It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Having completed the doctrinal discourse on the greater high priesthood of Jesus Christ, which constitutes the main section of the epistle to the Hebrews, the author goes on to fittingly exhort his audience with application. If we have understood this discourse accurately, we who profess to believe these truths ought to live in a manner befitting them. We ought to: draw near (22), hold fast (23),and consider one another (24).As we obey and carry out these duties, we become a church that is living by faith.
In contrast, in verses 26-31, the author describes the wrong way to live, as some of those in the congregation receiving this epistle were forsaking their assembling together (25) and in danger of falling away from their confession by consistently loving and choosing their sin over Christ (26). The author warns these precious people in the harshest terms of the danger of their final and full apostasy and of their greater responsibility, as people who have known the way of truth and yet turn away from it. Such were those who sat among the assembly of God’s people, receiving the benefits of grace, but who in the day of Judgment will be eternally lost with the enemies of God (27).
The doctrine of the apostasy of Christians is not without controversy. It has been contested between Arminians and Calvinists for Centuries. Arminians use verses such as this text, to teach the possibility of apostasy; while Calvinists believe the Scriptures teach the perseverance of the saints – sometimes referred to as “eternal security,” namely that truly born-again believers will be kept in the faith by the power God. While both arguments have their merit, it is obvious that both cannot be true. A born-again child of God cannot, at the same time, be eternally secure and lose their salvation – this is a logical disconnect. This does not suggest that the Scriptures are not clear on this matter. God’s Word is clear in teaching the security of the believer, while at the same time issuing genuine warnings against his or her apostasy. How can this be so? We will discuss this matter on Sunday as we consider what is perhaps the most chilling, solemn, and fear-inspiring passages in the New Testament.