Someone said...
"this passage of Scripture gives us the most detailed description of what it means to be saved that we find anywhere in the Bible,"
I would disagree with that. Does it say that they were Elected before the foundation of the World?... does it say that they were redeemed by the blood of Christ? Does it say that they were Regenerated? Born Again? that they had faith in Jesus? That they were JUSTIFIED? That they were SAVED? That they were ADOPTED AS SONS? That they were sanctified? That they were predestined to be glorified? That they know God? Did it call them Saints? That they were SEALED with the Holy Spirit of promise?
These are the things that are said about the turly saved. Instead it is simply said that they were enlightened ...not regenerated or born again. It says that they had only tasted the heavenly gift. Jesus said "I am the living bread... if anyone EATS of this bread He will live forever" Tasting isn't eating. We do know that since they had lived in the time of Christ and Had seen Him or his Apostles perform miracles by the Holy Spirit that they were therefore partakers of the Holy Spirit in some sense ...but it doesn't say that they were "sealed by the Holy Spirit" which is said of true believers. They had also only "tasted" the good word of God and the powers of the age to come since they had heard the preaching of God's word and had seen the miracles of the Apostles... but lots of people had heard the word and seen miracles.
I do admit that at first glance it being impossible to renew them to repentance is the most problematic one for the person who believes in the security of the believer but if we remember the situation it isn't really hard to understand.
The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish people who left the Jewish religion and joined the Christian people. They had changed their minds (repented) with regards to Judaism and publicaly joined the Christian movement. But then they changed their minds again (repented) and went back to the Jewish religion. So you are not going to be able to change their minds again and get them to come and join the Christian religion again. Outwardly leaving one institutional religion and joining another and then going back to the first one is a type of changing your mind or repentance but it isn't necessarily the repentance that truly saves. The repentance that saves is to change your mind about trusting works for salvation and to genuinely trust Christ and his blood alone for salvation. Lots of people repent (change their minds) about Islam or something and join a christian group and then later change their minds and go back to the first group and yet they were never really saved.... because they just changed their minds about which group to worship with.
So the people Hebrews 6 is talking about came really close to salvation. They changed their minds (repented) of being Jews and Joined Christianity at least outwardly ...They were enlightened in many ways, and tasted a little here and nibbled a little there... heard the word of God preached... etc. But then they left and went back to the Judaism.
Now the Apostle John said that these people weren't ever really saved... In 1st John 2:19 He says of those who joined the Christian movement and then later left the Christian movement..."They went out from us but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest that NONE of them were of us."
John 6:39 Jesus said... "This is the will of the Father who sent me (Jesus always does God's will) that of all He has given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up at the last day" Christ won't lose any that the Father chose and gave to Him to keep.
"this passage of Scripture gives us the most detailed description of what it means to be saved that we find anywhere in the Bible,"
I would disagree with that. Does it say that they were Elected before the foundation of the World?... does it say that they were redeemed by the blood of Christ? Does it say that they were Regenerated? Born Again? that they had faith in Jesus? That they were JUSTIFIED? That they were SAVED? That they were ADOPTED AS SONS? That they were sanctified? That they were predestined to be glorified? That they know God? Did it call them Saints? That they were SEALED with the Holy Spirit of promise?
These are the things that are said about the turly saved. Instead it is simply said that they were enlightened ...not regenerated or born again. It says that they had only tasted the heavenly gift. Jesus said "I am the living bread... if anyone EATS of this bread He will live forever" Tasting isn't eating. We do know that since they had lived in the time of Christ and Had seen Him or his Apostles perform miracles by the Holy Spirit that they were therefore partakers of the Holy Spirit in some sense ...but it doesn't say that they were "sealed by the Holy Spirit" which is said of true believers. They had also only "tasted" the good word of God and the powers of the age to come since they had heard the preaching of God's word and had seen the miracles of the Apostles... but lots of people had heard the word and seen miracles.
I do admit that at first glance it being impossible to renew them to repentance is the most problematic one for the person who believes in the security of the believer but if we remember the situation it isn't really hard to understand.
The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish people who left the Jewish religion and joined the Christian people. They had changed their minds (repented) with regards to Judaism and publicaly joined the Christian movement. But then they changed their minds again (repented) and went back to the Jewish religion. So you are not going to be able to change their minds again and get them to come and join the Christian religion again. Outwardly leaving one institutional religion and joining another and then going back to the first one is a type of changing your mind or repentance but it isn't necessarily the repentance that truly saves. The repentance that saves is to change your mind about trusting works for salvation and to genuinely trust Christ and his blood alone for salvation. Lots of people repent (change their minds) about Islam or something and join a christian group and then later change their minds and go back to the first group and yet they were never really saved.... because they just changed their minds about which group to worship with.
So the people Hebrews 6 is talking about came really close to salvation. They changed their minds (repented) of being Jews and Joined Christianity at least outwardly ...They were enlightened in many ways, and tasted a little here and nibbled a little there... heard the word of God preached... etc. But then they left and went back to the Judaism.
Now the Apostle John said that these people weren't ever really saved... In 1st John 2:19 He says of those who joined the Christian movement and then later left the Christian movement..."They went out from us but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest that NONE of them were of us."
John 6:39 Jesus said... "This is the will of the Father who sent me (Jesus always does God's will) that of all He has given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up at the last day" Christ won't lose any that the Father chose and gave to Him to keep.
Upvote
0