Question on Hebrews 6

Posted on August 18, 2014 Written by Mark McIntyre 4 Comments

Question

Recently, a friend emailed a question that came up in a small group Bible study regarding Hebrews 6. There was question about whether Hebrews 6 teaches that a person can lose his/her salvation.

Answer

One of the first principles of Biblical interpretation is that when there is a passage that is difficult to understand, interpretation of that passage must be informed by passages that are not difficult. In other words, the interpretation of an unclear passage must not disagree with the interpretation of a clear passage.

Specifically you asked if Hebrews 6 teaches that someone can lose their salvation. Here are the reasons why I do not think that Hebrews 6 teaches that you can lose your salvation:

It goes against logic. If there is nothing that I can do to earn salvation, how could there be anything that I could do to cause me to lose it?
It goes against Jesus’ teaching.
- “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, 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.” (John 10:27–29, NASB) Never and no one are the function words in this statement. Never perish. No one can snatch them. By inference, the no one would include the person himself.
- John 3:16, 36 teach that whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life. To think that one could believe and then not believe is problematic. Once one knows something to be true, it is difficult for him to no longer know it.
- John 6:37 – “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” (NASB) There is no out clause here but there is a beautiful in-clause.
It goes against Paul’s teaching.
- Romans 8:1 – No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
- Romans 8:35-39 – “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NASB) NOTHING can separate us from the love of God.
- “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13–14, NASB) We are sealed when we come to faith as a promise of the inheritance we will receive.

I could keep adding verses to these, but you get the point. These verses clearly present the truth that if we truly come to faith in Jesus, we do not have to worry that we can lose our salvation.

So then, what is Hebrews 6 saying?

If you look at the language in Hebrews 6:4-6, it does not openly declare that the author is speaking about someone who has experience new birth. Most commentators understand these verses to describe someone who has been part of the church and has experienced some of the blessings of being in the group without coming to saving faith. If you can see the work of God in others’ lives and experience the goodness of God and still walk away, it is unlikely that such a one will ever return. We should not be surprised to find unbelievers in the church. Jesus gave us the parable of the wheat and the tares to illustrate this. Also in Matthew 7:26-27 Jesus tells us, “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand . . . “

Thoughts on death prompted by my dog

Posted on February 4, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment

I understand that the decline and death of a dog is not a major event in the larger scheme of things. But, our 10 year old golden retriever is having health issues which may lead to his death and it is difficult to watch. Compared to the loss of a spouse, parent, sibling or child, this is a very small hurt, but a real one none-the-less.

There is something in us that balks at death and is rightly angered by it. Yet in our response, we must be careful to understand our part in the root cause of death. We, like our first parents, begin life in rebellion against God. Apart from Christ we are by nature people who choose the behavior that caused death in the first place. In Romans 8:20 Paul tells us that the creation was subjected to futility by our rebellion and that creation groans to be released from that futility.

But God, combining love and justice, opened a way for us to experience life. Jesus took death upon himself so that we might have life. Death was defeated on the Cross. In Christ we are made alive (Ephesians 2:5).

We still must face the temporal consequences of our rebellion. God, in his wisdom, has not removed the consequence of physical death. As C. S. Lewis noted, statistics prove that one out of one of us dies. While I am not anxious for my own death or the death of those I love, I do see physical death as a mercy.

In Romans 7 Paul laments his inability to conquer his sinful tendencies. If Paul could not master himself fully, it is unlikely that I will do better. We know from Scripture that we will not fully expunge sin from our lives. John tells us in 1 John 1:10 that anyone who claims he does not sin is a liar. I ask myself this question in the face of death, would I want to continue forever in this state of partial cleansing? In the absence of fear of the process of dying, the answer would be no, I would prefer to move on and be with Christ. The result of that reunion would be the removal of all trace of sin in my life.

So while we must experience the physical deaths of friends and relatives, in Christ we have the hope of future reunion. While the pain of separation and the suffering leading up to death are very real, the sting is reduced for those who are in Christ.

I find comfort in worship of a God who wept at the grave of a friend, who understands that death and dying did not have to be. We have a God who grieves alongside us in the small hurts and the large. Pain, suffering and death did not have to be and Jesus experienced all these in his Earthly life. As one who has been through the pain, Jesus can connect with my experience and show me hope that I will emerge the better for it.

I will close with Hebrews 4:15–16 from the Amplified Bible:

15 For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.

16 Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].

Thank God that we don’t have to go it alone.

6 Questions to Ask Before Presuming on Grace

Posted on April 27, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

I have had a few discussions lately with people that have struggled with the tension between law and grace. This is not a new question, and the Bible does have some things to say to us as we work out how to navigate through this tension.

There are many issues on which the Bible is silent or has little to say. It is on these issues that this tension seems to be felt. Questions such as, “can I go to bars as long as I don’t get drunk?”, “is it OK to gamble?”, “what about dancing?”, “can a church group have a poker night?”, come to mind.

In response, I came up with six questions to help determine the right course when thinking about a particular activity.

Does the activity satisfy the Two Great Commands as found in Matthew 22:37-40? Does this activity demonstrate love for God and love for my fellow man? In John 13:3-5, we see Jesus washing the disciples’ feet as an example of how to love and serve others. The converse of this is an activity that is self-focused which ends up being hurtful to others.
Will I avoid being a stumbling block to a believer by engaging in this activity? The Apostle Paul presents this principle in his discussion about meat which was sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 28. While we are free to do many things, some of those things might be a stumbling block to a weaker brother. We are not to have our freedom cause a weaker brother to stumble and perhaps fall into sin.
Is it wise? We have freedom to do many things that wisdom tells us are not good for us or those around us. Look at 1 Corinthians 10:23 again. Not every activity is profitable. What is your goal and does this activity help you toward that goal?
Is it a good use of my time and resources? This is the principle of stewardship as illustrated in the parable that Jesus tells in John 25:14-30. We will have to give an account to the Master as to how we spent our time on Earth. Would you want Jesus to participate with you in this activity?
Is this activity consistent with who God has created me to be? Does this activity fit in with my calling? In Romans 12:1-8, Paul tells us that to be renewed in our thinking will result in service to the Body of Christ in humility. It is only through this renewal that we can discover what the will of God is for us and begin fulfilling our role in the Body.
Does this activity help me fulfill the command to make disciples as found in Matthew 28:19? Would a non-believer be confused by knowing that I do this thing? This is similar to question #2 above. Our freedom should not be something that gives a non-believer an excuse to reject Christ.

This list is not exhaustive, but I do hope it is helpful. If you can answer “yes” to each of the questions above, then it is safe to say that activity is one to pursue.

Do you have any other principles that should be considered? Please comment below.

Question on Hebrews 6

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Answer

Thoughts on death prompted by my dog

6 Questions to Ask Before Presuming on Grace

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