Your Secure Salvation

Sermon Sunday  011126

“ A Secure Salvation”

Hebrews 5:8–6:8 

[Heb 5:8-12 KJV] 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey (submit to) him; 10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. 11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. 12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

The writer of Hebrews has concluded in (v.12) that his congregation is filled with spiritual babies and they are not ready for the deeper teachings of scripture; the doctrines, and so forth. The preacher is actually scolding the congregation. 

By the time this Epistle was written, the Gospels had been preached for some 30 years, and yet these people had not learned much beyond the very basic teachings of Christ. Ironically, these folks were by and large converted Hebrews, having grown up in a culture of Mosaic Law, where the study of scripture was paramount. These folks should have known the deeper teachings of the Gospels. 

[Heb 5:13-14 KJV] 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. [Heb 6:1-6 KJV] 1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this will we do, if God permit. 4 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, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 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.

The writer concludes in (6:1 and 6:4) that it is a waste of time to keep preaching the basic doctrines, and especially to those that have not accepted Christ, even though they are in attendance every week. These sort of unsaved will never come to Christ so it is pointless to keep preaching the basics. This only serves to hinder the growth of the real Christians in attendance, those that want to grow. At some point, the elementary sermons need to be set aside in order to grow future preachers, teachers, and evangelists. This is demanded by our Great Commision–[Mat 28:20 KJV] 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

So, the context of our passage today centers around wasting precious sermon time on unstudied Christians, and the long term unsaved folks in attendance. This is a problem even in modern times, especially in our larger congregations. They are filled with baby Christians and the long term unsaved; Christian pretenders.

Let’s take a deeper look at the unsaved referred to in (v. 4-6). How do I know they are unsaved? Because a saved person can not walk away from their salvation. Although many Christians point to these verses, and make the claim that you can “fall away” from your salvation, today we will see that this is an impossibility, and that these verses in particular teach something entirely different. The context of these verses has nothing to do with “falling away” from your salvation.

Look at (v. 4-6) for a moment: “4 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, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 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.”

• Enlightened = G5461..verb.. “To shed light on.” “To gain insight from.”

  • This does not teach that this person is spirit filled. It teaches that they are aware, able to recognize the truth of scripture, and the power of the Holy Spirit in people.

• Tasted of = G1089..verb.. “To taste the flavor of” “To experience the effects  of”

  • This term does not teach to eat or consume the full amount of anything. It is simply a taste test of something–like you do at a potluck. To eat or consume something is a different Greek word G2068.

So, the writer of Hebrews is speaking about people that have experienced or “tasted of” the “heavenly gift” (new birth) but have never fully consumed it. They have never accepted Christ as their Savior. “6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance;” They've never even repented! How can one be saved if they have never repented? If they’ve never fully eaten or invited in Christ? These verses do not teach that you can lose your salvation. They teach that the preacher is wasting the church’s time by spending precious sermon time trying to win these same unsaved again, and again, continually preaching Christianity 101 sermons, to the detriment of growing the true Christians in attendance!

Some biblical examples of this:

1. Paul arguing his case before Feix, the Governor of Judea

[Act 24:24-25 KJV] 24 And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. 25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.

Felix “tasted” the truth and it made him tremble! 

2. Paul arguing his case before King Agrippa of Judea

[Act 26:27-28 KJV] 27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. 28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

Did these officials not experience the Apostle Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost? Did they not “taste of” Paul’s heavenly gift; his new birth? As the governor and the king over the Judean Province, these men knew the Hebrew scriptures well. They recognized that the Apostle Paul was on to something. They were “enlightened” and they “tasted” of the Holy Spirit in Paul. yet, sadly, they never submitted to Christ. They never went beyond “tasting”.

3. How about all of the people that were healed and raised from the dead by Jesus and the Apostles? How about all of those that witnessed the great miracles that were performed? Did they not “partake of” or experience the Holy Spirit, that “heavenly gift”, and yet many of them did not know Jesus as their Savior. They were mere spectators…come to watch Jesus do magic tricks. So many of them only came to “taste” and to “partake” of these heavenly experiences, but they were not interested in surrendering to Jesus. They were not interested in “repentance”.

Secure Salvation

We that are saved, on the other hand, have “tasted of that heavenly gift” and have accepted Jesus as our Saviour—and that makes all the difference.

Our salvation is secure. It is eternal. [Heb 5:9 KJV] 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;”

Your salvation can not be lost by you or anything else. 

Let me show why!

[Heb 6:7-8 KJV] 7 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, receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

You see, some will believe and bear fruit, but some will not. 

The question is not, can I lose my salvation. The question is, can I become un-born again? You see, the moment you believed Jesus (faith) a transaction occurred. You became born-again. You became a new creation in Christ (2Cor 5:17). You were born from above, meaning that your spiritual father is God–[1Pe 1:23 KJV] 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever”.. And…just like in the carnal world, you can not change the father that bore you. 

The same is true in the spiritual world. God is your spiritual father. Once you are spiritually born, that can not be changed. You can not become un-born or unattached from Father God… or from his nature. God is your spiritual birth father. You can not change that fact.

Add to this, you were “sealed” by the Holy Spirit the moment you became born-again. You “sealed until the day of redemption.” (Eph 4:30) 

Are you seeing the logic in this? 

So, if you have enough faith to jump off of a skyscraper, convinced that it will kill you, and you act on that faith, and you jump, then that transaction gets completed. You jump, you die, and your eternal state is changed forever. It’s irrevocable. 

The same thing happens when you are born again. You have enough faith that Jesus is the Saviour, to act on that faith–surrendering to King Jesus, and that transaction changes your eternal state forever. It’s irrevocable. Salvation becomes a completed event. It is just a free-rider of the new birth–a free benefit.

Nothing can take away your salvation because salvation is only the effect of a completed transaction. It is secondary to your born-again status. You are saved because you are a reborn creation and that can not be taken away. Not even by God himself, lest he break his own word. 

Unfortunately, we retain our old nature along with the new, and we struggle with that (Rom Ch 7). But you can never lose your new nature. Your new nature does not sin! [1Jo 3:9 KJV] 9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Also consider:

• [Rom 8:35-39 KJV] 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Not even you can separate yourself from Christ. Your old self is dead. You are a new creature–forever changed.

I find it strange that folks who believe you can walk away from your salvation refer to (Heb 6:1-8) for support of their claims. These verses, and the context of these verses (5:8-6:6), all teach about ineffective preaching and wasting time on the resistant unsaved in the congregation. These verses teach nothing about “falling away” from your salvation. The ability to lose your salvation is a false doctrine propagated by unlearned Christians, and the unsaved. 

King Jesus said it, [Jhn 3:5 KJV] 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

The question is not can one lose their salvation. The question is, can one lose their born-again reality. The answer to this question is an obvious no! Therefore, you can not lose your salvation. That is not reasonable. That is anti-Christian doctrine.