“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened . . . If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” (Hebrews 6:4–6, KJV 1900)
Often in families, there is a severe division between members. I really do not know what happened, but this happened between my aunt and my dad. We saw a lot of my aunt growing up. Then when I was a teenager, suddenly, she broke off all relations with her brother, that is my dad. This came as quite a shock. We never heard from her again. When I consider how often my dad helped her out financially, it was like a slap in the face. Unfortunately, this happens a lot. It is more than a separation. It is a complete turning of one’s back on another. It is treating them with contempt.
Over the past several posts, I discussed the issue of those enlightened to the truth rejecting the gospel. Here the author of Hebrews warns that, once enlightened, those who continue to reject the gospel will end up in an apostasy from which they will never return. Here the author gives us signs of this apostasy.
First, he states that they will never again renew to repentance. Here he is speaking of an apostasy from which they will not respond to the gospel. People can so turn their back on Jesus that they will never return. Remember that one of the key marks of a true believer is an attitude of repentance where they consciously turn from sin and self-and seek the will and ways of God.
Second, the author indicates they are crucifying to themselves the Son of God afresh. In their hearts they are doing the same thing the Jews did when they shouted to Pilate, crucify Him, crucify Him. They are, in their hearts, saying that Jesus deserved the cross. This is extreme.
Third, they openly shame the Lord Jesus Christ. They portray Him not as the Son of God, the incarnate God who died for their sins. They portray Him as an ordinary man with no power, a delusional fool, a liar who claimed to be something that He was not.
The one who turns his or her back on the gospel, after understanding its message, and turns to another gospel, is an apostate. It is the danger to which the author of Hebrews warns his Jewish audience. For them, the danger was to return to the ABCs of Judaism and never moving forward to maturity by faith in Christ alone.
There may be some today that are reading this post, that understand the gospel, but are on the verge of trying something else, which is no gospel at all. If that is you, before you make that move, consider the offer of eternal life that the Lord makes available to you. If you would like to know more about how to receive eternal life, please let me know by going to www.renewingtheheart.org and leaving a message.
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