“The Apostates, Part 4” – Hebrews 6:4-6

And I turn, if you will, to Hebrews chapter six. And when you find your place, we'll pray before we begin.

Father, we thank you for your word, so clear and so beautiful, so intricate.

And we pray that you would help us to understand even this difficult passage, and pray that you would, by your spirit, convince us from the text of what is true, help us to see it, and pray that you would help me to communicate that which is true and nothing which is false, and that you would be glorified in our study here and open our eyes to this passage we ask in Christ's name.

Amen. In Hebrews chapter six, let's read together, beginning at verse four.

Actually, it's beginning at verse one. Read through the end of verse six. Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the

Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

And this we will do if God permits. 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 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the

Son of God and put him to open shame. And we've looked at three of these four positive statements that we find in verses four through six.

We're making our way through these rather slowly and methodically, looking at this text because it is, and doing so in a slow fashion, because it is the central battleground passage in the discussion of the eternal security or the security of the believer.

And we're trying to take our time going through this so we can make sure that we understand what the author is describing here and whether or not this passage teaches that a

Christian can lose their salvation and suffer punishment in eternal flames. There are some, obviously, inside of Christianity who would believe that it is possible for a

Christian to lose their salvation. They believe that that is possible, that there are individuals, persons, for whom

Christ has died, who have been brought to saving faith, have been regenerated, sealed by the

Holy Spirit, who then, because of some activity that they are involved in or some lack of their love or ability to hold themselves fast, that they end up being cast away or falling away from the truth and suffering eternal punishment, the eternal punishment that is described in verse eight of this passage, when the author says that if the ground yields thorns and thistles, it's worthless and close to being burned and it ends up, cursed, and it ends up being burned.

There's someone who would teach that that is a description of Christians who have lost their salvation. And I think that in order to make that case, for those who are on that side of the theological aisle, in order to make that case,

I believe they have to prove that each and every one of these four statements in this passage must describe only a

Christian. It cannot describe anybody who might be some sort of a non -Christian or an unbeliever.

In other words, if you want to prove that Hebrews chapter six teaches you can lose your salvation, you have to definitively, unequivocally, demonstrate that these four phrases that we've looked at, that they have been enlightened, that they have tasted the heavenly gift, been made partakers of the

Holy Spirit, and tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, that those four phrases can only describe believers.

Because if it can be shown or demonstrated that these four phrases can describe unbelievers, then we don't have a passage that speaks of Christians losing their salvation.

Instead, we have a passage that can speak of people who are almost Christians or look like Christians who end up falling away and suffering eternal punishment.

So I laid out for you at the beginning of our time here in Hebrews six that I have five things that I have to show.

And I showed you the mountain that I have to climb and what I have to demonstrate to you to prove that my position is true. And I think those on the other side have a tough case to make because they have to show that these phrases can only describe

Christians, that they must describe Christians, and that they definitively describe Christians. They have to prove that if they're going to show that Hebrews chapter six is speaking of Christians who have lost their salvation.

Now, I've been trying to make the case that this passage is inconclusive, that it does not definitively describe

Christians. In fact, it describes those whom the author is not certain as to what their spiritual status is, whether they're believers or unbelievers.

There are people who have, and I think that the language of the passage bears this out, there are people who have been enlightened and they have had certain experiences.

And so far, that's what we've seen, that the word enlightened is not a synonym for conversion. It doesn't mean that they believed that they were regenerated, that they repented, that they have come to saving faith, that they have been sealed by the spirit, doesn't mean any of that.

It simply means that they had come to some understanding of the truth, they had been taught the truth, and so they had received at least the light of the gospel.

That's all that can be said of that word enlightened. Second, we looked at the word tasted, which is simply used when it's not describing actual eating of literal food.

It simply means that they had had some kind of an experience of this thing. And what had they experienced?

Well, they had tasted or had an experience with the heavenly gift, whatever that is. I think it was

Christ, they had an experience of Christ. They had had an experience of the word of God and they had an experience of the powers of the age to come.

And all of those three things are things which can be experienced external to the believer without any kind of salvific change inside the heart.

Now, if it can be shown that what they had experienced was salvation, then I need to shut up and sit down and I have nothing else to say on this issue.

But it doesn't say that they tasted salvation, does it? Doesn't say that they tasted eternal life, that they tasted regeneration, doesn't say that they tasted any of those things.

All it says is that they had certain experiences, they had tasted of these various experiences, all of which could describe

Judas Iscariot. They had experienced these things external to themselves. And none of the things that they have experienced require real and true regeneration.

They could have an experience of the grace of Christ, the worship of Christ, the word of God, the power of God, his sanctifying work in the lives of others.

They can experience all of those things without themselves ever becoming true and genuine believers. And it is that inconclusiveness, that indefinitiveness, which

I think is the author's intention to describe a group of people who have they received enlightenment?

Yeah, they've come to understand certain things. They have had a lot of Christian and religious experiences.

They have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, whatever that means. We're gonna look at that in just a second. But concerning their salvation, is he able to be definitive and affirm their salvation?

I don't believe that the author is. So if enlightenment simply means they came to understand something, and tasted simply means they had some sort of an experience.

And by the way, those two descriptions fall far short of describing real and true regeneration and Christian faith, do they not?

They do. What does it mean that they became partakers of the Holy Spirit? That's what we're looking at today.

The third of these phrases here, we looked last week, two weeks ago, we looked at enlightened. Last week, we looked at tasted, and we kind of grouped together the two references to tasting and all the things that are tasted.

The heavenly gift, the powers of the age to come, the good word of God, and we kind of grouped those together. We skipped over partaking of the

Holy Spirit, and today we're describing what it means to become a partaker of the Holy Spirit. And as I did with the previous ones,

I'm going to describe to you what those who are on the other side of the aisle would say that this partaking means. So I'm going to make their case a little bit for them, and I might even overreach their case just a bit, just to kind of show you what it is that they would say.

I'm not going to misrepresent their case, but I am going to try and defend it. I'm going to present their position as persuasively as I possibly can.

Let's just say that. So they would say that this word partaking of the Holy Spirit means the same thing as what the author means when he speaks of partaking of Christ back in chapter three, verse 14, when we looked at the previous warning passage where he speaks of us if we hold fast, or we are partakers of Jesus Christ if we hold fast our assurance firm until the end.

And they would say that this partaking is a real participation, a real indwelling and possession of the

Holy Spirit. They would say that it is not some superficial experience, that it cannot be something that is experienced or enjoyed on a superficial or external level, that this, in the words of Thomas Schreiner, this partaking describes only a full participation in something.

And so they would say that these people have fully participated in the Holy Spirit, in his person, in his power, in his regenerating work.

They have fully partaken of all that the Holy Spirit brings to them and makes possible in the act of salvation.

And since they have fully partaken of the Holy Spirit, these must be true Christians because only Christians have the

Holy Spirit. Only Christians can be said to have partaken of the Holy Spirit and to be possessed by the

Holy Spirit. And this word partaken can never be used and is not used to describe anything superficial or external.

That would be their case. Now, they would point to a few passages, even in the book of Hebrews. I'll give you an example of other places where this word partaken or partakers is used.

Hebrews chapter three, verse one, they would say, "'Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling "'consider

Jesus the apostle and high priest "'of our confession.'" And they would say that certainly he is describing their Christians and he is saying that they are partakers.

Same word used here in Hebrews chapter six. And they have partaken of a heavenly calling. Now, certainly we have not partaken of a heavenly calling in a superficial or external way, right?

Have we not fully participated in our heavenly calling as believers? Yeah, we have. This describes a full and real, in -depth participation in something.

They would quote Hebrews chapter three, verse 14, "'For we have become partakers of Christ "'if we hold fast the beginning "'of our assurance firm until the end.'"

And there the word partaker is describing salvation. He's speaking to true and genuine Christians and saying we have become partakers of Christ.

Hebrews chapter 12, verse eight, "'But if you are without discipline, "'of which all have become partakers, "'are not believers described as partakers "'in the discipline of a loving heavenly

Father?' "'Yeah,' the author says, "'if you are not being disciplined by God, "'you're not a believer, "'because the Father disciplines those whom he loves.'"

And so partaking of discipline is something that all Christians have enjoyed and not just a superficial or external thing, but a real in -depth and full participation in the discipline that God brings for his children.

The words also used in Hebrews chapter two, verse 14, "'Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, "'he himself,' that is

Christ, likewise, "'also partook of the same.'" And there it's describing Christ's full participation in humanity, in flesh and blood.

Christ did not experience flesh and blood and humanity in some superficial or external way, did he? Was he not full humanity?

Do we not affirm that? And so this word partaking is used all the way through the book of Hebrews, not to describe a superficial, surface -level, external participation in something, but a real and full inward participation in all the realities of whatever it is that's being described.

That is what they would say. Now, of all four of the phrases that we've looked at, this,

I think, is the most challenging or difficult for those of us on our perspective, honestly. So it's good that we would deal with this fourth.

I don't think that it is impossible to deal with. I think it is just simply the more challenging one to think through.

So what does the word partaker mean, to partake of something? What does that mean? It is the Greek word metakos, and it means a partner, a companion, or a partaker.

A partner, a companion, or a partaker. And the word is used variously in Scripture in a number of different ways.

It is used, there's quite a wide range of meaning, and Wayne Grudem points this out in his book on the warning passages in, his chapter on the warning passages in a book called

Still Sovereign. And here's what he writes, quote, it is not always clear to the English speaking reader that this term has a wide range of meaning, and may imply very close participation and attachment, or may imply only a loose association with the other person or persons so named, close quote.

Now what Grudem is saying is the word has a wide range of meaning. It can describe a really close and full participation in or with something or someone, as all the references to partaking that I've just read to you from the book of Hebrews, or on the other end of that spectrum, it can describe a very loose association or partnership with person or persons so named.

And there is this wide spectrum. So what is described here is an association ship or a partnership with somebody, but the depth and the effects and the fruit and the nature of that partaking are not described in Hebrews chapter six.

So yes, the word can describe a full participation. It can also describe a very loose association.

There's a wide range of meaning there. Now they would object, those on the other side of the theological aisle would object and say, but that's not how

Hebrews uses the word. The author of Hebrews seems to use exclusively this word to describe that full participation, partaking in flesh and blood, partaking in Christ, partaking in salvation, partaking in the discipline that God gives us.

And that kind of partaking describes a full participation. That's how the author of Hebrews seems to use it. Well, the author of Hebrews does use the word in a rather loose association kind of way back in Hebrews chapter one, verse nine.

You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions, your associates, your partakers, your partners.

And there the author of Hebrews just uses it in that loose association to describe somebody who is a partner, a companion or an associate.

That's it. And I would suggest that that's how he's using it here. In Luke chapter five, verse seven, when

Jesus told Peter to throw the net out on the other side of the boat and they brought in that net full of fish and the nets began to break,

Luke chapter five, verse six says, when they had done this, they enclosed a large great quantity of fish and their nets began to break.

So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to them to come and help them. The word partners is the word partakers, companions, associates, people that they were in business with.

So you can describe a very loose affiliation or association and the word can also describe a very close partnership.

So what does it mean here? Let me quote again, Grudem. And I'm quoting him here at length longer than I did before simply because he says it concisely, he says it directly, and I think he says it perfectly.

Here's what Grudem writes, quote, therefore to become a partaker of the Holy Spirit means to be associated in some way with the work of the

Holy Spirit and to share in some of the benefits the Holy Spirit gives. Some interpreters assume that the phrase means to receive the regenerating work of the

Holy Spirit. And certainly that is one way of being a partaker of the Holy Spirit, but regeneration is not the only way people partake in the

Holy Spirit or receive some of his benefits. And therefore we cannot assume that regeneration is the sense intended here.

The phrase could instead refer to receiving some of the other benefits or influences of the Holy Spirit.

For example, the phrase may mean simply that these people had come into the church and they had experienced some of the benefits of the

Holy Spirit. All that we can say with confidence is that they were partakers of some of the benefits that the

Holy Spirit gives, close quote. All we can say for certain is that they had shared or associated with some of the benefits that the

Holy Spirit gives. Later on, Grudem writes this, the word allows for a range of influence from fairly weak to fairly strong for it only means one who participates or shares or accompanies in some activity, close quote.

One who participates, shares, or accompanies in some activity. His conclusion, quote, therefore all we can say is that the people spoken of in Hebrews six have been associated with the church and as such have been associated with the work of the

Holy Spirit and no doubt influenced by him in some ways, whether weak or strong in their lives.

We cannot with confidence say more than that, close quote. This word partaker describes an association, not a possession.

Get that in your head. The word partaker describes an association ship, not a possession.

For instance, the author does not say that they possess the Holy Spirit, that they were possessed by the Holy Spirit. He doesn't say they were indwelt by the

Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, energized by the Spirit, made alive by the Spirit, or sealed by the Spirit. He just says they were associated with the

Holy Spirit and the nature and extent of that association is nowhere described in Hebrews chapter six.

Just that they had an association ship, they had partaken in some way of some blessing, some benefit, some work or activity that the

Holy Spirit was involved in. And there are numerous ways that this can happen. Numerous ways. We have all known men and women in our lives who have come into the church and maybe even come to faith in Jesus Christ in some way.

And then they have been involved in church ministry and in church work. And they help out and serve in some way.

They can be recognized as deacons in some way, maybe even elders in some way, preach or teach the word of God, start

Bible studies, start ministries, be involved in ministries, lead certain functions within the church. And then before long, something seems to happen and they wander off and they're no longer believers.

They completely apostatize from the faith, leave the faith and depart from the faith. And they have spent years maybe working alongside of people who are indwelt by the

Spirit of God, involved in the work of the church where the Spirit of God is working there.

And they have participated and had some association with that work of the Spirit and even received some of the blessings that come from working and laboring alongside of the

Spirit of God in a work that the Spirit of God is doing. And in that sense, they can be called in a very real sense, associates of the

Holy Spirit. They have partaken of the blessings of being involved in that work, even though they themselves have never actually been saved.

Know anybody like that? I would bet that if we went around this room and we just shared stories of people we know from our past, that there would be hundreds and maybe with a group this size, thousands of such stories that we could share of people that we know were really strong and really passionate.

And you would have bet your life that they were believers at some point. But then they turn around and they walk out and as 1 John 2, 19 says, they demonstrate that they were never really of us.

How is that possible? Just at our May conference a couple months ago, or last month, we had a lady who was here from another church, not in our area, but from outside of our area.

And she was describing to me how their church is going through some difficult times because for years, their pastor preached the word and taught the word and was there for decades.

And he attended Shepherd's Conference and has counseled and discipled people and taught every Sunday and they grow.

And she grew and was ministered to by the word of God. And then something happened. And now to this day, the pastor lives in unrepentant sin, walked away from and completely apostatized from the faith.

And both his wife and those in leadership in that church are convinced that he is an unbeliever in the way he's responded to the truth.

And she looked at me and said, I don't even know how that happens. I'm like, how does that happen? I don't even know what to make of that. I said, it happens all the time.

Scripture's full of warnings about tares among the wheat, goats with the sheep, wolves in sheep's clothing who are among us, people who are pretenders and fakes and profess to have eternal life but actually have no possession of eternal life.

And they turn around, they walk out of the church. We should not be surprised by that. Because after all, it is God's word that he blesses, not the instrument, the person, right?

Because we have known and seen examples where people who live in unrepentant, habitual, secret sin can do so for years and get up behind pulpits and preach the word and teach the word and people's lives are changed and people are affected by it and they're encouraged by it.

And then it comes out later on that they have been involved in some horribly secret sin that has disqualified them years ago.

And yet, God blesses the preaching of the word. It's the word of God that he blesses. Now, it's not the individual.

The individual is just Balaam's donkey. It's the word of God that he has that is imbued with power.

And the spirit of God uses that. And an individual can be an unbeliever and stand up and communicate to you what scripture teaches.

And in that way, he has an association with the Holy Spirit because he is involved in a work that the spirit of God is doing and he is seeing the blessing of the spirit of God upon the word of God that is preached while that individual is not even a believer.

That is not only possible, it happens continually. Every year, not every year, but many times over the course of the last 15 years,

I've taught evangelism training out of Coca -Cola Lake Bible Camp. And I sit down with the staff and I explain to them very first session is what is the gospel and why do we communicate the gospel the way that we do?

And I go through the gospel so I make sure that every kid there hears that. Because over the course of the last 15 years, as I've done this 12, 10, 12 something times like that,

I have watched over all of those years kids who have sat there and heard me communicate the gospel and have repeated back to me exactly what to say in terms of what the gospel is.

Kids who are in that situation who then for the next four weeks sat down with campers who came to camp and shared the gospel just like they were trained to do and have communicated the gospel and prayed with these kids and shared the gospel with them and kids get saved as a result of that ministry.

Those very same staff members within a few years after leaving camp, many of them, some of them, not all of them, obviously.

In other words, my kids would all be part of that group, but many of them turn and walk away from the faith and completely apostatize. Making no profession of faith at all.

I went to Bible school with dozens of these kinds of people. It's not uncommon. And our churches in America, we are producing false converts with the way that the gospel is presented in American churches.

Because you get up and you kind of give a light sugar -coated message about things that we do wrong, boo -boos that we make, and how we all need a second chance.

And if you want a second chance, pray this quick prayer, raise your hand, welcome to the family of God. And people walk out the door thinking that they've heard the gospel, thinking that their lives are gonna be changed, thinking that everything's different, and they're completely unregenerate.

And they think they're Christians. And the modern gospel presentations are inoculating people against the gospel so that they don't understand the gospel, and then they walk away bitter backsliders when the whole

Jesus thing that they tried and they gave a whirl doesn't work out for them. Find that their lives haven't changed.

And they pretend and fake it for a while, and then they walk away completely unregenerate. And then you go to those people with the real gospel.

Do you think it is possible to renew them again to that state of repentance? That's the language right out of Hebrews 6.

Good luck with that. Those bitter backsliders are harder to reach than a rank pagan in the jungles of Mumbagaba somewhere on some remote island in the

South Pacific who has never heard of Jesus. The bitter backsliders are harder to reach than those people.

So those on the other side of the aisle would want to say or argue that these can only be true Christians because only true

Christians can have the Holy Spirit. I would agree with that. Only true Christians can have the Holy Spirit. But the issue is whether that phrase being a partaker, an associate with the

Holy Spirit, is the type of language that would be used to describe Christians. And I would say that it is not.

That is not the language that the New Testament uses to describe a Christian's relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Christians are said to be possessed by the Spirit, to possess the Spirit. The Spirit indwells us, seals us, gifts us, empowers us, enables us, regenerates us, illuminates us, sanctifies us, preserves us, protect us.

We are called by the Spirit, given life by the Spirit, drawn by the Spirit, and we are given the Holy Spirit. But true

Christians are never said to be associates of the Holy Spirit. Do you not see the difference between being an associate of somebody, loosely connected in some indiscriminate, undefined fashion, and being a real partaker who is indwelt, empowered, and regenerated by the

Spirit of God? There's a real difference between those two extremes. So we are not,

Christians, are not just associated with the Holy Spirit in some loose and undefined sense. We are indwelt by the

Spirit and regenerated by the Spirit, and that language is not used here in Hebrews chapter six. So I think that that is what is being described here with the word partaker of the

Holy Spirit. Now let me sum up these four phrases. Sum up these four phrases. First, the author is, and by four phrases,

I mean the enlightened, the tasting, and the partaking. These four positive phrases that we've looked at.

Here's a summary. Number one, the author is not affirming their salvation or the fruit of their salvation. He's not doing that.

In fact, he distinctly intends to not do that because he changes pronouns in verse nine when he says, but brethren, that is brothers, we are convinced of better things concerning you, things accompanying salvation.

There is a group in Hebrews six whose salvation he is certain of. It is not the group mentioned in verses four through six.

It is the group addressed in verses nine and following. Nothing could be more clear than that. There is a group of people whose salvation he is certain of.

It's not four through six. It's not those folks. Because he contrasts it and says, but concerning you,

I am confident of your salvation. Whatever he thought of this group described here who fall away, he was not confident of their salvation or he would have said so.

Number two, the second summary. These phrases taken either individually or as a whole do not definitively or unquestionably describe genuine

Christians. Taken individually or as a group. Remember back at the beginning, I told you there are some people who say, no, no, don't get caught up in the weeds looking at each phrase individually.

Just kind of lump them all together, feel the effect of it. And I told you, look, if you take them individually or lump them all together, they have the same effect.

They mean what they mean. And you slow down and see what they mean and they come far short of describing somebody who was born again, who was actually saved and regenerated and been converted.

So these phrases neither taken individually, slowly and methodically as we've tried to do it, nor if you just throw them all together, they just do not describe a believer.

All of these things are true of Christians, but not everybody of whom these things is true is a

Christian, just like enlightenment. There's a group of people who have received an understanding of the truth, they have experienced some things and they have had an association with the work of the

Holy Spirit in some way. That type of a description falls far short of a robust and ringing and unequivocal affirmation of their salvation.

None of these things is indicative of true salvation, none of these things necessitate salvation to experience and none of these things by itself indicates salvation because all of these things could be said of Judas Iscariot.

In fact, all of these things could be said of every apostate who has come into a church, heard the gospel, made some profession of faith, not been regenerated and turned around and walked away and left the faith forever.

Every one of these things could be affirmed of every single apostate in the history of Christianity. Because all of these things can be enjoyed and experienced external without any connection to salvation whatsoever.

Whether or not these people are saved is definitely not affirmed, though they have had, and he affirms this, a very real religious experience.

That is true of apostates. Third, I told you at the beginning that I needed to prove to you that these phrases can not conclusively prove the spiritual state of this group described in verses four to six.

Now, I think that I have done that as effectively and convincingly as I am mentally capable of doing as we've walked through this.

Now, maybe you're not convinced. Maybe you say, I'm not convinced of that. Okay, well, go back and listen to the messages again, and if you're still not convinced, go back and listen to the messages again a third time.

And if you're still not convinced, then here would be my challenge to you. You would need to take this passage of Hebrews six and your understanding that this describes

Christians who can lose their salvation, and here's what you have to do. As you read your Bible, you have to take all of the very clear and unequivocal and definitive passages of Scripture, like John six,

John 10, John 17, Romans one, Ephesians chapter one, 1 Peter chapter one, all the rest of the book of John, and quite frankly, all the rest of the book of Hebrews.

And you have to read all of those clear and unequivocal passages that affirm without any kind of confusing language the absolute security of the believer because of what

Christ has done, and you have to read all of those passages through the lens of your interpretation and understanding of Hebrews chapter six, and when you do that, you are gonna end up reading into all of those other passages, all of these exceptions, all of these assumptions, all of these presuppositions that you think lie behind that theology.

That's what you'd have to do. There's nothing in Hebrews six that necessitates that we understand this to be true and genuine

Christians, believers. That's my presentation of those four passages, those four phrases.

Now, just in case that doesn't convince you, and just in case you thought that was the end of the message, oh, no, no, hold on. Just one other thing that I wanna point out, and this,

I think, fits here as we're sort of wrapping up the study of these four phrases. It fits here. I know of no other place to sort of put it in here, but this is an argument, another argument that I just want to highlight for you, and this is gonna take me just a couple of seconds to lay this out.

Those on the other side who believe you can lose your salvation and believe that Hebrews chapter six teaches this, they would say that there is no clearer, no more convincing, no more direct and unequivocal passage of scripture that lists

Christian blessings and experiences than Hebrews chapter six. I've read you some of these quotes. For instance, Grant Osborne, he says, if this passage were found in Romans eight, we would all hail it as the greatest description of Christian blessings in the entire

Bible, right? Meaning that this is so clear, it's so unequivocal, it's just the reference to falling away that makes us question whether or not these are

Christians. This is so clear, it's so unambiguous, he would say. Osborne, after studying all four of these phrases or explaining all four of these phrases, he writes this.

This is a truly remarkable list of experiences, and there is hardly anything to compare with it in terms of a brief creedal -like presentation of the privileges of being a

Christian, close quote. There's hardly any list like this anywhere in the New Testament. It so certainly describes what it means to be and experience true

Christian regeneration. Charles Spurgeon, whom I quoted months ago. Now, remember, Spurgeon did not believe that you can lose your salvation.

He agreed that this passage describes believers. So he would agree with Arminians in that this passage describes believers, true and genuine believers, though he would disagree with their conclusion, because Spurgeon, remember, he believed that this was a hypothetical scenario to demonstrate the ludicrous of believing that you can lose your salvation.

But here's how Spurgeon described this passage. I've quoted it before, I just wanna remind you of it. Spurgeon says this, if the Holy Spirit intended to describe

Christians, I do not see that it could have used more explicit terms than are here. How can a man be said to be enlightened, to taste the heavenly gift, and to be made partaker of the

Holy Spirit without being a child of God? That's what Spurgeon said. Couldn't ask for any clearer language. That's their position.

Could the Holy Spirit have been any clearer if he wanted to describe Christians? Could he have been?

Well, I think the Holy Spirit could have been a little bit clearer. Let me make that case. Here's how I think the

Holy Spirit could have been a little bit clearer. In order to answer that question, is this the clearest possible way that this author could describe

Christians if he wanted us to understand these people to be Christians? We would have to look elsewhere in the book of Hebrews and say, how does the author of the book of Hebrews describe

Christians in other passages? And we'd have to eliminate from our consideration all the passages that might describe an unbeliever or a fake possessor that would be evangelistic in nature.

We would just have to look at the passages where we know that the author is describing with certainty and nobody doubts it that he is describing

Christians. How does the author of Hebrews, what type of language does he use, what type of things does he say are true of real

Christians in other passages where we know that he is for certain speaking of Christians? Here's a list of them.

And I have for your consideration only 18 points, and this will go by quickly. So don't get discouraged.

Don't get up and walk out. I'm telling you we have 18 at the beginning of this. So when we get to 15, you're like, how long is this gonna go on?

There are 18 of them. I'm gonna add four, five, six, or 10 on the back end of that. But here's the 18 that are suggested by Wayne Grudem.

Okay, here they are. Number one, God has forgiven their sins. Their sins are forgiven. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 17, their sins and their lawless deeds

I will remember no more. Number two, don't try to bother trying. I see somebody trying to write this down. Don't even try and write this down.

God has cleansed their consciences. Hebrews 9, 14, how much more will the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living

God? Number three, God has written his laws on their hearts. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, says the

Lord, I'll put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. That's Hebrews 8, verse 10. Number four,

God is producing holiness in them. Hebrews 2, 11, for both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one father for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren.

In fact, Hebrews chapter 10, verse 14, says Christ has perfected for all time those for whom he has died.

We are called the perfected or sanctified ones. Number five, God has given them an unshakable kingdom,

Hebrews 12, 28. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken. And it's Hebrews 10, verse 34 and Hebrews 11, verse 16 as well.

Number six, God is pleased with them. And this is the dominant theme of Hebrews chapter 11. We say without faith, it is impossible to please

God. And yet all the way through the book of Hebrews, we find out that those who are true Christians are pleasing to God.

We, for instance, offer to him an acceptable sacrifice with which God is well pleased, Hebrews 13, 16.

We are those which do and work that which is pleasing in his sight, Hebrews 13, verse 21. With our faith,

God is well pleased, Hebrews 11, verse six. The soul of God finds pleasure in the one who has true faith,

Hebrews 10, verse 38. Number seven, the saved have been enlightened. And we saw this in Hebrews chapter 10, which describes enlightenment, describes both the believer and the unbeliever, both the believer and the unbeliever have been enlightened.

The question is not, have we received light? The question is, how have we responded to that light? In Hebrews chapter 10, the word enlightened is used to speak of believers and unbelievers.

The believer is the one who places his faith in Jesus Christ in response to that enlightenment. He has faith with which

God is well pleased, chapter 11. The unbeliever shrinks back to destruction and suffers the vengeance of God because it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living

God. That's Hebrews chapter 10. But we are those who have been enlightened. Number eight, we have the saved have faith for we who have believed enter that rest.

We are called in Hebrews six to imitate those who through faith and patience. Of course, Hebrews chapter 11 is all about faith and how the one in whom

God is pleased responds with true and genuine faith. Number nine, the saved have hope. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful.

Number 10, the saved have love for God is not unjust, Hebrews 6, verse 10, so as to forget your work and the love which you've shown toward his name and having ministered and still ministering to the saints.

What marks a believer is that they have a love for the saints of God. Hebrews 10, 24, let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds in Hebrews 13, 1.

Let the love of the brethren continue. Number 11, the saved worship and pray, Hebrews 12, 28.

We have received a kingdom which cannot be shaken, so let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.

True believers worship God. Number 12, the saved obey God. Having been made perfect, he became to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation,

Hebrews 5, 9. Believers are characterized as those who obey God, and Hebrews chapter 11 is all about obedience, isn't it?

Noah obeyed, Abraham obeyed, Enoch obeyed, all the saints of old, the prophets, the priests, the kings, they all obeyed.

That's the mark of a true believer, obedience. Number 14, oh, sorry, number 13, the saved persevere,

Hebrews 3, 6. We hold fast our confidence. We hold fast the beginning of our assurance, Hebrews 3, 14, and there are a few other passages.

Number 14, the saved enter into God's rest, Hebrews 4, verse 3. For we who have believed enter that rest.

That's how the author of Hebrews describes believers. We've entered the rest of God. Number 15, the saved know

God, Hebrews 8, 11. They shall not teach anyone his fellow citizen and everyone his brother, saying, know the Lord, for all will know me.

The saved know God. Number 16, the saved are God's house, his children, and his people, Hebrews 3, verse 6.

But Christ was faithful as a son over his house, whose house we are. In Hebrews 2, 10, we're called the sons of God.

Hebrews 2, 12, we are called Christ's brethren, and in Hebrews 2, 13, we are called the Messiah's children. Number 17, the saved share in Christ, Hebrews 3, 14.

We have become partakers of Christ. And number 18, the saved will receive a future kingdom. So Christ also,

Hebrews 9, verse 28. So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin to those who eagerly await him.

And I would add to that, number 19, the saved eagerly await the son. That's the description of us. And not only that,

I would add some other ones to that. Well, let me give you the list real quick. God has forgiven their sins. He's cleansed their consciences. He's written his law in their hearts.

He's producing holiness in them. He's giving them an unshakable kingdom, pleased with them. The saved have been enlightened.

They have faith, they have hope, they have love. They worship and pray, they obey God, they persevere. They enter God's rest, they know

God. They're saved, are of God's house, his children, his people, his brethren. They share in Christ, they receive a future kingdom.

And I'll add my own, they eagerly await for him. They will inherit the kingdom. They are those for whom Christ has died.

They are those for whom Christ makes intercession. They are those whom Christ brings to glory. And they are those for whom

Christ is their high priest. That's how the saved are described elsewhere in Hebrews. Now, there's two things worth observing here.

Number one, none of those phrases, except one, enlightened. None of those phrases that the author elsewhere uses in the book of Hebrews to describe whom he believes and is confident are true and safe Christians, none of those phrases does he use here in Hebrews 6 to describe those who have fallen away.

Did you notice that? Not one of them. He uses the word enlightened, but enlightened is something you say of anybody who's heard the gospel.

None of the phrases used outside of Hebrews 6 of true Christians is used inside of Hebrews 6 to describe those who have fallen away.

And also, none of the phrases used in Hebrews 6 of those who have fallen away is used outside of this passage to describe true and genuine

Christians elsewhere in the book of Hebrews. Not one, again, except enlightened. That hardly makes the case.

In fact, none of these phrases used in Hebrews 6 to describe those who fall away is used outside of this passage anywhere in the

New Testament to describe real and true Christians. That is not how we are described. So, no clearer possible list of Christian blessings and experiences anywhere in the

New Testament than what we find here in verses four to six with those four. Couldn't be clearer?

Couldn't be clearer than that? I actually think it could be clearer than that. For instance, if Hebrews chapter six, verses four through six, read like this, quote, it is impossible to restore again to faith those who have believed the message they have heard and have entered

God's rest and have their sins forgiven and whose consciences have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus and who have had

God's laws written on their hearts and have been shown love in serving the saints and have persevered in hardship and who have come into the holy of holies and drawn near to God and come boldly before the throne of grace and who have offered to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe and have become

God's children in his house and his people and have faith and then made heirs of the kingdom and come to know God and have had an atonement of Christ applied to them and then declared righteous and have

Christ providing intercession for them if they should fall away. See, if that's how

Hebrews six read, there would be no doubt in anybody's mind that he's describing Christians because then the author would be using phrases that he actually uses to describe

Christians, but not in Hebrews six. The language of Hebrews six is used of this group who falls away and it is not used anywhere else in the

New Testament and nowhere else in the book of Hebrews to describe actual true Christians. These people in Hebrews six are not said to have faith, to believe, to have repented, to be possessed of the

Holy Spirit, to possess eternal life, to be sealed by the Spirit and dwelt by the Spirit, to have the life of God in them.

They're not called the household of God, the children of God, the people of God, the brethren of the Messiah. They're not called true worshipers.

They're not said to be sanctified, set apart, holy, forgiven, cleansed, atoned for, justified, righteous, glorified, chosen, called, predestined, adopted, or regenerated, but that's the language that's used to describe

Christians, not this. Oh, you've had some understanding of truth? You had some kind of religious experience?

You've had some kind of association with the work of the Holy Spirit? That is anything but a ringing and certain and robust description of true

Christians. That's the author's point. Those people who have had those true and genuine experiences, they fall away.

Shouldn't surprise us. We see it happen all the time. The New Testament warns us and tells us all about it, what causes it, and why it happens.

So that's my case. Now I'm done. And next week, we'll look at what it means to fall away.

What did they fall away from? What are the consequences of falling away, and who is it that falls away? Let's pray.

Father, again, we thank you for the grace of salvation, so rich and so free and so effective to those who are called and who are chosen and who are loved and who are sanctified and set apart.

And we thank you for the precious truth of your word that we as Christians who have more than a mere association with the

Holy Spirit, but are possessed of the Holy Spirit, and we possess the Holy Spirit. We thank you that our salvation is sure and certain, and that it rests upon your promises and your faithfulness.

Our hearts rejoice in this truth, and we pray that you would convince us and convict us of that very thing, that we may rest with confidence in Christ, in Christ alone, to the glory of his name alone.