Hebrews: A Warning
Pastor Fletcher preaches about salvation and falling away from Hebrews 6:4-12. Discussion points: Past spiritual experiences can’t give you today’s assurance of salvation, falling away is a clear rejection of Christ and is final, this warning is meant to keep you faithful rather than complacent.
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Scripture reader: [Hebrews 6:4-12] 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, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the ages to come, 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 in holding him up to contempt. 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. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things, things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust, so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for His name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each of you, each one of you, to show the same earnestness, to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience, inherit the promises.
This is the word of the Lord.
Preacher: All right, so when we first chose the Hebrews series, this is the passage that you are afraid of as a pastor. when I pick up a Hebrews commentary as like a Bible scholar, I, the first passage I turn to is Hebrews chapter 6. What did they do with this passage? This passage makes all that business about Melchizedek looked like a cakewalk. This is a much more difficult passage. In fact, many scholars would agree that this is the most difficult passage in the entire New Testament.
Now you may have, Chris did such a kind and wonderful reading of it. You might be like, that sounded didn't didn't sound that bad. He made it sound good, OK? It. It is a hard passage for us to understand. It's not one that is going to be on the top 10 list for like fastest growing churches in the country, passages to preach on over and over again. In fact, if it were up to me, if we were not going through a book in the of Hebrew, if we're not going verse by verse through the book of Hebrews, I would never teach this passage. Which is why we need to go verse by verse book through books of the Bible, because this is in the Bible, it's inspired by God. It is useful and needed in our lives. It was useful in the lives of those who first heard it, and it's useful in our lives. And so we need these kind of words, even though they are difficult for us to hear sometimes.
Preaching on Hebrews 6 feels like taking a hike on Angel's Landing. Do you know Angel's Landing? It's this, cliff in Zion National Park, that is just like a very thin, strip of land with cliffs on either side. And that's what preaching on this text feels like. There is so much tension going on here, and one little misstep could send me hurtling off in the wrong direction and with emails to never end. And so I'm going to try to be very careful. I might be more attached to my notes than I am sometimes.
But here's the big idea of the passage, OK, this is what the passage is teaching us. Don't let past spiritual experiences give you today's spiritual assurance. Don't let past spiritual experiences give you today's spiritual assurance. Salvation requires a persevering faith in Christ. Salvation requires a persevering faith in Christ. I became a Christian, when I was 14 years old and it was at this big youth camp and it was quite the experience. It was, I kind of got tricked into going to the camp, if I'm gonna be honest. Weird things happened at the camp. I was, when I, I started going to church when I was about 14, for the reason that most 14-year-old boys might start going to church, there was a girl, there. And I was interested in this girl and so I started going to the same church. It was the church that my family went to, my extended family.
And so I started going to Sunday school. I didn't actually go to church. I just went to Sunday school and. You know, I was looking for love, and I found way more than what I was looking for at the time, way more love. And I was at the Sunday school week in and week out, and the youth pastor was announcing that there was going to be a camp coming up that summer and. I didn't really have any interest in the camp, but one of my friends who went to the church wanted to go to the camp, and he wanted a roommate, and he wanted me to room with him. And so I agreed to go to the camp so I could be roommates with this guy, so that he would have someone. And then when we got to the camp, he decided to room with someone else and ignore my existence for the rest of the week, which is normal.
Also, weird things happen at the camp. One of my friends like decided to let people shave his head bald. This is normal youth camp stuff, OK?. And now I still can't sing that Queen song. I, easy come, easy go. I always say, where did all of this hair go? Because that's what we sang the whole time, all week. Anyways, the, when I was 14, we was at this camp, and it, the, every night at these camps. I ever go to these camps? Do you have a few people?
Yeah, every night at these camps, there's a speaker and there's someone that preaches, and this camp was a big one. It was like 1500 people, and Louis Giglio was the speaker. Now this is circa 2000 and. One, OK, so maybe, right, actually, passion had already started. It was going. But Louis Gigolo was a camp speaker, and, the last night, you know, all this was really new to me. I didn't really understand what was happening or what was going on, but the last night of these camps is kind of well known. They call it snot night, OK? And it's where everybody ends up crying, basically. And, but I didn't know that going into this. And so Louis kind of gives like. A gospel presentation, and then he gives us an opportunity to respond and respond we did. I think I looked up and like every one of the 1500 kids at this camp was crying and I was like, what is happening? Like this is amazing. And he invited people to come down and give their lives, and I swear like at least 100 kids came down to give their lives to Christ and I was one of them. And that set me on a trajectory. That has ended up here where I'm still serving the Lord and following him with all my heart. It started this Christian walk that I have. I praise the Lord for that experience.
At the same time, for every one experience you hear like that, you hear like 10 of people who had that youth group experience or that spiritual high and then ended up. Walking away from the Lord, not doing anything with it. We all know people, if you've been in the church for a considerable amount of time, who this is true for. Spiritual experiences don't save people. Jesus saves people. Let me just make that really clear. Spiritual experiences are not what brings salvation. Jesus saves through a persevering faith.
There are many people who had a spiritual experience at some point in life, yet their life looks no different than the rest of the world's. And there are, and I hear this actually more often as a pastor, I hear this all the time. There are many people who never had that deep spiritual experience and they wonder if their faith is authentic. Is my faith real if I didn't have that big moment that other people so often talk about? That's what this passage is talking about.
Let's walk through the passage, Hebrews chapter 6, starting in verse 4. There's a group of people who look to be true believers who fall away from God. There's 6 descriptors of these people from the passage.
First, they've once been enlightened. Verse 4, for it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened. They have understood the gospel. The truth of Jesus had has made sense to them. 2, 2nd thing true about them is that they have tasted of the heavenly gift. What is the heavenly gift is the presence of God. They've tasted this heavenly gift. They've had a true experience with God.
Third, they shared in the Holy Spirit. They've had the experience of joy in the presence of God with them. They have had the delight of the Spirit. This doesn't necessarily mean that the Spirit dwelt in them, and that the author doesn't go that far necessarily, but that they did experience and witness the work of the Holy Spirit. Fourth, they have tasted the goodness of the word of God. Verse 5, it says, and have tasted the goodness of the Word of God. The Word of God is good, it is rich, and these people have gone to the Word of God, and they have tasted something of the goodness that is to be found there. The Word of God is how God speaks to us. And as God speaks to us, we we experience the joy that is a part of that. Verse 5, they've tasted of the powers of the age to come. So they have tasted of the goodness of the word of God.
They also have tasted of the powers of the age to come. And I think the best way to understand this is probably to understand it. As they have seen signs, wonders, miracles. This is the early church. They've seen something of the power of God coming in a tangible way. And number 6, the 6th thing that we know about these people is that they have fallen away. Verse 6, and men have fallen away.
Now let me be very careful to explain what falling away means. Falling away does not mean that they committed some horrific sin. It does not mean that they've become. Murderers or adulterers or greedy thieves, God's grace is sufficient for any sin. That is very clear throughout all of scripture. It does not mean that they went through a period of doubt about their faith. It does not mean that they had a period of anxiety about their faith. It does not mean, as many churches might assert that it kind of means that they switched political parties. It does not mean any of these things. It does not mean backsliding. None of that means falling away.
Falling away is a clear rejection of Christ, a clear rejection of Christ. It is the sin against the Holy Spirit that Jesus talks about in Mark chapter 3. Let me read that verse for you. Truly I say to you all, all sins will be forgiven. The children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. We understand this, he's saying, look, all sins can be forgiven, and except for this one and that one we understand to be full and final rejection of Christ as Lord. It's also the sin that leads to death in First John 5. You see, this is all over the place. Hebrews 6 is probably the most difficult, but you see it repeated throughout the scriptures.
John chapter 5, 1st John chapter 5, verse 16. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life. To those who commit the sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death. I do not say that one that one should pray for that. That one should pray for that. So Hebrews 6, Mark 31, John 5, they're all kind of discussing the same thing, which is an unforgivable sin. And it's clear that it's this, that it's clear and final rejection of Christ.
Verse 6. The second half, verse 6, it is impossible to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding them up to contempt. Now this is the toughest verse in the whole thing. There's so much tension here, because on face value, it, the verse seems to imply not only can someone lose their salvation, but that if someone is to lose their salvation, they cannot return to Christ.
And so if you were to take this verse on face value and then apply the prodigal, the story of the prodigal son to it. Where you have a a child living with his father, runs away, lives with his own life, and then he comes back. If we were to take this verse at face value, the father should respond, what are you doing here, when he returns. But instead, the father embraces him warmly. And so there's, we have to understand this verse in its context and in the context of all of scripture. There's tension here for sure, because the scripture is very clear that you cannot lose your salvation. And that anybody can repent and come to Christ at any time. There's some obvious tension going on here.
Let me just break down those very quickly. First, you cannot lose your salvation. John chapter 10. This is Jesus talking, and he says this, 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. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hands. So can you lose your salvation? Well, maybe if you can pry the fingers of the eternal, all powerful God away, then you could. But the reality is, part of that thing of being all powerful means that that's not possible.
John chapter 6, this is what Jesus says. All that the Father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. Friendship with Jesus is different than friendship with anyone here on earth. Because if you wrong your friend enough times, if you betray your friend time after time after time, it's only natural to cast that person out of your life. Who wants to be betrayed time and time again? But Jesus instead says that while you were still an enemy, I died for you. That means while you were not pursuing me whatsoever, I gave my life for you, and I called you to me, and those who come to me, I will never cast out. He'll never give up on us.
I love how Dane Ortland puts it, and he says this, you are not a tenant. You are a child. His heart is not a ticking time bomb. His heart is the green pastures and still waters of endless reassurance of his presence and comfort, whatever our spiritual accomplishments might be. And one more verse, just to emphasize this home, we, we studied this this past Tuesday, Philippians chapter 1 verse 6, and I'm sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ. Meaning that Jesus does not treat you like that home project that your dad started in 1984. And he's gonna finish it, and he's gonna finish the work that he started in you.
So if it's clear from all of scripture that you cannot lose your salvation, what is this passage talking about? There is endless debate. OK, I was reading in a commentary this week. I read several commentaries to get prepared, and one commentary told the story of scholars that all were at a conference in San Francisco. They hopped on the trolley, they ran into another scholar there, and then on the trolley in San Francisco, we're debating 4 different views on this topic with everyone just listening and watching. Was probably an interesting site.
So there's a lot of different views, but the view that I find most convincing happens to be from my own seminary professor. Imagine that, who is like a former scholar on the Hebrews in this passage in particular, his name's Tom Shriner, and he says that these passages are warning passages, that this is a warning. Warnings like this are are the means that God uses to keep us until the end. That the warning. is the means that God uses to keep you to the end. And for those who belong to God, those warnings always work. They always work. There's illustrations from scripture.
I think Acts 27 is a great illustration, where, an angel promises Paul that they're gonna, they're on a ship, the weather's terrible, the angel comes and says, Don't worry, everyone's going to survive. And then several days later, some of the sailors are trying to escape. They're like lowering a little boat, and Paul says, if they leave this boat, we're all gonna die. Now the angel has already promised everyone will survive, but Paul gives a warning to say, if you do that, we're all gonna die. And so they stay and everyone is delivered. And so the warning was effective to keep the people delivered. And that's what this passage is saying is that the warnings are always effective.
We know that some people do lose their, lose the faith, and scripture says that those people proved themselves to have never been true Christians. This is what the passage is emphasizing with the illustration that comes up next. Verse 7, for the land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for the sake for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. Now notice that there was not a land that was once producing crops, and then it turned to thorns and thistles. There was one that was producing crops and one that turned to thorns and thistles. Meaning that it's, it's emphasizing the fact that, it, that it was never fruitful, and it was not actually a fruitful field. And these agricultural illustrations, they really land on a first century audience, but maybe not so much in Somerville, but. It's supported in other places in the Bible.
First John chapter 2, sorry, this is a lot of scripture. We're just, it's a hard passage. We're just gonna go for it though, OK? First John chapter 2, they went out from 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 were not of us. So what he's saying is when people left the faith, it was obvious that they were never truly a part of the faith. Jesus, Matthew 7 says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven, and on that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do mighty works in your name? And then. Well, I declared to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. It's not I knew you and then you lost it, but I never knew you, is what Jesus says.
Here's the thing though, and this is really important for us to emphasize this morning, is we do not know the spiritual destination of any human being. I've preached a lot of funerals at this point. I never intentionally preach people into heaven or into hell, because I just don't know. I just don't know. There are people who look like true believers, and then we discover terrible things about them, which the terrible things don't disqualify you being a Christian. You're not a Christian because you're a good person. But there are people also who don't look like anything like a believer, and you just don't know what the dying breath was. You don't know what their dying thoughts and hopes for. They may be like the thief on the cross, they trusted in Christ. You just don't know the spiritual destiny of anyone.
From our perspective, it looks like people lose their salvation. But from God's perspective, nothing is a mystery. And he sees it all, he understands it all. And so let me make this just really personal with this warning, OK? It's a warning like this, let's say that I, Fletcher Lang, master of divinity, Doctor of ministry, 20 years of ministry experience. I have a family, I've been faithful to my wife my entire marriage over 15 years now. We have 3 kids. I have done everything basically to try to represent Christ well. Let's say that next week I decide to abandon all that. To forsake my family, forsake my ministry, let it all go and just pursue unhindered selfishness. However, I want to pursue it. Well, if I continue in that, one shouldn't assume that I just lost my salvation. It one should assume that the first 25 years, this, this 25 years has been a farce, that it hasn't been truly real. It doesn't mean that things haven't happened that have been good, but you just have to assume that that is not the real me at the end. But no one really knows. That's the thing, no one really knows.
So it's this difficult situation that we find ourselves in. Last week, my family went skiing up in New Hampshire. It was great. I, I love skiing, but I'm from the Mississippi Delta, and there's two things that we do not have in the Mississippi Delta, and the first is hills and the second is money, which coincidentally are the two things required for skiing. And so we're, we're skiing. I like suffer down blues, OK? I swear this place, the greens were like blues and. Let's say I'm going skiing and I see a trail on the side that's labeled double black diamond. That's the hardest one, OK? And then not only is it double black diamond, that's enough to keep me off that trail, OK? But not only is it labeled double black diamond, Fletcher's death, it's, it's labeled warning, trail is out, you will die if you go down this. I don't need to test that out. I'm good. I'm good. I'm just gonna, you know, skip that one. I'm gonna heed the warning. It is effective for me, and I'm gonna continue to go down the greens and the blues that I knew, that I'm used to. I don't need to test it out. The warning is enough.
Similarly, God is giving us a warning. Do not assume that just because you made a decision for Christ at one point in life, that you are good. Jesus saves people through faith and repentance that perseveres. How many people have walked down an aisle or said a prayer only to live a life that looks no different than the world? Yesterday's spiritual experiences cannot give us assurance for today.
The past 6 months have been some of the most difficult, spiritually in my life. I, I have had a really, and those of you who are my friends probably know, more about that, I'm good, but not at the same time. There's just like some challenges and, in, in many ways I'm. It feels like I'm walking through spiritual mud. The way the best way I've described it is like I'm running at like 80% bandwidth, and even that, it just feels cumbersome at times. the Lord is sufficient. I'm so thankful for that.
But on my worst days, when I wake up and I just don't have much motivation for what's ahead of me. What do I do to to to get myself going? I don't I, I guess I have a few options,. To remind myself that I'm a child of God. I could think back to that day when I was 14 years old. And what I received from him, and maybe that would be fine, but to tell you the truth, I never think about it. I just, that spiritual experience as significant as it was, I just don't think about it. That's not where my assurance comes from. When I wake up and I can barely move, my assurance is just in Christ. That's all I have It's not that I'm a good person, it's not that I'm a good Christian, I'm not I'm not either of those things sometimes, but it's just that Christ is sufficient. That he is enough for me. And so I, I come back to this understanding. That I'm a child of God through a persevering faith that He is enough.
And, and friends, I think that that is what this passage is telling us. That, do not, that we cannot and you should not, and warning, do not, trust in yesterday's spiritual experiences for today's spiritual assurance. We have to continue to go back to Christ time and time again. Continuing, let me finish up here. The author gives us assurance that this actually isn't the case for us. He gives us the warning, he gives a warning, and then he says, actually, but for you guys, I'm sure that isn't the case for any of you. What he says is this, though we may speak in this way, verse 9, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things, things that belong to salvation, for God is not unjust, so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name. In serving the saints as you still do. He is saying, I'm sure that you will fall away. I'm sure that you won't fall away, excuse me, I'm sure that you're not falling away, that your faith is genuine.
Now as we go through this passage, there's two ways for you to receive this, OK? And I am a little afraid that most people who receive this passage kind of receive in the opposite way that they should. Because there will be some of you who leave here feeling terrified. That you might lose your salvation, that you might fall away. When you should probably feel very confident. While on the other hand, there are some of you who should feel very terrified, who will leave feeling very confident.
And the reality is, we should probably just flip that, OK? If you feel a little terrified by this morning, that is a very, very good sign. That means that the warning is working, that you're heeding it, that you're seeing the neon light flashing. But if you leave here not feeling worried at all. That's a little concerning. It's a little concerning. You, you should, this is a warning, it's meant to rouse you. It's meant to terrify you a little bit.
Verse 11, let me finish it up, and, and we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness, to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who who who through faith and patience inherit the promises. So this is a summary of the whole passage. Heed the warning. Take your faith seriously. Go back to Christ over and over again. Do not be sluggish in your faith. These last two verses kind of summarizing everything that he's taught. Do not be sluggish in your faith. Don't allow yourself to slide by on autopilot.
The patron saint Tim Keller, likes to put it like this. He says that. One of the markers of true revival in a church or in an area is when people who thought that they were Christians, who thought that they had this spiritual thing all figured out, suddenly start converting and becoming real Christians. That is a marker of revival. And my prayer is that maybe some of you who are trusting in yesterday's spiritual experiences might look to Christ and Him crucified on our behalf, that he paid for your sins, that you get to have union with him through faith, and that you might really enjoy that salvation.
Where are you today? Are you struggling in your faith? That's OK. Come back to Christ. Come back to Christ for the 1st time or the millionth time, he is sufficient. He longs to forgive and accept you and to show you His love. Repent from your sin and renew your faith. And so today we have an opportunity to take a sacred meal. And one of the wonderful things about the sacred meal, we don't emphasize everything about the the communion meal every week.
But one of the things that Jesus says is that when we take of it, we should evaluate our lives. Am I walking in faith? Do not come and receive this meal because you made a decision for Christ when you were 7, if your life does not reflect that in the same way. You have to evaluate your life and make sure that you're calling an election is true. Are you trusting in Christ? And if so, this meal is open to you. We want you to come and receive. Anyone who trusts in Christ is welcome to take the meal. we would encourage you though, to be baptized if you've never been baptized first. That is usually the order for these things that we go in. So let me encourage you to stand as we prepare our hearts to respond, and I'll pray for us.
Lord Jesus, we quiet our hearts before you now, we come just as we are. And we confess that we are often tempted to rest in yesterday. In past moments, past decisions, past experiences, rather than coming to you again today. Where, where our faith feels tired, where our hearts feel dull or distracted, meet us with your mercy. We thank you that you do not turn away those who come to you, not the weak, not the doubting, not the struggling. Keep us, Lord. Not by our strength, but by your grace. Let this warning not harden us in fear, but soften us in humility and trust. And as we come to the table, fix our eyes on your body given for us, and your blood poured out for our forgiveness. We come again, Jesus, not because we're worthy, but because you are faithful. Hold us fast until the end. We trust you. Amen.