PerryDox – BeJustAChristian

There are four positions on who is being primarily discussed in Hebrews 6:3-6 and consequently what is lost:

• True believer: apostasy/loss of salvation;
• True believer: apostasy/loss of reward;
• True believer: hypothetical apostasy/loss of salvation; and
• False believer: apostasy/eternal condemnation.

Another way of organizing this would be:

• Who is being described? True believers (always saved) or deceived believers (never saved)
• What is being described? Are these 5 traits (Pipers groups them into four) simply experiences and blessings the deceived believer can receive; or are these glorious descriptions of what a true believer experiences?
• Why is renewal impossible?

Let’s examine some of the important words within verses 4-5. Due to the length of the sentence, translators have actually moved words to different verses to help clarify meanings. “Impossible” is in v.4 in the Greek, but in verse 6. “Renew” is in v.4 in the HCSB, but v.6 in the Greek and most versions. As always, defining terms is essential to understanding, and context always has the heaviest value (i.e., set can mean different things). Periodically we will reference the words of John Piper. He is a respected Reform Theologian with whom we will disagree.

Impossible (v.4/6)

“Impossible” is the first word in this Greek sentence making it impossible to ignore or lessen its impact. “Impossible” (adunatos) means either extremely weak (Rom.15:1), or literally that which is impossible (Acts 14:8). Due to the constructive of this section, why renewal is impossible is not stated. Unfortunately some have misconstrued this text to mean that if one sin is committed after salvation, then all is lost. Therefore people waited until they were almost dead to be baptized.

In this text, the word should be translated “impossible” because that is the force of the word. But within context we learn why. But before that, it is interesting to note that “impossible” is used elsewhere within the New Testament (14x) and Hebrews (4x). Three times it describes salvation being impossible, that is impossible for man, but possible for God (Mt.19:26; Mk.10:27; Lk.18:27). One question people tend to ask is, “Is it possible for God or for man to be renewed?” After discover the answer, I think we will discover that it does not matter. Here are the Hebrew passages: 6:6 (v.4); 6:18; 10:4; 11:6.

Why something is “impossible” is also important. It is impossible for God to make a square circle. Therefore logical contradictions are impossible to reconcile. That is also why it is impossible for God to lie (6:18). It contradicts God’s nature. Inherent within adunatos is the concept of “weakness” which is sometimes seen within the context. Something is “impossible” due to insufficient strength. That is the meaning in Hebrews 10:4 where it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. The final use in Hebrews is in chapter 11:6 where it says it is impossible to please God without faith.

None of these other passages scare like Hebrews 6:4 (v.6). Maybe if we understood how they all are tied together then we too can be comforted.

The Hebrew’s writer states this emphatically – it is impossible – but then as if whacking us on the head turns to describe who.

Once (v.4)

“Once” can mean “once and only once” or simply pointing back to a time when something happened – i.e., once they were enlightened. I take the second view.

Enlightened (6:4)

“Enlightened” (phōtizō) – Through much of the NT usage of this term refers to the process and effects of salvation (Lk.11:36). In Hebrews it is used twice, here and in 10:32. In an article entitled, “The Present Power of a Future Possession,” http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper97/4-27-97a.htm¸ John Piper who does not believe Hebrews 6 is discussing a true believer, comments on the term “enlighted:”

Remember the former days, when, after being enlightened [= converted to Christ], you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly, by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.

While context always defines the word, there are many similarities between chapters 6 and 10.

In preparation for the next word, it is important to understand that this “enlightening” is a powerful word, and does not mean a weak light. It is illumination. It is argued that you can see the light without being saved. True, but this text does not say you see light, but rather you are lit, you become light.

Tasted (v.4)

The metaphor changes from light to food. The second blessing begins with a word used to describe three blessings – tasted (geuomai). In American vernacular, we could imply that “tasting” does not mean “eating.” “Tasting” is examining or testing different foods or drinks. That would be an inaccurate statement for how it is used within the NT where it combines both a little and a full exposure such as eating a meal. Within Hebrews, “tasted” is used three times (6:4.5), the first time in 2:9 where it refers to Jesus tasting death. This is a common expression within the Bible (Mt.16:28; Mk.9:1; Lk.9:27; Jn.8:52).

Heavenly Gift (v.4)

The second of the blessings is that this person has tasted the heavenly gift. Perhaps it might be easier to understand whether this indeed describes a true believer or a deceived believer if we knew exactly what the heavenly gift was. The word “heavenly” is used several times in Hebrews (3:1; 6:4; 8:5; 9:23; 11:16; 12:22), describing a calling, gift, things in heaven, another “country” and “Jerusalem.” “Gift” is used only here in Hebrews. Guesses include Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Partakers of the Holy Spirit (v.4)

Partakers  (1:9; 3:1; 3:14; 6:4; 12:8) is used to describe our calling, our relationship to Christ and to the Holy Spirit. While John Piper believers being a partaker of Christ is being a true believer (3:14), why is it difficult to understand being a partaker of the Holy Spirit is also being a true believer?

Word of God (v.5)

Powers of the Coming Age (v.5)

Fallen Away (v.6)

“Fallen away” (parapiptō) is one word in the Greek and used only here in the NT.  It means to fall aside. Whoever these people are, they have “fallen away.” I simply ask, “fallen away from what?” Did they fall away from sin? Did they fall away from being lost? Did they fall away from salvation? That makes the most sense. Plug in other answers and they become nonsensical. Did they fall away from being lost? Did they fall away from their experiences? If they fell away just from experiences, then that means they were not saved which means they still cannot be restored, so they lost nothing.

Renewed (v.6)

We pick back up with the thought of something being impossible. The connecting thought is that it is impossible to be renewed again. John Piper does not address these words in this analysis. I checked another resource theologically similar to Mr. Piper and it did not address this either.

To renew (anakainizō) is only used here and means to make new, renovate, restore. Of course the concept of being made new, a new creation, being born again, refreshed and such is taught all over the NT just with different words.

What was the state of those who had been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, became partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted both the word of God and the powers of the age to come? Isn’t that what this whole research has been asking? The text now plainly tells us – they are renewed.

We see various spiritual stages within this text:

• Before Renewed
• Renewed
• Fall Away after Renewed

So let me ask, if these renewed people were not saved, then to what were they renewed? To a different state of being lost?

Again (v.6)

And as if the concept of being renewed was not clear enough, the writer adds the emphatic renewed “again.” If they were never renewed they how can it be said that they cannot be renewed again? They were never renewed to begin with.

Crucifying Again the Son of God (v.6)

Why is it impossible to renew these fallen away believers? It is simple; they have given up on the only source of salvation. Remember, it is impossible for God to lie (6:18), and God promised salvation through His Son. Remember, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats (10:4), and animal blood is all that Judaism offers. Remember, it is impossible to please God without faith (11:6); and these Messianic Jews gave up believing in their Messiah.

From a technical point of view, this section could be taken as either causal or temporal. That is, because they crucify Christ again; or while they crucify Christ again. Either way the result is the same. If Jesus is nothing but a criminal crucified which is what the Jews claimed, then they are crucifying Him again instead of making Him their sacrifice.

Hebrews 6:4-8 fits in very well with 10:26-39 if I may do some interpretive finessing.

• Enlightened – enlightened (11/l32)
• Tasted the Heavenly Gift (this could fit so many)
• Parkers – companions (11:33)
• The Holy Spirit – Spirit of grace (11:29)
• Tasted the Word of God – knowledge of the truth (11:26)
• Tasted the Power of the Ages to Come
• Impossible – expectation of judgment (11:27); punishment (11:28-29); Vengeance (11:30)
• Fall away (11:38,39)
• Renew – blood of the covenant (11:29);
• Crucify Again – deliberately sin (11:26); no longer remains a sacrifice (11:26); trampled on Son of God (11:29); throw away your confidence (11:35)
• Son of God – Son of God (11:29)
• Burned – fury of fire (11:27)

I feel compelled to ask, if all these glorious descriptions, enlightened, tasted of the heavenly gift, partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted of the word of God and the power of the age to come, where said in another context, the conclusion would be – wow! That’s what it means to be a Christian.

Analogy – 7-8

What about the analogy in vv.7-8? This is John Piper’s view:

So the picture is not of a field that had life and vegetation and then lost it. The picture is of two different kinds of fields – one is fruitful and blessed; the other is barren and cursed. I think the point is: if we have sat in church with the light and the Spirit and the word and the work of God coming to us and blessing us and even shaping us in some degree, but then turn our back on it, we are like a field without vegetation and will come into judgment. The rain we have drunk (light, Spirit, word, powers) produced no life in the field.

We all would agree that analogies can only go so far. Not every point made in a word picture has an equal part in the explanation.

With no disrespect to Mr. Piper, in order for his explanation to be correct, the text would need two different fields, one representing the saved, and the other the unsaved. As anyone who a yard knows, any field can produce thorns and thistles if not cultivated and tilled. Also, considering that Mr. Piper does not believe the descriptions in vv.4-6 are Christians, true believers, but deceived, don’t they look like good Christians? If the analogy is to be stretched, then don’t the thorns and thistles need to look like good vegetation? The explanation is simple. The good represents those who are renewed; and the bad those who fell away.

Things that Accompany Salvation (v.9)

The things that accompany salvation are what is mentioned in vv.4-5, and what follows.

Hebrews 3:14

Hebrews 3:6 (HCSB) But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household. And we are that household if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope.

Mr. Piper believers the verb tense:

The key thing here is the tense of the verb, “we have become partakers of Christ.” Not we “will become partakers” and not “we are now partakers,” but: “we have become partakers of Christ – if we hold fast our assurance.”

First, if such is true, then no one has any objective standard by which they know they are saved until they die in the faith. He can’t go by present experiences because he teaches all the wonderful and glorious experiences in 6:3-5 refer to deceived believers.

With all due respect, Mr. Piper needs this verse to read very differently to teach what he says. He needs the “if” to modify the beginning – “If we have become partakes of Christ, we will hold fast assurance.”

Then what is this verse saying? Being a partaker of Christ is much like the journey of the Israelites described in the surrounding verses. We are companions of Christ now and always will be if we remain faithful.

The same thought is taught in v.6 – Hebrews 3:6 (HCSB) But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household. And we are that household if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope.

Hebrews 10:14

This passage is not discussing the faithfulness or security of the believer, but contrasting the one sacrifice of Christ with the many of the Jewish system. Again, why go back to Judaism? The blood of Jesus Christ was offered once.

In Mr. Piper’s analysis of Hebrews 6:3-4, he is answering the question, “Can you lose your salvation?” and within his analysis is another question, “How can you know you are saved?” Basically, he concludes that Hebrews 6:5 does not teach you can lose your salvation because Hebrews 6:3-4 does not prove you can know you are saved.

1. How can you know you are saved?

2. Can you lose your salvation?

Here is an article by John Piper entitled, “The Agonizing Problem of the Assurance of Salvation:”

The most agonizing problem about the assurance of salvation is not the problem of whether the objective facts of Christianity are true (God exists, Christ is God, Christ died for sinners, Christ rose from the dead, Christ saves forever all who believe, etc.). Those facts are the utterly crucial bedrock of our faith. But the really agonizing problem of assurance is whether I personally am saved by those facts.

This boils down to whether I have saving faith. What makes this agonizing – for many in the history of the church and today – is that there are people who think they have saving faith but don’t. For example, in Matthew 7:21-23, I says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

So the agonizing question for some is: do I really have saving faith? Is my faith real? Am I self-deceived? Some well-intentioned people try to lessen the problem by making faith a mere decision to affirm certain truths, like the truth: I is God, and he died for my sins. Some also try to assist assurance by denying that any kind of life-change is really necessary to demonstrate the reality of faith. So they find a way to make James 2:17 mean something other than what is seems to mean: “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead.” But these strategies to help assurance backfire. They deny some Scripture; and even the minimal faith they preserve can be agonized over and doubted by the tormented soul. They don’t solve the problem, and they lose truth. And, perhaps worst of all, they sometimes give assurance to people who should not have it.

Instead of minimizing the miraculous, deep, transforming nature of faith, and instead of denying that there are necessary life-changes that show the reality of faith, we should tackle the problem of assurance another way. We should begin by realizing that there is an objective warrant for resting in God’s forgiveness of my sins, and there is a subjective warrant for God’s forgiveness of my sins. The objective warrant is the finished work of Christ on the cross that “has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). The subjective warrant is our faith which is expressed in “being sanctified.”

Next we should realize that saving faith has two parts. First, faith is a spiritual sight of glory (or beauty) in the Christ of the gospel. In other words, when you hear or read what God has done for sinners in the cross and the resurrection of I, this appears to your heart as a great and glorious thing in and of itself even before you are sure you are saved by it. I get this idea from 2 Corinthians 4:4, where Paul says that what Satan hinders in the minds of unbelievers is the “seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” For faith to be real there must be a supernatural “light” that God shines into the heart to show us that Christ is glorious and wonderful (2 Corinthians 4:6). This happens as a work of the Spirit of God through the preaching of the gospel.

Second, faith is a warranted resting in this glorious gospel for our own salvation. I say “warranted resting” because there is an “unwarranted resting” – people who think they are saved who are not, because they have never come to see the glory of Christ as compellingly glorious. These people only believe on the basis of wanting rescue from harm, not because they see Christ as more beautiful and desirable than all else. But for those who “see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” their resting is warranted.

What this means practically is that we should continually look to the cross and the work of God in Christ, because this is where God makes the light of the gospel shine. Secondly, we should continually pray for God to “enlighten the eyes of our hearts” (Ephesians 1:18). Thirdly, we should love each other; because, as John said, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.” In the end, assurance is a precious gift of God. Let us pray for each other that it will abound among us.

Notice the language Mr. Piper uses to teach assurance of salvation:

• Faith is a spiritual sight of glory
• Faith is when you hear or read and this appears as a great and glorious thing
• Faith is a supernatural light
• Faith is a work of the Holy Spirit

Strangely, the assurances that Mr. Piper gives of a saving faith echo Hebrews 6:3-4 which he affirms do not demonstrate saving faith. How could Piper’s “spiritual sight” and “supernatural light” give assurance of salvation; but those who have been “enlightened” are lost and never have been saved? How could Piper’s hearing and reading and the message appears as a great and glorious thing give assurance of salvation; but those how have “tasted the heavenly gift” and “tasted the goodness of the word of God” are lost and never have been saved?” How could Piper’s work of the Spirit through the gospel give assurance of salvation; but those who have “been made partakes of the Holy Spirit” are lost and ever have been saved?

Hebrews 6:4-5 (ESV) 4 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, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,

But there is another aspect to this “assurance” of his and that is, in using his own language, it is “subjective.” His assurances deal with what is experienced, and that is the same as the Pentecostal, “better felt than told.”

I find that the Bible presents salvation as being both subjective and objective. And the objective part is what is more powerful. It comes down to this question – If God said to do something and I do what God says, then can I be sure I am saved? Yes.

The book is filled with warnings not to be unfaithful. If predestination is true, as Calvinism and Reform theology defines it, and I have no free will to choose salvation or reject it, then why the warning? Paul said, if he wasn’t saved if there was no resurrection, then he preferred to have any doubt removed so that he could eat, drink and be merry.

Tags: Once Saved Always Saved

This entry was posted by PHall on Monday, March 19th, 2012 at 8:00 pm and is filed under Hebrews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.