Subject: What are your views of once saved always |
Bible Note: Mike the letter to the Hebrews, is written to Jewish Christian’s. They are converts from Judiaism to Christianity, and are warned about returning to Judiaism. In Hebrews, the writer refers to his readers as brethren. Heb. 3:1,12; 10:19; 13:22, because the writer acknowledages them as Christian brothers. Below I have added commentary on Heb. 6:4-6 from the man many have called the Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon "Those mentioned (in Heb. 6:4-6) are true and real Christian's" "a child reading this passage, would say, that the persons intended by it must be Christians. If the Holy Spirit intended to describe Christians, I do not see that he could have used more explicit terms than there are here." "How can a man be said to be enlightened, and to taste of the heavenly gift, and to be made partaker of the Holy Ghost, without being a child of God?" "I think that I shall be able to show that none but true believers are here described." "First, they are spoken of as having been once enlightened, This refers to the enlightening influence of God's Spirit .... I cannot consider a man truly enlightened unless he is a child of God." "the next thing that God grants to us is a taste of the heavenly gift, by which we understand, the heavenly gift of salvation." "we cannot think that the Holy Spirit would describe an unregenerate man as having been enlightened, and as having tasted of the heavenly gift, No, my brethren, If I have tasted of the heavenly gift, I am one of his." "no man can be a partaker of the Holy Ghost, and yet be unregenerate." "further..... they have tasted the good word of God .... I say again, if these people be not believers-who are?" "They had received the powers of the world to come.... powers with which the Holy Ghost endows a Christian." "These, we say, whatever may be the meaning of the text, must have been, beyond a doubt, none other than true and real Christians" ---------------------------------------- Below is a commentary on John 15:6 from Adam Clarke "Our Lord in the plainest manner intimates that a person may as truly be united to Him as the branch is to the tree that produces it, and yet be afterwards cut off and cast into the fire, because he has not brought forth fruit to the glory of His God. No man can cut off a branch from a tree to which that branch was never united; it is absurd, and contrary to the letter and spirit of the metaphor, to talk of being "seemingly" in Christ - because this means nothing. If there was only a seeming union there could be only a seeming excision. So the matter is just where it began; nothing is done on either side, and nothing said to any purpose. He is cast forth. Observe that person who abides not in Christ in a believing, loving, obedient spirit, (1) is cut off from Jesus, having no longer any right or title to Him or to His salvation. (2) He is withered - deprived of all the influences of God's grace and Spirit. (3) He is gathered - becomes (through the judgment of God) again united with backsliders like himself and other workers of iniquity. And being abandoned to his own heart and Satan, he (4) is cast into the fire - separated from God's people, from God himself, and from the glory of His power. And (5) he is burned - is eternally tormented with the devil and his angels, and with all those who have lived and died in their iniquity. In His service New Creature |