Good Morning Friends,
“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.”(Hebrews 6:4-6)
One of the recurring themes in the book of
Hebrews is the danger of “falling away.” There was a deep concern in the heart
of the author for those to whom he was writing. He wanted to be sure they stood
firm and steadfast in their faith in Christ and their relationship to Him.
It is hard to understand why anyone would
turn his back on Christ after having entered into a relationship to Him. The
author includes just a short list of some of the blessings that knowing Christ
brings into our lives: enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, shared the Holy
Spirit, tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers to come. Those
are all things available only through a relationship with Jesus Christ, so why
would anyone lay them aside?
Of course, those who fall away don’t initiate
the process deliberately. Such a process generally starts with sin. By
continuing in sin, without repentance, the slow process of the hardening of the
heart occurs. With each sin, comes the prompting of the Holy Spirit to repent
and each time that prompting is ignored it becomes harder to listen to it the
next time.
That’s why listening to God’s prompting to
repent is so important in our lives. There is danger in ignoring it. Not
immediate danger, but it does represent one step away from the Lord.
How can you tell if someone has “fallen away”
to the place where they’ve lost the heavenly gift and are no longer sharing in
the Holy Spirit. There is one certain test: such a person will never desire to
repent. Where there is the desire to repent, God is always ready to forgive.
There is a danger and repentance is the
protection from it! Listen to the Spirit’s promptings about sin.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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