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NASB | Hebrews 6:4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Hebrews 6:4 For [it is impossible to restore to repentance] those who have once been enlightened [spiritually] and who have tasted and consciously experienced the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit, |
Bible Question:
Peter was a believer in Jesus Christ and therefore saved, whether Pentecost had come or not. He may have not been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but he certainly was a believer in Christ. He had faith in his Messiah and that is what made him Christ's, even before the atonement took place. Otherwise, we have the big question of how all those other people before Christ's atonement on the cross could possibly have been saved. Surely you don't insist that following the Old Testament Law saved them? "For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." --Hebrews 10:1-4 Impossible, it says. Bill, We are justified through faith. What role does works play? That is the theme of Hebrews, James, 1 John, 1 Peter and a whole host of other post-resurrection books? How do you explain the message of PERSEVERENCE in those books (and others, including those of Paul)? --Joe! |
Bible Answer: Dear Joe, You're correct, salvation has always been by faith and never by works. Before the cross, OT saints were saved by faith in whatever God's Word and revelation was to them - Heb 11. After the cross, we are saved by faith in God's Final Word, Jesus Christ - Heb 1:2. So, no, the Law could not save. But Peter's life was bridged in the OT and the NT. He became Jesus' disciple under the OT, while Christ was incarnate on earth- Gal 4:4. Was he saved at this point? Yes. But he was not a NT believer. After Christ died, the NT went into effect and Peter then became a NT saint through regeneration (crucified, buried, and resurrected with Christ - Rom 6:4, Gal 2:20), with the indwelling of God Himself at Pentecost. We see no record whatsoever of Peter denying Christ after Pentecost. In fact, tradition says that he was crucified upside-down. What caused such a change in this beloved apostle? The indwelling Christ. My post never said that Peter was not saved before the cross. I said that he was not a NT believer - those who are reconciled, redeemed and regenerated by Christ's Himself - until after the cross. You may feel that I am splitting hairs here but the distinction is not mine, it is God's - Rom 8:9. Paul makes it clear, by revelation from Jesus Christ Himself, that after the cross, the Holy Spirit is the seal, the guarantee of what God has done in redeeming and saving us. It is non-negotiatable, either you are a Christian because Christ is in you and you are in Him, or you are not. In light of that truth, I was asking John not to gauge his relationship with God upon Peter's unregenerate example. He needs to gauge his relationship with God upon the secure work of Christ on the cross, not on his feelings or experiences. Feelings and experiences will 'catch up' as we place our faith and trust in the facts of the redemption that our Lord has provided. In Christ, Bill Mc |