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NASB | Luke 15:32 'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'" |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 15:32 'But it was fitting to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was [as good as] dead and has begun to live. He was lost and has been found.'" |
Bible Question:
Steve, what about Hebrews 10:26-31? Having once believed in God and giving your life to him, to then fall away and not believe. What if you did this and then want to come to him again, is it possible? Searcher |
Bible Answer: It is important to remember that Hebrews was written to new Christian Jews, who were struggling to overcome centuries of Legalism. This is cited by bible scholars when explaining the contrasts between Hebrews and other NT books, which were written to a broad range of new Christians, who were not necessarily Jews. Given this, I am intrigued by the following analogies: In the study of near death experiences, e.g. the work of Dr. Gary Habermas, there are many classifications of death, with the ultimate called "biological death". The definition is "if you came back, you did not experience biological death". I mention this as a possible way to think about "falling away" as discussed in Hebrews. If you "fall away" and later want to come back, I wonder if you really did not "fall away" as much as you thought, or at least in the same sense that Hebrews is warning about. De-facto evidence of the truth of Hebrews' warning are those who fall away and do not come back, despite any theoretical possibilities we may postulate that they could have. That they DID NOT return to faith is consistent with the possibility that they COULD NOT, but it is not proof of this: they could have simply chosen to stay away. There is another similar situation in Scripture, i.e. the "unpardonable sin" of saying the devil is responsible for the work of the Holy Spirit, see Matthew 12:23. Anyone so hardened is unable to recognize the difference between God and the devil and therefore is completely lost. Its not because God won't pardon them if they repent, but rather they can't receive a pardon because they don't recognize God's authority to grant the pardon. If anyone worries about whether or not they have committed this sin, surely they have not, for if they had, they wouldn't care. Perhaps Hebrews is best understood in this context. More practically, what real difference does it make? That is, if we somehow "prove" that one can fall away and then return to faith, would it be more liberating than the freedom we received from Christ upon conversion? I think not. Alternately, if we "prove" that when one falls away, one is eternally damned, would that truth be more of a burden than our slavery to sin we suffered before we came to Christ? I think not. |