Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening and now
for today's program. Welcome to our program. The message
today will be taken from the book of Hebrews chapter 6, beginning
with verse 4. Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 4.
And the title of the message is, Things That Accompany Salvation. Things That Accompany Salvation. Now this message is part of a
series that I've been doing. on the eternal security of the
saved, or the eternal security of the believer. And I won't
go back into all that I've said before, but what I wanted to
do as I bring this series to its conclusion, was deal with
a few passages of scripture that people use to deny the eternal
security of the saved. These are passages of scripture
that people think that teach that one can be saved and then
lose that salvation. And what I want to show you in
dealing with these passages, and this first one is Hebrews
chapter six, is that they don't teach that at all. And that if
you would use the proper rules of scriptural interpretation,
and pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal it to you, I believe
you would see that. And one of the main passages
of scripture that people use is this one right here. And let
me just read through it. I'll just read these passages.
And beginning at verse four of Hebrews chapter six, the writer
writes, 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. Now,
a better translation of that would be, and who have fallen
away, but that's okay. If they shall fall away, to renew
them again unto repentance, seeing they crucified to themselves
the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame. For the
earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and
bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiving
blessing from God. But that which beareth thorns
and briars is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, whose end
is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded
better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though
we thus speak. things that accompany salvation.
And one more verse, for God is not unrighteous to forget your
work and labor of love which you have showed toward his name
in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. Things that accompany salvation.
Now, One of the reasons that many people use this passage
to try to prove that a person can be saved and then lose that
salvation is in the phrase, verse six, if they shall fall away. Well, what are they falling away
from? Somebody says, well, if they weren't saved, they couldn't
fall away. Well, that's not true. The Bible
teaches that many people fall away from the gospel. They fall
away from their profession of faith. And the Bible teaches
that those people who claim to be saved and then fall away from
that profession have never been saved to begin with. And I've
showed you that in this series. I've showed you several passages.
And one of the main passages that teaches that is 1 John 2. We'll turn there in just a few
moments. But let me tell you something about this passage.
There are basically, there are several ways that people interpret
this passage. And what you have to understand
and what you, in your study, and that's what I've done in
my study, is which interpretation is the correct interpretation.
Well, I believe if you will use proper rules of scriptural interpretation,
the main rule here being context, context, context, context, And
if you will use those proper rules of interpretation, you'll
see that this passage does not deny or contradict other passages
of Scripture. That's the rule of comparison,
you see. You can't take one passage of Scripture out of its context
and make it say something that the other passages don't say.
The Bible has no contradictions. Any contradictions you see in
the Bible is in your mind and not in the Bible. And then ask
yourself these questions. Whatever I believe about this
verse, number one, does it glorify God? Does it glorify Him? Give Him all the praise and the
glory for His grace in not only saving His people, but preserving
them and bringing them to glory. Secondly, does it exalt the Lord
Jesus Christ in the glory of His person and in the power of
His finished work? Think about that. Who is Jesus
Christ? He is God in human flesh. And
on the cross, he put away the sins of his people, and they
shall be saved. They have a righteousness that
answers the demands of God's law and justice. Do you understand
that a person, a sinner who is truly saved by the grace of God,
One who is truly saved is saved based on the righteousness of
God imputed, charged, accounted to him. And that righteousness
can never be tainted, contaminated, or taken away. You see, my salvation
is not based upon my works. It's not based upon conditions
I meet in order to attain or maintain salvation. My salvation
is based upon Christ and what He accomplished. And we've studied
in Philippians chapter one and verse six, what God began, He's
gonna finish. He would lose His glory. if he
lost one of his people, one of his elect, one of his sheep,
one for whom Christ died. So does it glorify, does it glorify
God? Does it exalt Christ? Does it
put me in the dust where I belong as a sinner who has no goodness,
no righteousness, no power to save myself? That's what the
Bible says, I fell in Adam. I was born dead in trespasses
and sins. If salvation were to ever be
conditioned on me, it would be a failure because I'm a sinner. I am what I am by the grace of
God. And that's it. And then fourthly,
does it edify believers? building us up in the most holy
faith, encouraging and inspiring us in obedience, motivated by
grace and gratitude and glory? Well, those are questions that
you can consider. This passage is interpreted in
several ways. First of all, one of the ways
that people interpret it is, well, it's saying here's a person
who is saved. They were once enlightened, they
tasted the heavenly gift, they were made partakers of the Holy
Ghost, tasted the good word of God. That can only describe one
who is saved. Well, I'm gonna show you from
the context that that's not true. All these phrases could apply
to a false believer, a false professor, a false Christian. And so that's one way of interpreting
it, but it does not hold up with the rest of Scripture. You remember
what we read over in 1 John 2? And verse 18, when John was speaking,
again, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 1 John 2, 18, he
said, little children, it is the last time. And as you have
heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many Antichrists
whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from
us. They left the assembly. They
left the people of God. And just like, now that's who
the book of Hebrews chapter six is talking about. People who
have left the people of God. They turned back to their old
ways. They totally left it. They're
not Christians who just strayed a little bit, but they totally
apostatized is the word the scripture sometimes used. They totally
fell away. And John says that in verse 19
of 1 John 2, they went out from us. He says, but they were not
of us. For if they had been of us, 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. And
that's what Hebrews 6 is teaching. Hebrews 6 does not contradict
1 John. And you remember back in Hebrews
6, I went on to read, he said, the writer of Hebrews said, we
are persuaded of better things of you, things that accompany
salvation. John says the same thing to the ones he's writing
to. He says in verse 20, but you have an unction, an anointing
from the Holy One, from Christ. You know all things. In other
words, you won't leave because you have this, you have true
Holy Spirit conviction. That's what he's talking about.
You've been brought to faith in Christ and repentance. So
if you consider Hebrews chapter six and you say, well, that's
teaching that a person can be saved and then lose that salvation,
the rest of scripture will not bear you up and support you in
that view. Another view of this is that
it's talking about saved people who actually fall away and they
don't lose salvation, but they lose the fruits, the rewards
of salvation. Well, that's not even in the
context. To me, that's just a wild stab
at the dark because it has nothing to do with what the writer here
is teaching, what God is teaching here in Hebrews chapter six about
endurance, about continuing in the faith. And besides, the Bible
does not teach rewards, plural, in heaven based upon our works. In fact, if you go through the
scripture, and I challenge you to do this, you'll find that
the word rewards, plural, is not even found in connection
with anything that the believer receives in heaven. The word
reward, singular, is used, and it's always set down as the reward
of grace, not what we earn by our works, but what Christ has
earned for us in his work, for his people in his work. So that's
not what it teaches. Another interpretation of this
is what we call the hypothetical. That what the Lord is teaching
here is that it is impossible for a person who is truly saved
to be lost again. Verse four, it is impossible.
But if it were possible, hypothetically possible, then they could never
be renewed again unto repentance. Now, and that's what he's saying
here. I mean, the reason they say that
is down here where it says, it's impossible if they shall fall
away to renew them again and to repent. So if it were saying
hypothetically that a person could be saved and then lose
that salvation, then it's also teaching that that person has
no hope of ever being saved. That person is lost and damned
forever no matter what. Well, that's not what this is
teaching. What this is teaching is that there are people who
come so close under the privileges of the preaching of the gospel
and profess to believe it, but because they have not truly believed
it and come to saving faith in Christ, they can fall away. And let me prove that to you.
Now, the whole book of Hebrews is contrasting the greater glory
and beauty of Jesus Christ in his person, in his finished work
of redemption, in the salvation that God has freely given to
his people by his grace through Christ, contrasting all of that
glory with the lesser earthly privileges that Israel had under
the Old Covenant. Christ is better than the law.
Christ is a better messenger. He's the great prophet than any
prophet under the Old Covenant. Christ is a better high priest
than any high priest under the Old Covenant. Christ is better,
the better tabernacle, all of these things. That Old Covenant,
you know, under the Old Covenant there was no eternal spiritual
salvation according to its terms. Now that's not to say that there
wasn't a remnant of truly saved people under the Old Covenant,
but they weren't saved based on the terms of the Old Covenant.
They were saved based on the terms of the everlasting covenant
of grace revealed in the gospel of God's grace, just like people
today who are truly saved. And he shows that. But Israel
had all kinds of privileges. There's several passages that
show that. They had, think about every one
of them who were brought out of Egypt. were privileged to
be brought out. And think about what they saw,
what they saw while in Egypt. in the plagues that were sent
on Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the presence of God
in the pillar of cloud and in the pillar of fire. They saw
Moses come down out of the Mount Sinai. They saw miracles. They
were all fed in the desert with manna. The water that came out
of the rock, all of that, they were all privileged, but they
were not all believers. And so back in Hebrews 2, the
writer says in verse 3 for example, listen to this, How shall we
escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at first began
to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them
that heard him, God also bearing them witness, now he's talking
about back in the old covenant here, both with signs and wonders
and with diverse or various miracles and gifts or distributions, your
concordance might say, of the Holy Ghost according to his own
will. In other words, here's a person
sitting under the preaching of the gospel of God's grace. Now,
not everybody is doing that. There are a lot of people who
are sitting under false gospels. False messages. Trying to preach
salvation in some way by the works and the wills of men. That's
a false gospel. But here he's talking about people
sitting under the preaching of the true gospel of God's free
and sovereign grace in Christ. How God can be just and justify
the ungodly. Just like the Israelites under
the old covenant were all privileged to see all those miracles, to
partake of all those physical blessings, the temporal things.
You see, when that manna fell from heaven, And of course, you
know that manna is a type. It's a picture of Christ, the
bread of life. When that manna fell from heaven,
not only there were believers in Israel, very few, but they
ate of the manna, but also all the unbelievers ate of it too.
When I stand and preach the gospel, when I preach it here on this
television program, there may be some of you out there who
really believe this gospel, truly believe it, but there's a lot
of you who don't. You may think you do. And this
is the issue. And I'm not saying that just
to make you doubt. I'm saying that to make you examine yourselves,
to go to the scripture. And that's what he's talking
about. Over here in chapter three, he talks about these Israelites. And he talks about how many of
them left and how they could not enter in. But listen to this.
He's talking about true believers here. Verse six of Hebrews three,
listen to this. He says, but Christ as a son
over his own house, whose house are we? Whose household family?
If we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope
firm unto the end. If we endure unto the end. Now
that if there is not a conditional if. It's not a condition that
the sinner must meet in order to attain heaven. It's an evidential
if. In other words, I'm a member
of the family of Christ, I'm a member of his household, only
if that is evidenced by my continuing in the faith. Down in verse 14
of Hebrews 3, he says, we're made partakers of Christ, sharers
of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto
the end. Again, that's not a conditional
if, it's an evidential if. In other words, I am truly in
fellowship with Christ as evidenced by enduring. And then look at
Hebrews chapter four. Now this is all the context of
what we're saying in Hebrews six. He says in verse one, listen
to this, let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us
of entering into his rest, that is entering into Christ, Any
of you should seem to come short of it. We who are hearing the
gospel. Verse 2, for unto us was the gospel preached as well
as unto them. That is to the Israelites under
the old covenant. They heard the gospel. They heard it from
the prophets. They heard it from some of the
priests. It was in the types in the pictures, for unto us
was the gospel preached as well as unto them, but the word preached
did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that
heard it. They heard it, they saw the miracles,
they partook of the manna, but they didn't believe. They didn't
believe and they rejected. Now that's what he's talking
about here in Hebrews chapter six. Now, one of the things you
need to understand about the context is this too. The book
of Hebrews is written to the Hebrew church, the church in
Jerusalem and around about, who were under heavy, severe persecution
from unbelieving Jews. And as a result of that persecution,
many of them became like the stony ground here of Matthew
13. They were persecuted over the world. And what did they
do? They left the gospel and went back to Judaism, even to
the point of calling Christ accursed. And that's what he's saying.
Now look at Hebrews six and verse four. For it is impossible for
those who were once enlightened, how were they enlightened? They
heard the gospel. Now we think of being enlightened
as being converted, but not always. The Hebrew children under the
old covenant, they were enlightened too, but they didn't believe.
They heard it and have tasted of the heavenly gift. The Hebrew
children, they took part in all the manna and all the water and
all the miracles, but they didn't believe. were made partakers
of the Holy Ghost. In other words, they were there
when the Holy Ghost did all these things. A person who hears the
gospel, he's right there, she's right there. Stephen said, you
do resist the Holy Ghost. That's the preaching of the gospel,
the outward revelation. Verse five, and have tasted the
good word of God. They heard it, the powers of
the world to come, just like the Hebrew children who saw all
those miracles. Those in the early church, they
saw the miracles that the apostles performed and the evangelists.
And he says in verse six, and if they shall fall away, they
had a profession of faith, but they fell away to renew them
again under repentance, seeing they crucified to themselves
the son of God afresh and put him to an open shame. They left
it. They went back to their Judaism. And it's just like crucifying
the son of God afresh. And then in other words, they
think nothing of Christ. They call him a curse. And he
said, and here's the key. Verse seven, look at verse seven.
Here's the key that I think really opens this up. He says, for the
earth, which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it
and bringeth forth herbs, meat for them by whom it is dressed,
receive a blessing from God. Here's the rain coming down on
the earth. And what happens? The good vegetation springs up. But, verse 8, but that which
beareth thorns and briars is rejected, is nigh unto cursing,
whose end is to be burned. The same rain falls upon another
piece of earth, and what comes up? Briars and thorns. You see,
that's the key. One person hears the gospel,
and by the power of God in the new birth, they're brought to
faith in Christ. Another person hears the gospel,
and what does it produce? Briars and thorns, nothing but
dead works. He hears it, just like the one
who believes it, but he doesn't believe it. He may profess to
believe it, he may think he believes it, but when persecution comes
over the word, what does he do? He leaves it. Stony ground here,
it says, because it took no root. So he had all these privileges
that's defined here in Hebrews 6, 4, and 5, but it wasn't mixed
with faith. He didn't really believe it.
He hadn't come to repentance. Remember 2 Peter 3, 9, God's
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
That's talking about his people. It's not talking about all without
exception. God's not willing that any of his people, he's
long suffering to us work. The scripture says there. and
he brings his people to repentance. And that's why Christ has not
come back again, because God still has some sheep, some people
that he hasn't called into the kingdom. So he says in verse
nine, but beloved, we are persuaded better things of you and things
that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. Those who truly
believe it. The better things that accompany
salvation. What is it? True faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. God-given faith. By grace are
you saved. Through faith, that not of yourselves.
It's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2, eight and nine. We're persuaded you really believe.
And then repentance of dead works. You see, there are many people
who claim to believe the gospel, but they've not yet been brought
to repentance. They want to hold on to their
former professions or their former experiences under a false gospel. They want to still stay in churches
where the gospel is not preached. They haven't repented. You see,
that accompanies salvation. Godly obedience motivated by
grace and love and gratitude. Are you trying to earn your salvation
or earn your place in heaven? My friend, that's works. That's
not grace. That doesn't accompany salvation. The true children of God have
the assurance of God's grace based on the righteousness of
Christ freely imputed and received by faith. And they know that
they're blessed with all spiritual blessings because of what Christ
accomplished, not because of what they do. And the evidence
that they truly believe it is what? They endure. They continue. They persevere in the faith. They will not leave Christ. We
saw that in 1 John 3. His seed, his children, God's
children remain in Christ. That's another passage of scripture.
If you believe that Hebrews 6 teaches that you can be lost and then
lose that salvation, then it contradicts 1 John 3, 9, as well
as 1 John 2, 19, and other scriptures. See, you've got to interpret
this in light of the whole Bible. You can't leave it on its own.
You say, well, I know people who have done this and who look
like this and who got baptized and got their life changed and
then they totally left and I know they were saved. How do you know
that? You have to prove that from God's word, not from your
own mind and what you see. I'm gonna tell you something,
people can come awful close and still fall short according to
the scripture. But my friend, one who is truly
saved by the grace of God will continue in the faith. If they
fall away, they were never saved. That's what the scripture says.
That's what the scripture teaches. But it's my prayer that for God's
people, that who come to faith in Christ, that we endure to
the end. I hope you enjoyed this program
and I hope you'll join us next week for another message from
God's word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
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today and may the Lord be with you.