{"id":19134,"date":"2017-01-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-08T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/soteriology-043\/"},"modified":"2022-01-12T17:17:50","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T23:17:50","slug":"soteriology-043","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/soteriology-043\/","title":{"rendered":"Soteriology 043"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[103],"series_event":[459],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19134","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-hebrews","series_event-soteriology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Soteriology 043","sermon_date":"20170108","sermon_month":"1","sermon_year":"2017","sermon_notes":20071,"sermon_slides":20072,"sermon_mp3":20073,"sermon_id":"1817107167","series_or_event":459,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":103,"chapter_and_verse":"6:4-6","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nSoteriology 43, Hebrews 6:4-6\n\nJanuary 8, 2017\n\nIf you need a handout just put your hand up.\u00a0 The other thing that we have is the paper that I wrote, that should be back there.\u00a0 The paper that I wrote actually is posted on our website, in case you want that.\u00a0 To be up to speed you should have two documents; the handout for today and also the paper.\n\nLet\u2019s open our Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 6, verses 4-6.\u00a0 It\u2019s been two weeks since we were studying this so most of you probably don\u2019t remember what it is we\u2019re studying.\u00a0 We\u2019re studying the doctrine of eternal security, and I\u2019m basically trying to show us how to interpret probably one of the most difficult passages in the Bible, that is quoted all of the time in the eternal security debate.\u00a0 It\u2019s Hebrews 6:4-6 and I\u2019m hoping to finish this today, at least Hebrews 6.\u00a0 It says, \u201cFor in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, [5] and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, [6] and then<\/em> have fallen away,\u201d oh-oh, \u201cit is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.\u201d\n\nSo many, many people use this passage to say that you could be saved, and it looks like these people are saved, and then fall away from salvation, and then once you fall away from salvation\u00a0 you can never be saved again.\u00a0 That\u2019s the way the verse reads, right, at first glance.\u00a0 In reality there are probably four different views on how to interpret this and what I\u2019ve been kind of working us through is view number 4 and I\u2019m going to cycle back today and show you the prior three views.\u00a0 But this is basically what\u2019s called the loss of blessings view.\u00a0 Do you remember this at all?\n\nAnd does anybody recall the paradigm that the book presents for properly interpreting the passage?\u00a0 The Kadesh Barnea generation, which is recorded in Numbers 13 and 14.\u00a0 And we think this is the proper paradigm because back in Hebrews 3:7-11 the author of Hebrews refers to that generation.\u00a0 So it\u2019s basically the generation that came out of Egypt after 400 years of slavery, that received the Law of God at Sinai, and then they got to the southern border of Israel and what did they see in the land there?\u00a0 Giants, and they lapsed into unbelief and God says every one of you now, except for two of you, Joshua and Caleb, are going to die in the wilderness.\n\nSo the author of Hebrews uses that backdrop to explain the predicament that the Hebrews are in, in the New Testament, because these are people that are basically acquiescing to persecution. \u00a0And they\u2019re basically wanting to retreat back to the Mosaic Law and the institutions of Judaism to avoid the heavy hand of persecution.\u00a0 The heavy hand of persecution is basically coming against them from unbelieving Jews.\u00a0 So just as the Kadesh Barnea generation failed the author of Hebrews is saying you all are about to fail as well if you don\u2019t reverse course. So the better you understand what happened at Kadesh Barnea the better\u00a0 you understand what\u2019s happening in Hebrews.\u00a0 You guys following me on that?\n\nSo our outline is, point number 1, and Roman numeral II, we\u2019re just making two points about each group, the Old Testament group and the New Testament group.\u00a0 And the two things are (a) both groups are believers, there\u2019s very little doubt when you get into the particulars that both these groups are regenerated saved people.\u00a0 But both, the Kadesh Barnea generation threw away a blessing, not heaven, but a blessing they could have had and the author of Hebrews is saying you all are about to do the same thing.\n\nSo in that vein we looked at the believing status, didn\u2019t we, of the Kadesh Barnea generation; didn\u2019t we see a lot of proof from the Old Testament, not the least of which is what did they say after they got to the other side of the Red Sea?\u00a0 Moses says of them they believed in the Lord, which is the same Hebrew construction\u00a0 you find where?\u00a0 Abraham, Genesis 15:6.\u00a0 [Genesis 15:6, \u201cThen he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.\u201d]\u00a0 Genesis 15:6 is huge on the doctrine of salvation, that\u2019s the verse Paul appealed to all the time, to teach salvation by faith alone. And I have this quote from Ron Allen who is the first guy to really bring this to my attention, a Hebrew scholar.\u00a0 And it\u2019s not just the Old Testament, it\u2019s the New Testament that tells us that the Kadesh Barnea generation was saved because these folks are in the fall of faith, Hebrews 11.\n\nSo we sort of finished that discussion and then I said let\u2019s just make the same two points with the audience of Hebrews.\u00a0 Number 1, the audience of Hebrews, just like the Kadesh Barnea generation, is regenerated and saved.\u00a0 And so we tried to establish that by looking first of all at the extended context.\u00a0 I showed you multiple verses, going all the way back to chapter 1 of Hebrews, indicating these people are saved.\u00a0 They\u2019re called \u201choly brethren\u201d and all of these expressions are used of them.\u00a0 Never once are they told to believe in Jesus to be saved, which you would expect if the author thought there were any unsaved people in the group.\n\nAnd from there we went to the context right before the troubling passage, Hebrews 6:4-6, and when you go back to the passages right before Hebrews 6:4-6 to me it\u2019s almost unassailable that these people are saved.\u00a0 Remember Hebrews 5:11-14, he says you need to mature, not to be saved.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Hebrews 5:11-14, \u201cConcerning him we have much to say, and it is<\/em> hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. [12] For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. [13] For everyone who partakes only<\/em> of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. [14] But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.\u201d]\n\nYou\u2019re infants, which could only apply to a saved person.\u00a0 You ought to be a teacher by now.\u00a0 Would the author ever say that to an unsaved person?\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense, does it?\u00a0 They have the capacity for milk but they need what?\u00a0 To grow to the point where they can digest meat.\u00a0 You\u2019ve become dull of hearing, he doesn\u2019t say you are incapable of hearing but you\u2019re \u201cdull.\u201d\u00a0 That seems to describe a saved person. And these people have the potential of having their senses trained to discern good and evil.\n\nThen from there I said let\u2019s look at the paragraph right before Hebrews 6:4-6 and we said that the word \u201ctherefore\u201d connects that paragraph with what precedes it.\u00a0 So whatever conclusion you\u2019re reaching with Hebrews 5 you\u2019ve got to reach that with Hebrews 6 because all of these paragraphs in Hebrews are lexically connected to each other.\u00a0\u00a0 And this is where he tells these people that they need to press on to maturity.\u00a0 The author uses the words \u201cus\u201d and \u201cwe\u201d to describe their predicament.\u00a0 So the author is, in essence, saying that he\u2019s in the same boat that they\u2019re in spiritually.\u00a0 They already have faith towards God and they need to leave beside the elementary things of spirituality, which apparently they already had.\u00a0 So do these people look saved or unsaved?\u00a0 They look saved to me.\n\nAnd then I said okay, now we can go into the belly of the beast and look at Hebrews 6:4-6.\u00a0 And see, this is the analysis that you\u2019re not getting many times; people, to prove a point are throwing a set of verses at\u00a0 you but they\u2019re not connecting the dots for you.\u00a0 If I were to get up here and just toss Hebrews 6:4-6 into your lap with no background you would probably leave here thinking you could lose your salvation as well.\u00a0 So that\u2019s why contextual Bible study becomes such a big deal.\n\nYou notice the word \u201cfor,\u201d remember we made that case, the word \u201cfor\u201d in verse 4 that connects verse 4 back to verse 3.\u00a0 So whatever your conclusion about verses 1-3 you have to reach about verses 4-6.\u00a0 And by the way, how do we interpret words in Hebrews 6:4-6, tasted, partakers?\u00a0 What strategy shall we use?\u00a0 Shall we run off to every other book in the Bible to help us understand this?\u00a0 No, the first order of business is to ask\u00a0 yourself how does the author use the same word in the same book.\u00a0 And many theologians will give you every other verse in the Bible, or every other time the word is used in the Bible without referencing the same book.\u00a0 But as you study these terms in the same book, and how the author uses the same words in the same book, which is how you always start a word study; to figure out what a word means you always start with the immediate context.\u00a0 And if the immediate context doesn\u2019t give you a clue you move out to the same book; how is the word used in the same book?\u00a0 And then if a writer wrote another book, like Paul wrote 13, let\u2019s look at how that same word is used in Paul\u2019s 13 other books.\u00a0 And then from there let\u2019s go to other New Testament writers who are talking on the same subject.\u00a0 And then after that we\u2019ll look at the rest of the New Testament.\n\nAnd see what\u2019s happening is in this debate people aren\u2019t starting you in the center circle; they\u2019re immediately pushing you into the outer circle because many times they have a theological agenda.\u00a0 So this is just a basic rule of Bible study interpretation.\n\nSo when we examine these terms in the same book, to my mind it becomes overwhelming that these people are saved.\u00a0 They\u2019re called enlightened and when you study Hebrews 10:32-34, same author, same book, you\u2019ll see very clearly that \u201cenlightened\u201d means a saved person.\u00a0 [Hebrews 10:32-34, \u201cBut remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, [33] partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. [34] For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.\u201d]\n\nIt says they \u201ctasted of the heavenly gift.\u201d\u00a0 Now a lot of people will run to every verse in the Bible, like Jesus tasting sour wine, so they\u2019ll say look, He just tasted it, He didn\u2019t really swallow, it was just a sampling, not a whole experience.\u00a0 But when you go to Hebrews 2:9 \u201ctasted\u201d is used of Christ\u2019s death which is speaking of a full experience.\u00a0 \u201cPartakers of the Holy Spirit,\u201d we tracked the word metech\u00f3<\/em>, partnership, through Hebrews and it always refers to saved, regenerated people.\u00a0 We did the same thing with \u201ctasted of the Word of God,\u201d \u201ctasted of the powers of the age to come.\u201d\n\nSo even Reformed people acknowledge that the most immediate impulse would be to interpret that this cluster of statements, as describing regenerate persons.\u00a0 But you see, they don\u2019t come to that conclusion because it conflicts with their theological agenda that they\u2019re trying to push. \u00a0See that?\u00a0 But you when you read these guys they come out and they say well, you know, if I didn\u2019t have my theology I guess I would interpret these as saved people.\u00a0 I think systematic theology is a wonderful discipline, I really do.\u00a0 I spent a lot of my life studying systematic theology but the bottom line is your theology, whatever it is, is only as good as the text it\u2019s found in.\u00a0 If there\u2019s not textual support for your theological belief, whatever it may be, it\u2019s time to readjust your theology. And the power of pride and human will is so strong that once people buy into a theological system the temptation is to try to make the text fit your theology.\u00a0 And I think that\u2019s largely what\u2019s going on here.\n\nIt\u2019s like talking to somebody that\u2019s involved in forensics, or criminal investigation work, or a police officer, and if you talk to someone who\u2019s really good at that kind of thing, because nobody was there at the crime scene, nobody saw it, you have to piece together what happened through evidence that you have.\u00a0 Someone that\u2019s really on the ball in terms of criminal investigation will tell you that we try not to develop a theory on who the bad guy is too fast because the temptation is to fall in love with your theory and then to make the evidence fit your theory.\u00a0 And you don\u2019t want to do that,\u00a0 you want to remain objective and neutral as much as you can and try to let your theory be built from the what?\u00a0 Evidence.\n\nBut see, this is a little game that\u2019s going on all the time in theological circles, is people are in love with an idea and this is why the book of Colossians warns us not to be hoodwinked by human philosophy.\u00a0 So once you fall in love with an idea you\u2019re going to try to come to the Bible and make it fit your idea.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what I think these systems that I\u2019ve been talking about, Calvinism, Arminianism, basically are doing.\n\nPeople say well, doesn\u2019t the word repentance mean an unbeliever?\u00a0 No, because a believer needs to repent also right?\u00a0 Did you guys commit any sins this week as believers?\u00a0 Well, you\u2019re committing one right now, lying, because you\u2019re not raising your hand.\u00a0 So we all need to repent, we step out of line constantly and God convicts us, doesn\u2019t He.\u00a0 So repentance applies to a believer.\u00a0 \u201cFallen away\u201d doesn\u2019t mean fallen away from salvation, it means fallen away from maturity, fallen away from growth, fallen away from fellowship.\n\nAnd then after we went through Hebrews 6:4-6 I said well now let\u2019s look at the subsequent context.\u00a0 So that\u2019s where we found ourselves.\u00a0 Remember Hebrews 6:7-12, what does it say here? \u201cFor ground that drinks<\/u> the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; [8] but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. [9] But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. [10] For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. [11] And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, [12] so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.\u201d\n\nSo the introductory word \u201cfor\u201d connects verse 7 back to verse 6.\u00a0 So your conclusion with verses 7-12 is obviously going to influence your conclusion about Hebrews 6:4-6.\u00a0 I showed you the word \u201cdrink\u201d and how\u2026 now the author doesn\u2019t use this word in the same book, it\u2019s the verb pino<\/em>, and I showed you in John 4 how that\u2019s used, in John 7, to describe salvation.\u00a0 People say well how could these people be saved, there\u2019s \u201cthorns and thistles\u201d as well as a blessing.\u00a0 Well, these people are called what?\u00a0 The Hebrews, which means they\u2019re what?\u00a0 Jewish, so they would understand the Kadesh Barnea paradigm, wouldn\u2019t they, how the Kadesh Barnea generation came out of Egypt, they crossed the Red Sea, the believed in the Lord, and as saved people God gave them the what at Sinai?\u00a0 The Mosaic Covenant, which has in it blessings for obedience and what? Curses for disobedience.\u00a0 See, this is how a Jewish mind would understand how the concept of a curse could apply to a saved person.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 I showed you the word \u201cbeloved,\u201d how when that word is not used of the Trinity, I think it\u2019s used about 60 times, it\u2019s always used of a Christian, no questions asked.\u00a0 And then the writer wants people to imitate these folks, which would be a very strange thing to say if these people aren\u2019t saved.\n\nNow this is where we left off last time so I think on the packet of notes I gave you, I think it\u2019s page 12 (if your numbering system is the same as mine) and it would be the second slide.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure if my numbering system is the same as\u00a0 yours.\n\nSo let me give you some reasons why people think Hebrews 6:7-12 refers to unsaved people and let me give you a brief response.\u00a0 First of all, you\u2019ll notice this word \u201cthorns and thistles.\u201d\u00a0 People say a believer can\u2019t bear thorns and thistles in their life, only vegetation.\u00a0 The NIV, which is a paraphrase, completely messes this verse up.\u00a0 This is why people are so confused on this, because a lot of people are what I like to call NIV positive, they\u2019re reading the NIV all the time\u2026 which is not a bad\u2026 you know, if you just want a devotional ditty for the day it\u2019s not a bad translation, but it doesn\u2019t help you too much with the in-depth verse by verse kind of teaching we\u2019re doing here, and it gives you the impression that there\u2019s two lands here because this is the illustration that the author uses for his thoughts; in Hebrews 6:4-6 he uses the illustration of land.\u00a0 And verse 7 mentions land, and verse 8 mentions land.\u00a0 [Hebrews 6:7, \u201cFor ground that drinks<\/u> the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; [8] but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.\u201d]\u00a0 And so the NIV gives you the impression the good land that bears vegetation is the believer, the bad land that brings forth thorns and thistles is the unbeliever.\u00a0 People think there\u2019s two lands there, and I can assure you in the Greek text and the NASB and the KJV do a better job here, the word \u201cland\u201d only shows up once in verse 7; there are not two lands.\u00a0 There is one land.\n\nSo what about this business of thorns and thistles?\u00a0 Could a believer actually bear both vegetation and thorns and thistles?\u00a0 And the answer is yes, and in fact, that\u2019s the predicament that the Hebrews are in.\u00a0 There\u2019s some negative things happening because these people are not growing to a maturity the way they should, Hebrews 5:11-14, but at the same time there\u2019s some good things happening.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the writer says, chapter 6, verse 9, \u201cwe are convinced of better things concerning you.\u201d\u00a0 And in fact, almost every biblical character you study you\u2019ll see good things and bad things in their life.\u00a0 Abraham, I can show you good things and bad things.\u00a0 Moses, I can show you good things and bad things.\u00a0 Solomon, David, I can show you good things and bad things.\u00a0 The only two characters I know of in the Bible where almost nothing negative is said (other than Christ of course) would be Joseph and Daniel.\u00a0 Every other character of the Bible there\u2019s some major flaw in their walk with the Lord as they\u2019re saved persons.\u00a0 And if you\u2019re honest with yourself and look at your own life you\u2019ll see the same pattern;\u00a0 you\u2019ll see God doing some neat things but then you\u2019ll see a few thorns and thistles there, and you say Lord, help me with this.\u00a0 So thorns and thistles in and of itself does not disqualify this from being saved people.\n\nNow what bothers people is this word \u201cworthless,\u201d I mean, how could the word \u201cworthless\u201d be applied to a saved person?\u00a0 The Greek word there is adokimos,<\/em> and it doesn\u2019t mean rejected, it means disapproved.\u00a0 And Paul applied the word potentially to himself.\u00a0 Was Paul saved?\u00a0 I hope so, good grief.\u00a0 He takes that same word, adokimos<\/em>, translated \u201cworthless\u201d and applies it to himself as possibly forfeiting a reward at the Bema Seat.\u00a0 So he says, \u201cbut I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified,\u201d adokimos<\/em>, the exact same word, \u201cfrom the prize.\u201d\u00a0 So the word \u201cworthless\u201d in and of itself does not automatically disqualify these folks from being saved.\n\nNow what about this word \u201ccursed.\u201d\u00a0 That bothers people, how could God call a saved person \u201ccursed,\u201d and people automatically go back to Genesis 3, the curse that God put upon the woman and the man and the ground following the fall of man.\u00a0 But didn\u2019t we just study a second ago how \u201ccursed\u201d could apply to a saved person?\u00a0 Those coming out of Egypt were regenerated, we made that case (hopefully), they were brought to Sinai and received the Law as saved people.\n\nIt\u2019s so important to understand, the Law of God, and if you don\u2019t get this down you\u2019ll be confused about it your whole life, the Law of God was not given to redeem a people, it was given to a redeemed people.\u00a0 The Law of God was given to a nation that was already regenerated.\u00a0 The Law of God was never given to the nation to justify the nation; it was to help the nation, as God\u2019s special nation, grow in the middle tense of their salvation, something we call progressive sanctification.\n\nSo they are regenerated, Exodus 14:31, but they don\u2019t receive the law\u00a0 until two months later.\u00a0 ]Exodus 14:31, \u201cWhen Israel saw the great power which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses.\u201d]\u00a0 There\u2019s a two month difference between those first two circles in Goshen, when they put the blood on the doorpost, and I think were probably redeemed at that point in Passover.\u00a0 And two months later, and I get that \u201ctwo months\u201d figure from Exodus 19:1, they received the Law two months later.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Exodus 19:1, \u201cIn the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.\u201d]\n\nThe Pharisees come along and they take the Law and they make it an instrument of salvation.\u00a0 To make the Law an instrument of salvation is to ignore the chronology here, of the Old Testament.\u00a0 The Law was never given to redeem a people; it was given to a redeemed people.\u00a0 And the Law, as we have talked about, had built into it blessings and curses.\u00a0 That\u2019s how curse can apply to a saved person.\u00a0 Now as Gentiles it\u2019s hard for us to understand because we don\u2019t have all this Old Testament background but this book was written to the Hebrews; they understand this background.\n\nNow here\u2019s the one that really bothers people, is this word \u201cburned.\u201d\u00a0 I mean, that\u2019s got to be hell, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 And this is what Calvinists do and Arminians both, every time they see the word \u201cburn\u201d they think it talks about hell because in this analogy of the field it says, \u201cbut if it yields thorns and thistles it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Hebrews 6:8]\u00a0 You have to transport yourself back into the first century and I actually received an e-mail from somebody when they heard me say this, and they say it\u2019s true in this century with farming.\u00a0\u00a0 Why do you set a field on fire?\u00a0 You don\u2019t set a field on fire to destroy the field; you set a field on fire to make it more productive.\n\nNow here we are in the 21st<\/sup> century, I know nothing about farming growing up in the city, so we\u2019re divorced from agrarian principles but a first century audience would connect the dots.\u00a0 So Zane Hodges, in The Bible Knowledge Commentary<\/em>, who wrote the Hebrew section, says: \u201cNaturally the reference to \u2018burned\u2019 has caused many to think of hell, but there is nothing in the text to suggest this\u2026to think of hell here is to betray inattention to the imagery employed by the author. The burning of a field to destroy the rank growth it had produced was a practice known in ancient times. Its aim was not the destruction of the field itself (which, of course, the fire could not effect), but the destruction of the unwanted produce of the field. Thereafter the field might be serviceable for cultivation.\u201d\u00a0 [Zane Hodges, \u201cHebrews,\u201d in The Bible Knowledge Commentary<\/em>, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Wheaton: Victor, 1983), 795-96.]\n\nNow here is Elder Pliny and this is a Greco-Roman source, going back to biblical times, A.D. 112, very close to when this book was written, within four centuries or so, three centuries maybe, Elder Pliny furnishes an extra biblical evidence of this practice when he says, \u201c\u2026some people also\u2026\u201d this is a quote from his own writings, \u00a0\u201c\u2026some people also set fire to the stubble in the field\u2026their chief reason, however, for this plan is to burn up the seed of weeds.\u201d [Elder Pliny, Natural History<\/em>, 18:72:300]\u00a0 So you put a field aflame to make it more productive.\n\nLet me give you two other references where burning does not refer to hell.\u00a0 Remember the Judgment Seat of Rewards?\u00a0 What is God going to do with our works?\u00a0 1 Corinthians 3:15, put them through a fire. \u00a0[1 Corinthians 3:15, \u201cIf any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d]\u00a0 \u00a0See, there\u2019s an example where fire tests the quality of the work but it does not apply to the believer.\u00a0 We don\u2019t go through a fire, our works go through a fire to ascertain their quality and whatever remains after the fire finishes its job is part of the rewards we receive above and beyond salvation, 1 Corinthians 3:15.\n\nThe other verse I\u2019ll give you is 1 Peter verses 6 and 7 where Peter refers to the trials that we\u2019re going through now as the refiner\u2019s what?\u00a0 Fire; a refiner\u2019s fire has no capacity for destruction of the metal. What does it do with the metal?\u00a0 Purification. \u00a0[1 Peter 1:6-7, \u201cIn this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, [7] so that the proof of your faith, being<\/em> more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;\u201d]\n\nSo generally fire in the Bible means hell but not every single time.\u00a0 Do you follow me on that?\u00a0 Now how would I determine if fire in the Bible means hell or something else?\u00a0 What\u2019s the dead giveaway?\u00a0 Context, which is the three rules of Bible study interpretation: context, context, context.\u00a0 Which is what I\u2019m trying to drive us back to as we look at a complex passage.\n\nSo I\u2019ve tried to make the case in the extended context\u2026 let me give you this, one other thing related to burning.\u00a0 Sometimes God\u2019s anger burns against His own people and you see that in Isaiah 9:18-19 and Isaiah 10:17.\u00a0 [Isaiah 9:18, \u201cFor wickedness burns like a fire; It consumes briars and thorns; It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame And they roll upward in a column of smoke.\u201d\u00a0 Isaiah 10:17, \u201cAnd the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.\u201d]\u00a0 I\u2019m giving you examples where burning or fire doesn\u2019t always mean hell.\u00a0 So the reference to being burned in this passage does not in and of itself disqualify these people from being believers.\n\nSo what I\u2019ve done, and even if you don\u2019t agree with my conclusions you\u2019re seeing the method, right?\u00a0 Because you\u2019re going to be reading the Bible as God\u2019s people and you have to apply this method of anchoring things in context, trying to figure out what is being said and then coming to your theological conclusion, whatever that may be, after context has been examined.\u00a0 So we\u2019ve looked at extended context, preceding context, immediate context, subsequent context and we have concluded that the Hebrews were believers.\u00a0 That\u2019s my conclusion.\n\nBut like the Kadesh Barnea generation these people were on the precipice of losing something.\u00a0 See, both audiences are regenerated but the similarities don\u2019t stop there; both of them\u2026 Kadesh Barnea they threw away something they could have had, and the Hebrews generation is about to do the exact same thing.\u00a0 So what is the blessing that the Hebrews are about to throw away?\u00a0 If you go back to chapter 5, verses 11-14 and you go all the way through chapter 6, verse 3 what you discover is the author wants these people to what?\u00a0 To mature, to grow up; by this time some of you ought to be teachers.\u00a0 But if they reject the full revelation of Christ, because they\u2019re afraid of persecution from the\u00a0 unbelieving Jews, and leave New Testament revelation and retreat back to the institutions of Judaism, which are mere shadows of what\u2019s to come, you\u2019re leaving the reality and going back to the shadow and that shadow cannot bring you into maturity.\u00a0 It\u2019s only as you avail yourself to New Testament revelation, particularly the 13 letters of Paul, (everything in the New Testament for that matter) can you grow.\n\nAnd so I know there\u2019s a big emphasis today on get back to the institutions of Judaism, let\u2019s respect the feast days and the holidays and I\u2019m sort of in favor of that; I think it\u2019s a healthy thing to understand the Jewish background of Christianity.\u00a0 The problem I\u2019m having with a lot of people that are arguing that today is they\u2019re leaving people there and they know all this stuff about the feasts and all these things but they don\u2019t know anything about New Testament revelation.\u00a0 And if you\u2019re retreating to some Old Testament ritual, which was good because God gave it, but it\u2019s just a shadow, that ritual in and of itself cannot help you to grow as a Christian.\u00a0 And so that\u2019s why these people, their growth is stagnated or potentially stagnated.\n\nThis is Paul\u2019s whole point in Galatians 3 and 4 when he says the Law of Moses to the New Testament church cannot bring\u00a0 you into maturity.\u00a0 Just like the Kadesh Barnea generation forfeited a blessing of Canaan, you go back to the institutions of Judaism just to avoid persecution, you\u2019re forfeiting a blessing to; you\u2019re going to be stuck at a level of immaturity.\u00a0 And if I\u2019m reading this right you\u2019re not going to be able to get out of.\u00a0 That\u2019s the warning.\u00a0 The warning here is not that you\u2019re going to hell; the warning here is your growth is going to be stunted.\n\nAnd when you look at Hebrews 6:6 it says it will be impossible to renew\u00a0 you again unto repentance.\u00a0 [Hebrews 6:6, \u201cand then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.\u201d]\n\nNow this word, adjective \u201cimpossible\u201d adunatos<\/em> does not mean hard or difficult.\u00a0 It means what it says in English, \u201cimpossible.\u201d\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0 Because that\u2019s how the writer uses the same word in the same book.\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t he say in Hebrews 11:6, \u201cwithout faith it is\u201d what? \u201cimpossible to please God.\u201d\u00a0 [Hebrews 11:6, \u201cAnd without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t he say in Hebrews 10:4, \u201cFor it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin.\u201d\u00a0 Now impossible for who?\u00a0 Not God, because is there anything impossible for God?\u00a0 No, there\u2019s not.\u00a0 Genesis 18:14 says, \u201cIs anything too difficult for the LORD?\u201d\u00a0 Answer: NO.\n\nBut you see, what\u2019s happening is these people in the New Testament, these Hebrew Christians are meeting in small groups.\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0 Because Paul\u2026 well, we don\u2019t know if Paul wrote the book of Hebrews but whoever wrote it says, Hebrews 3:13, \u201cBut encourage one another day after day\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Hebrews 10:25 says, \u201cnot forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 So what\u2019s keeping you encouraged and not drifting back into Judaism to avoid persecution is you guys are meeting together, you\u2019re stimulating one another unto good works, and\u00a0 you\u2019re fortifying each other.\u00a0 So that\u2019s\u00a0 your biblical basis for having a church to attend, or a small group or something because\u2026you know, when you put out a fire, after you\u2019re finished camping the easiest way to make the fire go out is to separate the coals, right?\u00a0 Because when they\u2019re separated they go out faster.\n\nThis is why it\u2019s such a war to get here on Sunday morning; you get in the car to come here on Sunday morning and all hell is breaking loose, the kids are screaming and crying, you\u2019re late, you\u2019re upset because you spilled coffee all over your new jacket, whatever the case maybe.\u00a0 Oh, just sleep in, watch it on the internet\u2026 I was once a church attendee myself.\u00a0 I have to show up because I get paid to show up.\u00a0 Howard Hendricks said I get paid to be good, the rest of you are good for nothing.\u00a0 So I have an additional inducement.\u00a0 But the fact of the matter is the devil wants to put every cloud in your mind as to why you shouldn\u2019t come because he knows what you need that given Sunday and he wants to keep you depressed and discouraged all week, and ineffective.\n\nSo these people are meeting in these groups and what he\u2019s saying is, when he uses this word \u201cimpossible\u201d he\u2019s saying if you go back to Judaism it\u2019s not going to be impossible for God to pull you out, but you\u2019re going to reach a point where your small group that you\u2019re meeting in is not going to be able to help you anymore.\u00a0 There reaches a point where you cross a line and unless God Himself does a miracle man can\u2019t help you; you\u2019re going to be stuck in the old system; you\u2019re going to be stuck at a level of growth and you\u2019re basically going to be stunted there the rest of your life.\n\nI think that\u2019s the warning that he\u2019s giving, and he\u2019s saying just like the Kadesh Barnea generation threw away Canaan but still went to heaven, you\u2019re going to throw away maturity although your salvation is secure.\u00a0 Now had the Hebrews generation crossed the line yet?\u00a0 What do you think?\u00a0 They hadn\u2019t because the writer says, \u201cBut beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning\u00a0 you.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re approaching the line, like the Kadesh Barnea group did, but you haven\u2019t crossed the point of impossibility; you haven\u2019t crossed the point of no return.\u00a0 So they still had hope, they had not crossed the line as the Exodus generation had done; they\u2019re rapidly approaching the line and the writer is warning them before it\u2019s too late, and he\u2019s using Kadesh Barnea as an example.\n\nAnd so what I have given you is what I think is the right interpretation of Hebrews 6:4-6.\u00a0 Now as promised I\u2019m going to cycle back and give you what I would consider the three wrong interpreta\u00adtions of this.\u00a0 So now that you know what I think is the right one I want to balance the wrong ones in comparison to the truth that you now know.\u00a0 See that?\n\nThe dominant view out there, that has the most press coverage for some reason, this is the only view I knew for years and years, is what\u2019s called the view of Calvinism or the view of Reformed Theology.\u00a0 And what it\u2019s saying is the warnings are addressed to unbelievers in the flock.\u00a0 So he\u2019s talking to believers, believers, believers, but then he kind of thinks, you know, some unsaved people might be in here so I\u2019ll target this warning to unsaved people.\u00a0 So what they want you to believe is this warning is addressed to people who are externally affiliated with Christ; they are professors of Christ but they\u2019re not true possessors, kind of like Judas, people that got around Christ but never really believed in Christ.\n\nJohn MacArthur is probably the loudest voice on this view and this is something he says.\u00a0 He says, \u201cDoes Hebrews 6:4-6 teach that a true believer can lose his salvation?\u00a0 No,\u201d I agree with him there, \u201cin that passage the writer of Hebrews is speaking to the unsaved.\u201d\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 Every time he gets to a warning passage he says oh, those are just unsaved people, it\u2019s speaking to the unsaved who have heard the truth and acknowledge it but who hesitated to embrace Christ.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit warns them, \u2018you had better come to Christ now for if you fall away it will be impossible to come again to the point of repentance.\u2019\u00a0 They were at the best point for repentance-full knowledge, to fall from that which would be fatal.\u201d\u00a0 So the warning is aimed at unsaved within a largely believing flock.\n\nDoes that really add up?\u00a0 Well, remember the word \u201cenlightened?\u201d\u00a0 When the Reformed camp interprets the word \u201cenlightened\u201d they want it to mean convicted, enlightened in terms of conviction but not a believer yet.\u00a0 How do we discover what the word \u201cenlightened\u201d means?\u00a0 How does the same writer in the same book\u00a0 use the same word?\u00a0 I showed you Hebrews 10:32-34 where there\u2019s no doubt that \u201cenlightened\u201d means a saved person. \u00a0And then you notice that it doesn\u2019t just say \u201cenlightened,\u201d it says \u201cthey\u2019ve once been enlightened.\u201d\u00a0 See, everybody misses that word, hapax<\/em>, it\u2019s a onetime thing that happened.\u00a0 This is not the Holy Spirit gradually knocking on someone\u2019s door to convert them; this is somebody that has once and for all been ushered into spiritual life.\n\nHow about this word \u201ctasted\u201d?\u00a0 How does the Reformed camp interpret the word \u201ctasted\u201d?\u00a0 Anybody remember?\u00a0 It\u2019s a sampling, like Judas, they kind of licked the lollipop but never swallowed.\u00a0 How do we interpret words?\u00a0 How does the writer use the same word in the same book?\u00a0 You go back to Hebrews 2:9 what does \u201ctasted\u201d mean?\u00a0 [Hebrews 2:9, \u201cBut we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.\u201d]\u00a0 It\u2019s talking about the death of Christ which is a what?\u00a0 Full experience.\n\nSo what is happening is people want to take you to passages like Matthew 27:34, John 2:9, passages like that, Jesus tasted sour wine. And it\u2019s true, it\u2019s the same word but that\u2019s not how the writer uses that word in the same book.\u00a0 And certainly the word \u201conce\u201d one time, hapax<\/em>, wouldn\u2019t apply to that circumstance either. \u00a0[Matthew 27:34, \u201cthey gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.\u201d\u00a0 John 2:9, \u201cWhen the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom,\u201d]\n\nSo Albert Barnes says this concerning the Reformed interpretation: \u201c\u2026and it seems plain to me, that no other interpretation would ever have been thought of, if this view\u201d that\u2019s the rewards view, \u201chad not seemed to conflict with the doctrine of the \u2018perseverance of the\u201d what? \u201cperseverance of the saints.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 [Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Epistle to the Hebrews <\/em>(New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1854), 134.]\n\nIf you fall in love with Calvinistic theology what you believe is faith is a gift and proof that you have received that gift is you will always, with very few exceptions, persevere in good works.\u00a0 So that\u2019s where you get into fruit inspecting of yourself and other people to see if you\u2019re really one of the elect.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve already fallen in love with that philosophy what is your temptation to do as an interpreter when you come to Hebrews 6:4-6?\u00a0 Oh, we\u2019ll just make that apply to unbelievers.\u00a0 But see, that\u2019s a case where you\u2019re trying to force the Bible into your manmade theological system (do you follow?) rather than building your theological system from the Bible. \u00a0And\u00a0 I think that\u2019s largely what\u2019s happening with Reformed theology.\n\nZane Hodges, in The Bible Knowledge Commentary<\/em> says, \u201c\u201cThe assertion that such a failure is not possible for a regenerate person is a\u201d what kind of proposition? \u201ctheological proposition<\/u> which is not supported by the New Testament...\u2019\u201d\u00a0 [Zane Hodges, \u201cHebrews,\u201d in The Bible Knowledge Commentary<\/em>, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Wheaton: Victor, 1983), 795.]\n\nWhat is a \u201ctheological proposition\u201d?\u00a0 It\u2019s an overarching belief\u00a0 you have about God.\u00a0 Your over\u00adarching belief that you have about God is only as good as the text it\u2019s found in.\u00a0 If you have a belief about God that cannot be defended from the text then get rid of your theological belief and readjust it.\u00a0 But see, people don\u2019t want to do that.\u00a0 They want to make the Bible fit their system.\u00a0 It\u2019s like that commercial where that guy\u2026 it\u2019s a long time ago, but that guy goes in to get his mechanical work done, I think it actually was an elderly lade and she needed something in her car that obviously wouldn\u2019t fit, and the mechanic holds up a wrench and says \u201cwe\u2019ll make it fit.\u201d\u00a0 And a lot of people are like that, you know, I\u2019m going to make it fit!\u00a0 I\u2019m not going to give up my belief system.\u00a0\u00a0 And that\u2019s a lack of humility.\n\nBeloved, I have taught things in my life that are wrong; I\u2019ve believed things in my life that were wrong.\u00a0 It\u2019s part of the growing process.\u00a0 And if I\u2019m not willing to get before the Lord and say I had it wrong, how do I grow.\u00a0 And, you know, a lot of times people in these theological conflicts are just not willing to do that.\u00a0 So I think that\u2019s what\u2019s happening with this word \u201ctasted.\u201d\n\nSome people say well, you know, Hebrews 6:4-6 is pretty convincing but you know, it doesn\u2019t mention a broken and contrite heart.\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s what you call an argument from silence; you don\u2019t evaluate a passage by what\u2019s not there, you evaluate a passage by what\u2019s there.\u00a0 If I\u2019m going to figure out whether people are saved based on what a passage doesn\u2019t say I couldn\u2019t conclude (based on that standard) that the Corinthians were saved because Paul never says they had a broken and contrite heart.\u00a0 So be careful about presuppositions. This is why I think the Reformed view doesn\u2019t work.\n\nNow what about the Arminian view.\u00a0 By the way, it also ignores the Kadesh Barnea paradigm, all of the people at Kadesh Barnea were what?\u00a0 Saved.\n\nNow what about the Arminian view?\u00a0 Arminians say these people were saved, and I agree with them at that point, so I actually have more in common with Arminians than Calvinists on this, but what happened to their salvation?\u00a0 They lost salvation.\u00a0 That\u2019s how they interpret Hebrews 6:4-6.\n\nLet me ask you a basic question: if the paradigm of the book is Kadesh Barnea and this crowd blew it at Kadesh Barnea and didn\u2019t enter Canaan, can I ask you a basic question?\u00a0 Did that crowd ever stop being God\u2019s elect nation?\u00a0 They never did!\u00a0 In fact, what did God do for these people for forty years?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t he just keep giving them manna over and over again.\u00a0 He kept providing for them because they were still His people although they forfeited a blessing.\u00a0 He actually gave them military victory later on, Numbers 21.\u00a0 He even told them in Numbers 24 that the Messiah was going to come forth from their loins, from Israel.\n\nSo what I\u2019m saying is they forfeited a blessing but they never stopped being God\u2019s elect nation.\u00a0 That\u2019s the paradigm of the book.\u00a0 So that\u2019s what He\u2019s saying to the Hebrews\u2014you\u2019re going to forfeit a blessing, which is maturity and growth, you\u2019re going to be stuck at a certain level of spiritual infancy but you\u2019re still My people, you\u2019re still going to heaven.\u00a0 You\u2019re not going to forfeit heaven but you\u2019re going to forfeit a blessing\u00a0 which you could have had.\n\nBeyond that the Arminian view contradicts all of the other very crystal clear passages we\u2019ve gone over in this course, like John 10 where Jesus says we\u2019re in His hand and nothing can take us out of it.\u00a0 It contradicts all those crystal clear passages.\u00a0 So that\u2019s your first hint that the Arminian view is problematic.\n\nSo the Calvinist view basically says\u2026 its aimed at unbelievers, I don\u2019t think that works.\u00a0 The Arminian view basically says they\u2019re saved but they lost their salvation.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think that fits the biblical evidence; I don\u2019t think it fits the Kadesh Barnea generation which is the paradigm of the book.\n\nThe last view is called the hypothetical view which I like to call the Disneyworld view because that\u2019s the best example I can think of; you haul your kids across the country to go to Disneyworld or if you liked that movie, Vacation, Wally World, I don\u2019t recommend that though, it\u2019s not a G rated movie\u2026 we won\u2019t go into that.\u00a0 But you take them all the way across the country and you get them into the amusement park and your kids start acting up and so what do you as a parent do?\u00a0 \u201cIf you don\u2019t straighten up we\u2019re going to go home!\u201d\u00a0 Now you know that you\u2019re not going to go home, look at all the headache you\u2019ve put together to get across the country to go to the amusement park.\u00a0 But it\u2019s a threat that the kids think is real but you know is not real.\u00a0 So that\u2019s how a lot of people handle Hebrews 6:4-6, including my hero, Charles Ryrie\u2026 say it ain\u2019t so Charles, good grief.\n\nThis is right out of his Ryrie Study Bible, he says, \u201c<\/strong>Others understand the passage to be a warning to genuine believers to urge them on in Christian growth and maturity. To \u2018fall away\u2019 is impossible (since, according to this view, true believers are eternally secure), but the phrase is placed in the sentence to strengthen the warning. It is similar to saying something like this to a class of students: \u2018It is impossible for a student, once enrolled in this course, if he turns the clock back [which cannot could never happen<\/u>],\u201d see that, \u201cto start the course over.\u201d\u00a0 But he says \u201cwe all know that could never happen. \u00a0Therefore, let all students go on to deeper knowledge.\u2019 In this view the phrases in verses 4-5 are understood to refer to the conversion experience.\u201d\n\nBasically what he\u2019s saying is God is making a threat which He knows He\u2019ll never make good on.\u00a0 And see, these warnings are so severe that a lot of people just have concluded they couldn\u2019t apply to a believer.\u00a0 But let me ask you a question: if I stand up here and say these only apply to unbelievers are you going to listen to anything else I have to say?\u00a0 But see, with the view I have that you, as a Christian can still go to heaven but forfeit something I\u2019ve got everybody\u2019s attention.\u00a0 See that.\u00a0 There\u2019s a pastoral ministry philosophy mindset to this.\u00a0 You get up and tell people these are for unbelievers they\u2019re not going to listen to you.\n\nNow Ryrie is not saying these are\u00a0 unbelievers, what he\u2019s saying is it\u2019s an idle threat, which I have a problem with because that makes God what?\u00a0 Deceptive, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t this same book, Hebrews 6:18 tell us that it is impossible for God to lie.\u00a0 [Hebrews 6:18, \u201cso that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie\u2026\u201d] You make God out to be a common parent who just breathes idle threats I think you\u2019ve reduced God to man\u2019s image.\u00a0 So I have a problem with that.\n\nBeyond that, if the background of the book is Kadesh-Barnea let me ask you a question: Did the Kadesh-Barnea generation really lose something?\u00a0 I mean, they lost something very real, they lost something very tangible, they lost something very practical.\u00a0 They forfeited a blessing!\u00a0 Now why would he use this as an example if we all know (wink, wink, wink) that these people really aren\u2019t going to lose anything, God is just making an idle threat.\n\nSo in conclusion, what did the Exodus generation and the Hebrews have in common?\u00a0 Both saved, both on the precipice of forfeiting something.\u00a0 The Kadesh-barnea generation forfeited something; the Hebrews generation almost forfeited something, they were crossing that point of no return but hadn\u2019t crossed it yet.\u00a0 And the way to really understand this is to use Kadesh-barnea as a lens for interpreting Hebrews 6:4-6.\u00a0 The other views that you\u2019re getting, whether it\u2019s the Reformed view, the Arminian view, or the hypothetical view, I don\u2019t think stack up well compared to the loss of blessings view.\n\nSo what have I tried to say in three sessions?\u00a0 Hebrews 6:4-6 does not teach you can lose your salvation.\u00a0 See, you could have showed up just now and gotten that conclusion without hearing all this other stuff.\u00a0 You\u2019re not going to lose your salvation but by way of application what if you get saved out of Roman Catholicism?\u00a0 What if you get saved out of Mormonism?\u00a0 What if you get saved out of the Watchtower organization?\u00a0 What are those cultures going to do to you?\u00a0 Come back, persecute you to come back and this is how the book of Hebrews is applicable then because if you go back to those systems you\u2019re going back to a system that cannot help you grow.\u00a0 You only grow in Christ when you\u2019re in the New Testament church, receiving from the New Testament gifts, studying New Testament revelation and applying it to daily life.\u00a0 This is how it\u2019s applied.\n\nBeloved, there are millions of people, I believe, that are saved but because of their spiritual choices, because they\u2019re making spiritual choices concerning what church to attend in terms of keeping peace in the family, or whatever, that they are stuck at a level, they are stunted at a level of growth that they can\u2019t get out of.\u00a0 That\u2019s how the book of Hebrews applies; they\u2019re going to heaven, they\u2019re blood bought souls, they\u2019re redeemed by the grace of God, but they are stuck at a spiritual level and that\u2019s what I think the book of Hebrews is talking about.\u00a0 Okay, any thoughts or questions?","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t