The Apostle John suggests that believers cannot lose their salvation. “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me” (John 10:28 NLT). Never is a long time!
Two verses about losing salvation are Hebrews, 6:4–6 and 10:26–31. They teach a professing Christian can turn against the Lord Jesus. How do we explain the apparent contradiction? Not all professing Christians are truly followers of Christ. That is the brief answer.
What is at issue in the Hebrews passages is whether a truly born-again believer is described. “For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame” (Hebrews 6:4–6 NLT).
These people made a profession of faith after the gospel enlightened them. They experienced the good things of heaven. However, the Greek word translated as “good things of heaven” is not the word we translate as “spiritual gift” which all true believers receive (1 Corinthians 12:7).
These people participated in the joy of church fellowship, worship, and service. Recall that Judas Iscariot participated in Jesus’ inner circle and all its benefits for three years.
These professing Christians tasted the goodness of God’s word. They understood it clearly and appreciated the preachers’ messages. They intellectually and mentally agreed with what they heard. That is not enough. Remember that Jesus, the Son of God taught and perfectly modeled God’s word, will, and ways to Judas Iscariot for three years.
Like Judas Iscariot, they experienced the power of the age to come. The Holy Spirit used Judas to preach the gospel and expel demons on his two-by-two ministry campaigns (Luke 10:17). But the Spirit didn’t live in him as it didn’t live in King Saul even though Saul prophesied by the Spirit (1 Samuel 19:23–24).
Judas was so much one of the twelve disciples that none of the other eleven suspected he would betray Jesus (Mark 14:19). Nevertheless, Jesus saw his hypocrisy and treachery during the last Passover meal. Jesus described him as “the one headed for destruction” in John 17:12 (NLT).
Judas was never born again. He followed Jesus for selfish reasons. Maybe he hoped to receive an exalted position when Jesus conquered the Romans. But when that didn’t happen, Judas betrayed Jesus to the temple leaders for money. The Apostle John described Judas, “Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself” (John 12:6 NLT).1
The great danger is for people to be like Judas and “follow Jesus” for selfish reasons. They believe they are safe from eternal fires because they prayed a conversion prayer, joined a church, were baptized, or served on a church governing board.
They have no testimony of a changed life. Their hearts are not really in it. Jesus is not their Lord. They bear no spiritual fruit. They live for themselves and not Him. They profess to be Christians, but they aren’t.
Living for Jesus is not a condition to be saved but the result of the new birth and gratitude for God’s gracious salvation. The same truth applies to Hebrews 10:26–31. True believers will not do the things it describes. Counterfeit believers will. See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians. #freediscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources
1. Gleason L. Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,1982), 419–421.
See free spiritual growth resources for Christians at https://www.christiangrowthresources.com.
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