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NASB | Acts 8:13 Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 8:13 Even Simon believed [Philip's message of salvation]; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he watched the attesting signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. |
Bible Question (short): How do I make sense of the context? |
Question (full): Hank, I'm not following your reasoning in your last post. Both of those views seem to refute your position. The second one is merely a statement of what the "non-eternal-security-people" (what is the proper term for us anyway) believe: "because only true believers are sanctified." That's the point. As for the first one, the passage clearly states that it was "the blood of the covenant" that sanctified these people, not necessarily the company they keep. It would require a pretty large stretch of my imagination to conclude that the Hebrews writer is talking about sactification by association here, especially after mentioning that such people had forsaken the fellowship of the believers (v.25) in the first place. Am I completely missing the point? And what is the nature of this sanctification that he's talking about? I've found: -forgiveness (10:17-18) -perfection (10:14) -confidence before God (10:19-20) Hardly a description of an unbeliever. But the context of Hebrews 10:29 puzzles me even further. Heb 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. This verse leads me to two contradicting conclusions. If those who are sanctified are perfected, he cannot be talking about unbelievers, can he? Thus, Hebrews 10:29 implies that a sanctified believer can "trample under foot the Son of God." But, 10:14 also says He has perfected them "for all time," implying that once a person is saved, there's nothing that could be done to reverse it. Also, as has been previously mentioned, 10:39 excludes the writer and his readers from the mix of those who "shrink back to distruction." However, because of 10:38, we cannot assume that the writer means to exclude all believers, stating clearly that if "MY RIGHTEOUS ONE" shrinks back, God has no pleasure in him. Are you sensing my confusion yet? So, in short, how can I make sense of all this? (By the way, I'm not trying to stir up trouble; I'm just trying to objectively hash through this issue by critiquing both sides of the issue and asking tough questions. As you can probably tell, I'm not a Bible scholar. I greatly appreciate all of the responses I've gotten from both sides. I apologize for the sometimes blunt tone; I mean nothing personally and have the utmost respect for my disagreeing forum companions.) God bless, David |