(Continuing From Last Week)
IN HEB. 6:4-6 we find as follows: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the
Holy Ghost. And have tasted the good word of God, (and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame”.
This passage has been a source of great perplexity and discouragement to many, because it seems to teach that those who fall away from faith are irretrievable and irrevocably lost. However, the view here is that this passage, for correct application, should be interpreted from within its context and not within any theological system. The expressed issue in it is that of extreme peril that results or that will result from turning away from Christ to become His enemy, or ally with Satan, after having received the instructions in the first principles of Christianity and accepted Christ. The words used in this passage are strong terms. The Greek “hapax photisthen” rendered “enlightened’” connotes “perpetually”, once and for all enlightened. Greek “metochous” translated “partakers” means “authentic, approved sharers”; while “tested” bears the meaning “come to know”. These are strong references to a great deal of knowledge on the part of those who participated and benefited from the miracles on the basis of the power of God through Christ, but now turn to become hostile to Christ and to the salvation that is in Him – a betrayal sort of !
The Revised Standard Version (RSV) raises another somewhat different point of view on this passage; that of conditional futuristic application “if they fall away…” The RSV suggests “if they commit apostasy” In this rendition, no specific instance of apostasy is in view. However, and all the same, this does not diminish the warning that deliberate unwillingness for whatever reason, to progress in the Christian life leads logically to a return into the world (a lose pf savour) of which the ultimate end is apostasy. And if one should get to the extreme of falling away after tasting the heavenly gift, his falling away cannot be classed with ordinary sin, for it involves, first, a repudiation, and secondly, a betrayal of God’s provision in Christ, figuratively rendered in the passage as “crucify the Son of God afresh” Therefore for such an apostate, there is no hope of renewal of faith, for God does not have cure for sin when Calvary is rejected.
The controversy about the interpretation of this passage centres around the question of whether repentance is possible in a “fallen away” or apostate, or to put it more in context: whether a man who once had the knowledge of the deep things, powers and benefits of accepting Christ, but still turned away from Him, rejecting God’s salvation plan through Christ and allying with Christ’s only known greatest enemy Satan is capable of a change of mind inherent in the Greek “metanioa” rendered true repentance? This means a “change of mind”. It is the first in the list of foundation principles of Christianity. For one to truly repent, the one must evaluate his past actions, weigh them in the moral scale, repudiate all unworthy motives and acts, and by the grace of God exchange the old carnal mind for the mind of Christ. He is transformed by the renewing of his mind (Rom 12:2). Repentance is not an emotional experience; rather, it is a deep process affecting the mind and life, ushering in a new creature, so that all “old things are passed away” and “all things are become new” (II Cor. 5:7).
This state of mind must not he confused with. or mistaken for the Greek “metamelomai” also translated “repentance” in IICor. 7:8, but meaning “mere regret” and in Matt 27:3 where it denotes shallow false repentance or remorse, reflecting upon sin with a keen sense of regret but without the higher assistance and conviction of the Holy Spirit and God’s grace to effect real change of attitude that marks the true repentance.
From various Scriptures the apostate is incapable of repentance in its true sense because after being offered and seeing the light and shared in its benefits, the apostate rejected it in preference for darkness (John 3:9). Condemnation comes upon men, not because God has willed that some men be lost and others saved, but because some such men have preferred darkness to light. The sentence of condemnation is not arbitrary, but is the inevitable consequence of that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Every man’s fate is determined by his own reaction to the light. While men remain unlightened there is no condemnation (Ps. 87:4, 6; Eze. 3:18-21; 18:2-23; 33:12-20; Luke 23:34; John 15:22; Rom. 7:7,9; I Tim. I:13) but when the light of truth shines into their hearts “they have no cloak for their sin” (John 15:22). Men who are unwilling to give up their evil ways prefer darkness and in so doing blind themselves to the light (II Cor. 4:4) and the grace of God cannot abide in a dark heart or in the mind of a reprobate. This informs the declaration in Heb. I0:26 that: “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin”
An apostate is a willful sinner who defected from the salvation of Jesus to the death of Satan. His sin being deliberate is continuous and unabetting. The mosaic law prescribes death — not sacrifice — for confirmed and obdurate apostates. Examples are Nadab and Abihu sons of Aaron (see Lev. 10:1-5), and Korath, Dathan, Abiran and the 250 men associated with them at Sinai (see Num. 16:1-35). For such persons, sacrifice would have been unacceptable to the Lord, for sacrifice is of value only to the extent that it represents repentant hearts.
The suggestion by some commentators that Heb. 6:4-6 does not teach absolute hopelessness of the apostate described in the passage, but a conditional hopelessness, is rejected on the following grounds:
(a) Jesus Himself in Matt. 5: 13 passes the sentence upon the apostate (the salt that has lost its savour,) as “it is henceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to he trodden under the foot of men”. Some pedantic commentators argue that there is no established evidence in chemistry that salt can ever lose its savour and therefore the analogy being .defective physically, it is difficult, if not impossible to apply it to life. However it must be pointed out that this expression is not analogical but figurative and its reference is implicit and denotes state of worthlessness fit only for being discarded; destruction or elimination. However, Thomson in his book “The land and the Book” at page 381 holds emphatically that impure salt of Palestine could be insipid.
(b) The idea that repentance is impossible under certain circumstances is confirmed by Hebrew Mishnah: which says: “If one says: I shall sin and repent, sin and repent, no opportunity will be given to him to repent. (If one says,): I shall sin and the Day of Atonement will procure atonement for me, the day of atonement procures for him no atonement — (Mishnah: Yoma 8:9, Soncino Edition of Talmud, page 423).
(C) Jesus Christ Himself speaks of the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost in Matt. 12:31 & 32. The general principle of forgiveness is that atonement by Christ at Calvary would be sufficient to remit the guilt of all sins, even the most grievous forms of slander against God known as “blasphemy” ‘. The only sin that is declared unpardonable is “blasphemy against the Holy Ghost” In view of Jesus previously declared principle, this unpardonableness cannot be due to inadequacy of the atonement, nor does this make any inference to any peculiar sacredness of the Third Person of the Trinity. Many hold this to be the attributing of the miracles of the Holy Spirit to satanic power (cf Mark 3:29, 30) and see no possibility of its being committed today. The weakness of this view is the limitation of time it places on divine precept on this assumption, because the Holy Ghost is still operating with Christ’s own people, messengers and representatives on earth today.
However, the important and authentic point is that the verses point to the corrupt heart as the cause of sin. The particular function of the Holy Spirit is to bring conviction and repentance and make men receptive of the invitation of Christ. Hence hearts that, hate God and blaspheme Christ (I Tim. I:13.) could still be convicted and brought to repentance by the Holy Ghost. But the man who rejects every overture of the Holy Ghost resists the only force that can lead him to forgiveness (John 3:36) and this is the clear message of this passage which asserts the possibility of such a state of human depravity. The OT in Num. 15:30 Authorized Standard Vision (ASV) describes these as sinning presumptuously and for such, no atonement is possible, and previous hostility towards God indicates determined unbelief that leads to the disowning of the name of Christ.
It is important to note that apostasy is the act of a professed Christian, who knowingly and deliberately rejects revealed truth regarding the deityship of Christ, (John 4:1-3) and redemption through His atoning sacrifice (Phil. 3:18; II Peter 2: 1). This is different from error which may be the result of ignorance (Acts 19:1- 6), or heresy which may be the result of falling into the snare of Satan. II Tim. 2:25, 26). Both error and heresy may accordingly be consistent with true faith.
Some of the characteristics of apostasy – a departure from faith — include seducing spirits, doctrines of demons, hypocritical lying, a seared conscience or heartlessness, a form of godliness without power and, forbidding of marriage etc. Like the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19 -21) only one of these traits is enough to indicate the apostate nature of the son of the devil.
On a final note: Apostasy whether among the angels (Isa. 14:13, 14; Eze, 28:15; Jude 1-6) or in Israel (literal) (Isa. I :5,6; 5:7) or in the church (spiritual Israel) (Rev. 3: 14-16) is irremediable, and awaits judgment. Mankind’s apostasy in Adam (Gen. 3:6, 7) is curable only through the sacrifice of Christ.
Every Christian should therefore ensure that he remains throughout his life time “the salt of the earth,” by “holding fast the profession of our faith without wavering” (Heb. 10:23) and resist every device of the devil to lead him into the “loss of the savour” apostasy.
THE END
