SAVED OR NOT SAVED

Heb.6:4-6 – For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance,

We live in a time when everything is easy. Easy access to any info on the internet, access to all kinds of fast food, microwaves, drive through car washes…you get the picture. A big problem is that our culture has made being a ‘Christian’ fast and easy. Just say this prayer, in and out of church in 45 minutes (please not more than an hour), and of course if you prayed that prayer you are good. Paul seems to teach that something more substantial is necessary to be truly born again. He taught that this message was more than a message but a substance; it is the kingdom of God breaking in on us. Here is how Murray describes this passage.

“For as touching those who were once enlightened, and fall away, it is impossible to renew them again. The argument is one of unspeakable solemnity. It is in the Christian life as with all progress amid difficulties. In commerce, in study, in war, it is so often said: there is no safety but in advance. To stand still is to go back. To cease effort is to lose ground. To slacken the pace, before the goal is reached, is to lose the race. The only sure mark of our being true Christians, of our really loving Christ, is the deep longing and the steady effort to know more of Him. Tens of thousands have proved that to be content with beginning well is but the first step on a backward course, that ends in losing all. The whole point of the argument from the case of those who fall away is—Let us press on to perfection.”

Murray says that if we are not continually progressing in our faith that we may have not received the real thing. Stagnancy or going backward is an indication that you may have not really been born of the Spirit. The only way we can be sure that we have been truly converted is for a passion for God to be stirring in us, a growing desire to know Him and to be with Him. In our crazy world with daily drama we must press on to know the Lord, anything less could prove to be catastrophic.