I have heard a lot of Christians say you can lose their salvation and go to hell, this view is the most popular belief in Christendom in our time, but what does the bible teach on this matter. We will go verse by verse of those favorite scripture of those who deny eternal security. Here is one of their favorite scriptures, Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partaker of the Holy Ghost. Ok lets Take a look at these passages, well the first thing I see is the word enlightened, but it does not equate being saved actually has nothing to do with salvation or a person being regenerated. The next word is tasted does that mean they eat well lets see what the Greek says this word means, Kittel word dictionary says this is to Strictly “to taste"their was no one consuming or being regenerated. Lets see what a good commentary says. Bible students over the years have come up with several approaches to this serious passage. One view is that the writer is warning us against the sin of apostasy, willfully turning one’s back on Jesus Christ and returning to the old life. According to them, such a person would be lost forever. I have several problems with this interpretation. To begin with, the Greek word apostasia is not used in this passage. The verb for “fall away” (Heb. 6:6) is parapipto, which literally means “to fall alongside.” Second, we always interpret the obscure by the obvious. There are many verses in Scripture that assure the true believer that he can never be lost. In fact, one of the greatest arguments for security is the last section of this chapter! (Heb. 6:13–20; see also John 5:24; 10:26–30; Rom. 8:28–39) Those who teach that we can lose our salvation also teach that such a person can be restored. But this passage (Heb. 6:4–6) teaches just the opposite! If you omit the intervening clauses, the statement reads: “For it is impossible... to renew them again to repentance.” In other words, if this refers to apostasy, once a saved person turns his back on Christ, he cannot be restored to salvation. He is lost forever. Others claim that the people addressed were not true believers. They had cooperated with the Holy Spirit up to a point, but were not actually born again. Well, let’s examine the description of these people and see if they possessed true salvation. They were “enlightened” (Heb. 6:4). The “once” means “enlightened once and for all.” The way this same verb is used in Hebrews 10:32 indicates an experience of true salvation (see 2 Cor. 4:4–6). They “tasted of the heavenly gift” (Heb. 6:4), and “tasted the good Word of God, and the powers of the world [age] to come” (Heb. 6:5). To claim that these people “tasted but did not eat” is to base interpretation on one meaning of an English word. God permitted His Son to “taste death for every man” (Heb. 2:9). Surely Jesus Christ did not simply sample death on the cross! “Taste” carries the idea of “experience.” These Hebrew believers had experienced the gift of salvation, the Word of God, and the power of God. Doesn’t this describe authentic salvation? They “were made partakers of the Holy Spirit” (Heb. 6:4c). To suggest that they only went along with the Holy Spirit to a certain extent is to ignore the simple meaning of the verb. It means “to become sharers.” These same people were not only “sharers of the Holy Spirit,” but also “sharers of the heavenly calling” (Heb. 3:1) and “sharers of Christ” (Heb. 3:14). Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (Heb 6:1). Wheaton, Ill.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
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