![[security2.png]] ## **📜**  ## **1. Hebrews 6:4–6 — Can You Fall Away and Not Come Back?** ### **🔹 The Passage (Hebrews 6:4–6, ESV):** > “For it is **impossible**, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, **and then have fallen away**, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God…” ### **🧠 Interpretations:** #### **🔸**  #### **View A: Loss of Salvation (Arminian/Wesleyan View)** - These people were clearly **believers** (enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Spirit). - They _fell away_, and thus lost salvation. - The warning is real: **apostasy** leads to spiritual ruin. #### **🔸**  #### **View B: Hypothetical Warning (Some Reformed Scholars)** - The author is saying: “_IF_ someone could fall away after such experiences, restoration would be impossible”—but this can’t actually happen to a true believer. - It’s a **rhetorical device** to stir up perseverance and seriousness. #### **🔸**  #### **View C: Not Truly Saved (Classic Calvinist View)** - These people experienced the **external benefits** of Christian life (like community, miracles, teaching) but weren’t truly converted. - “Tasted” ≠ full participation. - Example: Judas Iscariot—part of the inner circle, even empowered for ministry, but never truly believed. ### **✍️ Note:** - Verse 9 says, **“We are convinced of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation”**—implying the prior verses describe people who did _not_ possess saving faith. --- ## **📜**  ## **2. Matthew 7:21–23 — “I Never Knew You”** ### **🔹 The Passage (Matthew 7:21–23, ESV):** > “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven… On that day many will say… ‘Did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons…?‘ And then I will declare to them, ‘I **never knew you**; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” ### **🧠 Interpretations:** #### **🔸**  #### **View A: True Believers Can Fall** - Some argue these were real believers who fell into lawlessness and thus were rejected. #### **🔸**  #### **View B: False Converts Exposed (Eternal Security View)** - Jesus doesn’t say, “I used to know you,” but **“I never knew you.”** - These people had **religious activity** without a relationship. - Their works were impressive but their **hearts were never transformed.** ### **✍️ Application:** - This warns against _false assurance_. Outward ministry success ≠ inward regeneration. - You can preach, pray, or lead worship and still not truly know Christ. --- ## **📜**  ## **3. Other Notable “Problem” Passages** ### **🔹**  ### **2 Peter 2:20–22** > “…they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord… and then are again entangled…” #### **Possible takes:** - They “escaped” sin behaviorally (externally), not spiritually. - Like dogs returning to vomit: their nature **wasn’t truly changed**. --- ## **🧠 The Big Question: Can Real Christians Really Fall Away?** Depends on your framework: |**Viewpoint**|**Description**| |---|---| |**Calvinist**|True believers persevere; those who fall away were never saved.| |**Arminian**|True believers can fall away by rejecting faith.| |**Eternal Security (“Once Saved, Always Saved”)**|Even if a believer strays, their salvation is intact because it’s based on Christ’s work, not their performance.| --- ## **🧭 How to Read These Passages Faithfully** 1. **Context is key**: Look at the audience and flow of thought. 2. **Scripture interprets Scripture**: Don’t isolate a warning text from the broader teaching on grace and perseverance. 3. **Tension is healthy**: The New Testament holds together _security_ and _warning_. It’s a call to assurance **and** vigilance. --- - [[Comparison Table of warning passages]] - [[A Deep Dive into Eternal Security]] - [[2 Timothy 4 1-8]] - [[Ancient Artifacts that Confirm the Bible]] - [[Contentment from Philippians]] - [[Historical Survey on Philippians 4 1-9]] - [[Isaiah 44]] - [[Making the Most of Every Opportunity]] - [[Philippians 3 17-21]] - [[Philippians 4 1-9]] - [[Philippians 4 20-23]] - [[Romans 12 1-2]] - [[A Citizen of Heaven]] - [[Daily Bible Reading]] - [[Faith - A Devotional]] - [[Philokalia]] - [[John MacArthur's View of the Bible]] - [[John Calvin's view of the Bible]] - [[Saint Gregory of Nyssa]] - [[The Historical Value of the Bible]] - [[The Pursuit of Holiness]] - [[The Spiritual Value of the Bible]] - [[The Wesleyan Quadrilateral]] - [[Thinking God's Thoughts After Him]] - [[Understanding Spiritual Warfare--A Comprehensive Guide for Evangelical Christians]] - [[Visualizing Spiritual Warfare]] - [[Home]] ◦ [[About]]