Welcome to our program. Now I'm
going to be preaching from the book of Hebrews chapter 6. I'm
going to begin the message in verse 4 of Hebrews 6. The title
of the message today is Once Saved, Always Saved. Now I'm sure you're familiar
with that phrase. A lot of people have used it.
Many people have abused it. The once saved, always saved.
People talk about different doctrines different denominations some
people classify or they identify rather this phrase once saved
always saved with the Baptist and then others who do not agree
with that phrase or don't know what it means and as I said some
people abuse it but others who do not know what it means they
identify that with other denominations They say, well, the Baptists
classically have believed that once a person is saved, they
can never lose that salvation. They're always saved. And that's
what the Bible teaches, and I'll show you that. And then other
denominations like the Methodist or the Pentecostal, they believe
that a person can be saved and then through sinning be lost
again. Well, one thing I want you to
understand about this message is I'm not really interested
today in what the Baptists believe or what the Methodists believe,
I'm interested in what God's Word says. Now that's the issue. And one thing we're going to
look at here is a passage of Scripture that people usually,
or many people, or many denominations, take out of context. And they
don't understand it, and they use it to show that people can
be saved and then lost. But that's not what this passage
teaches. I remember years and years ago,
A friend of mine who pastors a church that preaches the gospel,
a man asked him one time what denomination he was, and he was
a Baptist preacher. And the man jokingly said, well,
you all believe that once saved, always saved. And my friend came
back with this answer. He said, it depends on who saves
you. And that is the issue. The Bible
teaches that if God saves a sinner by His grace through the Lord
Jesus Christ, that person is eternally saved. He can never
lose salvation because salvation is not conditioned on the sinner,
but conditioned on Christ, the sinner's substitute. Now, many
people can go around saying, once saved, always saved, and
not have any idea of what it means. Many people, as I said,
abuse it. Some people say, well, if I'm
always saved and I can't lose that, then I can go out and sin
as much as I want to. And that's not what the Bible
teaches. And that is not the attitude and heart of a believer. That's an abuser. That's one
who presumes upon the grace of God. That's not an assurance
of salvation based upon a right ground that glorifies God. That's
an evil, wicked presumption. For those whom God saves by His
grace, He keeps them and He gives them a heart to believe and to
persevere and to love Him and to obey Him. Or we have to fight
the flesh. And there may be times that we'll
take steps backward, just like David of old in the Old Testament
who committed great sin. But we're all sinners. You see,
there's only two types of people on this earth, sinners in their
sins, lost, and sinners saved by the grace of God. But if the
God of the Bible has saved you by His grace, you, my friend,
are eternally secure in Christ. Now the scripture teaches that.
And if you don't believe that, you don't know the gospel. You
see, if you believe salvation can be lost, then that's showing
that you believe salvation not by grace, but by works. If Christ saves a sinner, he
keeps them. And I'm going to show you that
now when we look at this scripture here. I've always told people
that there are three main terms to understand when you look at
scripture, when you're trying to find out the meaning of the
scripture. The first term is context, the second term is context,
and the third term is context. Now that may seem funny, but
I don't mean to be funny. I want you to understand that
context is everything when you're looking at scripture. First there's
the immediate context, that is the verses that are around the
scripture, the immediate chapter. You see, these verses do not
stand by themselves. You can't just pick out a verse
out of the scripture and then set it up here on a pedestal
and make it mean something outside the context of the chapter. That's why I preach verse by
verse through the scripture. And then there's a more general
context of the book. You see, the verses we're going
to read in Hebrews 6 are part of the book of Hebrews. who I
believe was written by God through the Apostle Paul. The Apostle
Paul, I believe, was the instrument whom God used to write the book
of Hebrews. Now, if some people disagree
with that, that's not the issue. Every scripture is God-breathed. This is the Word of God, not
the Word of Paul. Not the Word of Bill Parker,
it's the Word of God. And then you have the context
of the whole Bible, what the Bible says from Genesis to Revelation. So whatever is being taught in
these verses, they cannot deny or oppose or compete with anything
else that is taught in the Scriptures. Because if they do, then the
Bible contradicts itself. And we know that's not so. This
is the Word of God. Whatever God teaches in Genesis,
He teaches in Revelation. He doesn't deny it. He gives
more light, more knowledge, but all that knowledge fits together
to show how God saves sinners through Christ. God justifies
the ungodly. Now, one thing when we look at
the context of any verse, we have to ask these questions.
Number one, who is speaking? And as I said, the writer of
Hebrews, the Apostle Paul, God speaking through him, who is
he speaking to? Now here in the book of Hebrews,
he's speaking to professing believers. These are Jewish believers who
were going through persecution and some of them refused to go
on to the fundamentals of the faith and have those settled
in their hearts and their minds and confess Christ before men
because they were afraid. Some of them had left the gospel
altogether. They had professed to believe
it, but then they turned around and denied it because they were
afraid. And then others were persevering
in the faith, continuing in the faith. So that's who he's talking
to, professing believers who are being persecuted, who have
these questions in their minds. What about these people? What
about this person who I thought was a believer? and who turned
around and now denies the faith and has left the assembly of
the saints and has now aligned himself with the world against
Christ in opposition to the gospel. What do I say about that person?
Did that person lose his salvation? Well, that's the third question. What's he talking about? Well,
that's what Paul's talking about here. He's going to talk about
those who had apostatized from the faith. And he's going to
show the implications of such apostasy. He's going to show
an impossibility here. He says in verse 4 of Hebrews
chapter 6, he says, for it is impossible for those who were
once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were
made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good word
of God and the powers of the world to come, if they shall
fall away to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they
crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to
an open shame." Now, what he's showing here is this. First of
all, if it were possible, if it were possible for a person
to be saved and then lose that salvation, Now, it is impossible
for that to happen, but if it were, that's what this passage
is teaching, if it were, that person could never be saved again. So, what I'm telling you, you
who believe that you can be saved and then lost, and then be saved
again, and then lost again, and saved again, and so on and so
forth, don't go to this passage here, Hebrews chapter 6, 4 through
6. Because if that were possible,
what he's saying here is, you could never be saved again. You
could never be saved again. Now, what Paul is doing here,
he's showing the impossibility of being saved and then lost.
If God saves you by his grace, you are saved eternally. Well,
what about those who come professing to believe the gospel? Who make
professions of faith? who even for a long period of
time seem to be believers. That's who he's describing here.
You know, these people that says they, you know, when he lists
all these things, once enlightened, tasted of the heavenly gift,
that's what they seem to be. And then they leave it. What
does the Bible teach about such people? Well, I'm going to go
to two verses of scripture, or one verse of scripture here to
show you. There's many I could go to, but I don't have time
to get to all of them today. But what about those who seem
to be believers, who profess to be believers, and then leave
the gospel, leave the church, leave Christ? Well, the Apostle
John in 1 John chapter 2 deals with that subject. In verse 18
he says this, he says, Little children, it is the last time,
that is, the last days, the days of the New Testament, the days
between Christ ascending unto the Father and His second coming.
and he says and as you have heard that anti-christ shall come even
now are there many anti-christ in other words he's not just
talking about one person here but he's talking about many who
are against christ and he says whereby we know that it is the
last time now look at verse nineteen i want you to notice this very
carefully he says they these anti-christ went out from The
ones he's speaking of here are those who at one time were with
believers. They claimed to be believers
and they gave outward evidence to be believers so that they
fooled true believers. And he says they went out, they
left, they went out from us, from the church. But now look
at the next line, but they were not of us. They claimed to be
saved, but they really weren't. He says, for if they had been
of us, true believers, they would no doubt have continued with
us. But they went out that they might
be made manifest that they were not all of us. Did you hear what
John wrote there? They weren't of us. Had they
been of us, had they been true believers, truly saved, They
would, no doubt, have continued with us. They wouldn't have left.
My friend, a sinner saved by the grace of God cannot leave
the gospel. That's like saying, well, a live
person could stop breathing. It's impossible. If you stop
breathing, you're no longer a live person. You're dead. But those
whom God gives spiritual life are saved to the uttermost. Look
at verse 20 of 1 John 2. Now, he's spoken of those who
had left. He said they were not of us.
If they had been of us, they would have remained. But he says
in verse 20, but ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know
all things. That unction there is the power
of God's grace to bring a sinner to salvation, and that power
there, that knowledge there, is a person who is convinced
so much of the gospel of Christ, the gospel of God's grace, that
they cannot be unconvinced. Oh, they're sinners, and they
may make a lot of mistakes. And there may be times that you
look at them and outwardly they don't appear to be believers,
but they still are. They cannot be lost. They've
been saved by the grace of God. Another scripture I want you
to look at is John chapter 10. And as I said, there could be
many, many verses that we could go to here, but John chapter
10 and verse 27, the Lord here is speaking of his sheep. Now,
who are his sheep? They are those for whom he died.
They are those whom he bought with a price. He's the great
shepherd and God's elect, God's people, his church are his sheep.
He came to seek and to save his lost sheep, the lost sheep of
the house of Israel. But he has other sheep, he said
here in John 10, that are not of the house of Israel. That's
the Gentile people that Christ died for. What does he say about
the sheep in verse 27 of John 10? He says, my sheep hear my
voice and I know them and they follow me. They hear his voice
by the power of the Holy Spirit in the preaching of the gospel.
Christ and Him crucified. They hear His voice when they
hear a man stand up and preach the glory of Christ. As I said
before, how God can be just and justify the ungodly. That Christ,
as the substitute, as the mediator of sinners, came and took their
place and kept the law perfectly, satisfied the law in every precept,
and went to the cross of Calvary and died for their sins." He
said, I laid down my life for the sheep, he told them. That
is, he suffered under the penalty of God's justice for their sins,
drank damnation dry, and brought forth the very requirement of
God's law, the righteousness of God, the righteousness that
enables God to be just and justifier. And Christ's righteousness alone,
His blood, His obedience, All that he accomplished on behalf
of his sheep, his righteousness alone demands and secures their
salvation forever. None of it is conditioned on
them. His righteousness alone saves me, keeps me, blesses me,
and entitles me to the whole inheritance of grace and glory.
He saved me by his grace. So he says, my sheep hear my
voice, and I know them. and they follow me, and I give
unto them eternal life." Did you hear that? He gives them
not temporary life that can be lost, but eternal life. Now, what is eternal life? That's
life forever and forever and forever. If it can be taken away,
if it can be lost, it's not eternal. And this life here is a gift.
He says, I give it to them. They don't earn it. You see,
if you're saved by grace, but then you have to keep it by your
works, then it's not a gift. It's something you have to keep
on earning. But he says here, I give unto
them eternal life, and look here. He says, and they shall never
perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. I
told that to one man one time, and he said, well, see there
it says, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. But
he said, Satan can do it. Well, the word man there is in
italics. That means it was supplied by the King James translators.
If you read it in the original, it would go like this, neither
shall any pluck them out of my hand. No one. And he goes on,
verse 29. He says, my father, which gave
them me, The Father gave them to him. And he says, the Father
which gave them me is greater than all. And no man is able
to pluck them out of my Father's hand. He says, I and the Father
are one. You see that? Nothing can take
us away from Christ once we're in him. And he says, no man is
able to pluck them out of my hand. The Father gave them to
him, his sheep. He said, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. and him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out." That's the eternal security of the believer,
of the saved. That is, once saved, always saved. Now, somebody who says, well,
I believe once saved, always saved, does that mean they're
a Christian? Does that mean they're truly
saved? It depends on who saves them. It depends on what is the
ground of their salvation. What is the ground of your salvation? What is the ground of your security,
your assurance, eternal security? My friend, the only ground of
eternal security is Christ and Him crucified. His blood for
the forgiveness of all sins, His righteousness imputed, legally
charged to my account for my justification before God. The
Bible says it in Romans chapter 8. Who can condemn us? It's Christ
that died, yea rather, is risen again. And back over in Hebrews
chapter 7, he tells us plainly about salvation by Christ and
how those who are in him are eternally secure and can never
be lost. He says in verse 25 of chapter
7, it says, wherefore he, Christ, is able also to save them to
the uttermost. That means evermore. If we're
saved to the uttermost by Christ, you can't lose it. And it says
that, come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them. My friend, if anyone, any sinner
for whom Christ died could ever perish, then his death means
nothing. And if anyone who saves could
ever lose that salvation, then that means he's taken off the
throne and he has no power to save. But that's not the case.
Now go back to Hebrews chapter 6. So what is Paul saying here? He's showing an impossibility. It's impossible. Look at it again,
verse four of chapter six. For it is impossible for those
who were once enlightened, that means enlightened by the gospel,
by Christ, who's the light of the world, and who've tasted
of the heavenly gift. They've tasted salvation and
were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, fellowshippers with the
Holy Spirit. and have tasted the good word
of God, the word of God which is able to make thee wise unto
salvation, and the powers of the world to come." That's salvation.
Now, if they shall fall away, verse 6, if that person could
ever lose what he had, it's impossible to renew them again unto repentance. There could be no repentance.
Why? Well, look at this. Here's the
reason. seeing they crucify to themselves
the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." Now, what
does the Bible say about the death of Christ? It says Christ
died once. He offered himself one time,
not two times, not three, not four, but one time. What did
his death, that one-time death, accomplish for his people? Well, the Bible says in Hebrews
chapter 10 and verse 10 that we who believe, we who are saved
eternally, are sanctified, that is, set apart and made holy through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, one time
for all whom he represented. It says in verse 12 that this
man, the Lord Jesus Christ, after he had offered one sacrifice
for sins forever. Now did you hear that? Hebrews
10, 12. Jesus Christ offered one sacrifice
for sins forever. His one sacrifice is enough to
secure the forgiveness of sins forever. Not just 10 years or
20 years, but forever. And he says he sat down on the
right hand of God. He sat down. He finished the
work. And then it says in verse 14 of chapter 10, For by one
offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Did
you hear that language? By his one offering, Christ hath
perfected, completed their salvation. has perfected forever them that
are sanctified. So if it were possible for them
to ever be lost, then that would be like crucifying Christ again
and putting Him to an open chain. It would be like saying His one
sacrifice for sin, His blood, and His righteousness were not
good enough to save us and to keep us saved, and that's putting
shame upon him. That's denying his blood. Listen
to me. It's impossible for those who
were once saved, if they should fall away, which they cannot,
but if they could, it's impossible to renew them again unto repentance,
because that's just the same as saying the blood of Christ
is not good enough. to save me and keep me from all
my sins. That's just the same as saying
that the righteousness of Christ does not entitle me to the whole
inheritance of grace and glory. It has to be Christ, what he
did, plus something I do. And that's a denial of Christ.
That puts him to an open shame. That's like crucifying him again.
And that cannot be. Well, he uses an analogy here,
an illustration. in verse 7 of chapter 6 of Hebrews. And here's the analogy. Now listen
to it, and I think this will bring it all to a conclusion.
He says, For the herb which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon
it, and bringeth forth herbs, or vegetables, or vegetation,
meat, or fit for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing
from God. When the word of God comes and
by the power of God takes up residence in a person's heart,
just like the rain that descends to earth and it brings forth
vegetation by the power of God, that person in whom the Word
of God takes up residence in his heart, he receives blessing
from God. Not condemnation, not loss of
salvation, but eternal, unchangeable blessing, once saved, always
saved by God. Verse 8, But that which beareth
thorns and briars is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, whose
end is to be burned. That same rain falls upon other
ground, and you don't get vegetation. You get thorns and briars. The
same person could hear the same gospel. He may give mental agreement
to it and profess to believe it, but it doesn't bring forth
that vegetation, that fruit of grace and life. And he says in
verse 9, He says, but beloved, now here he's talking to the
believers. Beloved, we are persuaded better things of you. You see,
and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. Paul's
saying here, though I've used this analogy, though I've shown
you the impossibility of one, if it were possible for them
to lose salvation, they could not be saved again. Though I've
spoken this way, I'm going to tell you, I'm persuaded of better
things of you. It's impossible for one to be
saved by the grace of God, by the blood and righteousness of
Christ, and then be lost again. And I'm persuaded better things
of you. I'm persuaded that you're not going to bring forth the
thorns and the briars of condemnation. But I'm persuaded you're going
to bring forth by the power of God the healthy vegetation of
the power of God's Word. You see, that's once saved, always
saved. Who saved you? What is the ground of your salvation?
What saves you? What keeps you? And what brings
you to glory? I have one plea. Christ. He died
for me. He saves me. He keeps me. And He'll bring me to final glory
in heaven. None of it's conditioned on me.
None of it's based on me. None of it comes from me. It's
all Christ and him crucified. And my friend, if that's not
good enough to save a sinner, then there is no salvation. That's
what Paul's saying here. Christ died. He satisfied law
and justice. His blood is the forgiveness
of sin. His righteousness is justification. Now, if that's
if he's not good enough, then there is no salvation. It's impossible
to be renewed again unto repentance. My friend, this assurance of
salvation is founded upon Christ.