “did we not cast out demons in your name...” “I never knew you”
    • I think this is talking about people like Judas
    • The Spirit came on King Saul, prophesied but we know his heart was never changed
    • Supernatural works of the Spirit was never a test in the N.T. church. —do they have love!
  • saw “heaven come down” in miracles
    • but rejected it

2. The “Unforgivable Sin”

Unforgivable Sin

  • Matt 12:31–32 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
  • Luke 12:10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.”
  • Here is the principle:
  • Whenever the age to come breaks into this age with extraordinary miracles, we also see judgement breaking it
  • It’s like time fast-forwards to the end
  • What were the periods of greatest miracles in the Bible?
  • plagues in Egypt
    • Pharaoh
    • It’s like God said “I’ve given you my best shot” If you don’t believe now, there’s nothing else, so we may as well cut to the judgement
  • miracles in the wilderness
    • Korah & others who rebelled
  • miraculous works of Elijah & Elisha
    • similar judgements
  • Jesus shows the most extraordinary & explicit hand of God
    • Some call it the work of the devil —If they don’t believe that, there’s nothing more
  • Early church miracles
    • Ananias & Sapphira lie against the Holy Spirit

Unforgivable Sin

  • When someone has seen the most explicit supernatural power of the Spirit in front of their very eyes
  • And they turn their back on it
  • There’s nothing more because they’ve quenched the Spirit
  • It’s not that they can’t come back, it’s that the Spirit has already done everything for them that he’s going to do
  • So here’s the question:

Can a Christian fall away? John 10

  1. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
  2. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
  3. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
  • Romans 8
  1. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
  2. nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jude 1

  1. And have mercy on those who waver;
  2. save others by snatching them out of the fire…
  3. Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence,
  4. to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.
  • “You are a New Creation in Christ Jesus!” —but things in the New Creation cannot die!
  • +Many other verses
  • Can you be united with Jesus and separated?
  • New life, which then dies?
  • But on the other hand, we do have the parable of the four kinds of seeds, which he alludes to:

Hebrews 6

  1. For the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on it and yields useful vegetation for those who tend it receives a blessing from God.
  2. But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is useless and about to be cursed; its fate is to be burned.
  • Jesus is not talking about Christians who fall away, but people who were never truly saved, yet looked good

3. Encouragement and Motivation

It depends on your perspective

  • From God’s perspective, the ones he has saved cannot ever fall away
  • From our perspective we see people who look like Christians, but they do fall away

Fake Diamond Illustration!

  • There are people who fall away
  • So is there any way of telling?

But: Hebrews 6:9–12

  1. But in your case, dear friends, even though we speak like this, we are convinced of better things relating to your salvation.
  2. For God is not unrighteous so as to ignore your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints
  3. But we passionately want each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfilment of your hope until the end,
  4. so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises.
  • Those who’s salvation is secure
    • have demonstrated love for one another
    • but need to be eager, not sluggish
    • What is needed: persevering faith in the promises
  • Sometimes Christians go through long periods of very deep backsliding, when it looks from every appearance that they are not saved.
    • But then God brings them back to himself before they die.

Our response:

  • People who have severe depression frequently believe that they have committed the “unforgivable sin”.
  • However, the very fact that they are even concerned about it is proof that they cannot have committed it:
    • the Spirit stops working in such a person
    • they therefore lose all spiritual concern
  • So what is the purpose of this passage?
    1. To be a wake-up call for people who are good at acting like a Christian, but whose hearts are not renewed
      • If you are at all concerned about whether you are a Christian, please come and talk with me.
    2. To help us know where the edge is to keep away from it

Pulpit Rock (Norway)

Pulpit Rock (Norway)

Image source: Maksim Shutov

Pulpit Rock (Norway)

Pulpit Rock (Norway)

Image source: “Jordi Vich Navarro”

  • If you are afraid of heights, do you need a warning sign to keep you from the edge?
  • If nobody has ever actually fallen off, does that mean the sign was a waste of time?
  • This passage is a warning sign to keep away from the edge
    • None of God’s people will every fall off, but that’s partly due to the warning signs!
  • Part of the purpose of talking about the drop is to drive you closer to Jesus

Hebrews 10

  1. For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us,
  2. but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment…
  • People get worried by this text—that they have sinned too many times
  • Not about how many times you sinned, but about choosing to sin as an act of a deliberate rebel against God.
    • O.T. Num 15:30–31 “Sinning with a high hand – despised the word of the LORD”
  • But what does God say about how many times to forgive? 7 times?

Encouragement

  • Hebrews does not want to leave us sad and anxious
  • Don’t get stuck in introspection, but look at Jesus
  • Two Edges to keep away from:
  1. Turning your back on Christianity
  2. Slipping into “Performance Christianity” to please God
  • The focus in the surrounding passage is not on your weakness, but his power
  • The danger is not that you sin too many times, and eventually Jesus will turn you away and stop forgiving you
  • No, it’s about turning your back on Jesus, and saying all you have seen of his supernatural power is just a delusion
  • For them it was trusting Old Testament rituals
  • In the last 2,000 years we have made up so many rituals to please God!
    • e.g.…
  • Conviction of sin “preparationism” Indoor Skydiving
  • How about you?
    • Do you need encouragement not to give up?
    • Even here, there may be some who will turn away

Hebrews 4

  1. Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.

Hebrews 10

  1. “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer.”
  2. Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20by the new and living way he made for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
  3. and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.
  4. And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy.

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