by Jonathan Koehler | Oct 7, 2024 | Articles, Mentors Corner
The author further ratchets up the severity of the language surrounding this fourth warning in the series. The text is found in Hebrews 10:26-31. As is often used in the New Testament, there is an argument from the lesser to the greater to emphasize the severity of the warning. Under the Mosaic Law, multiple eyewitness testimony was required to convict of a capital crime and a resulting merciless sentence which involved the physical and the temporal (v.28). But for the sin referenced in this passage, the author poses more severe consequences, expanding to the spiritual and eternal. There is a terrifying expectation of judgement and a consuming fire (v.27), with the summary that it is terrifying to fall into the hands of the living God (v. 31). The word “terrifying” is the same used in 12:21 by Moses when present on Mt. Sinai in the presence of God, such that he trembled or “quaked” with fear. We who have the revelations of the finished work of Christ and the Word of God have greater responsibility as well as accountability. Verse 26 is another of the verses that makes us squirm and seek for alternatives to the plain reading. Let us again be reminded that loss of salvation for the elect (possessors) is impossible but those who only profess faith in Christ, i.e. non-elect, are in peril. Also, while certainty of one’s status (professor vs possessor) is impossible before death, assurance of salvation is not only possible but encouraged. What does the author mean by “go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth” (NASB)? The author is...
by Jim Gustafson | Sep 24, 2024 | Articles, Mentors Corner
We all lean on promises. They fuel our hope. Without the promises we embrace, we would be lost, void of hope and aimlessly wandering. Consider the promise of a raise or promotion at work or the promise of a potential marriage. These give encouragement, a path to a vision, a provider of hope. Without promises, we would have no encouragement or anchor to give assurance of our path. Consider this promise of God: “Never will I desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Who among us would consider this not a fundamental but critical promise in our lives? Of course, the legitimacy of the promise is dependent on the integrity of the promise maker. We lose hope if the promise we are depending does not come to fruition. And consequently, lose trust in the one making the promise. Consider: “The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29) and: “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself” (Hebrews 6:13). Some of His promises, like the one to Abraham (Genesis 12) are non-conditional, meaning God promises without requirement or expectation. Others are conditional, meaning receiving the promise is dependent upon our obedience to a specific command, usually identified with the promise. Others are to the nation of Israel, others to His church or His individual believers. Some are to be realized in the temporal, others not until eternity. In any event, the purposes of the promises are to provide hope, to increase our faith and develop godliness. “For by these He has granted to...
by Ed Allen | Sep 10, 2024 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures” (Romans 1:21-23). “A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm. The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts” (Revelation 9:18-21). Even after seeing all these things and the results of their hands, they did not repent! Nor did they did not honor God in their foolishness. We do not know why. Could it be that they did not understand the warning and hope that is offered by Jesus Christ in the gospel? “He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have...
by Jonathan Koehler | Aug 26, 2024 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Of the five warnings in the book of Hebrews, warning #3, found in chapters 5:11-6:8, is one of the most controversial and severe passages in the entire Bible. It is important to remember that eternal security for the possessor *of salvation is a given and therefore loss of salvation is not the issue in this warning. The corollary is also essential for correct understanding: certainty of salvation is not compatible with faith and therefore not in play this side of the grave. However, chapter 6 teaches that legitimate assurance is important, encouraged by God, and hinges on a heart for obedience. The Hebrews referenced in this letter are professors of salvation but are criticized for their immaturity. They have continued holding onto the old and comfortable Judaistic ways as well as not maturing in their new faith in Christ. Chapters 6, vv. 1-2 include practices associated with life under the Mosaic Law. But verses 4 and 5 are marks associated with those who profess new life in Christ. Thus, the author is indicting those Hebrews who are attempting to live under both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The crux of most controversy is the warning embodied in the term “fall away” in v. 6. It carries the idea of “abandonment”. Consider vs 4-6: “…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, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they...
by Jonathan Koehler | Jul 15, 2024 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Warning #2 in Hebrews encompasses 3:7-4:13 and is multi-faceted. The passage examines three perspectives of “rest”: The rest of God on the seventh day after the six days of Creation The rest promised to the nation of Israel after their Exodus from Egyptian captivity The Sabbath rest for the believer. The first “rest” was not because God was tired or needed a break but merely denoted a cessation from His creative activity (4:3). The second rest was found in the land of Canaan, a secure, fertile, and productive land. Except for two, Joshua and Caleb, this promise was not enjoyed by the Israelites who left captivity in Egypt and were older than age 20. This exclusion was due to unbelief, leading to disobedience: the nation’s refusal to engage the inhabitants of Canaan despite the urging and confidence of Joshua and Caleb and, more significantly, the promise of God that the land was theirs to take. The third rest contains the modifier “Sabbath”. The kernel of the second warning is to avoid the example of disobedience of the Israelites in order to enter the Sabbath rest (4:1-3,6,9-11). What are the characteristics of this third (believer’s) rest? It is eternal but available to all, to enjoy today. The Sabbath rest is likened to God’s Creation rest in that His rest started on the seventh day and has not ended; so it is with the Sabbath rest for the possessing* believer. There remains an opportunity for the individual to enter, but the window is limited, its time of closing known only to God. It requires acts of faith in effort and diligence...
by Jonathan Koehler | Jun 19, 2024 | Articles, Mentors Corner
“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:1-3a) The warning is to “pay attention…lest we drift away from it”. In the first chapter of Hebrews the author details the superiority of Jesus over angels and prophets. In fact, he says Jesus is God’s word spoken to us in these final days. Pay attention to Jesus and salvation because He is the “radiance of His [God’s] glory, the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all thing by the word of His power”. In other words, Jesus Christ is God with skin on. If we do not pay attention to Jesus, then we will drift away from Him. “Drift” means to “slip away” or “pass by almost unnoticed”. Drifting away from Jesus can be almost imperceptible, at least in the beginning. This might entail a subtle shift in our thinking, perhaps illustrated by denial of conscience because we think we can afford the consequences of the action we are considering, or that circumstances justify our action. Or drifting might involve a re-definition of sin, labeling “OK” what God says is wrong. A lack of vigilance leads to drifting, ending up in neglect of our salvation. For us in the 21st century, this can mean misunderstanding the gift of grace in the gospel. The modern concept of grace too often considers grace as permission to do anything we...
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