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NASB | Hebrews 10:26 ¶ For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Hebrews 10:26 ¶ For if we go on willfully and deliberately sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice [to atone] for our sins [that is, no further offering to anticipate], |
Bible Question:
Joe, Thanks for your comments - good stuff to ruminate over. I'll address the last one 1st. If you look back at my previous response, I did respond to vs. 39 - destruction does NOT always refer to E. life destruction, and is often used in the NT to refer to temporal destruction, waste, etc. Before I answer your other comments, I have a question - I am aware of the theological concept of progressive sanctification (and agree that there isa distinction between sanctification that occurs to all believers at the new birth and prog. sanct.) But my question is whether or not you are saying that this passage here does say that these people were sanctified, yet that does NOT mean that they were regenerate!? Are you saying that one can be sanctified but not a Christian? Thanks, BadDog |
Bible Answer: You wrote: "If you look back at my previous response, I did respond to vs. 39 - destruction does NOT always refer to E. life destruction, and is often used in the NT to refer to temporal destruction, waste, etc." I read that, but I was talking about the juxtaposition between "shrinking back" and "having faith". Those seem to be presented as opposites (i.e. one that falls into one of those categories does not fall into the other), as do "being destroyed" and having one's SOUL preserved. Why would the writer emphasize preservation of the soul if physical destruction is what the Holy Spirit had in view here? "But my question is whether or not you are saying that this passage here does say that these people were sanctified, yet that does NOT mean that they were regenerate!? Are you saying that one can be sanctified but not a Christian?" What I am saying is that one can be OUTWARDLY sanctified (e.g. set apart by baptism, or circumcision in the case of the OT Israelite) and not truly be a Christian. I just wanted to point out that the sanctification referred to in Hebrews 10:29 does not necessarily refer to an inward, spiritual transformation. In fact, I think to give it that meaning would lend credence to an Arminian understanding of the passage. We see outward sanctification throughout the Bible, from the consecration of the tabernacle and its contents, to the Nazirite vow (a special "setting apart"). One could even say that while the Protestant view of baptism and the Lord's Supper do not lend themselves to any kind of supernatural transformation of the the water, the bread, and the cup, that they are sanctified for a holy use. The word "sanctuary" itself comes from the same word, to connote a space set apart for the worship of God. With regard to people, we also see this in the New Testament: "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy." --1 Corinthians 7:14 Here we have unbelievers referred to as "sanctified." Obviously their unbelief means that they are not Christians, but they do have a special status (NOT salvation) as being set apart for the sake of the children of the believer. This is a challenging verse, but one thing is certain: there are unbelievers in the Bible who are referred to as "sanctified," and to me it makes the most sense to consider this outward "sanctification" as the one the writer of Hebrews mentions as well. --Joe! |