For if we sin
wilfully after that we have received
the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which
shall devour the adversaries (Heb. 10:26-27).
COMMON GRACE
ARGUMENT:
The appeal to
this text, made by proponents of common grace, is based upon the fact that the
text speaks of those who perish as those who “received the knowledge of the
truth.” The argument then is: That the
reprobate receive the knowledge of the truth is indicative of God’s favor upon
them.
John Murray, in
referencing this passage, comments: “[There] are benefits accruing from the
death of Christ for those who finally perish. And in view of this we may say
that in respect of these benefits Christ may be said to have died for those who
are the beneficiaries. In any case it is incontrovertible that even those who
perish are the partakers of numberless benefits that are the fruits of Christ’s
death and that, therefore, Christ’s death sustains to them this beneficial
reference, a beneficial reference, however, that does not extend beyond this
life.” (Collected Writings, vol. I,
pp. 63-64).
(I)
Prof. Herman C. Hanko
[Source:
Another Look at Common Grace (2019
edition), p. 96]
It
ought to be quite obvious that such a line of argumentation is invalid.
In
the first place, no one denies that all men receive a certain knowledge of the
truth, whether that be the heathen who never hear the gospel and who receive
this knowledge through creation, or whether that be those who are born and
raised within the church and who know the truth through the preaching of the
gospel.
It
is important to God that all men receive such knowledge of the truth. God
Himself sees to it. But the good gift of the knowledge of the truth is not
indicative of God’s favor. It is not God’s purpose to show them His love and
grace. Paul tells us exactly what that purpose is: It is the revelation of the
wrath of God from heaven and it is given “so that they are without excuse”
(Rom. 1:18, 20). It is important that the
wicked reveal themselves as wicked so that when God punishes them in hell,
their punishment is the just and perfect manifestation of God’s wrath against
all that sinned. They will never be able to say that they did not serve God
“because they did not know Him.” God shows
Himself to them. They are without excuse.
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(II)
More to come! (DV)
More to come! (DV)
ARMINIAN
ARGUMENT:
This passage is
interpreted as though it teaches that it is possible for sacrifice to be made
once for a person’s sins and then for that person, through unbelief, to lose salvation
and come under the judgment of God.
(I)
Ronald Hanko & Ronald Cammenga
This
is not what the text says … We should note that the passage very carefully
speaks of “those who have received the knowledge of the truth” and does
not say that sacrifice for sin was made for them. In fact, the word “more” in
the King James version leaves an entirely wrong impression. The idea is not
that there is no additional sacrifice for sin (over and above what they
have already received) but that there is no longer any possibility of
sacrifice for sin for them. In other words, the passage is talking about those
who commit what is sometimes known as the “unforgivable sin,” that is, those
who, with full knowledge of the truth, wilfully reject it, and by that show
themselves beyond any hope of salvation.
------------------------------------------------
(II)
Prof. Herman C. Hanko
Prof. Herman C. Hanko
The Hebrew Christians, under some
persecution—though not unto blood (12:4)—were in danger of returning to
Judaistic beliefs in salvation by the works of the law rather than in the blood
of Jesus Christ. The epistle is a warning of the serious consequences of doing
that.
Both [Hebrews 6:4-6 and 10:26-29] speak of being a
member of a church and of what is implied in such membership. Chapter 6 speaks of them as enlightened,
tasting of the heavenly gift, partakers of the Holy Ghost, tasting the good
word of God and the powers of the world to come; Chapter 10 speaks of treading
under foot the Son of God, counting the blood of the covenant an unholy thing,
and doing despite to the Spirit. But,
quite clearly, both refer to the same thing.
And both texts speak of the terrible punishment
upon those who do this in terms of the impossibility of their ever being saved:
Chapter 6 speaks of the impossibility of their being renewed unto repentance;
Chapter 10 speaks of the fact that there is for them no more sacrifice for
sins. Thus both texts deal with what is sometimes called the unpardonable sin.
Both texts have been appealed to in support of the Arminian
doctrine of the falling away of saints. Do they actually teach that?
This conclusion is drawn from the strong and sharp
statements which the text uses to describe the condition of those who were once
in the church, but who wilfully reject what once they professed to believe. It
would seem that they were once saved people of God, but have, through their
great sin, fallen forever from grace.
Hebrews 10 speaks of them as sanctified by the
blood of the covenant. Hebrews 6 speaks of them as being enlightened and having
tasted heavenly things.
Our readers will recall that in our last article we
spoke of the false teachers, mentioned in II Peter 2:1, as those who at one
time, while they were members of the church, confessed that they were
bought with the blood of Christ.
The same idea is here in Hebrews 10. They were not
in fact sanctified by the blood of the covenant, but the text looks at it from the
viewpoint of their confession which now they deny. They confessed the truth
that the blood of Christ alone can sanctify; they confessed that they were, as
a part of the church, sanctified by that blood. Now they deny both. That sin of
denial is dreadful. They do not deny out of a measure of ignorance; they deny
out of hatred of Christ as His precious blood spilled on Calvary. They trod on
the Son of God and speak of His blood as an unholy thing.
Hebrews 6 looks at these same people, not from the
viewpoint of their confession so much, as from the viewpoint of their own life
in the church. They were so completely a part of the church and so committed to
it in their outward confession that certain benefits of God’s people were their
possession. This happens repeatedly in the church.
It is all outward, of course. But it is very real,
for all that. They are enlightened in that they understand clearly the truth.
There is no doubt about it at all that they know as well as anyone that
salvation comes only through the blood of Christ crucified.
They tasted the heavenly gift, were made partakers
of the Holy Ghost, and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world
to come. That is, they could see and understand how good the Word of God
is and what blessed truths it brings to us. They could know all about the salvation
which the Holy Spirit works and they even became partakers of the Holy Spirit
in the sense that they had an idea of the blessedness of salvation. They even
knew all about the joys of heaven and the spectacular blessedness which comes
to those who are forever with Christ.
They are like those of whom Jesus speaks in the
parable of the four kinds of soil in Matthew 13. They even receive the Word
with joy and are very excited about it. But they turn their backs on it all,
not only, they even deny it. They deny Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross.
And they deny that salvation comes through the blood of atonement.
This is a terrible sin and for it there is no
pardon. These crucify the Son of God afresh and put Him to open shame. But they
never were saved. It was a matter of outward profession. “Let him that
thinketh he standeth beware lest he fall.”
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(III)
More to come! (DV)
More to come! (DV)
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