I am not one to shy away from difficult texts in Scripture. This is probably one of the most debated passages in the pages of God's Word. I am not saying I have the answer, but if I'm pondering its meaning, then I have to assume you, as the reader, have struggled with understanding it too. So, lets strive together, maybe not for a complete grasp but with the gentle help of the Holy Spirit, at least a contented hold and acceptance of these verses.
At the onset I will state with assurance, that these verses are not saying we can lose our salvation. We always have to look at Scripture as a whole. God's Word never contradicts itself. Although there are times it appears to our finite minds that we are seeing disagreements in text, we are just looking at too sides of the same coin, a coin that is sometimes a foreign currency to us, but its value has remained unchanged.
John 10:27-29 tells us, "My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me, for My Father has given them to Me, and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand." Take a deep breath. If you are truly saved, you are forever saved. Held by the Father's hand, nothing and no one can take you out of His grip of grace.
In Romans 8, Paul writes that nothing can separate us from Christ, no powers above or below, nothing in all of creation has the power to take away our salvation once we have truly understood our need for a Saviour, the sacrifice He made on the cross, acknowledged our sin, confessed and repented, believed and received. So, what will we do with the verses in Hebrews?
For myself personally, one of the first things I bring to mind is that I am not God. I will never understand perfectly all He has written. Romans 11 echoes these sentiments when Paul asks, "For who can know the Lord's thoughts?" If we were able to discern every word in the Bible, we would be God. That does not mean we do not study scripture. 2 Timothy inspires us to be good students of the Word of God, and Proverbs is packed with encouragement to gain wisdom and seek knowledge, so that, as David writes in the Psalms, God's Word will guide and direct us through every area of life. However, we cannot get caught up in disputes that will land us no-where, and even possibly, through misunderstanding or misinterpretation, weaken instead of strengthen our faith.
Biblical scholars who have examined and applied exegesis to this text have drawn conclusions in two camps. One, either the person has tasted truth but not truly been saved, or the writer has set up a hypothetical situation, presenting a premise that could never happen. What is being described becomes logically absurd, making the every idea of Christ-followers losing their salvation completely out of the question.
The main take-away from this passage is not to have a false sense of security. There is a state of heart that makes salvation impossible, but we can know that we know that we know we are saved. When a person has experienced the blood of Christ being washed over their lives for the forgiveness of sins, they see the fruit of that cleansing and transformation. If God truly is our everything, He will not let us go.
Be assured of the hope found in the mercy and justice of God.
For those desiring to understand deeper: https://www.calvary.on.ca/sermon/opportunity-knocks-for-awhile/
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