"LET GO OF GUILT" Prt 2...

Virtual Sunday Message
11-9-09
By Rev Deb

EXAMINING SCRIPTURE

A passage I believe that has been misunderstood in terms of salvation is found in Hebrews 6:4-11.  Some have taken this to mean that a believer can fall from their steadfast relationship with Christ to a point of being lost.  As you have perhaps taken note already from part 1 of this message, that I do not believe a believer can alter their relationship with Christ, as there was nothing on their/our part to deserve it in the first place. 

God's unmerited favor was given as a gift- this is why Jesus had to be the one to take our place and therefore when He completed the requirements of the law that condemned us to eternal death- Jesus cried out with a LOUD voice, "Tetelestai" meaning "IT IS FINISHED"!!!
Everything that was required to secure a believers life was FINISHED on the cross...

This is why we find in Scripture passages such as these,- "I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand."  Jo 10:28

"This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him has eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."
Jo 6:39,40

Let's stop here for a moment.  The above word "GIVE" in John 10, is the Greek word "didomi" and means "to bestow a gift".  The word "eternal life" is the Greek word "aionios" and means, "without end, never to cease, everlasting". 

This next word "never" (Grk. "ou me") in verse 28 of John is considered a double negative, meaning "certainly not, not at all, by no means".  Now call me simple, but as far as I can see, the words themselves speak plainly, but the definitions put it to rest...

Jesus wanted to make Himself very clear.  "Eternal life" should speak loud enough by itself, but to be very sure there would be no doubt, Jesus reinforced it by inserting a "double negative" into His sentence structure. 

The word "perish"  is the Greek word "apollymi" and means "to lose, or metaphorically, to devote or give over to eternal misery in hell".

So It would reads like this... "I [Jesus] give [as a gift to you] eternal life [that will never cease, it will be everlasting] to them, and they will never [certainly not, by no means] perish [be lost or given over to the misery of hell] ; and no one will snatch them out of My hand".

"This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him has eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." Jo 6:39,40

In this second passage Jesus clearly states His Father's WILL, that  NO ONE that has accepted His Son will be lost.  All that believe HAS ETERNAL LIFE. 

One other passage worth mentioning before we move on to our main text is John 5:24.  "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life."

Jesus starts out the verse, "Truly, truly, I say to you..."  The double mention no doubt is to grab the attention of the hearers/readers, but more importantly, it establishes a very serious truth...

Jesus said that anyone that would believe in Him, has three things happen to them.  1. The believer receives "eternal life".   2. WILL NOT come into judgment.  And 3. Passes out of death into life.

These are truly serious words in understanding the Lords teaching on salvation.  The first important fact,-   Someone who takes a step of faith and believes on Jesus as their Savior IMMEDIATELY receives ETERNAL LIFE (see definition above for eternal).  John further states the Lord's promise to us.   "This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life." 1 Joh 2:25

Secondly, the individual WILL NOT come into judgment... The word "NOT" "ou" is an absolute negative and expects the answer "NO" !  It can also be translated "CANNOT".

So Jesus literally affirms the absolute impossibility of a believer EVER experiencing God's wrath!!

"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." Joh 3:36

Thirdly, John declares the one who believes "has passed out of death into life." The word "passed" is in the perfect tense and means "PERMANENTLY" with an ongoing result...

There are many verses on this important subject, but I hope that this would at least serve as a catalyst into this powerful topic. Considering Jesus thought is was important enough to die for...

Let's move on to our star verse,- Hebrews 6:4-11.  I would have to say, that this verse is probably one of the most misunderstood passages in Scripture.  Let's take a look at it,-

"For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,

 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

 7 For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God;

 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. 

 9 But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.

 10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.

 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end,

In order to glean a clear understanding, it is important to know some background and the time frame of this writing.

This passage was penned about 68 to 69 A.D.  It was written to Hebrew Christians to rebuke and encourage them, since they had reverted back to Judaism.  The writer rebuked them for regressing back to infancy in their Christian knowledge (5:12)...  These believers, the writer explains, should have been teachers of God's word since they had been 25 years in the Lord, but instead, they needed someone to teach them all over again the elementary building block of the Christian faith..

So to advert such an advancement the writer accentuates the superiority of Christ to expose the inferiority of Judaism.  Remember, this was about one year before the temple and all Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus and the tenth legion of Rome.  Many of these believers were offering animal sacrifices in order to avoid persecution.  Keep this in mind as we as we examine the passage in Hebrews...

To be continued...
Until next week