Testing the Reality of our Salvation
Hebrews 6:4-20
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Intro
Have you ever met anyone that said one thing, and yet their actions spoke something different than what they said?
Perhaps you have had someone tell you they love you, but their actions do not speak love to you. They say they love you, but their actions show that they are really only loving themselves.
What they say and how they act do not line up.
Transition
Well today, we are going to be continuing on in the passage of Scripture that we started last week in Hebrews 6
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and see that the author is warning some of the people in the church he is writing to, that what they say with their mouths and the reality of their actions, do not seem to be lining up, and that is a major problem because the author is making the point that true salvation is going to be shown through their persevering living.
As we prepare to jump into the text, let me remind you about what the author said last week about the Arrested Spiritual development that some of them were experiencing.
He was saying that some of them had
Ears that Don’t Hear the Word
Mouths that Don’t Speak the Word
Stomachs that Don’t digest the Word
And that those were signs of Arrested development in their lives.
Then he talked about Spiritual Milk and Spiritual Meat, with the meat being righteous living. He goes on from there today to warn some of the readers that faking Christianity can be truly hazardous when you have seen the reality of Christianity for yourself.
We are going to be focusing on Hebrews 6:4-20, but I want us to have the context of these verses in our minds as we look at what they say, so we will start in verse 1.
Hebrews 6:1-20
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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,[a] and of faith in God,2 instruction about cleansing rites,[b] the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen[c] away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 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.
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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.
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”[d] 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
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16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Pray
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OK, the verses in the first part of this passage of Scripture have been some of the most challenging for Christians throughout the centuries to interpret because just taken by themselves, they can seem to say that if you are a Christian and you turn away from Christ, you lose your salvation and there is no hope of you ever being saved again.
I put forth today that this is not what this passage of Scripture says at all and my hope is that when we are finished going through this today, you too will see what the author is saying here clearly.
But to correctly interpret any Scripture we must know the basic
Rules of Interpretation
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I am going to give you a crash course in interpretation that will help you interpret challenging Scriptures in the future as well.
The first rule of correct interpretation is that we want to
Interpret Scripture in context of the Entire Bible
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We need to recognize that the Bible is a whole and we must interpret within the context of the whole and not pull verses out of the context of the whole. When we do that to any writing or speech, we can make things say what they did not and do not mean.
Secondly, we
Interpret Scripture in context of the Immediate Passage
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We need to know the purpose of the letter or book that the text is within and look at the verses immediately around our text and then interpret with those things as a backdrop for our interpretation.
Thirdly, we
Interpret Scripture using Other Scripture
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Scripture is not going to contradict itself. When we interpret the meaning of a particular Scripture, we want to see if there is other Scripture that supports that interpretation.
We are not looking to just come up with any interpretation, we want to come up with the correct interpretation and a correct interpretation will always be supported by other Scripture.
Finally, we want to
Interpret Scripture that is Less Clear with Scripture that is More Clear
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We are going to come across Scriptures that are more difficult to interpret and understand. If there is Scripture that seems to contradict another Scripture, we first recognize that God does not contradict Himself and then we look for other Scriptures that are more clear on a particular teaching and then seek to interpret more difficult Scriptures with Scriptures that are more clear in mind, to arrive at a correct interpretation.
Transition
Ok, so that is our crash course in interpretation. Now let’s seek to apply this to our text today.
At first glance, this text can appear to say that someone who has truly trusted in Christ, if they turn away, can lose their salvation. The description of the person the author is describing sounds like a Christian
Verse 4 and 5 say
They have been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age.
That certainly could be a Christian, but then he goes on to say that if they fall away, it would be impossible for them to be brought back to a place of repentance.
So, when we try to understand this in the light of
The Context of the Bible
it would seem to contradict other Scriptures that say otherwise, because the Bible as a whole, teaches that
Salvation is by Grace and Guaranteed to believers by God
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It teaches that a true believer is eternally secure in their salvation when they have truly believed. Listen to what the Lord says through Paul in
Ephesians 1:13-14
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance …
When a person has truly believed in Christ, they are given the Holy Spirit – and God says through Paul that the indwelling Holy Spirit in a person’s life is a deposit that guarantees our salvation.
It is God, through the Holy Spirit, that guarantees our salvation, not you, when we have believed and received Jesus and have the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Similarly,
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
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Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Again, we see that God makes us stand firm and guarantees our salvation when we have truly believed in Christ through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Summary
The overall teaching of the New Testament is that salvation is given, not because you deserve it, but by God’s grace when you have put your hope and trust in Him.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says
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8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
You do nothing to deserve salvation except believe in Christ. Since you did nothing to deserve it, there is no sin you can commit to lose this salvation that you did not deserve in the first place.
Summary
So all of these Scriptures seem to more clearly say, that a person who has truly received Christ as Savior, they are secure in their salvation since it was given by God and it is guaranteed by God.
Additionally, I want us to be aware of what the author of Hebrews does not say, that other writers of Scripture say in when they are talking about someone who is actually saved.
He doesn’t say that the people he is talking about have been
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sealed with the Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30) or
born again (John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:23) or
chosen (Ephesians 1:11; 1 Peter 1:2) or
predestined (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:5, 11) or
reconciled (Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:18; Colossians 1:22) or
forgiven (Luke 5:20; 7:48; 1 John 2:12) or
that they have believed (John 1:12; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 1:13).
Those phrases are each used in multiple places when describing a person who is saved.
Here is what the author does say about those he is talking about:
They have been enlightened
tasted the heavenly gift
shared in the Holy Spirit
tasted the goodness of the Word of God
and the powers of the coming age.
Now while those things would be true of a Christian, the question is
“could they be true of a person who has not received Christ as Savior?”
Transition
Well, in seeking to interpret this with the view to the Bible as a whole, we see that it is challenging to understand this as a Christian who lost their salvation.
How does the immediate
Context of the Letter
to the Hebrews help us to possibly understand this differently.
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Well, the letter to the Hebrews is saying overall, that
Jesus is Greater and the message is greater so you should
Persevere through Challenges
Additionally, the immediate
Context of the Passage
leading up to this passage, is focused on
The Word of God
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and being able to hear it, speak it and digest it and growing in our understanding and knowledge of it and living it out.
So, could these verses, instead of being about a person who is truly saved, be about a person who has heard the word, and seen the truth of it and its power, but has not yet truly trusted and received Christ?
Transition
Well, let’s take a look and see if that would fit given our rules of interpretation and in a way that makes sense and that other Scripture supports.
Using Scripture to Interpret Scripture
So, let’s ask some specific questions about each of these descriptions that the author gives about the type of person he would be talking about and see if there are other Scriptures that would support the view that he is talking about a person not yet a believer.
What does “been Enlightened” mean?
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Hebrews 6:4a
Does it mean to be a Christian or something else?
To be enlightened, by definition means to have spiritual or intellectual insight or to have a good understanding of something.
In a Christian sense, we understand “to be enlightened” to mean
To understand the Truth of God’s Word
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Enlightenment in this sense is in the context of what has been being talked about previously – the word of God.
And further, others Scriptures seem to confirm this.
Ephesians 1:18
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you…
We are enlightened to the hope we find in the gospel and we respond to that by receiving Christ. That happens before we receive Christ and is necessary to be able to respond and receive Christ. We need enlightenment so we can come to receive Christ.
Also, 2 Peter 1:19, says
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place,
It is saying to pay attention to God’s word through the prophets because it will give light (enlighten you) so you can see or understand.
And Paul tells Timothy something similar about God’s word
2 Timothy 3:15 – saying “from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Summarize
So these other Scriptures confirm our understanding of being enlightened to mean having an understanding of the truth of God’s word and the hope found within it and this goes along with the context of the passage we are in being about the word of God and the need to hear it, speak it, and digest it.
This enlightenment must be before salvation, because it is the enlightenment that makes salvation possible. If you do not know the message of hope found in God’s word and believe it, you will never be saved.
Transition
Now how does this enlightenment process happen?
Well, these next verses expand on how this enlightenment process works.
Listen again to verse 4-6
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4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, (Let me tell you what that enlightenment looks like) who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age
These things are describing how they have been enlightened.
So what do they mean specifically?
What does it mean to have
Tasted the Heavenly Gift?
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It means to have
Read the word of God
Really? How is the word of God a heavenly gift?
Well, Scripture talks about the word being a treasure given to us.
2 Corinthians 4:6-7
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
The word of God is a treasure, a gift from heaven to us, to tell us of the hope that is available through Jesus Christ.
Transition
What does it mean to have
Shared in the Holy Spirit
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It means that the
Spirit has revealed truth and drawn you to the Lord
Well couldn’t this mean they have the Holy Spirit indwelling them?
Out of context it could mean that. But the teaching of the rest of the Bible disputes that and it can mean just that you have been on the receiving end of the Holy Spirit’s work in revealing the truth of God’s word to you and his work to draw you to the Lord.
Let’s remember what the author doesn’t say here.
He hasn’t said, “the Spirit of truth… lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:17)
He hasn’t said, you are a temple “of the Holy Spirit, who is in you” (1 Corinthians 6:19)
He hasn’t said, you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30)
Other Scriptures use language of the Spirit being in you and you being sealed with Him.
Here the author says “Shared in the Holy Spirit.”
It is a recognition that this person has been a participant in the work of the Holy Spirit which as Jesus says in John 16:13 is to “guide you into all truth”
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(John 16:13 - But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.)
And he is doing that as part of the work of drawing people to the Father. Jesus tells us in John 6:44
that "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,
The Father draws us through the work of the Spirit in enlightening them to the truth of the truth of the gospel and his word so they can respond in faith.
So to have shared in the Holy Spirit means to have been on the receiving end of the Spirit’s work in revealing the truth of God’s word and drawing men to the Father.
Transition
What does “tasted the goodness of the word of God” mean?
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This is not that difficult and pretty self explanatory in that a person
Knows God’s word is Good and True
You have seen the word working in people’s lives and know its goodness and truth.
What does “tasted the powers of the coming age” mean?
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Seen firsthand signs, wonders and Miracles proving God’s word true
You have seen miracles that have been performed among you that have been used to confirm the message of the word of God.
Remember what the author said in Hebrews 2 about the message of salvation.
Hebrews 2:3-4
This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Summary
The person being spoken about has been enlightened by the work of the Spirit to the truth of God’s word and the gospel. It is not a person that is already a Christ, but a person that has all they need to know to become a Christian.
This person has seen it all and knows the truth of it since the Spirit has shown them these things and drawn them to the Lord, but they have not yet truly believed in and received Jesus Christ and if after all of that, they turn away from the Lord and the truth of the message of the gospel, there is no hope for them of ever coming back to this point again.
How is that possible?
How can someone be Enlightened and fall Away?
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And the answer is “I don’t know.”
But we see the truth of it in Scripture of people who have seen all of what the author talks about and yet fall away.
Judas
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This would be someone like Judas who spent nearly 3 years with Jesus sitting under his teaching seeing and perhaps even performing miracles by the power of the Spirit, but never being a true believer.
It would be someone like the person described by Jesus in the
Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:20-21)
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As “The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places” but had “no root” and “he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.”
Lord, Lord they say
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It would be like the person described by Jesus who would even call Him Lord in
Matthew 7:21-23
He says that even though they know He is Lord and they say, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? (they tasted the powers of the coming age), but Jesus says to them “I never knew you.”
They were never a believer, but only knew the truth, but never truly received Jesus.
What is described in Hebrews 6:4-6 are the people that the Apostle John talks about in 1 John 2:19
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They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
This here is one of 2 things that confirm the Reality of our salvation.
The Reality of our Salvation is confirmed by Perseverance
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Listen to me in this.
It is not required that you persevere in order to be saved.
It is the truly saved who will persevere.
Your perseverance does not earn you salvation.
Your perseverance shows the reality of your salvation.
If you are saved you will not fall away. You will persevere.
Just like in the parable of the sower, it was the person whose heart was Rocky Soil, who fell away when trouble and hardship came. This person did not persevere and was not a true believer, as evidenced by his ultimate falling away.
When it becomes hard to be a “Christian,” (quote/unquote) or to act like one anyway, those who are not really Christians, will either turn to Christ in reality or fall away, showing that they were never really Christians to begin with.
This is why the author warns his readers and us. If you have seen the truth and Goodness of the word of God and Spirit of God has demonstrated the truth of God’s word and enlightened you to its truth as He is drawing you to the Lord, you have a choice to make.
Will you receive Christ and truly be saved, guaranteeing your salvation by the indwelling presence of the Spirit?
Or will you not receive Christ truly, but simply go along until it gets hard and then have the reality of your salvation shown for what it is – not real – and that reality will be demonstrated by your falling away and turning from Christianity.
Hard and Challenging times await us all, Christians and non Christians.
Christians will be encouraged in their faith as they persevere and see the reality of their own faith.
So perseverance over the course of our life confirms the reality of our salvation.
Transition
We also see that
The Reality of our Salvation is confirmed by Producing Fruit
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Hebrews 6:7-8
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
Fruit is an essential element of salvation. Again, it does not earn you salvation, it is an evidence of your salvation.
In Matthew, Jesus tells us about who will produce spiritual fruit.
Slide Matthew 7:17-20 …every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. …. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Back in the parable of the sower, the true believer produced fruit.
Slide Matthew 13:22-23
22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
A true believer produces fruit. Now there will be differences in the amounts and kinds of fruit produced by true Christians, but a true Christian will produce fruit.
Application
Ok, so what does all of this mean for us?
There are times that
We need to Test the Reality of our Salvation
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2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless, of course, you fail the test?
We need to stop and examine ourselves and test the reality of our Salvation.
And while the author of Hebrews warns some who have yet to truly trust in and receive Christ, he also wants to encourage the majority who are facing hard times but that their perseverance and fruit are evident.
Hebrews 6:9-12
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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.
He encourages them by helping them to examine themselves and see their perseverance and fruit.
This text and testing ourselves is not designed to make us constantly question if we are saved. On the contrary, for the truly saved, we should be encouraged as we look at the whole of the life we have been living and know that we have salvation because of the perseverance we have had during difficult and challenging times and the fruit that is being produced in our lives. And it should be an encouragement to keep on because the author tells us in the closing verses that God’s promises are sure and they should be “an anchor for the soul” (Hebrews 6:19)
But it is to those who examine themselves, and do not see perseverance or fruit, that is should be a warning and a wakeup call.
Do not think that just knowing about the gospel and God’s word is enough. You need to enter into a knowing relationship with Christ by receiving Him as your Savior, recognizing the reality of Who He is and What He has done, fully believing in Him.
Today if you hear is voice, do not harden your hearts and rebel against the Lord.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
If the Spirit of God has led you to know and see the reality of the truth, and you do not receive Jesus, but turn away in the challenging times, there will be no hope left for you.
Because basically what you have done is said to the Holy Spirit as He has enlightened you to the truth of God’s word and drawn you toward a relationship with the Lord – that He, the Holy Spirit is lying and you blaspheming against the Holy Spirit attributing His leading to demonic activity.
It is impossible to be brought back to this point because the Holy Spirit will no longer be working to lead you, and it is impossible to come to the Father unless He leads us and enlightens us.
This challenging text is really what it looks like to commit the unforgivable sin, which is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
You have not committed this sin if you are worried that you have
But I have good news for you if you are here today and you are worried that it might be too late. It is not if you are worried that it is. That is a sign that the Holy Spirit is still working. Otherwise, if you may have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, your heart would be completely hard and you would be thinking to yourself this is just a bunch of lies.
Close
So, If today you have examined your life and do not see fruit or perseverance, and are concerned about your salvation, do not harden your heart but turn to Him confessing your true belief and follow after Jesus in the Power of the Holy Spirit.
If you do see fruit and perseverance, be encouraged and continue to be strengthened to follow Him
I am going to pray and lead in a prayer of confession and a prayer of strength for perseverance. If you need Salvation, turn from your sin and receive Jesus today.
If you need His strength, find it through His word, His Spirit and His people as you walk in faith.
Let’s Pray
