Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
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: Could it be they're not true believers in Heb 10:26-31? |
Bible Answer: Of course, logically, that's a possibility, as described in 4:2 -- "For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith." However, in those cases, the discussion about "falling away" in 6:4-5 does not apply because the text explicity applies to "...those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age..." In the end, the point is for us to know the gifts of faith and salvation are precious beyond compare and that all we need to do is accept them by accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. In that light, I believe God's grace cannot be undone by our "falling away", i.e. if we foolishly rely on ourselves and not Him. The nature of His redemption is precisely that He covers our debts, including our human weaknesses and inconsistencies. Yet also, He respects our freedom to choose and we cannot avoid the consequences of willfully rejecting Him once He is made known to us. At some point, He will give us over to our decisions. (see Exodus 9:12 for example) Whether He does this irreversibly only He knows; perhaps He allows us to do this to teach us how foolish we are, or if we repeatedly insist, perhaps He allows us to have our way for good. The whole meaning of salvation is lost unless there is a real alternative, i.e. judgement leading to damnation. |