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 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age ⁶ and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. ⁷ Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. ⁸ But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

The chapter opened with a call to move on. But it is possible to go back.

We probably all know people who ‘ran well’ for a time (perhaps for a long time), but then they dropped out of the Christian race, and left the track. Were they not genuinely converted in the first place? Was it only profession without possession? God alone knows. It takes time for ‘fruit’ to show, and it is by our fruit we are known (7,8; see also Mt.7:16-20).

But verses 4-6 seems to refer to people who have had genuine Christian experience. What are we to make of these quite frightening words?

‘The writer is obviously not talking here about committing small sins, or about wandering briefly out of God’s will – which all of us do from time to time. Rather, the writer is talking here about the greatest and most fearful sin of all. That sin is this: to reject God’s light after having seen it; to reject Christ after having received Christ’s gifts and blessings. Those who do this are crucifying the Son of God all over again (verse 6). Such people no longer have a mind to repent. Their hearts have become hardened. God’s grace cannot touch them…Those who reject the salvation offered by Christ will find salvation nowhere else.’ (Tom Hale: ‘Applied New Testament Commentary’, p.859).

I have italicised two sentences towards the end of the quote. They seem, to my mind, to get to the nub of the problem.

But although this chapter contains such a strong warning, the writer believes better things of his readers. We will see this next time.

PRAYER: Oh Lord, I know my own weakness. Strengthen me to keep putting one foot in front of another, so that I persevere to the end, and see you face to face.

Before moving on in this section, which is a warning against falling away, I want to quote Tom Hale. I found this in a general article taken from the opening pages of his ‘Applied New Testament Commentary.’ The piece is entitled: ‘Can we lose our salvation?’ (pp.41-45). I find his balanced approach extremely helpful:

‘Thus we see that some verses in the New Testament support the idea that a believer cannot lose his salvation, and other verses support the idea that he can lose it. Surely we must be seeing here two sides of a great truth, which our human minds cannot fully grasp. God’s wisdom is greater than ours.

Someone has said that believers need to hold in balance both of these truths. For the believer who is anxious about his salvation, one should emphasize the truth that his salvation is secure. Whereas for the believer who is overly confident that he cannot fall, one should emphasize the truth that he can indeed fall. Here again, we see the depth and richness of the Bible. The Bible meets the needs of every man and woman.’ (P.43).

‘…from New Testament times until now, Christians have had different opinions about whether or not a true believer can lose his salvation. The Bible does not give an unequivocal teaching on this subject. Therefore, whatever view we hold, we must not allow our opinion to separate us from our Christian brothers and sisters who may think differently on this question.’ (P.45).

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, ² instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³ And God permitting, we will do so.

It has been pointed out that in the Christian life we either go forward or backward. There is no standing still. Like a tree we will grow or die. We saw yesterday that grace is not opposed to effort (although it is opposed to works as a way of salvation). If we are going to grow as Christ’s disciples we have to try, trusting: make every effort to progress, but in God’s strength, not our own.

When you become a Christian, you start out at the ‘nurture group’ level, but you shouldn’t stay there. It is appropriate to see a two year old in the creche, but not a twenty two year old!

Based on your current levels of commitment, how likely are you to remain in the nursery?!

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. ¹² In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! ¹³ Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

‘PILGRIMS SHOULD MAKE PROGRESS’: Warren W. Wiersbe.

One reason people fall away from the faith is because they stop trying. An old hymn says, ‘It is not trying, but trusting.’ In truth, it is both. Someone wrote that grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to works (i.e. as a way to salvation). It takes prayerful, trusting, diligent work in order to grow as a Christian. Someone who insists on just sucking on a baby milk bottle teat, because it’s easier than chewing solids, is going to fail to mature into the person God intends them to be.

One mark of maturity is that you become a ‘teacher’: not necessarily from the pulpit. But you are able to take a younger Christian under your wing and mentor them – even in an informal way.

Another mark is that you don’t just read the Bible; you constantly, practically, put it to ”use”.

‘As we grow in the Word, we learn to use it in daily life. As we apply the Word, we exercise our ”spiritual senses” and develop spiritual discernment. It is a characteristic of little children that they lack discernment. A baby will put anything into its mouth. An immature believer will listen to any preacher on the radio or television and not be able to identify whether or not he is true to the Scriptures…As we feed on the Word of God and apply it in daily life, our inner ”spiritual senses” get their exercise and become strong and keen.’ (Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘New Testament Commentary’, pp.816/817).

Look on my suffering and deliver me,
    for I have not forgotten your law.
¹⁵⁴ Defend my cause and redeem me;
    preserve my life according to your promise.
¹⁵⁵ Salvation is far from the wicked,
    for they do not seek out your decrees.
¹⁵⁶ Your compassion, Lord, is great;
    preserve my life according to your laws.
¹⁵⁷ Many are the foes who persecute me,
    but I have not turned from your statutes.
¹⁵⁸ I look on the faithless with loathing,
    for they do not obey your word.
¹⁵⁹ See how I love your precepts;
    preserve my life, Lord, in accordance with your love.
¹⁶⁰ All your words are true;
    all your righteous laws are eternal.

Here are two major keys for effective prayer:

1. Pray according to God’s Word (His promises);
2. Pray in accordance with God’s character.

God’s character, of course, is revealed in God’s Word. The more we get to know His Word, the more we will get to know Him, and be guided in what we can and should pray for.

‘Three reliable things. The reliable psalmist who does not forget the word (153), the reliable Lord (154, 156, 159) and the reliable word which never changes (160). But human reliability cannot be taken for granted…Life needs constant renewal which depends on the Lord’s love, promise and decision. This reiterated prayer for renewal constitutes the heart of the section.’ ( J.A. Motyer: ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.571).

‘God never made a promise that was too good to be true.’ D. L. Moody.

Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered ⁹ and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him ¹⁰ and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

There are two potential problems with this passage. The first one concerns Jesus learning obedience. Hopefully, yesterday’s thought clarified that problem.

But there’s another difficulty. The New Testament emphasises that our ”eternal salvation” comes by faith, not works. So why does the author say that it is given to those who ”obey” Jesus? Tom Hale answers this well:

‘Jesus is the source of salvation for all who obey him – that is, for all who believe in Him. Faith comes first; without faith, we cannot obey Christ. At the same time, without obedience there cannot be true faith (see James 2:14-17…). Both faith and obedience together are necessary for our salvation.’ (‘Applied New Testament Commentary’, p. 857).

In a footnote on the same page he writes: ‘We must understand here that the first and most basic form of obedience is faith itself (see Hebrews 4:6…). Then, once there is true faith, that faith will always be manifested by obedience in all matters. It is impossible to separate faith and obedience; they are like two blades of a scissors. Thus, to say that we are saved through obedience to Christ (that is, the obedience of faith) is the same as saying that we are saved through faith in Christ; both are equally true statements…we are saved by faith expressing itself in obedience (see Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 2:8-10; James 2:14, 17, 20-24…). Furthermore, faith itself is a gift of God, a gift of God’s grace. Our salvation from first to last is a work of God’s grace.’

To change the picture, maybe we can say the salvation bird takes flight with two wings: ‘faith’ and ‘works’. Both wings are absolutely necessary.

 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered ⁹ and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him ¹⁰ and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus is greater than Aaron. The salvation He offers is ”eternal”. At best, the Old Testament sacrifices were a temporary measure, and in their imperfection had to be repeated. But Jesus has now offered the full, final, perfect sacrifice of Himself – the fully obedient Son of God.

However, on the face of it, this is a ‘problem’ text: Jesus learning obedience? Surely the writer can’t mean that Jesus was disinclined to obey and so had to be schooled in the subject in order to become ”perfect”? No! I don’t believe this is being said at all. But there is perhaps something about Jesus’ human experience needing to be matured and completed before He was ready to die and make ”eternal salvation” possible. (We also note that it may be hardest of all to keep on obeying when we are undergoing periods of suffering. Jesus suffered more than anyone ever will, but He still obeyed.)

 ”Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him.” (The Message).

‘Jesus learned how difficult it is to obey God fully. He experienced the suffering that comes upon those who obey God. These Hebrew Christians, to whom this letter was written, had already begun to experience some suffering because of their obedience to Christ. But now, as a result, they were about to fall away; they were about to deny Christ. Therefore, let them remember Jesus, who Himself endured suffering in obedience until the end.’ (Tom Hale: ‘Applied New Testament Commentary’, p.857).

‘He needed to learn what obedience to God involved in practical terms, in the conditions of human life on earth, so that he could sympathize with those similarly tested and teach us by his own example how far God ought to be submitted to and obeyed (cf. 12:1-11; 13:13).’ (David Peterson: ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.1333).

The Jesus who obeyed calls His own people to ”obey”, but herein there may lie another problem in the text. We will try to address this tomorrow.

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 

In my second year in Bible College, I and my fellow-students began to study ‘Biblical Theology.’ Suffice it to say, for now, that I was struck by the idea of Jesus’ ‘religious life.’ As we have seen, in the incarnation He became fully human. As a pious, first century Jew, our Lord faithfully observed a pattern of public worship (in the synagogue) and private, personal prayer. His prayer life is such an example and encouragement to us. We note in today’s verse that Jesus’ prayer was:

• Fervent (intense and emotional);
• Specific: He asked that ”this cup” might pass from Him (Mt.5:29). But it was also
• Submissive. He who taught His disciples to pray, ”Your will be done” (Mt.6:10), Himself prayed: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Emphasis mine). Tom Hale makes this helpful point. Prayer is not always answered in the way we expect. He writes: ‘Jesus prayed that He might be saved from death on the cross (Mark 14:35-36), but God did not grant that prayer. God was able to save (Jesus) from death, but He chose not to. However, God certainly did hear Jesus’ prayer to be saved, because three days after Jesus’ death, God raised Him from the dead.’ (‘Applied New Testament Commentary’, p.857).

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, please help me to pray like Jesus: faithfully, consistently, and with passion, definite aim, and humble surrender to the will of God

 And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.

⁵ In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,

“You are my Son;
    today I have become your Father.”

⁶ And he says in another place,

“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”

Someone said, ‘If the Lord is going to raise you up, let Him raise you up; but whatever you do don’t raise yourself up!’

You don’t just decide to take up the pastoral ministry as a career option; at least, I don’t believe anyone should. Down that route may lie disaster for the church, and the individual concerned. Every believer is called into ministry, but we are not all called to the pulpit. I clearly remember the time when a sense of the call of God broke into my rather hazy plans for the future. I was still a teenager, but I heard the call. Through the years it has anchored me to the spot when I have felt tempted to run.

According to the early chapters of Hebrews, Jesus is:

• Greater than the prophets;
• Greater than the angels;
• Greater than Joshua;
• And we are now in a section showing Him to be greater than Aaron. His High Priesthood is greater. He is greater because He is God’s ”Son”, and because He is ”a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” But here is a point of similarity between Aaron and Christ: our Lord was ‘called’ to the office. Are you fulfilling the calling on your life?