THE AUTHOR OF HEBREWS deals with a very difficult subject as he says, “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” (Heb. 6:4-6) Many a heart has quaked upon reading the words that begin this passage, which carries such a disturbing sentence of indictment. There are a number of other scriptures that reinforce this same idea. It is all-too-common for even good Christian folk, people who have gladly accepted Jesus as Savior and professed him as Lord, to fall away for a period of time when under prolonged assault and duress. To backslide, as Jeremiah states, invites a very heavy discipline from God, and he stringently cautions “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of your backsliding.” (Jer. 3:22)
During such times of uncertainty, it is critically necessary for the Jesus-follower to remember at least two things. One is that it is Satan’s mission to tempt and to accuse (c.f. Job 1:6-12), two things that he is very good at and takes great delight in doing. His name literally means *“the adversary.” When we have fallen to temptation, his voice begins to whisper belittling thoughts into our spirit. They become, if we don’t shut them off, a constant subliminal droning that drives a wedge between our ears and the voice of God. The second, far more important, is that God is the God of love, the one who sent Jesus to die for our sins, the same Jesus who looks us straight in the eye, not blinking even once, and says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17)
We would not find ourselves in such a stark place if sin had not had its way with us and desires to hold on to us; meaning, there is an attractional quality to whatever the crippling sin may be. There is something within us that still responds to the shiny object of temptation. The gateway of the senses has been left open to the accuser, and he has left a trail of muddy footprints and a smell of smoke inside the area within us meant to be only God’s sacred habitat. There is a price to be paid for this. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23) The death spoken of here is that of being cut off from the Spirit of God, hence the absence of the knowledge of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We still know of him, but we cannot sense him.
David understood this well in the aftermath of his great sin with Bathsheba. “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psa. 51:11) God, in his mercy, allows the pain of our separation to increase measure by measure until the scale of intensity is undeniable, and it is here where so many have experienced a broken-heartedness of appropriate sorrow. Finding ourselves in such a deplorable spot should quickly drive us to our knees in repentance, the great cleansing of the soul that John speaks of. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
It is the mercy of God if we recognize our sin quickly, and just as quickly repent. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Cor. 7:10) But it is also the mercy of God if it takes us longer. “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9b) It remains the mercy of God if we do not recover in this life, and yet wake to the previous guarantee of God that, “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9) We need to intentionally store away in our hearts these scriptural truths, for it is likely that times will come when we may need them.
Better it is by far for us to retreat from this uncomfortable line of thinking, having been so instructed. But the author of Hebrews relentlessly continues on with the dire warning. First, using agricultural metaphor reminiscent of Jesus’ teaching about the seed and the sower, (c.f. Matt. 13:3-23) he says, “Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.” (Heb. 6:7) The presence of the Holy Spirit is meant to glorify the Father through works of our lives. As Paul says, “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10) However, if the expected external fruit of the internal Spirit is absent, the writer of Hebrews says, “Land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.” (Heb. 6:8)
Upon hearing this, our anxiety, already in a heightened state, only increases. When soul and spirit are in turmoil life becomes intolerable inside our own skin. We are made very painfully aware that the life lived outside of the will of God is a life subject to the constant disruption of peace and the continual frustration of our purest desires. This also is the mercy of God. Are we ready to listen? When the seductive powers of the world culture have us mired in disarray mentally and spiritually and our souls are in strife, his voice is always calling. “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Cor. 6:17-18)
The Hebrews author has been watching his shepherding work in our spirit very carefully; it is now time for a blessed reprieve, time to pull us back from the horror of all-inclusive darkness. “Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him.” (Heb.6:9-10)
Faintly relieved, we take the first few trembling steps back from the precipice. He continues, “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.” (Heb. 6:11) It dawns upon us that he is using the ‘we’ pronoun in the imperial sense. Here, it is not the voice of a king from his earthly throne, but the voice of the King; the God of heaven is speaking through the voice of his prophet, and he is speaking to us. He is not absent; he has not been absent. He is very present, and he is for us, not against us. The floodgate of hope has already begun to open, and a tide of relief begins to rush in. We are more than ready; we are eager to hear the refreshing charge of our life and mission. “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” (Heb. 6:12) Encouraged—our *“hearts made strong”—we begin again, and then again.
Brothers and sisters, I very seldom use the 9th pronoun in my writing. I do so here as a matter of testimony and encouragement to a few of you. Avoiding over-sharing, I simply say that I lived this backsliding condition out some decades ago, and I have not forgotten. There were a very uncomfortable number of years that were very difficult, but God’s mercy was waiting. Now it is many fruitful years later. If you find yourself in this difficult spiritual place described by the author of Hebrews, please read over the supportive scriptures I’ve inserted in my interspersed commentary carefully—look them up in context and meditate upon them. I am praying for you, and, more importantly, God is for you.
Q. Which voice shall I listen to, the one that accuses, or the one that heals?
*Strong’s 7854
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