Hebrews 6:4-8 (KJV)
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.
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.
In order for God to draw someone to Christ, they must have some enlightenment. They need to taste of the heavenly gift. They have to have partaken of what belongs to Christ by the spirit. But that does not mean they embrace the light, swallow what they have tasted, or surrender to Christ through His Spirit. The passage you cite is often used to try to prove that you can lose your salvation. But it is not talking about anyone LOSING salvation. It is talking about people who REFUSE salvation. Once people understand what salvation really is, and once they understand what it really means for God to draw someone to Christ, passages like this one become clear. Two points prove eternity security is a fact. First. II Cor. 7:10 — “For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of.” Repentance is a change of moral mind towards God. Paul says salvation is the result of a repentance that is NOT repented of. In other words, this is a one way street — it is a repentance towards God that is not repented of. That one verse proves eternal security. I could cite others.
Second point: You cannot be born from above backwards — in other words, if you have passed from death to life in Christ, and old things are passed away, and all things have become new, there can be no reversal of that.You CAN slip into unbelief, deception, or various sins. But you cannot sin the sin of refusing Christ if you are born from above because if you are born from above you repented of the sin of refusing Christ. Of course, I am talking about TRUE conversion — not the religious or doctrinal conversion that is often mistaken for it. Salvation is not a commitment to a list of doctrines or to a religious system. It is a surrender to God Himself through His Son — and through it we become a new creation in Jesus Christ. All of the passages in scripture that are often used to try to prove that you can lose your salvation are either talking about refusing it or it is talking about forfeiting inheritance and fellowship as a saved person. Just as did Israel.
David DePra
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