“Can We Lose Our Salvation?” (Hebrews 6:1-8) | 2/9/20

Hebrews 6:1-8 | 2/9/20 | Will DuVal

But this morning, we’ve got our hands full already. And the question before us today is “What do you do with a REBECCA?” Before moving to St. Louis, I served as the “Protestant youth minister” at a boarding school in northern Indiana. One fall during “New Faculty Orientation”, after I had given a presentation on our Spiritual Life department, I was approached by Rebecca, a new colleague who asked if she could pick my brain about my role there at the school. So we met in the dining hall the next day for lunch, and she asked me all SORTS of meaty questions about my denominational affiliation, my theological persuasions, my favorite Christian artists and how we selected our worship music for an inter-denominational chapel service, on and on, and eventually I couldn’t help but ask my OWN question: “I’ve gotta ask: what’s YOUR church background? You clearly have one; you know your stuff! We could use more adult volunteers at youth group…” And she smiled and thanked me for the offer. But went on to explain that “in a past life” she had served on staff leading worship for many years at an up and coming charismatic, evangelical church. If I remember correctly, she had actually been MARRIED to the pastor. But that recently she had decided it wasn’t for her anymore, that she needed a fresh start, and she’d walked away from it all, to turn over a new leaf. And I think in my evangelistic fervor, I must have come on a little strong and scared her away, because when I expressed how much I’d love to hear her story, she smiled again and replied, “Maybe another time. It’s kind of a hard story.” And she avoided me from that day on. 

I suspect most of us know a Rebecca. If not personally, at least the most public, popular Rebeccas. What do we do with Josh Harris? Who at age 21, revolutionized the Christian dating sub-culture with his best-selling book “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”, by 30, had taken over one of the fastest growing churches in the country, with THOUSANDS of congregants and 50 staff reporting to him, and just last summer, announced that after decades, he is de-converting from the faith, and walking away from it all, his wife and family included. 

How do we as Christians make sense of the Rebeccas, the Josh Harrises, of the world? Do we have a category in our theology for them? Does the BIBLE? Many look to Hebrews ch6, vv1-8 as the quintessential text on the issue: “Can a Christian Lose Their Salvation?”. Let’s turn to God’s word together for our answer. 

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  SCRIPTURE: Would you STAND with me, for the reading…Hebrews 6:1-8

  “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings,[a] the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.” THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD...

  So, does Hebrews 6 suggest that a Christian can lose her salvation? It sure seems to! At first read. Much like James ch.2 last week, with the foundational doctrine of justification by faith alone, Hebrews 6 here APPEARS to pronounce that believers really can “fall away” from the faith. Who else would the author of Hebrews have in mind here, when he writes in vv4 & 5 of “those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come” - that sure sounds like he’s talking about Christians, doesn’t it?

  Many Christian interpreters over the years have concluded as much. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church, declared: “Must not every unprejudiced person see, the expressions here used are so strong and clear, that they cannot, without gross and palpable wrestling, be understood of any but true believers?” (John Wesley, “Predestination Calmly Considered,” from TCWOJW, 10:248). So Wesley concluded: “On this authority [of Hebrews 6], I believe a saint may fall away; that one who is holy or righteous in the judgment of God himself may nevertheless so fall from God as to perish everlastingly” (“The Perseverance of the Saints,” TCWOJW, 10:340). This issue of whether or not true believers can lose their salvation has long stood at the center of the debate between Arminian and Calvinist branches of Christianity. With Methodists, in lock step with Wesley, falling squarely in the “Arminian” camp - we must choose God, and therefore we can actually choose to walk away from Him as well; while Calvinists, in the theological tradition of Reformer John Calvin, maintain that GOD must be the one to decisively choose US for salvation, and therefore our eternal inheritance in Christ is just that - eternally secure because it’s in CHRIST. It depends not on MY faithfulness, but on His.

  So which is it? Can Christians really lose our salvation? And if so, how much Ambien am I gonna need to sleep at night, knowing that at any moment, I could be the next to fall away?

  We need to feel the weight of the question this morning, the weight of this PASSAGE, and its warning. And yet, I want to assure you, SOME of you, that if you have truly been saved by grace through faith in Christ this morning, that your hope really is eternally secure in Him, that you cannot lose that salvation, and you can go home and nap soundly this afternoon. But the thrust of Hebrews 6 points us to those operative words I just used - SOME of you… if you’ve been TRULY saved.

  See, there are basically three main views of how we ought to interpret this passage. Pastor Kent Hughes helpfully summarizes each:

  Hypothetical Situation: “One view says it refers to a hypothetical situation that has never existed and therefore is a warning against a sin that is impossible to commit… It is simply a sanctifying ‘what if’ line of thought. [Like if your parents warned you growing up - “DON’T GO IN THE ATTIC!”... but they kept it locked so that was impossible anyway. Similarly, Hughes says,] The obvious problem with this view is that if the sin cannot be committed, it is absurd to offer it as an argument against falling to it!” (Hughes, 158)

  Richard Phillips gives us further reason to reject this interpretation: “We should avoid describing this as a hypothetical situation. A number of translations give this impression by using the term ‘if’. This does not appear in the Greek text, which is best rendered not by the phrase ‘if they fall away’, but ‘those who have fallen away’. This situation of apostasy is very real, a very terrible possibility that must be earnestly avoided.” (Richard Phillips, REC: Hebrews, p.187) So that leaves us with only two other competing theories...

  Actual Christians: “Another interpretation is that those who fall away are actual, bona fide Christians. Those who hold this view believe that God supplies grace to those who are trusting him, but the ultimate perseverance of any believer depends on the cooperation of his free will. Therefore, any Christian, whatever his state, is capable of the apostasy and condemnation here described.” (158) OR, #3...

  Apparent Christians: “The final view is that those who fall away are not true believers, but rather men and women who only appear so. They are people who have received a thorough exposure to the gospel… and have made an ostensible profession of faith and have been received into the fellowship of God’s people. However, at a later point they have abandoned their profession, even becoming opponents of Christ.” (158-9).

  Hughes offers THREE Arguments for this third, “APPARENT CHRISTIANS” interpretation, of the intended audience of Hebrews 6 here. And it’s worth noting, that the author of Hebrews has clearly been addressing Christians in the letter up to this point, in chapters 1-5, and he clearly RESUMES that pattern just after this passage - he says of the TRUE believers in this church in v9: “In your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things” You’re not like THEM. But tellingly, in vv1-8, he SHIFTS from using first and second person pronouns (“us” and “you”), to the 3rd person here in vv1-8 (“those who have been enlightened”). So Hughes argues:

  1) “The participation in spiritual realities of those who fall away… parallels the privileged experience of the children of Israel in the wilderness who fell away and died in unbelief. As part of the covenant community, the fallen Israelites had placed blood on the doorposts, eaten the Passover lamb, miraculously crossed the Red Sea, observed the pillar of cloud and fire, tasted the miraculous waters at Marah, daily ate manna, and heard the voice of God at Sinai. But their hearts were hardened in unbelief, and they fell away from the living God.” (159)

  In context, the author of Hebrews has already used these apostate Israelites as a warning back in chs. 3-4: ““Today, if you hear God’s voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?” (3:15-16) So Hughes sees an ANALOGY being made here, between those who THINK themselves Christians in this 1st c. Jerusalem church, and those Israelites who ALLEGEDLY trusted God, but proved themselves apostates in the end by their falling away.

  On this reading, Hebrews 6 was written to those IN the church, but not truly OF the church, the kind of “fakers” that John writes of in his first letter: “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 it might become plain that they all are not of us.” (1 Jn 2:19) As we said in last week sermon on “Justification by works”, the proof is in the pudding, good trees bear fruit, Jesus said it, and Hebrews reiterates it here in vv7-8: Does the land produce a crop? The only SURE fruit of true salvation is perseverance in the faith. If you fall away, you prove by definition that you were never truly one of us. One of the elect. Those who have been called. Justified. Saved.

  2) Hughes’ second argument for the “APPARENT” Christians interpretation is that “Jesus’ parable of the soils teaches us there are people who at the beginning look very much like believers, but they are unregenerate. Not only do they look like Christians, but they have remarkable spiritual experiences before they fall away - just as the seed sown in rocky places ‘is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy’.” (159)

  That’s Mark 4:16-17, that we studied last year. PLENTY of people have emotional experiences at youth camp, a revival, a Hillsong concert, and “immediately receive the word with joy”, come forward, say a prayer and sign a pledge card. But Jesus foretells that if “they have no root in themselves, they may endure for a while; but, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, they will fall away.” So Jesus himself clearly has a theological category for people like this, apparent Christians, who were never TRULY born-again.

  MacArthur notes, of these alleged Christians in Hebrews 6:4-5 “This passage makes no reference at all to salvation. There is no mention of justification, sanctification, the new birth, or regeneration. Those who have once been enlightened are not spoken of as born again, made holy, or made righteous. None of the normal New Testament terminology for salvation is used. In fact, no term used here is ever used elsewhere in the New Testament for salvation,” (163)

  3) Finally, and most importantly, Hughes and others, myself included, favor the “Apparent Christians” identification of Hebrew 6’s audience, because it “accords with the biblical doctrine of perseverance of the saints.” We can rule out interpretation #2 - that this warning was written for ACTUAL Christians - because of the ABUNDANCE of biblical evidence that it is impossible for true Christians to lose our salvation.

  Now, I’m just gonna WARN you: I did my Annual Performance Review yesterday with my fellow elders (some of you will be happy to hear, I get to keep my job for now…), but one of the points of feedback TAYLOR gave me, was that sometimes in my sermons I “overwhelm” you with too much Scripture, that it might be more effective if I let you marinate more, on fewer passages instead. So Taylor, I want you to know that I HEARD you, and I love and respect you, but in THIS particular sermon, on THIS particular issue, I feel SO strongly that our assurance of salvation is SO important, and there is SO much God has to say about it, that I’ve got to temporarily at least, take your feedback, and pull a **Nancy Pelosi this morning. :)

  Because I want to OVERWHELM you all this morning with the biblical evidence that believers, TRUE followers of Christ, cannot lose their salvation:

  Start all the way back in the OLD Testament: Jeremiah 32:40 (in prophesying the new and better covenant) ““I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.”

  In John 10:28-29, Jesus makes GOOD on that promise of God’s everlasting covenant: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 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.”

  2 Tim 1:12 “I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.”

  Jude 24 “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy”

  1 Pet 1:3-5 “According to God’s great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ”

  Rom 8:29-30 “those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

  Piper explains: “The kind of call Paul is talking about in Romans 8:30 is the call of Lazarus, by Jesus, from the grave: “Lazarus, I know you are dead. Now come out” ( John 11:43). The call creates the life, and that is what has happened to everybody who is a Christian: God’s sovereign call created [new, eternal] life.” (Piper, “Can a Born-Again Christian Lose Salvation”, APJ, May 31, 2013)

  John 6:37-40 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out… And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.””

  Eph 4:30 “the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ” God writes with pen, not pencil, in the Lamb’s Book of Life. He doesn’t make mistakes.

  1 Cor 1:7-8 “our Lord Jesus Christ will sustain you to the end”

  1 Thess 5:23-24 “may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

  Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 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.”

  Philippians 1:6 “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

  And how about right here in Hebrews 6 itself!

  Phillips notes: “The writer concludes this chapter with a bold statement of assurance for those who have truly received the gospel. Perhaps mindful of the false conclusion some may draw, in verse 17 he writes of “the unchangeable character of [God’s] purpose” with regard to “the heirs of the promise”. The point is that what stands behind all human activity is God’s sovereign ordination and promise. The author concludes by writing of God’s covenant promise... “That we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul” (Heb 6:17-19). These are hardly the words of someone who wants to convey a fundamental insecurity to those who have trusted in Christ!” (Phillips, p188)

  And Hebrews ENDS in ch.13 with this blessed assurance from the Lord “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (v5)

  I count 14 passages there - is that enough? To OVERWHELM you? Cuz I can keep going. Any Arminians in the room? Who need further proof that if it was left up to you, YES - you could ABSOLUTELY lose your faith… you WOULD without QUESTION do it, if you could. If it was up to you. But praise God it’s not. That for those who are truly in Christ, we have a sure and steadfast anchor for our souls. We’ve got HIM! JESUS is our anchor!

  So, the big question we’re left with is: how are we supposed to interpret vv4-5, then? Cuz again, it sure sounds like he’s writing to Christians: “enlightened… tasted the heavenly gift… shared in the Holy Spirit...” Well, I think there are actually TWO viable ways of interpreting it. We don’t have much time for either, but

  The first interpretation, as summarized by Phillips, is that “the language describes participation in the sacramental life of the church. According to this view, ‘once enlightened’ refers to baptism… “Tasting the heavenly gifts” speaks of the Lord’s Supper, while “sharing in the Holy Spirit” speaks of the laying on of hands. “Tasting the goodness of the word of God” would correspond to preaching in the church, while “the powers in the age to come” would indicate signs and wonders that accompanied the original preaching of the gospel (Hebrews ch.2).” (Phillips, p189)

  And there are those in the church of Jerusalem, being addressed, who have taken part in ALL of that, they’ve been admitted to the church’s membership, baptized, received communion, anointed for ministry, ALL of it… and yet they were never born again. They never truly trusted Jesus for their salvation.

  The second interpretation is to read those 5 descriptors as allusions not to NT practices of the early church, but as OT rituals that some of the Jews in the church of Jerusalem were still CLINGING to. John MacArthur champions this reading. He says these Judaizing pseudo-Christians like the IDEA of Jesus, but they’re not sure yet that they want more than just a TASTE. They’ve still got a foot in their old Jewish customs. The “dead works” we hear of in v.1. MacArthur points out that the Greek verb aphiemi in v.1 means “to forsake, to put away… it refers to total detachment, total separation”, and points out that “We are never to leave the basics, the elementary teachings, of the gospel, no matter how mature we grow in the faith. So the issue here is not that of growing in spiritual maturity as a Christian, but of coming into the first stage of spiritual maturity by becoming a Christian. It is a matter of dropping, leaving, putting away, that which we have been holding onto and taking up something entirely new. Therefore it can only be a reference to unbelievers.” (158-9)

  And MacArthur goes on to argue, that the repentance and faith, the washings and laying on of hands, the resurrection and eternal judgment listed in vv.1 & 2, AS WELL AS the “enlightenment”, “tasting”, and “sharing” of vv.4 & 5, can ALL be identified with various OT rituals, and samplings of spiritual blessings by virtue of vicarious church participation, without full inclusion in the eternal, imperishable inheritance of salvation.

  3 APPLICATION POINTS:

  Now, there’s SO much more that could be and SHOULD be said about this rich passage. And I look forward to the day, years from now, when I get to preach through Hebrews verse-by-verse and unpack ch.6 further. But I want to close with 3 practical, application points for you. What should we DO with this passage? If we truly can’t lose our salvation, then do we just pull a Pelosi, and rip it out of our Bibles? No...

  CHECK YOURSELF. We saw it last week with faith and works: your profession of faith is not enough, friends. If you belong to Jesus, your life will be the evidence.

  Do you realize this (CHURCH) is a DANGEROUS place for you to be. Jesus makes it clear in Luke 12:47-48, there will be a harsher punishment for those who had EVERY reason to turn to him in faith, who heard the gospel EVERY Sunday at a Bible-proclaiming church, and who still rejected him. It would be better that you not be here. There comes a point in time when your IN-decision about Jesus BECOMES your decision. You're “not yet, Jesus” at a certain point in time becomes a “No thanks”. And the scary thing is, you won’t necessarily know when your heart has crossed that threshold, become hardened beyond the point of no return. The kind of hardening Jesus warned the Pharisees about in Mark 3 - the unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; bold-face rejecting Jesus. The false teachers of 2 Peter 2:20-21, who “after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.” Those who “trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified” (Heb 10:28-2

  So Paul says TODAY is the day of salvation! (2 Cor 6:2) Don’t wait!

  2) PRESS ON! 

  Phil. 3:8-12 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ”

  Piper: “A lot of people think eternal security is like a vaccination. They think, “When I was 6 years old, I prayed, and God vaccinated my arm. Therefore, I can’t get the disease of damnation.” That is not the way it is. Rather, it is more like entering lifetime therapy with a doctor who says, “You are my patient. You will do what I say, and I will get you to the end, whole in the last day.”” (“Can Lose?”)

  Piper: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13). So, be about it, Piper. Get this book open, get on your knees, cry out for keeping, and immerse yourself in God’s word. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” — every day, not just at the front end of the Christian life (Romans 10:17). If I’m going to believe, I got to have God’s word. That’s how he keeps me.” (“How Respond?”)

  -”In commerce, in study, in war, it is often said: there is no safety but in advance. To stand still is to go back. To cease effort is to lose ground.” (Andrew Murray, The Holiest of All, p.207)

  -Big Tom Callahan: “In business…” (same is true in faith)

  -analogy: being a Christian is like riding a bike - you gotta keep moving forward or you are at serious risk of falling off. 

  What’s true in soccer, is true in fighting sexual immorality in a dating relationship (workshop last night), is true in FAITH: Best defense is a strong offense! 

  “The undeniable spiritual axiom is: Where there is life there is growth!” (157)

  3) REST IN CHRIST. Go take that nap this afternoon. Because you CAN. You can sleep easy. IF you’ve examined yourself, and IF you’re diligently pressing on. 

  Hebrews 3:14 “We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”

  Piper: “The author doesn’t say, “If you hold your confidence firm to the end, you will get a share in Christ.” He says, “We know that we have had — from the beginning of our lives with Christ — a share in Christ, because we endure to the end.” This means perseverance in faith is the evidence that we have been made part of Christ. And when that perseverance doesn’t hold, then we were never in the assurance.”