1

APOSTASY IN HEBREWS?

Pastor Tony ButlerINTRODUCTION

In my opinion the book of Hebrews stands alone among all the epistles as the most Christ centered book of the NT. The book of Hebrews is a book filled with glorious teachings of the grace of God. It is a masterful presentation of the absolute superiority of Jesus’ life and ministry as God incarnate over all the prophets and angels. Hebrews reveals to us our Great High Priest and King after the order of Melchizedek Who sits at the right hand of the throne of God. There at the right hand of the father Jesus ever lives to make intercession for all believers before God the Father.

Jesus is revealed as a sympathetic, merciful and gracious High Priest to all believers who come to him for help. In the book of Hebrews we discover the boldness we have as believers to come into God’s very presence by the blood of Jesus. Jesus' High Priestly ministry in the heavenly tabernacle and His superior ministry over the Levitical priests who ministered from an earthly tabernacle is clearly revealed in Hebrews. It presents the death of our sinless Savior on the cross as a onetime, all-sufficient sacrifice which eternally redeems, and eternally forgives our sins so as to remember them no more.

Hebrews is filled with glorious truths, blessings and benefits that come to all believers through faith in Christ. Hebrews is filled with wonderful power of good news for the people of God. But good news isn’t the book’s only motivator; it is also mixed with the motivational power of warning. There are five serious warnings are found in Hebrews which present some difficult passages that must be addressed honestly without trying to make them adapt to preconceived ideas of fixed theological systems created by man. These passages deal with this question: Does a true believer have the capacity to turn away from Jesus through unbelief to the point of apostasy and thus lose his/her salvation?

There are godly Christian teachers that have different approaches and viewpoints concerning the five warnings spoken in the book of Hebrews. I am going to list the warnings below, but I am only going to write on the fourth warning as found in Heb. 10:26-31, because of where we are in our study. It is impossible to give the subject of apostasy the time that is needed from a single sermon in the pulpit. I can assure you I will not develop all the issues in this paper as well. I am writing this paper to help the congregation see some of the issues and different opinions that are out there on the subject of apostasy. God bless you all as you study to show yourselves approved in this matter.

The Five Warnings Of Hebrews

Warning One - Hebrews 2:1-3Hebrews 2:1-3 - "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast,

2

and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;"

Warning Two – Hebrews 3:7-4:13Hebrews 3:7-19 - "Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."

Hebrews 4:1-11 - "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief."

Warning Three – Hebrews 6:4-8Hebrews 6:4-8 - "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

Warning Four - 10:26-31

3

Hebrews 10:26-31 - "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Warning Five - 12:25-29.Hebrews 12:15-24 - "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; (16) Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. (17) For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. (18) For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, (19) And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (20) (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: (21) And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) (22) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, (23) To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, (24) And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."

Hebrews 12:25-29 - "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: (26) Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. (27) And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. (28) Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: (29) For our God is a consuming fire."

Does The Book Of Hebrews Warn That A Christian Can Be Lost?

To begin to answer the question I think it is important to understand the various approaches to the book of Hebrews taken by Christians as to whom the book was written.

The Two Primary Views Concerning The Recipients Of The Letter1. A minority belief among Christians is that the letter to the Hebrews was written to

unsaved professing Jews who were on the verge of salvation, but were not actually saved.

4

Because of the persecution of Christians within the Roman Empire these professed unsaved Jews were drawing back from Christianity and were returning to the shadow of the Law.

If one accepts this view, there is no longer a discussion about the five warnings leading to Christian apostasy because they weren't saved in the first place. If this view is correct, then my view is absolutely incorrect.

2. A majority belief among Christians is that the letter was written to true Jewish believers who were being persecuted for their faith in Jesus, but not to the point of bloodshed. The Jewish Christians were beginning to draw back from assembling with other believers and were tempted to return to the shadows of the law where they could hide safely within the confines of Judaism, which was a legal religion in the Roman Empire at the time. (I adhere to this majority view, that the book was written to Christians.)

Within this school of thought there are three primary views among believers concerning whether or not a true, born-again Christian can lose their salvation/apostatize.

“The Impossibility View”There is no way a Christian can lose their salvation therefore

Hebrews doesn't teach that a Christian can apostatize. (This is called the "Once Saved Always Saved" - OSAS)

This view is based primarily on two foundations within evangelical Christianity

1. Calvinism – Calvinism teaches since Christians are elect people that are predestined by God to be saved there is no way for him to lose what God has eternally predestined him to have.

2. The Promises Of God. Not all proponents of OSAS are Calvinists. The promises of God themselves declare the believer’s sins are forgiven and forgotten eternally by the blood of Jesus. The Bible promises that the believer has eternal life and eternal redemption through faith in Christ. Therefore it is impossible for the promises to be true if one can be unsaved after becoming a believer.

“The Possibility View”There is a way for a Christian to lose his salvation. Though there are wonderful

promises but there are also clear warnings in the bible that would suggest a Christian could forfeit his salvation.

It is very important to understand “The Possibility View” falls into two camps!

The first Camp – (I call this the "Saved, Lost, Saved Lost" camp - SLSL)

People who adhere to this approach of Scripture believe it is completely possible for a Christian to lose his salvation. Many who adhere to this view don't think that apostasy is the

5

only way for a Christian to be lost. They also believe that if a believer dies with some un-confessed sin before he can receive forgiveness through repentance and confession he will go straight to hell and suffer eternal damnation. This view is held primarily by people who believe that salvation is conditional, their salvation being partly based on the works and faithfulness of the believer. In this camp a man can backslide and be lost just by committing sins and not keeping all the commandments of Christ. (It is a very man centered and very works based approach. Most the people in this camp preach a false gospel of works, however there are a few exceptions)

Many people that adhere to this view also believe even the apostate can be restored to salvation by confession and repentance. Within this camp there are also people that distinguish between losing your salvation by sinning/backsliding versus losing your salvation by apostasy. Though they believe one can become lost just by sinning/backsliding, they also teach that if a Christian apostatizes he can never be saved again.

The Second Camp - ( “Eternal Security Of The Believer” camp - ESOTB )

People in this camp believe it is impossible to lose your salvation except by means of apostasy alone. People who adhere to this view are not Calvinists, but they believe all the promises of God about eternal life to the believer, and all the blessings that flow from Christ to the believer as a result of his justification through faith.

In no way d0 they believe in works for salvation or works to maintain salvation. They believe that salvation is totally dependent on believing on Jesus alone, apart from any works. Salvation is maintained and secured by the power of God through faith. (I Pet. 1:5) As long as one continues to believe/trust in Christ, he/she is eternally secure. They see Christians as free moral agents who are responsible to use their will for obedience and faith.

Because of a Christian's free will, people in this group believe Christians can willfully choose sin, which can harden the heart to the point of unbelief /apostasy so that he willfully walks away from faith in Christ.

It is different than "Once saved, Always saved" because it does allow for apostasy concerning Christians whereas OSAS doesn't.

It should be understood that many Christians use the term "Eternal Security Of The Believer” and “Once saved Always Saved" synonymously, making no

distinction between the two terms.

There are no small disagreements on this subject within Christendom. It has been debated over and over for centuries. I believe that the “Impossibility View” (OSAS) and the second camp of the “Possibility View” (ESOTB) are well within the pale of orthodoxy. The first camp of the “Possibility View” (SLSL) has serious problems because for the most part, they are performance-based legalists working for their salvation. (I totally disagree with the “SLSL” view)

6

To me there is a possibility the OSAS view could possibly be correct. (Not the Calvinist approach but the Promise Based approach.) However, at present I belong to the ESOTB group because of the clear language used in Hebrews that I can’t deny. Though I admit I could be wrong in my approach, I find it amusing that few in the OSAS group will ever acknowledge the same. Let me make it clear that both groups (OSAS/ESOTB) dogmatically believe salvation is all of grace through faith. Both groups revel in all the spiritual blessings we have “in Christ” through faith in Christ. Both have a Christ centered grace based orthodoxy.

Was Hebrews written to Christians?I think it is important to determine whether or not Hebrews was written to Christian Jews

or merely written to professing Christian Jews. The answer to the question determines completely how one approaches the warnings of Hebrews. I will attempt at this time to show some of the internal evidence within the book that clearly reveals Hebrews was written to Christians. (This is a majority view of evangelical commentators, by the way.)

1. The readers are called "Holy Brothers" Heb. 3:1 - This term is only used one other time in the NT.

I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. (1Th 5:27)

People who disagree say the term doesn't demand the Jews were true believers. The Jewish people are called "holy" as a nation or people. All Jews are holy in the sense they were separated by God from all the other nations to be His people (Lev. 20:26). The apostle Peter called them brethren before they were saved as he preached his first sermon in Acts (Acts 2:29). Therefore it is possible the term could be used for unsaved Jews by the writer of Hebrews, but not likely. The fact is that the two words combined "Holy" and “Brethren" are never used in the NT to for unsaved Jews, only Christians.

1. There isn't a single place where the readers are admonished to believe on Jesus or to be saved. The only admonition is for them not to harden their hearts in unbelief and to continue in the faith.

"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." (Heb 3:12)

2. They had a firm testimony of Christian hope, service and love.

"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:" (Heb 6:10-11)

3. They clearly professed faith, and the writer of Hebrews exhorts them to hold on to that profession.

7

"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)" (Heb 10:23)

4. There are 12 "Let us" statements by the writer of Hebrews, showing he saw himself as one of them.

5. The readers had a solid history of facing affliction, mocking and hardships in the past because of their faith in Christ.

They were said to have been enlightened/illuminated/Gr. fotidzo. They had even supported the writer of Hebrews when he was in prison because of his faith.

"But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a

better and an enduring substance." (Heb 10:32-34)

6. The whole of Hebrews is full of exhortations that only make sense if the readers are Christians. The writer of Hebrews calls them to continue in love, continue in sound doctrine, warns against false teachings, tells them to obey their spiritual leaders, and prays that Christ in them would work out His will in their lives.

"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wel lpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."(Heb 13:20-21)

Much more could be said but this is sufficient in my sight. ("A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.") As I stated previously, those that teach that the readers weren't Christians go against almost the entire community of Christian teachers and commentators as well as clear internal language in Hebrews used for believers.

Reconciling The Seemingly IrreconcilableAs I mentioned previously there are two camps of OSAS. Each is a little different.

Each of the two camps approaches scripture a bit differently. One bases their approach on a supposed biblical theological system called “The Tulip” which is an acronym for the five basic tenants of Calvinism while the other bases its view on the eternal promises of God separate from Calvinism within the New Testament.

The Calvinist camp

If the Calvinist camp is correct in their theology then OSAS is absolutely correct. Common sense says if God chose you to salvation by divine decree without human will being involved at all by means of God’s irresistible grace, then there is absolutely no way a Christian predestined by God to be saved could ever be lost. This is a fixed logical and philosophical consequence that flows naturally out of a Calvinistic theological system.

The Promise Based camp

8

These are believers that teach OSAS based on the promises and spiritual blessings that come to the Christian based upon the finished work of Christ on the cross. They don’t believe for a moment that the work of God can be undone in the believer’s heart because the promises of God for salvation are eternal in nature. They can’t see how a Christian can be saved eternally and then be warned of danger that will make them lost eternally.

They do adhere to the possibility of professing believers not being genuine Christians. Such persons were never saved; they were mere professors of faith and not true possessors of salvation. Therefore, some people in this category teach that the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews were never saved in the first place. I also absolutely recognize and believe that many people claim to be Christians but in reality have never experienced new birth/salvation. They never lost their salvation; they just never had it. However, in the case of Hebrews, I don’t think this applies at all.

So, how can one believe that a Christian can lose his salvation without teaching works for salvation and works for maintenance of salvation? How can it be possible for someone to have eternal life, eternal redemption, and eternal sanctification and still lose their salvation? In light of the all the promises of God concerning believers regarding salvation, how could a Christian possibly lose such a salvation? These are logical and honest questions. However, they aren’t the only questions.

A Proper Balance Between Promises And Warnings Does the Bible declare warnings to Christians about losing their salvation? Can

warnings be as valid as promises to Christians concerning losing their salvation? If so, how can the two be reconciled?

In order to answer the question, I think we need to go to the Scriptures and find a place where promises were given for life, and warnings were given for death simultaneously. If we can find such an illustration perhaps we can find a proper biblical balance concerning promises and warnings given to Christians.

There is such an example in Scripture. The illustration below is a “promise” of physical salvation for life and a “warning” of losing physical salvation ending in death. The principle is the same when applied to eternal salvation where one sees promises and warnings.

The Promise – Everyone Will Be SavedActs 27:16-32 - "And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much

work to come by the boat: (17) Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. (18) And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; (19) And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. (20) And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. (21) But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. (22) And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. (23) For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, (24) Saying, Fear not,

9

Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. (25) Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. (26) Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.

The Warning - Stay In The Ship

(27) But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country; (28) And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms. (29) Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. (30) And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, (31) Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. (32) Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off."

This biblical narrative is a perfect illustration of precious promises and viable warnings. On one hand there is a divine revelation given to Paul that there would be no loss of human life, but only that the ship would be destroyed, thus “The Promise.” Later Paul would see some sailors attempting to leave the ship on a smaller skiff connected to the boat, he told the centurion that if the sailors left the boat that he (the centurion) and his men couldn’t be saved, thus “ The Warning. ”

Now this presents a good question: How could both be true at the same time? Was Paul lying? Does God contradict Himself? The answer to both is “no”. The truth is that both were true simultaneously, the promise and the warning. If denominations were built on this story you would have those that only claim the promises and those that only emphasize the warnings. However, the real balance would be to believe both the promises and the warnings.

The reality of the scripture above is that the promise became true because the warning was heeded. God knew the decision they would make before they made it. What would have happened if they didn’t keep the warning and disobeyed the warning of Paul? They would have perished. The fact is they didn’t perish, though it was possible, thus fulfilling the prophecy of the promise.

An Interesting ComparisonJn. 6:37-65 is used by so many Calvinists and promise based Christians to prove the

impossibility of losing one's salvation. In this portion of scripture we see God the Father give all that will believe to Jesus as a gift and that none of them would be lost. Jesus declares all that are given to Him that He in no way would cast them out. and the fact that Jesus promised to cast out none that came to Him out. All the above are seen as one's who have been drawn by the Father to come to Jesus.

All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will in no way cast out. (Joh 6:37)

And this is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all which He has given Me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day. (Joh 6:39)

And He said, Because of this I said to you that no one can come to Me unless it was given to him from My Father. (Joh 6:65) (These verses are a Calvinist's playground)

10

Similar languageHowever, if one will look carefully at the promises in Acts 27 there is the same language

used by God along with a clear warning.

: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. (23) For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, (24) Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

The angel promised those on the ship were given by God the Father as a gift to Paul declaring all would be saved. The angel made this crystal clear.

Paul Shortly after the promise sees the shipmen pretending to be lowering anchors when they were actually in the process of lowering the safety boat to escape.

Paul warns the Centurion that if the shipmen leave the boat that the Centurion and all his men could not be saved.

In quick response to the warning the centurion had the safety boat cut loose from the main ship. This obedience to the warning brought about the promise of the angel and every person was saved.

For me, I see the same scenario with Christians concerning apostasy. I fully recognize the promises of God to Christians and I trust completely in those promises. At the same time I recognize the warnings to Christians as to drawing back in unbelief and departing from the living God. (Heb. 3:12) The real question is just how far can a Christian depart from God?

The clear example above of the balance between the promises and warning of God has weight. Christians have free will and have the capacity to make some very bad decisions. God in love has provided exceeding precious promises to us but he has also placed some serious warnings before us. I believe in them both, promises and warnings. To me it is not a wise thing to discount warnings. It can only be healthy to the believer to balance the whole counsel of God's Word instead of ignoring the kinds of things they may not like to think about.

Lest fear should overly strike one’s heart because of warnings, we need to look at the kinds of statements made by the writer of Hebrews after speaking warnings. Hebrews is much more about the emphasis of exhorting and encouraging believers than he is about warning believers. Read below and you will see something very interesting.

Hebrews 6:9 - "But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak."

Hebrews 10:39 - "But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul."

Hebrews 12:28 - "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:"

At no time does the writer of Hebrews ever intimate that the believers in Hebrews had apostatized. Though he spoke with such harsh warnings he always encouraged them. (Heb. 6:9) Just as all the people on the ship were saved by believing the promise and heeding the warning, I believe all Christians would be wise to do the same. The difference between ETSOTB and the OSAS people is simply that the former declares the possibility that a Christian losing his

11

salvation by apostasy. OSAS adherents deny the possibility because they can’t see how warnings and promises can be true simultaneously.

Extremely Important To Understand The eternal security of the believer camp of the “Possibility View” ( ESOTB) doesn’t

teach salvation by works nor does it teach maintenance of salvation by works.

Faith isn’t a work; it is “an attitude of the heart” under the influence of the convicting and convincing work of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:8). Faith believes what God says is true.

“Unbelief “ is also an attitude of the heart that doesn’t believe God’s word is true.

The warnings given in Hebrews were made to Christians. I have no problem with a Christian standing on the promises, but he better also take heed to divine warnings. He may not understand how they both can be true simultaneously, but he would be wise not to trust in his own understanding and invalidate what could be a very real possibility.

In my opinion this is a good balanced approach between the Promises and the Warnings. It doesn’t make me correct, but I think there is a good argument here. It is a viable alternative view with which the majority of believers are not familiar. Most Christians think you have to be either OSAS or SLSL.

After having explained a third view of ESOTB to many people I have heard many positive comments of thankfulness. As already mentioned I dogmatically believe that the Book of Hebrews was written to Believing Christian Jews. Therefore from now on there will be little consideration that the readers weren’t Christians. Now we will look at the punishment that is threatened upon the believer as found in Heb. 10:26-31. Thus the questions:

Does Heb. 10:26-31 Teach The Possibility That A Christian Can Lose His/Her Salvation?

Or

Does It Merely Teach The Possibility Of Physical Death To The Disobedient Believer?

Hebrews 10:26-31 - "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, (27) But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. (28) He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: (29) Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? (30) For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. (31) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

There are multitudes of OSAS people that absolutely believe that Hebrews speaks of apostasy by Believers. However, the difference is in the interpretation of the judgment. In their point of view the judgment is only physical death. Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, a well respected, born-again Jewish scholar explains it like this;

12

The First result of Apostasy: death

“He begins with verse 26, giving a principle for those who reject the truth. He begins with the connective word “For”; it is the reason for the coming judgment day. The previous verse closed with an admonition to gather together. But in such circumstances, some may refuse to do so, and apostasy might result. So, another warning must now be given: if we sin is in the present tense, giving it a durative, continuous force. It is a continuous condition, not merely one isolated act of sin. In other words, in their case, to go back to Judaism and then continue in it is to go back permanently. The verse continues with "willfully" which, in the Greek text, is in the empathic position, literally making the text read, "willfully if we sin." Those who choose to sin this way are doing it voluntarily, not by force. This shows their action was not out of ignorance but by deliberate intention, one planned out, determined, done with forethought. In the next portion of the verse: after that we have received the knowledge, the word for knowledge means "complete knowledge." Through their reading of this epistle, they receive a full knowledge of the warnings and consequences of their sin. If they go back, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins; that will be the first result of this apostasy.

Since Jesus was rejected, there is no other sacrifice for sin but Him. This, again, is based on the Old Testament principle that there were no sacrifices for certain sins, including adultery, murder and blasphemy. For these kinds of sins, one could not offer a sacrifice. Instead, they were subject to the penalty of physical death. Once more, it would not be spiritual death, but physical death.

But what exactly is this sin of which he speaks? This can be deduced by comparing Hebrews 10:23-25 with verses 26-29. It involves a separation of the believer from other believers permanently. It involves returning to Judaism, the Temple, and all that it entails in order to escape persecution. The sin involves a denunciation of the three elements of verse 29: the work of the Son, the work of the Father, and the work of the Holy Spirit. For such there is no more a sacrifice for sins; but subject to judgment. The nature of the judgment is threefold: first, physical death (vv. 28-29); secondly, specifically death in the judgment of A.D. 70 (vv. 25, 27); and, thirdly, the loss of rewards (vv. 35-36).”

The second result of Apostasy: Greater Judgment – 70 Ad

“In verse 27, the second result of apostasy is only greater judgment. So, there will be a certain fearful expectation of judgment. Because judgment is the only result of rejecting, there is no sacrifice for willful apostasy. In verse 28, he points out that the Old Testament Law itself teaches the fact of physical judgment. Under the Law, there was physical death at the word of two or three witnesses. Notice again, the issue here isphysical death, not spiritual death.

It will also be physical death in A.D. 70, which will be that fearful and final judgment. Verse 29 issues the warning: of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy. It is the application of all previous teachings. Because Yeshua is greater than Moses, if God punished under Moses, He will certainly punish under the Messiah. Next, he gives the reason for the judgment: the character of God. Verse 30: [God]shall judge. Verse 31:It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. So, here again, the threat is physical judgment, a physical death in A.D. 70. And once more, the correlation was with the Mosaic stoning to death, which was also a physical death.”To see all his views on the five warnings go to

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=arnold+fruchtenbaum+-+the+five+warnings+of+hebrews&pbx=1&oq=arnold+fruchtenbaum+-

13

+the+five+warnings+of+hebrews&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=2264l45542l0l45842l48l46l0l0l0l0l266l7181l6.29.11l46l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=116a3ca570808e30&biw=1280&bih=902

A Respectful DisagreementFor me personally, I see problems in this view. Dr. Fruchtenbaum presumes that the

readers were Jews living in Jerusalem and stood in danger of death when the Roman general Titus would come in 70 AD and destroy Jerusalem. This is wide open to debate. He even presumes the letter was written before the temple was destroyed in Jerusalem. He is probably right, but it can’t be proven.

There is also good possibility the writer of Hebrews was writing to Jews in Rome where direct persecutions were already taking place against Christians. There are many scholars that hold this point of view. The epistle of Hebrews ends with: Heb 13:25 - "Grace be with you all. Amen. Written to the Hebrews from Italy, by Timothy."

CAUTION AGAINST PREJUDICE AND PROOFTEXTING

Because there is great debate as to who wrote the book of Hebrews, the date in which the letter was written, and to whom the letter was written, I think we need to stay confined to the language of the letter itself. We don’t need to run to other epistles and inject them into Hebrews as proof texts. We need to think about what the author actually says and how it would be received by first century believing Jews.

A Basic Exegesis Of Hebrews 10:25-31Hebrews 10:26-31 - "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, (27) But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. (28) He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: (29) Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? (30) For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. (31) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

The Basis of the WarningThe “For” relates to the preceding verses above that will qualify such pronouncement of

judgments that will follow. It could refer to the immediate verses above or the whole of the letter. The writer had just commanded them to hold fast their profession of faith.

Hebrews 10:23 - "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering (for He is faithful who promised),"

Throughout the New Testament there is a constant admonition to the readers for continuance in faith. This admonition was repeated previously in chapter three and four.

14

Hebrews 3:6 - "But Christ was faithful as a Son over his own house; whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end."

Hebrews 3:14 - "For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,"

Hebrews 4:14 - "Since then we have a great High Priest who has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession."

“if we sin willfully” (hekousios hamartanonton hemon). Genitive absolute with the present active participle of hamartano, circumstantial participle here in a conditional sense.

In the epistle as a whole, the author of Hebrews includes himself with the readers twelve times in "let us" statements. The writer includes himself in the statement with the possibility of willfully sinning. Every man needs to take heed to the warnings of God lest thinking he stands he falls. The grace of God must never be taken for granted as a license for sin. Sin always has and always will minister death. It hardens the heart of them that are under the exercise thereof. This holds true in the life of the believer. When a believer determines to sin he must harden his heart to go against what he knows God says. When he hardens himself against truth there is only one other alternative and that is to submit to a lie.

However, I must make something crystal clear. Hebrews isn’t speaking to Christians who commit acts of sin because of the weakness of the flesh such as lying, bad thoughts, pride, etc. All of those sins have been paid for and have been eternally forgiven through the blood of Christ. (Heb. 10:12-20) This willful sin has to do with Apostasy.

The Greek “sin willfully” has more to do with a final decision made by a believer to no longer hold to his profession of faith through unbelief. The willful sin is a decision that leads to a continual attitude of unbelief. The willful sin is an intentional final decision that continues the rest of the person’s life. There is no going back. There is no more forgiveness. The willful sin in Hebrews would be a final decision to remove oneself from Jesus through unbelief. The whole context of Hebrews is dealing with Christians who are tempted to draw back from God rather than maintaining their profession in Jesus. Because of the fear of death, imprisonment and other reasons some of the Jewish believers were kidding themselves thinking they could go back to the Law and Judaism which was legal and honored under Roman law. To leave Christianity and go back to the Old Covenant would be an utter rejection of Jesus and the New Covenant.

“after we have received the knowledge of the truth” (meta to labein tane epiginosin tase alaythase) (accusative case of the articular infinitive second aorist active of lambano after meta).

The final decision to “willfully sin” comes only after a receiving of something. What did they receive? They received the “epiginosko” of the truth. “Ginosko” is the Greek word for “knowledge”. “Epiginosko” is the Greek word for full or experiential knowledge. The writer is speaking of Christians who had a full experiential knowledge of the truth. These weren’t unsaved professing Jews with a simple knowledge of Christ. There is absolutely nothing in all the exhortations made to them that would suggest they weren't Christians. They were believing Jews that had fully experienced new birth and experienced the truth.

15

“there remains no more sacrifice for sins,” (ouketi peri amartion apoleipetai thusia)

The Greek here is in a present passive indicative tense. This means that a statement of fact is being made that is true in the present.

What does the author mean by these words? Is he simply saying the Levitical sacrifices are over? Or is he saying, “If we willfully decide to no longer hold to “our profession” that there is no other means of sacrifice for sins?” If there is no other sacrifice for their sins, then what? A person would have rejected willfully the only provision made for sin, and there will be none other made. If you were rescued from drowning by a singular boat in the sea and decide to jump back into the water afterwards with no other boats around, what will be your end? The sacrifice made for sin by Jesus on the cross is never to be repeated. If that sacrifice is willfully rejected through a hard heart of unbelief (for whatever reason) the soul will perish.

“But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation,” (phobera de tis ekdoxe kriseos kai puros dzalos)

“The word “certain” here does not mean “fixed, sure, inevitable,” as our translation would seem to imply. The Greek is the same as “a (τις tis) fearful expectation,” etc. So it is ren-dered by Tyndale. The idea is, that if there was voluntary apostasy after having embraced the Christian religion, there could be nothing but an expectation of the judgment to come. There could be no other hope but that through the gospel, and as this would have been renounced, it would follow that the soul must perish. The “fearful apprehension” or expectation here does not refer so much to what would be in the mind itself, or what would be experienced, as to what must follow. It might be that the person referred to would have no realizing sense of all this, and still his situation be that of one who had nothing to expect but the terrors of the judgment to come.” (Barn’s Notes)

The word “phobera” comes from the word “Phobia” where we get our word fear. “Ekdoxe” merely means an “expectation”. The idea of “there remains no more sacrifice of sin” is connected to a fear of expected Judgment, but what kind of judgment” Fiery judgment!

But what does that mean? Does that mean burning in the fires of hell? Does it mean a terrible physical death? One thing for sure, when one makes a decision of willful sin to turn away from experienced and fully understood truth, I don’t think it will bring a good outcome. The one that does it should only expect a severe reaction from a Holy God. To better understand the term “indignation” we need to look at other places where the same word is used in other places in the Greek..

Vincent Word studies“This idea takes on different aspects in ζηλος, as indignation, Act_5:17; zeal, Joh_2:17;

Rom_10:2; 2Co_7:7; 2Co_11:2; Phi_3:6; envy, Rom_13:13; 1Co_3:3; Gal_5:20. In the last sense often with επις strife.” According to Vincent “The phrase fiery indignation, lit. indignation/zeal of fire (N.T.o) is an adaptation from Isa_26:11.”

Isaiah 26:11 - "LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour

them."

If the verse above is what the writer of Hebrews had in mind when he spoke of fiery indignation, then the question becomes, Who is the enemy? Is it God, Who will become their enemy if they forsake the faith and will visit them with the judgment of fire in hell, or is the

16

author referring to human enemies, such as Titus who would come to Israel in 70 AD and destroy them with death? (This is the view of Fruchtenbaum)

“ which shall devour the adversaries.” (esthein mellontos tous hupenantious)

The word “devour” literally means “to eat”. Here it is being used metaphorically. Who is going to be doing the eating? The fiery indignant judgment of God. Who is going to be devoured? The answer is “the adversaries”. Were the Jewish readers in danger of being judged and devoured by the means of physical death through the Roman General Titus or were they in danger of being judged by God by means of a much sorer punishment than that of physical death?

Hebrews 10:28 - "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:" (Quotation of Deut. 17:6 - The writer of Hebrews quotes Deuteronomy to present a comparison of judgment between those guilty of sins unto death under the Law of Moses and those who would sin such a willful sin against the Son of God.)

(29) "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"

Verse 28 above relates to the justification of extreme punishment of those who committed crimes that required death under the Law of Moses as seen in the following scripture.

Deuteronomy 17:3-6 - "And hath gone and served other gods, and worshiped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; (4) And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: (5) Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. (6) At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death."

However in verse 29 it is clearly seen that a person who has trodden underfoot the Son of God, and counts His blood with which he was sanctified as a common thing, and has done this to spite the Spirit of Grace is worthy of a much worse/sorer punishment than the death administered by Moses. How can being killed by Romans be worse than a death penalty by stoning by Moses?

An Interesting Change In ExpressionIt is interesting to see at this point that the writer of Hebrews doesn’t put

himself or the readers to whom he is writing in v. 29, as he did in all the times before. Now he is speaking in terms of the guilty party as “he” but only in the sense of possibility of an actual offense. This is in line with other statements the writer has made to the readers that they had not crossed any unrecoverable lines, though clear warnings against crossing lines were stated. (Heb. 6) We need to take a close look at each of the actions that could be potentially committed that would invoke such fiery judgment by God Himself.

17

Look closely at the following three reasons as to why one deserved worse punishment than one under Moses’ law of death penalty.

First Reason - “who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God” ,- (ho ton huion tou theou

katapatesas).

RWP – “First aorist/past tense active articular participle of katapateo, old verb (Mat_5:13) for scornful neglect like Zec_12:3. See same idea in Heb_6:6.”

This is in the past/aorist tense in the Greek. It would have to be committed by someone so that it is a past act. None of the readers in the present had committed such an act. The guilty person is seen as one who had stomped/trampling down on Jesus the Son of God. A serious offense indeed!

What does it mean to trample under foot something? This is a familiar term in scripture. The term, “trodden underfoot” is used in literally in scripture as well as a figuratively. The context of scripture demands which is applied. The Hebrew Jews would be very familiar with the meaning. (Is. 1:10-13 – Jer. 12:10 – Ezk. 34:17-19 – Dan. 8:13-14 – Mt. 7:6 – Lk. 21:24 – Rev. 11:1) To tread under foot figuratively has the idea of profanation which means total disregard of the sanctity that God has placed on something.

The one who has willfully sinned would be one who was once sanctified by the blood of Jesus but now profanes His blood.

Second Reason - Attitude

“and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing,”

Once again the above is written in the past tense. It had not been committed in the present by the Hebrew readers. It is shown as a possibility allowed by the writer of Hebrews that would incur judgment if a person ever did such a thing.

What does it mean to count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing? What Covenant? There are only two covenants mentioned in Hebrews. The One made with Israel and the New Covenant that has come to us by the blood of Jesus. (Mt. 26:28) I don’t know of any commentator that believes the writer of Hebrews is speaking of the Covenant of Moses. Common sense and plain reading knows that this is plainly talking about the blood of the Son of God.

Once the proper covenant is established as to which of the covenants the writer of Hebrews is speaking, then we can see immediately that an illustration is being presented of the possibility of a believer stomping/trodding/profaning the blood of the Son of God.

“an unholy thing,”

The imagery of verse 29 is counting the blood of Jesus as having no divine value. The one

18

who would profane the blood, would only see it as common. (The Greek word for that is translated “holy” in the English is actually the Greek word “Koinen” which means “common”)

Who is this person profaning the blood of the Son of God and counting it as common? In my opinion it is a Christian who had in the past been sanctified by the very blood which he now profanes.

Sanctified By The Blood?

Now comes the question, “What does it mean to be sanctified by the blood?” If the scripture isn’t speaking concerning Christians, then to whom is it speaking? Can an unsaved person be sanctified by the blood of Jesus? Some say all men are sanctified by the blood in such a way that it is made available to all people. It is explained by some that sanctification by the blood is applicable to all men in the same way sanctification comes to unbelievers who have believing family members as spoken by Paul to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 7:14 - "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy."

They believe Heb. 10:29 isn’t speaking about “sanctified saved people” but rather is speaking about “sanctified “unsaved” people. ” Though unsaved, they are still holy/sanctified.

But is this an accurate statement? Are unsaved people really Holy/sanctified by the blood of Jesus? The sanctification Paul spoke about in Corinthians was a sanctification that came to the unbeliever through the faith of a believer, not by the blood of Jesus. Is this the intended meaning of the writer of Hebrews? The only sanctified people the writer of Hebrews mentioned were Christians that were sanctified by the blood of Jesus. (Heb. 10:10 - The very same chapter of the warning) Would the Jews reading the letter of Hebrews think about and apply something Paul told the Corinthians under completely different circumstances and context? It doesn’t seem likely.

Look carefully at Hebrews 13:20-22.

Hebrews 13:20-22 - "Now may the God of peace (who brought again our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant) (21) make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (22) And I beseech you, brothers, allow the word of exhortation…"

The writer of Hebrews says that the blood of the new covenant makes the believer "perfect in every good work to do His will." The blood of the everlasting covenant brings about something very specific in the life of the believer, who is a partaker of the new covenant that is mediated by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 12:22-24 - "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, (23) to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are written in Heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, (24) and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel."

Hebrews 10:10 - "By this will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

19

What unsaved person can lay claim to these verses? In almost every case, sanctified ones are seen as Christians in the New Testament. I don’t believe for a moment that this text is being applied to unsaved people. It is being applied in context to Christians.

The attempt to change saved sanctified ones into unsaved sanctified ones is the result of people trying to make the Scriptures fit their preconceived theological systems that do not allow any possibility that a Christian can sin willfully to the point of losing his salvation. OSAS people find it difficult to reconcile the promises and warnings so that both are valid simultaneously. They wonder how a person that is justified by faith, sanctified by the blood, and has inherited all spiritual blessings in Christ could ever commit such an act and forfeit his salvation. This flies in the face of Calvinism and Promise based understandings of Scripture that don’t consider the warnings of God as valid applications in the life of the believer. I wholeheartedly understand their approach to Scripture and appreciate their sensitivities and questions on the matter.

A Pill Hard To SwallowHowever, to me the book of Hebrews makes it clear that the sanctified ones are

Christians. If a believer hardens his heart to the point of the willful and continual sin of unbelief counting the blood with which he had been sanctified as a common thing, such a one will receive a “sorer punishment” by a fiery judgment proceeding from God.

If such a willful sin is committed, there is no more sacrifice for sins, and the one committing it can’t be renewed again unto repentance because they are guilty of crucifying Jesus afresh just as though they were participants in the crowd the day Jesus was actually crucified yelling, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.” The believer has now become Christ’s adversary. This is how God sees such a willful act, in my opinion. ( Heb. 6:4-8)

Third Reason

“and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” (kai to pneuma tas chariots enubrisas)

The word “enubrisas” means to “insult.” It is a powerful word to use against the Holy Spirit after having received all of His gracious blessings.

In Barn’s commentary on Heb. 10:29 he says the following:

“The idea is, that if they were thus to apostatize, they would by such an act treat the Spirit of God with disdain and contempt. It was by him that they had been renewed; by him that they had been brought to embrace the Saviour and to love God; by him that they had any holy feelings or pure desires; and if they now apostatized from religion, such an act would be in fact treating the Holy Spirit with the highest indignity. It would be saying that all his influences were valueless, and that they needed no help from him. From such considerations, the apostle shows that if a true Christian were to apostatize, nothing would remain for him but the terrific prospect of eternal condemnation. He would have rejected the only Saviour; he would have in fact treated him with the highest indignity; he would have considered his sacred blood, shed to sanctify people, as a common thing, and would have shown the highest disregard for the only agent who can save the soul - the Spirit of God. How could such an one afterward be saved? The apostle does not indeed say that anyone ever would thus apostatize from the true religion, nor is there any reason to believe that such a case ever has occurred, but if it should occur the doom would be inevitable. How dangerous then is every step which would lead to such a precipice! And how strange and unscriptural the opinion held by so many that sincere Christians may “fall away” and be renewed, again and again!”

20

To insult the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin for all time. There is no coming back to God after such an act. This is in line with the writer of Hebrew’s statement in Heb. 6:4-6.

Matthew 12:31 - "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. [32] And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."

I want to make it clear again that people who disagree with the idea that a Christian can lose his salvation state either that the warnings in Hebrews

don’t apply to Christians.or

If they do apply to Christians it is only speaking of physical death and not eternal separation from God in the lake of fire.

Consider carefully all the arguments. There are awesome, godly believers on each side of the argument. This is territory were only the brave dare to enter. As for me I see it as a sacred responsibility to warn every believer not to trifle with treachery against Christ I don’t speak as one who understands completely as to how warnings and promises work together perfectly. I do know this; it can’t be wise to run through a “Stop” sign. I see a giant “Stop” sign for believers in Hebrews. We will do well to take heed to that which our God warns.

Again let me make this clear, The author of Hebrews isn’t speaking about losing salvation by committing a sin like telling a lie, cheating on one’s income tax, speeding, having a bad thought, or any other sin to which Christians may fall prey. Such a teaching would be salvation by works and would only establish salvation as a legalistic, and performance based salvation.

Those things are not the means of losing salvation. Christ’s blood has fully paid for and forgiven every sin the Christian ever commits in his life with the singular exception of the “willful sin” of apostasy. Apostasy is a onetime willful act that continues without stopping for the rest of the guilty one’s life. He never goes back to Christ, nor indeed can he ever return back to Christ. He has completely forfeited his salvation and only has a future of fiery judgment awaiting him.

God Has Personally Declared He Will Judge His People. It Will Not Be A Fun Thing To Fall Into His Hands In Judgment When His

People Become His EnemyHebrews 10:30-31 - "For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

This verse is a quote from Deut.32:35 - "To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste."

The context of Deuteronomy thirty two has to do with Israel turning away from God. God’s own people turning away from Him, imagine that. With that turning away God declares a vicious judgment against His own people. (Read Deut. 32:1-29 – God’s people become His enemy.) God speaks of the punishment that will come to His people if they disobey and move away from Him. He threatens them with death.

The writer of Hebrews brings all this into the context of a greater covenant than Moses, a better blood than animal’s blood, and a greater salvation which has sanctified and perfected

21

the believer in Christ. How much sorer punishment will come to the one more enlightened than all generations that preceded him.

To me Hebrews is clear. God will judge His people when necessary. The fact that they are His people will not prevent His chastening. This is clearly seen in God’s working in the past when dealing with the sins of Israel. The same principle applies should a Christian apostatize from the faith. His punishment is certain and more severe.

Oh Blessed RemembranceHebrews 10:32 - "But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;"

The writer of Hebrews once again reminds the readers of their previous enlightenment and the afflictions they endured for Christ’s sake. Sometimes the key to not making a big mistake in the future is by thinking about the blessings of the past. He is calling the readers to think long and hard about departing from the living God.

ConclusionI have written this paper as an attempt to clarify my position on Hebrews 10:26-31. As I

am preaching through Hebrews it is impossible for me to develop the subject of apostasy from the pulpit in a single sermon. Because it is my desire to concentrate on the primary theme of Hebrews and center on the greater realities of our blessings in Christ, I am writing this to help the congregation understand what I believe and why I believe it. I am trying to raise the awareness of God’s people as to some of the disagreements of interpretation among fellow Christians and give proper balance between the promises and warnings.

I also recognize that there are many godly scholars that disagree. I have shared previously their basic interpretations of the warnings and state them again below:

1. Hebrews wasn’t written to Christians, only professing ones.

2. Hebrews was written to Christians but the threatened warning of judgment is physical death only.

I am well able to disagree agreeably with those of different interpretations. I readily admit Hebrews presents many difficulties and that I don’t have all the answers. The rational above just isn’t viable enough for me to change my mind at this time.

In ending this paper I also want to make the following things absolutely clear lest there be some misunderstanding of what I have shared previously.

1. In no way is salvation by works or maintained by works. It comes to us solely by the grace of God through faith as a gift. (Eph. 2:8,9)

2. I believe only in the possibility of a Christian losing his salvation by apostasy. The readers of Hebrews had not yet committed the sin of apostasy though warned of the possibility.

3. I know of no instance where a Christian apostatized in the Scripture.

22

4. If a Christian ever did apostatize, he could never be saved again

5. My interpretation could be wrong. I am open to greater understanding in the future. I have not found the arguments of proponents satisfactory enough so as to change my mind.

6. Though I believe the warning is real towards Christians, I believe God is Sovereignly able to keep that which we have committed to Him by faith. I also believe there is the possibility for believers to apostatize if they do not heed God’s warning to maintain their faith.

7. Promises and warnings to Christians must be taken seriously in a balanced way. To discount, or minimize one over the other is to present an unbalanced approach to scripture. Stay in the ship!

8. The OSAS and ESOTB views are both in the pale of orthodoxy and should be respected and studied.

I know I haven’t fully addressed every question that could be asked. Trying to answer such questions as to how a promise and warning can be true simultaneously is difficult indeed. Good luck to any one that tries to explain this stuff one way or the other thinking they have all the answers. I am sure people will find ways to shoot holes through any viewpoint. I have merely tried to illustrate how it is possible with God in Acts 27:16-32 under the heading, “Reconciling The Irreconcilable” to make promises and warnings simultaneously. I have tried to present the warning in Hebrews 10 in a way the first century Jews would have understood it.

I am not God and I don’t have all the answers but my conclusion is simply for all Christians to “Stand On All The Promises” and “Heed All The Warnings”. Can such approach harm us? Does it take away from the glory of God? Is there not a balance?

Blessings and peace on all who love the Lord Jesus ChristPastor Tony Butler - tony@fountainofgrace.us

Sites of opposing OSAS views

The Book of Hebrews is written to Jews who were professing to believe in Jesus as Messiah,

http://www.kjvbiblebelievers.com/hebrewsalvation.php

http://www.biblebb.com/files/gr279.htm

http://www.lighthousebaptistsydney.com/articles/EternalSecurity/Can_I_lose_my_salvation.doc - - Cached