If
They Shall Fall Away
Any salvation a saved sinner can lose
is a salvation grace did not produce! Any salvation a man earns by good
works is a salvation he must maintain by good works and can lose by the
cessation thereof. If a sinner is saved by good works, it stands to
reason he can lose his salvation by bad works. But scripture affirms
our justification is “not by the [good] works of the law” (Galatians
2:16). Paul wrote to the Romans: “And if by grace, then is it no more
of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then
is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work” (11:6). If
salvation is by works, then grace is turned on its head. Grace is no
longer grace if our salvation is in ANY way contingent upon works or
the lack thereof. And if our salvation is by works, then works MUST be
redefined to constitute grace since salvation can ONLY be by
grace!
Scripture
teaches God makes
his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be “wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption” for every believer (1 Corinthians
1:30). Salvation is IN Christ. The believer is IN Christ. Christ is IN
the believer. Salvation is NOT Jesus plus (+) something or
minus (-) something. Jesus IS salvation. There is NONE OTHER
NAME under heaven given among men whereby we MUST be
saved (Acts 4:12). He that has the Son has life (1 John 5:12).
Despite the unassailability of
salvation-by-grace doctrine, there are those in the religious realm who
insist that salvation is contingent upon good works and the keeping of
it contingent upon maintaining them. The majority of 'good works'
proponents do so as an expression of “confidence in the flesh”
(Philippians 3:3-4), But there are honest folks who genuinely struggle
with biblical passages that appear to teach otherwise. One of those
texts is Hebrews 6:4-6, which reads:
“For it is impossible for those
who
were once enlightened, and have tasted of 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.”
In our treatment of this text, we'll
seek to identify what it means to “fall away” and whether any genuine
born-again believer is capable of doing so. There are several
interpretive keys that will enable us to do this. But first we'll
examine the text itself and then bring to bear other
biblical considerations.
Textual Comments
The words fall away are the
translation of παραπίπτω
(parapiptō), “to
fall beside, slip aside, fall away.” While it implies apostasy, this is
its only NT usage. Some scholars see it as equivalent to an OT word for
“trespass” that signifies departure from the true worship of Jehovah
(Ezekiel 14:13; 15:8). As such, παραπίπτω
would represent departure
from the true worship of Christ. The fact the Holy Spirit used it only
once in the NT means it probably has unique application to the writer's
target audience—Jews who had professed faith in Jesus Christ but still
had an affinity for Mosaic Law and a propensity to mix Law and Grace.
The mixing of the new covenant in Christ's blood with the old covenant
of Law is a recipe for spiritual disaster!
The verb fall away is a
predicate nominative in past participle form:
literally, “ones having fallen away.” It is the fifth in a series of
five predicate nominatives introduced by the definitive article those.
Literal translation: “For [it is] impossible to renew again to
repentance the ones having been enlightened, ones having tasted of the
heavenly gift, ones having become partakers of the Holy Spirit, ones
having tasted the good word of God and the powers of the impending age
and ones having fallen away.” The word if does not appear
in the Greek
as a condition
for the first four verbs. The Greek is καί (and) as a
continuation
of them. It can mean and
or even.
The force of καί
is:
“EVEN IF if they [are] ones having fallen away [after having
experienced the first four influences].”
The writer expresses this falling
away as a remote and almost
unimaginable possibility. What is the possibility of ones having
experienced the first four blessings abandoning the Lord Jesus Christ
as the total sufficiency for salvation? As remote as
that
possibility is, it is even more remote—yea, impossible—for God to renew
them (or bring them back) to a place of repentance and faith after
they've abandoned it. Question:
If a professor of faith DOES fall away, what would
God use to renew them again to repentance? Answer: The
same influences
he already used to draw them to himself in the first place. See Romans
2:4, which affirms “the goodness of God” is the means he uses
to lead
men to repentance.
The writer makes clear the falling
away in view is much more than a
believer being beset by his or her sins. It is a falling away that's
fundamental to the gospel. The ones having fallen away are guilty of
recrucifying the Son of God and putting him to an open shame. The
cross of Christ is the crux of the gospel—its gravamen! The cross was
the means whereby God the Father laid upon Jesus the
iniquities of us
all (Isaiah 53:6). It is also the basis upon which God meted out
JUSTICE for the world's sins so he could be the JUSTIFIER of those who
believe in Jesus (Romans 3:26). If one who falls away is
guilty of recrucifying Jesus and openly shaming him, that falling away
MUST therefore involve a tacit repudiation of Christ and his
cross as the total
sufficiency for our salvation. In other words, he has ultimately
rejected the gospel of grace to which at one time he gave mental
assent.
The verbs crucify and put to an open shame
are also predicate
nominatives, but in present participle form. Literal translation:
“Seeing they are ones continuously recrucifying the Son of God and
ones continuously putting him to an open shame.” The Greek syntax
teaches the ones having experienced (past tense) the first five
participles are now engaged in continuously practicing (present tense)
the last two participles. The verb put
to open shame means “to expose
to infamy, make a public example of.” Its only other NT usage is in
Matthew 1:19, where it is said Joseph was not willing to make Mary a
public example. In other words, he had no desire to bring reproach upon
or embarrass her in a public manner. The professor of Christ
recrucifies and openly shames the Lord Jesus when, having been exposed
to heavenly dynamics, abandons the cross as the crux of the gospel. A
genuine, born-again believer is incapable of falling away. If a
professor of Jesus Christ EVER falls away, it is evidence that
individual NEVER believed.
In ascertaining what it means to fall away, it might
be helpful to
contrast two prominent men in scripture—one who DID fall away and one
who did NOT fall away. They are Judas and Peter. Jesus hand-picked
Judas to be one of the Twelve. Judas experienced many displays of Holy
Ghost power. He preached the gospel of repentance and of the kingdom.
He cast out demons and healed the sick in Jesus' name. He experienced
enlightening, tasting and partaking. Sadly, he fell away in the end.
His betrayal of Jesus revealed he was NEVER a true believer.
Peter NEVER fell away although we
know he rebuked Jesus on one occasion
for predicting his death (Matthew 16:22), denied Jesus three times (as
attested by all four gospel writers), quit the ministry and endeavored
to return to his fishing profession after the resurrection (John 21:3).
The difference between Judas and Peter lies in these words of Jesus to
Peter after predicting his denial: “But
I have prayed for thee, that
thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy
brethren” (Luke 22:32). These are the words of an
Advocate—the same
Advocate that pleads the cause of EVERY true believer (1 John 2:1-2).
The faith of those for whom Jesus prays NEVER fails! They may be overly
confident, spiritually impotent, beggarly in weakness and cowardly in
denial. But none of these shortcomings constitutes a failure of faith
or a falling away. Peter would need to be converted (restored) with a view to
usefulness; but NEVER renewed with a view to
repentance! John
6 further reinforces the truth concerning Peter. After Jesus had fed
the five thousand (6:5-13), many Jews took to following him. In a
practical sense, they became his disciples. Things went well until
Jesus claimed to be the “Bread of life” (6:35,48,51,58), giving ETERNAL
life to those who consume him in contrast with Moses and his TEMPORAL
manna. Jesus knew many of those FOLLOWING him were not BELIEVING him
(6:64). So he made this statement: “No man can come unto me, except it
were given unto him of my Father” (6:65). John tells us: “From that
time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him”
(6:66). Jesus then asked the Twelve, his inner circle, this question:
“Will ye also go away?” (6:67). Peter rejoined: “Lord, to whom shall we
go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure
that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God” (6:68-69). The
verbs believe and are sure
are both perfect tense. Paraphrase: “Lord, we're firmly convinced and
know with unshakable certitude that YOU are the Son of the living God,
possessing the words of eternal life NO ONE else can offer! We're
not going anywhere!” Peter never wavered from this persuasion!
Judas, on the other hand, NEVER came to such a persuasion, which is why he finally fell away, went back. He followed, but never believed.
Jesus never became his Advocate, one to whom he was so close, whose
glory he experienced first-hand. It wasn't until AFTER
Judas left the Eleven on his betrayal errand that Jesus interceded for
his own. He asked the Father to KEEP them (John 17:11,12,15) and to
SANCTIFY them (17:17,19). According to Jesus, NONE of them was lost,
but the son of perdition (17:12). Jesus extended his advocacy to future
believers with this request: “Neither
pray I for these alone, but for
THEM also which shall BELIEVE on me through their word”
(17:20). Jesus
petitioned the Father to keep and sanctify ALL of us who have believed.
If so much as one genuine believer EVER falls away, it would call into
question Jesus' role as Advocate. For if he lost one, what assurance
would the rest of us have that he could save and keep us to the
uttermost?
Contextual and Biblical Considerations
There are several interpretive keys
from both the immediate context and
the broader scope of scripture that can provide some light. First, the
immediate context is an exhortation to build upon the foundational
doctrines of the Christian faith and achieve spiritual maturity (6:1),
wherein are “things that accompany salvation” (6:9). When the writer
uses persuaded
in the perfect tense, he makes it clear that, even
though warning about the dangers of falling away, he has no
one
specific in mind, certainly not his target audience. Contrariwise, he
recognizes their “work and labour of love” and ongoing “ministry to the
saints” (6:10). But he realizes tares grow alongside the wheat. For that
reason, he is bold to caution them concerning “an evil heart of
unbelief” (3:12).
Secondly, the word repentance in 6:6
builds upon its use in 6:1. The
impossibility of renewal unto repentance is due to the destruction of
the foundation previously laid. According to Paul, Jesus Christ is the
ONLY foundation that can be laid (1 Corinthians 3:10). One falls away
when he abandons the foundation. The reference to “dead works”
juxtaposed with “faith toward God” is a contrast between the works of
the Law, which have NO ability to give life, and the Lord Jesus Christ,
who IS eternal life.
Thirdly, a prominent event in Hebrews
is “the provocation” of 3:8,15,
which looks back at Number 13-14. The Israelites were in Egyptian
bondage for 400 years. God sent Moses to deliver them. They observed as
the Lord brought nine plagues upon the Egyptians, from which they were
immune. With the tenth plague, immunity from death would be secured
ONLY by application of lamb's blood to the door posts. The Lord
prescribed the manner in which this was to be done. Every detail
prefigured Jesus, the Lamb of God. When Israel was hemmed in at the Red
Sea, they watched as God (1) appeared in a pillar of fire protecting
them from Egypt's army, (2) parted the Red Sea as an egress for them,
and (3) drowned their enemy.
At Mount Sinai, they beheld God's
awesome glory for forty days while he
sustained his servant Moses for that same period without food or water.
The Lord led them to Kadesh and instructed Moses to send twelve spies
to survey the land, to ENLIGHTEN them concerning the land God promised,
to PARTAKE of its beauty and bounty before taking possession, to get a
TASTE of things to come. After forty days of exposure to the land, ten
of the spies gave the majority report—an evil report. The
minority—Joshua and Caleb—argued: “We are WELL ABLE to possess it NOW!”
But the majority said: “We are NOT ABLE to possess it, God or no God,
promise or no promise! The inhabitants of the land will destroy both us
AND our kids!” The majority opinion won the day. With that opinion,
they FELL AWAY from God, his promise and their future.
After all they had seen God do, it
was not enough to convince the
majority to take God at his word. Instead they expressed a desire to go
back to Egypt. This spirit of unbelief infuriated the Lord. He smote
the ten unbelieving spies and told Moses to tell the people over twenty
years of age they would spend the next forty years wandering and dying
in the wilderness, one year for every day the spies spent in the land.
The death sentence jolted them into confession of sin and reversal of
thinking about taking the land. But it was too little,
too late. God refused to RENEW his promise to
that generation. He would fulfill his promise with the next
generation—their kids. Their rejection made renewal of the promise
IMPOSSIBLE!
If one properly understands what
happened with the provocation in
Numbers 13-14, which the author references in Hebrews 3:8,15, he'll
have a handle on (1) what the falling away means in 6:6, (2) why it's
impossible for one who falls away to be renewed to repentance, and (3)
why a believer, who is IN Christ and IN whom Christ lives, can NEVER
fall away. Many believe the wilderness wanderings prefigure the life of
a carnal believer. But that comparison just doesn't hold up if you
understand the truth of Hebrews 3. What the wilderness wanderings teach
us is how God provides for a covenant people, which Christians indeed
are. Spiritual lessons abound. But the better OT parallels with the
Christian life begin with the book of Joshua, which documents ENTRY
into the land (salvation) and CONQUEST of the land (discipleship),
including the KEYS to spiritual victory and the PITFALLS that portend
spiritual
defeat.
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