11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Some people just never grow up in their faith. That is where I was for years. I "knew" about the Bible. I "knew" about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I even believed Jesus paid for my sins and had accepted him as my Savior. I was a Bible college graduate. Yet I was still a baby. I was still in my infancy with faith. It has really only been since this blog started that I began in earnest my search of God. I mentioned in my first post about Hebrews that this book gave me pause. That's because for so long all I did was drink the milk of the word while passing by the meat and potatoes.
6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.
I had to grow up. It was not easy, but my faith in God has grown more in the past two and a half to three years than the previous 30. It's interesting that I was probably NOT going to blog the book of Revelation because I did not feel qualified. Perhaps we will. Not sure where God will lead.
This is a hard passage to understand. So hard that years ago I contacted my Pastor Bill Jenkins about it and I even saved his response. Since I cannot improve on his answer and I do not wish to paraphrase him, I shall quote him. Links added by me for you ease of use.
"The writer of Hebrews has a goal here: describing the seriousness of turning from
the Christian faith.
He is not questioning the perseverance of the saints (see
John 6:37-39; Romans 8:30; Ephesians 1:13-14 and others), but he is stating
that only those who continue in the way of Christ ARE the saints.
If a person is a genuine Christian, then they can never be
lost and will be preserved to the last day for salvation, per the above verses.
What about when a person pledges to believe yet at some
later point denies the faith and goes back to living a non-Christ centered
life?
The answer is found in 1 John 2:19, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out from us, in order that it might be made manifest that they all are not truly of us."
The answer is found in 1 John 2:19, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out from us, in order that it might be made manifest that they all are not truly of us."
Look at the verse again & note the highlights & then
what’s capitalized:
4It is IMPOSSIBLE for those who
have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who
have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted
the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because
to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting
him to public disgrace.
The writer seems to be describing someone who seemed to be a
Christian but never really was a true follower of Christ.
This idea fits in the with the context of Hebrews, for in
Ch. 3:16-19 there is a description of how the Israelites had all of the ear
markings of God’s people in the wilderness, but never entered the Promised
Land.
This passage does not refer to backsliders, but to people
who walk with the Lord for a while and then deliberately turn and completely
walk away from Him, rejecting Him.
It is IMPOSSIBLE for those who have partaken in the bold
faced items above to be brought back into repentance because they do not want
to be restored into a good relationship with God.
These people nail the Son of God to the cross all over again
by rejecting Him. In their heart they
make themselves one with those who put Christ to death on the cross. They choose to harden their hearts to Christ.
It’s not impossible for God to forgive them, but
instead, it is impossible for them to be forgiven because they have no
desire to turn back to Christ and repent of their sins.
They reject Christ, and therefore will not be saved."
Thank you Pastor Bill for that explanation.
7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
What are you producing? What am I producing? Are we worthless to God?
9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. 10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
The evidence of salvation was evident in the people to whom this letter was written. I was once asked, "If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?".
As the writer encourage his readers, I too encourage you to "show the same diligence" in your walk with God.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.
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