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The solemn
warning is given in these verses to those who turn back from the commitment they
made to Christ—those who have been enlightened. Enlightenment to spiritual
knowledge brings responsibility; it submits us to decision making. Coming to
Christ, experiencing the blessings of the heavenly gifts and the good things God
has for His children, being even partakers of the Holy Ghost, drinking from the
refreshing fountain of His Word and knowing what the Word says about the powers
of the world to come, of blessing and glory to the believer and of judgment for
those who make decisions against Jesus Christ—should one such as this by
deliberate and willful choice turn away and crucify Christ afresh, putting Him
to open shame—that person has been duly warned. The warning given is to be
considered with other warnings which make plain the main purpose of the epistle
to the Hebrew Christians. It is a warning given to those in danger of neglecting
what they had experienced and embraced of Christian truth. The author is
exhorting those who had professed Christ to remain loyal to Him and to the
gospel and that there is absolute hopelessness in turning aside from Christ and
seeking other means of salvation. To turn away from Christ places that
individual on the side of those who reject Christ. The author expresses the fact
that it is useless to attempt by repetition of instruction to recall to
repentance those who have renounced Christianity. The impossibility of which he
speaks has reference to human agents; it is only said that all human means of
acting on the heart have been exhausted in such a case. No limit is placed on
the divine power of an Almighty God. In Hebrews
10:26-31 (which is
much stronger than the passage under consideration), it is not said that such
apostates are never brought to repentance, but only that it cannot be expected
that they ever should be. In a more strict sense of this text, every fall is a
falling away in the life of a Christian. Often it involves a temporary
forgetfulness and turning aside from Christ who said, “Abide
in Me.” There is
evidence here of a distinction being made of falling and a falling away.
In Galatians
5:4 we have
those who, instead of abiding at the foot of the cross, living daily by the
grace of God and His forgiveness, have become obsessed with being their own
saviors and intercessors. “You
ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” They had
deliberately departed from the truth, erring from God’s way into a
self-righteous, natural man. A departing from and a renunciation of Christ is a
declaration that they no longer need Christ and can do without Him, after being
partakers of God’s rich spiritual blessings. This is a depreciation of His
precious blood, a contempt of His sacrifice, and a rejection of His person—a
falling away from God to idols, from the kingdom of heaven to the world, and
from the way of light into the way of the flesh and darkness.
We have
the examples of David and Solomon in the Old Testament. Both were men of God,
yet each committed awful sin before God, and we shudder at both. The difference
in the two lay in the fact that David repented before God in a great and deep
sorrow for his awful sin (Psalm 51).
Solomon, warned twice by God to turn from idols and not to walk after other
gods, did not obey the Lord and continued in his awful sin of departure from
Him, and God came against him with terrible judgment (1 Kings
3:14
and 2 Chronicles
7:12-22). King
Saul is another example of God’s judgment on one who had departed from Him.
Those are examples of falling away into sin or backsliding and falling to the
place of God’s judgment.
“It is
impossible for those who were once enlightened”: It is a
horrible thought and cause for trembling. Let us all watch and pray. Let us ever
abide at the foot of the cross where we receive mercy, forgiveness and that
great portion of the most eminent expression of love in the finished work of
Christ at Calvary. A constant vision of His love will be the greatest stimulant
to Christian growth. There will be no need of fear; our response can only be
that of greater faith and love to One who loved us so much. Let us perform our
duties each day, in our homes, in our churches and in our communities, ever
keeping in mind the potential of reaching out and influencing others by our
lives to this wonderful Lord whom we love and serve.
Fully
expected of the recipients of this epistle are the “better things,” the things
which accompany salvation and Christian maturity. How precious to know
that “God is
not unrighteous.” He is the
righteous judge of every man’s heart. He knows all about us—our work, our labor
of love—and with this the writer encourages his readers to be steadfast and
followers of those who through patience and faith inherit the promises. God’s
Word and God’s oath—what greater assurance can we have? Those who trust and hope
for future glory have a strong and satisfying consolation. Christ is now in
heaven as our High Priest and is our hope. This is our anchor that keeps us. Our
High Priest, Jesus Christ, is seated in glory, and through Him all the precious
promises of God are dispensed to those who love Him. What confidence! What
comfort! What hope! Hope will produce a fullness of assurance. Faith and
endurance, signs of purposeful activity, assure the inheritance of the
promise.
posted by David @ 4:26 PM
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