Thoughts From Hebrews 6

 4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.   Hebrews 6:4-6

             Deconversion stories have been around for a while. In the New Testament you have Judas and Demas (2 Tim. 4:10), but lately, because of social media we are able to view them in real time. Chuck Templeton, a young evangelist that was Billy Graham's side kick and cofounder of Youth For Christ is a pre-internet famous deconversion. Billy Graham’s shadow: Chuck Templeton and the crisis of American religion – Friends of Justice In fact, one of Lee Strobel's "Case for..." books was dedicated to and aimed at bringing him back to the faith which was unsuccessful.

          Bob Dylan, B.J.Thomas, Marty sampson, KMax, Gungor, Vicky Beeching, Jennifer Knapp, and that is just in the Christian Music world. My dad started a florishing church in the Milwaukee suburbs with a man who later left his wife and family and told my dad, "John, I can't believe how many years of my life I wasted doing this Jesus thing." Have you ever known a deconversion story that turned into a reconversion story? I've never heard of one. I wonder if that is what this passage is talking about? Was the author warning these new converts to Christianity not to deconvert to works based religion at the risk of losing their salvation?

     I recently heard a message by a pastor in Knoxville who said that he doesn't believe a person can lose their salvation but he believes a person can give up their salvation. In other words if a person says "I no longer want to be a Christian", God releases him of his vows. I've always believed a person can't lose their salvation because of the overwhelming verses supporting this plus the fact that it leads to works based salvation. However, you can't deny that there are a number of verses that people who believe you can lose your salvation can use to support their position. I wonder if the view that you can't lose it but you can willingly give it away is the correct view? This passage would certainly support this.

         If the latter view is true there are several conclusions

           1. You can't come back because Christ can't die for your sins a second time. Therefore if someone reconverts you have to argue that they were never saved the first time. This allows us to go after the defectors begging them to come back knowing it might still be possible

          2. This would solidify the view that you can't lose your salvation. My Church of God friends who believe this have youth conventions where hundreds of kids get saved every year. This is because in the past year they have committed many sins and have lost their salvation and need to be re-saved. If these verses in Hebrews 6 are true, then their reconversion is impossible.

        So what is the takeaway? Get to know Jesus and His Word better and better. Study the objections to the faith and find answers so you will be intellectually convinced. Flee from areas of temptation. Work out your salvation falling deeper in love with Jesus so that you will answer like Peter in John 6:68 "Lord to whom else would we go?"

Thoughts From Hebrews - Chapter 5

" We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."  Hebrews 5:11-14

                        I have never been able to do a gainer. Do you know what that is? (maybe I've never been able to spell it either) A gainer is a diving move where you do a back flip facing forward. Now just to be clear, it's possible I can do a gainer, the truth of the matter is I've never tried - I'm scared to. I picture myself hitting my head on the board or landing flat on my back in the water with that sickening thwap sound and subsequent burning sensation. I've stood on the end of the board and contemplated it multiple times but always convert the dive to a cannonball in mid-air.

                      So far, the writer of Hebrews has been pleading with the readers who were Old Testament, law abiding Jews recently exposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ, to go all in. They are standing on the edge of the diving board afraid to jump. (props to Peter Briscoe) In chapter 2 (s)he says that they are like a person who doesn't land their boat but just abuts the shore. What's going to happen? The boat is going to drift away. In chapter 3 he compares them to the Moses led Israelites who didn't cross the Jordan river because they were scared and died in the wilderness. They stood on the edge looking at the fortified cities and the "big people", maybe they even had their toes in the water, and turned around and missed out on the salvation that God had for them. In Chapter 4 the author compares them to the Joshua led Israelites who crossed the Jordan, won miraculous victories and then left the enemy living in their land because they were afraid to go all the way. They went to conquer a city, maybe even stood at the gate partially opened and then said, "nah, they have iron chariots". They missed out on the peace that God had promised them. 

                  Because, like the unmoored boat, the tiptoeing in the water, the unentered gate, me on the edge of the diving board, the Hebrews were straddling the fence between the Law and the New Covenant. "Do we go all in and leave the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the feasts, the sabbaths, cleanliness laws etc. and jump into Christianity with no plan B? With no exit strategy? With no safety net?" Because of that, Paul compared them to babies. They were like a bird that refuses to leave the nest or a 30 year old gamer living in his parent's basement. They were meant to fly and they are in danger of being totally useless or worse, turning back and forsaking Jesus.

                  How does this relate to us? I think it is clear as we see it in the Church and every fellowship we have ever been in. I've been asked by the pastor to be on a panel at church Sunday evening to discuss evangelism. Why me? Why the need, even. Because people want to have one foot in Christianity and one in the world and to tell people that they are lost doesn't endear you to your after office club. Why do 70% of the youth fall away when they head to college? Why do they stuggle with sex and partying? Because they refuse to go all in with Christ. Yes, Hebrews is written 2000 years ago to a different situation but could it relate any clearer to us? I don't want to gain the world and lose my soul. I don't want to get to Heaven wearing diapers and be ashamed to have nothing to show for my life. Do you?