Hebrews 6 & 10 – The Impossibility of Salvation – Part 1
Introduction
I want to take some time and explain the problem texts in Hebrews 6 and 10.
I’m calling this “The Impossibility of Salvation”, because that is what I believe these passages are about.
The letter of Hebrews was written to the nation of Israel. Not just to a small group of believers, but to the whole nation. Hebrews is preaching the same gospel that we preach today. It is the gospel of grace. It is not a different gospel. It is not a different way to be saved. It does not teach you can lose your salvation.
And the admonitions, the warnings, the fearful statements that we find in Hebrews, are that if they reject salvation by the grace of Jesus Christ, if they don’t believe the gospel, and get saved BY grace, without works, then they will get cut off and cast away, and it will be impossible for them to get saved. They will receive The Impossibility of Salvation. And that is exactly what happened to Israel, because that is exactly what they did!
Now, that is the answer to the passages. That is Hebrews in a nutshell.
If you want to turn this video off now, be my guest. I won’t make you stick around for hours and hours just to hear what I believe. That is what I believe. That is the true interpretation of Hebrews.
But saying that is one thing… proving it Scripturally, that is another!
So if you stick around, I’m not only going to explain what I mean, but prove it scripturally, by unlocking the book of Hebrews, and proving that it is NOT teaching a works-based gospel. And it is not applicable ONLY for Jews, nor is it inapplicable for Gentiles today, in the age of grace.
I believe this study is going to strengthen your faith and understanding of the gospel. It has mine!
Hebrews is church-age doctrine. But I recognize, because of the very blunt, and very terrible warnings given to the nation of Israel, in a Jewish-themed book, someone can easily look at Hebrews 6 and 10, and simply NOT have any answer for these difficult passages. Which of course, whenever that happens, makes Christians vulnerable to believing lies… satanic false doctrine.
James 2 is almost undoubtedly the most difficult problem text for Bible believing Christians to deal with. And when I say that, I mean Real Christians, who have believed that they are saved by grace alone WITHOUT their own fleshly works.
We have videos on James 2 – explaining exactly how, “faith without works is dead”. We believe it is. Faith without works IS dead.
But faith and grace are different things. We are not saved by faith without works. We are saved by grace without works.
And secondly, the works are spiritual. Believe and Confess. Those are the works that put someone IN GRACE.
And once IN GRACE, a person’s salvation is set. Done. Finished. They are done working. They are at rest.
You have to look at James 2 spiritually to understand it.
If you look at it carnally, if you think its really about justification by fleshly works… you will get into serious trouble and you will add works into the gospel of grace.
Now, in order to avoid getting into that serious trouble, one of the main things Christians have done is “divided it”. They say, “oh well, that is written to the Jews by a Jewish Apostle and so it isn’t applicable to Christians today.”
Well, we wholeheartedly disagree.
James, John, Jude, and Peter were Christian Apostles. Their writings are absolutely applicable to Christians today. They teach the same gospel as Paul does, they carry the same doctrine.
All New Testament Epistles apply to us. The book of Hebrews included!
But, we have to study these things, so we can understand HOW these things apply to us.
So here are the main “problem texts” in Hebrews 6 & 10:
Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 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 10:26-29 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Many people hear these and immediately interpret them to mean that someone who is saved can do something bad, that they can fall away, or sin wilfully, and subsequently lose their salvation. Which is absolutely not true!
So I want to spend some time on these, to explain, not just these two passages, but also, the context around them in the book of Hebrews, so that we can fully understand these passages, and not be afraid of them, or uncertain about whether they cause issues for the doctrine that we teach. I want you to know that an answer exists, and that the answer is not, “the book of Hebrews doesn’t apply to me”, and the answer certainly is not, “you can lose your salvation”. Neither of those is true, and we will prove this.
But let me be clear though, this is not going to be an exhaustive study on the book of Hebrews. I’m sure I’m going to skip things and miss things and I’m not going to explain everything written in the book of Hebrews. But we are going to explain a lot of it, and you will understand the theme of it.
We hear these two passages in Hebrews 6 & 10 used against Christians quite often, mostly from people claiming that they are proof that Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS) is not true, and you can definitely lose your salvation. And… that is for a reason!
I will admit, that a reasonable person, who knows a fair amount about the Bible and Christianity, could very easily, simply read those passages, and come to the conclusion that they are teaching that somebody who was saved, can lose their salvation.
And you know what? They are not completely off base! I get it. I can see why they think that.
Please, don’t get ahead of me… A believer, whether Jew or Gentile…. a Christian, a believer CANNOT lose their salvation.
But these passages are terrifying! And they are very difficult to deal with.
That is why these passages scare so many people – both Christians and false Christians alike.
I once read from Peter Ruckman (whom I know was saved, and who’s thoughts I definitely respected, and I know had a LOT of experience as a Pastor and a Christian educator) that he recommends that young Pastors absolutely do not attempt to teach out of the books of Hebrews and Romans. That they need to build a good, strong foundation before they attempt to teach those books.
And you think, “well okay Hebrews, but why Romans? I mean you got Romans road in there right? That’s some easy salvation doctrine in there!”
Yes, but there are also some very difficult things to understand and explain in Romans, especially starting in chapter 6 through chapter 11. And Romans 11 especially, you will see, has a very strong parallel to the book of Hebrews.
So if you try to dive into Hebrews, and you don’t carefully study those passages, having first a strong foundation in salvation doctrine, you could very easily come to the conclusion that Christians, believers, can lose their salvation. Which again, is absolutely not true, and is NOT the truth of these passages in Hebrews.
But… they are not completely off base, in thinking that those passages say that someone is losing salvation. Why? Because someone here is losing something!
So I want to go through how to understand the truth of these things. Who they apply to, and HOW they apply. I know it has really helped me, to study these things and look at Hebrews this way, and I believe this will help you too.
Next to James 2, Hebrews 6 and 10 are probably the next most difficult passages to explain for Christians who believe in OSAS.
2 Peter 2 and Intro to Our Gospel
Now, we hear 2 Peter sometimes…
2 Peter 2:21-22 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
We may do a video or some videos about that passage at some point… but honestly, that is a much easier passage to answer than those things that are written in Hebrews. How so?
Just look at the word DOG! I mean, a dog returning to his own vomit, was still a dog the whole time. A cleaned up sow that was washed, returning to the mire, was always a sow. It was never a sheep. It was never a Christian. He was never a believer. This is nobody losing their salvation. This was a lost person the whole time. He was just temporarily cleaned up on the outside.
2 Peter 2 doesn’t mean that if you are a true Christian you won’t turn back to a life of sin. Its not about sin.
If a pig is cleaned up, and starts acting like a sheep, is that proof that it is a sheep? Of course not!
And, if a sheep plays in the mud, does that mean it is really a pig? If a sheep acts like a dog, does that mean it isn’t really a sheep? Of course not!
“Oh well if you turn back to your sins then you were never really saved”, they say.
Fleshly works have nothing to do with salvation, and they are no indication of salvation. To think that they are, is to judge others by their works. Jesus said…
Matthew 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
So if you judge others as saved or lost by THEIR works, then God will judge you by YOUR works.
And you are a sinner, who cannot stop sinning.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
If you judge others by their works, then you will be judged by YOUR works.
If you believe good works are the result of salvation, or are proof of salvation, and thus that someone who does only evil works, and has no good works, is not really saved, then YOU are not really saved.
That is how you judged others, so that is how you will be judged.
Because the truth is, you do NOT do good works, and you do not SIN NOT. No one does good works and no one does not sin. In God’s eyes, Jesus was the only man who ever did good. And Jesus was the only man that ever sinned not. You do not sin not, and you have never done good.
So how will a righteous judge, judge you, if He judges you the same way you judge the salvation of others?
Psalms 130:3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
If God judged you by your works, you will not stand in the judgment.
I’m not going to be judged by my works. Why? Because I don’t judge others by their works. Their works, no matter how good or how evil, don’t mean a thing to me.
I don’t look at anyone and think to know their salvation by what they do, or how they treat other people.
Because if you mark their iniquities, then the Lord will mark yours.
In the judgment, we are not going to be compared to other men. You being better than other men, is not proof of your justification.
In the judgment we are not going to be compared to even ourselves. You being better now, or TRYING harder now, than you were before you believed on Jesus, is not proof of your innocence or salvation.
The truth is, we are all going to be judged by how we compare to Jesus Christ.
Acts 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
God is going to judge mankind in righteousness… BY Jesus Christ. Jesus is the weight, the measure. He is the measure of righteousness. If you are not AS RIGHTEOUS as Jesus Christ, then you are not going to be counted righteous at all. You are going to be condemned.
So unless you are PERFECT… as perfect and righteous, and holy and sinless, as Jesus Christ, you are NOT GOING TO MEASURE UP. You are not going to STAND in the judgment.
1 John 3:3-7 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. … 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
Every man that is saved is a pure and righteous as Jesus Christ.
Every man that does ONE good work, does ONLY good works, never sins, CANNOT sin, and is pure and righteous as Jesus Christ.
This is ONLY true of a Christian’s spirit. But it is NOT AT ALL true of the flesh.
This is what we call Binarism. You are either ALL righteous or all wicked. Not both.
You either sinneth, or you sinneth not. You either do righteousness, or you cannot do righteousness. Not both.
You can’t be righteous, and be a sinner. Its impossible.
If giving to the poor, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, etc. etc., if those are true good works, then why aren’t the people that do them no longer able to sin? Why are they not as righteous as Jesus Christ?
I’ll tell you why… because fleshly good works, works you do with your hands, are NOT true good works, they are NOT true righteousness to God. The world does not “doeth righteousness”. And Christians, in the flesh, do not “doeth righteousness” either. The Bible says they are “free from righteousness”. They CANNOT do it.
If works are proof of salvation, and Jesus is responsible for cleaning up the lives of Christian’s and he is responsible for what they do – because that is what I hear lots of people preach nowadays, “it isn’t me doing the good works and transforming my life, it is Jesus living through me, Jesus is to credit”.
Well the problem with that is, if Jesus is to CREDIT when you do GOOD, then Jesus is to BLAME when you SIN.
Yes. That’s right! Because Paul said:
Galatians 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
Paul is saying if Jesus justifies us, then we are going to be justified; perfect, righteous. But if we are still sinners, then Jesus hasn’t justified us. Otherwise, Jesus is a sinner.
You can’t be justified by Christ AND still be a sinner.
If Jesus’ job is to justify you and give you eternal life, then He has to remove sin from you entirely.
And He does… spiritually. Spiritually a Christian “sinneth not”. But not carnally, not fleshly… not until the resurrection.
We are not justified in the flesh. We are not righteous in the flesh. We are not sanctified in the flesh. We are NO BETTER in the flesh. Because Jesus does not live or work in our flesh. If He does… if you want to give Him credit, then you have to give him the blame: He is a minister of sin.
If you apply Christ to your flesh, and He does not 100% completely remove your ability to sin in the flesh, but you are still a sinner, then Christ is the minister of sin – Christ is the sinner. Is that the case?
Paul says, of course not. God forbid! So we cannot apply Christ to our flesh.
And if Christ is NOT the minister of YOUR SIN, then Christ is not the minister of your good works either. He is not the one responsible for your works.
If Jesus was the one doing the works in you, taking that sow and cleaning it up, then you would only do good ever. He is not going to be found a SINNER, like you are. If Jesus is to credit, then Jesus is to blame.
Do you only ever do good works? Never sin? Of course not! You sin, right?
Well then it isn’t Jesus doing your works. Because…
Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
Jesus does not dwell in your flesh, and He does not work in your flesh. If He did, your flesh would be perfect. It would never sin, and it would never die.
And that is the promise of the gospel: not that God slowly makes you BETTER, yet still leaves you imperfect, but that God instantly MAKES you PERFECT! I know we haven’t seen much directly from Hebrews yet, but it completely agrees! Hebrews preaches this same gospel, this same promise!
Hebrews 11:39-40 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Not better. Not slowly, continually, gradually more Christ-like. Perfect!
If Jesus saves you, you are perfect. If he does His work in you, you are perfect. If you receive His promise, then you are PERFECT.
But you are NOT perfect, so you can’t tell me that Jesus is the one doing the good works in you. Jesus is not responsible for what you do in your flesh. He isn’t to blame OR to credit. Jesus is not IN your flesh.
But if that is what you believe, “that Jesus makes Christians better”, then He isn’t in your spirit either. You are not saved, because you haven’t repented, of believing in works.
Jesus does not clean up our flesh. Not until the resurrection.
They say, “Jesus transforms Christians”. The Bible NEVER says that God transforms Christians. It says,
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…
Now, you SHOULD do that. And you CAN do that. You can get yourself a King James Bible and you can learn what you should do, and how you should live, and how you should treat people, and how you should think, and what you should wear, and what you should and should not celebrate, and how a righteous person SHOULD act.
You can get wisdom and YOU can transform YOURSELF by renewing your mind with the word of God.
You can clean yourself up pretty good. You’ll still be a pig. But you can wash a lot of that mire off of you.
But you know what? That transformation is NOT the mark of a true Christian. Not even a little bit!
You know how I know that? Because a lost person can do the same thing!! False prophets can do that too. And they DO!
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
An unsaved person can be transformed to appear like a saved person. How? By his WORKS. He is a deceitful WORKER. He cleans up his works, and looks outwardly righteous unto men. He does good works. He lives a righteous, pious life. But within, he is still the same thing that he was. He is a dog, a sow, a wolf.
Satan is a seven-headed red dragon, no matter how transforms himself, to APPEAR to you.
If you think WORKS matter: if you think, “Oh well, if you were a real Christian then Jesus would keep transforming you and you wouldn’t turn back to living in sin. At least not for good. You wouldn’t be able to live in sin, because Jesus won’t Christians do that. Jesus would keep transforming you and making you cleaner and better. And if you DID turn back to your sins, and you turned your back on God, and you didn’t care to serve Him anymore, but you became a serial killer or something, then you were never REALLY saved, because every REAL Christian is transformed by Jesus.”
If you think Jesus transforms Christians, then you are judging wrong judgment.
You are WORKING deceitfully, to transform yourself.
You transform yourself in the eyes of men, you APPEAR righteous unto men. But secretly, spiritually, you are still a sinner, still a WORKER, working to be transformed. You haven’t rested, you haven’t stopped working. You’re not a sheep, you’re just a cleaned up dog, a washed up pig.
God doesn’t transform anyone, and transformation in the flesh is not a part, or a result of salvation. God is not responsible for doing ANYTHING in the flesh of a saved person.
Fleshly good works are not required for salvation and they are not a RESULT of salvation. Jesus said, “it is the spirit that quickeneth, the FLESH PROFITETH NOTHING”.
I’m going to heaven when I die, no matter what I ever do, no matter what I ever transform myself, and my life into. Whether into the life of a pious Christian, or even into the life of a serial killer. My fleshly works DO NOT MATTER! Spiritually I am a sheep, even if my flesh barks like a dog, and bites like a dog, and craps like a dog, and sleeps like a dog, and licks up vomit like a dog, and I can probably truthfully say, even IS a dog. My flesh can be a dog, while my spirit is a sheep. It doesn’t matter what my flesh is, or what my flesh does, or how it appears, or how I transform it. If I transform it into a minister of righteousness, great. Hopefully God will let me keep preaching the gospel to others until the day I die. And if I transform it into a dirty rotten, lying, adulterous, child-molesting, devil worshipping, serial killer, WHICH I COULD DO (and still be saved), then I will probably spend my earthly life in prison and have no opportunity to serve the Lord and lay up treasures in heaven.
But EITHER WAY I transform myself in the flesh, my spirit is not a cleaned up pig or a washed up dog. It is a NEW CREATURE!
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The people in 2 Peter 2 were not new creatures, they were dogs.
Revelation 22:14-15 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
A dog has never eaten of the tree of life. He has never gone into the city of God. He is WITHOUT, with no access. Just like Adam and Eve. No access to the tree of life.
If you can make a lie, if you can sin, if you are not MADE PERFECT, as perfect as Jesus Christ, then you are not a new creature.
There are more things in 2 Peter 2 that show that Peter preaches the same gospel that we do, and that this dog is a lost person who heard the name of Christ and cleaned himself up on the outside but never actually believed the true gospel.
Of course, this study really isn’t about 2 Peter 2, but if you’ve never heard any of our stuff, if this is the first video that you are ever hearing of our ministry: this is what we believe. GRACE alone. Not FAITH alone. Grace alone… through faith. Through faith AND works. The spiritual works of Believing and Confessing.
But a man has to repent of works. He has to understand that he has to be saved by grace alone, that salvation is by what Jesus did alone, and that once he places his faith in Christ, that he is saved, no matter what he ever does afterwards, no matter how he lives his life, that his works do not matter. He has to understand that once he believes this thing, and calls on the Lord one time asking to be saved, that he is saved.
And when he understands that, and then does that, calling on the Lord for salvation according to this gospel … then He is saved, he is done, sealed, circumcised, born again, IN CHRIST, IN THE SPIRIT. He doesn’t have to do anything else for the rest of his life. It doesn’t matter HOW he lives, or what he DOES. He doesn’t have to be faithful, he doesn’t have to serve, he doesn’t have to even WANT to serve. And he very well may not want to.
From that moment on he is SAVED. Past tense. SAVED.
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved😉
Not “being saved”. Not “getting saved”. Not “will be saved”. Are saved. Past tense. SAVED. We are not saved yet, in the flesh, but in the spirit, we are ALREADY SAVED.
But you cannot get already saved, past tense, unless you REPENT.
Luke 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
You have to REPENT from dead works. What works are dead? ALL fleshly works are dead. Not a single one produces eternal life! They all result in death.
Your flesh is dead, and all your fleshly works are dead.
You must repent, change your mind, from believing that fleshly works matter. They are not a part, and they are not a result of salvation at all.
You have to judge righteous judgment. You cannot be judging based on works.
Then once you repent… You just have to believe and confess.
Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Repent of works. Believe the gospel. Confess it… Call upon the Lord.
That is how you get ALREADY saved.
That is all you have to do: R-B-C. Another C word is… Call!
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
You do that ONE TIME, and you are saved, past tense. Done.
No matter what you ever do, no matter how you live, no matter what you transform yourself into, no matter if you STOP believing, or even if you KILL YOURSELF! You are saved, and your body is going to be resurrected to eternal life.
That is the PROMISE of Jesus Christ. The promise that you must believe in order to gain salvation.
If you have not believed that, then you still need to be saved. And if you are listening to this, and if that is the case, and you have not seen our salvation plan videos, please do so. They are on our website, on YouTube, and on TikTok. We have a 5 min version, a 1 hour version, and a 3 minute version that we made for Kids. They explain the true gospel of grace, how to repent, believe, and confess, and there is a prayer at the end of each of them that you can pray to call on God and get saved. Past tense. Saved.
So alright, with all that in mind, let’s actually start talking about Hebrews.
How to Look at Hebrews
Hebrews 6 and 10 do offer a real challenge to people who believe what we believe.
And look I won’t sit here and pretend it isn’t challenging, or that it is easy to interpret, or that I have it all figured out. I don’t. These things are very hard, and very spiritual, and to a large extent, we CANNOT fully understand them now, because we are flesh, and salvation is spiritual.
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
We can kind of see the shape and patterns of spiritual things, but we just can’t see them clearly.
So you have to open your spiritual eyes, and train those spiritual eyes to see spiritual things.
2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
The true things are the spiritual things. And the true spiritual things are eternal; they last forever.
If you produce true good fruit, it lasts forever. But you can’t see it now.
If you do a true good work, spiritually, it lasts forever. But you can’t see it now.
If you build a house for the homeless spiritually, it lasts forever. But you can’t see it now.
You can’t see spiritual things. You can’t see them, but they are there. And the things we are going to see in Hebrews: they are there. We just can’t see them clearly yet. We can only see them THROUGH a VAIL: a vail of FLESH.
Isaiah 25:7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
Hebrews 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
His flesh is a veil, and I believe our flesh is a veil as well. Flesh is a veil. It stops us from seeing the true spiritual things. One day that vail (our flesh) is going to be removed, but until then, we see through a VAIL. We see through a glass darkly.
So it can be hard to paint a very clear picture of what is going on in Hebrews.
The best we can do right now, is to try to look at the things which are not seen: the eternal things.
The eternal things were PATTERNED, and PICTURED in the Old Testament by earthly things.
The earthly things are a SHADOW of the heavenly things.
The tabernacle of Moses was a SHADOW of God’s true tabernacle in Heaven.
God told Moses to make all things after their heavenly PATTERN.
Hebrews 8:5-6 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. 6 But now hath he [Jesus] obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
The very best things on Earth, called “holy things” by God, made with the very best intents,… I mean building the tabernacle, serving God in His temple, and doing his sacrifices to get forgiveness of sins for the people… the very best good works that mankind can do, are at best, a mere EXAMPLE, a mere SHADOW, a mere PATTERN of true good heavenly things.
All those things were temporal. And they perished. True good things are ETERNAL.
Do you know that there is only instance of “good work” in the ENTIRE old testament? The only thing that was ever called a “good work” in the Old Testament was building the city of Jerusalem. Building the house of God.
Nehemiah 2:17-18 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. 18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
That is the ONLY mention of “good work” in the entire Old Testament.
Building God’s house is a good work.
But that house on earth, was just a figure of God’s true house, as says Hebrews.
Building that house was not a true good work… it was just a figure of the true good work.
A true good work is to build God’s house in heaven. To build New Jerusalem, in heaven.
Hebrews 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
So to build God’s house on the earth is a FIGURE of a true good work. But to build and serve in God’s house in heaven is a TRUE good work.
Hebrews 9:23-24 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Earthly things are not true good things to God. Heavenly things and heavenly, spiritual works are true good things to God. Earthly things, earthly good works, things that you can do, and build, and give, with your hands, are only “FIGURES of the true”.
That is what the good things on the earth are: patterns of things in the heavens.
The light from the sun? That isn’t the true light. Bread? Manna? That isn’t the true bread. Circumcision of your manhood? That isn’t the true circumcision. Water baptism? That isn’t the true baptism. Jerusalem is called The City of God. But the one on earth isn’t the true Jerusalem. The temple of God in Jerusalem is not God’s true house. God told Solomon that He would dwell in that house that Solomon built forever. Well… that house is long gone. So either God is a liar, or we have to understand what God said SPIRITUALLY. The house Solomon built was a FIGURE of the true house of God that Jesus is currently building, which is His church.
Things on earth, things that you do, are NOT the true good things. You cannot please God with your flesh.
Romans 8:8-9 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
God does not accept FLESHLY good works. You cannot truly serve Him with your flesh. Good works on the earth are not acceptable to God.
He only accepts SPIRITUAL, ETERNAL, good works.
Serving God in the flesh is NOT true service. It will not be counted as true service, and it will not be rewarded as true service. Jesus said …
John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
A Christian worships IN SPIRIT. And He worships IN TRUTH. (That is true service: get the truth and give the truth. Get saved, and save others. Win souls! That is a TRUE good work – building God’s heavenly house.)
SHOULD you do the figure too? Yes. You SHOULD do good works in the flesh. But they are just figures of true good things.
Not a single person alive before Jesus was a “true worshipper” of God. Of all the OT saints, not of them was able to worship God in truth. None of them was able to do a true good work.
Why not? They could do every good work that you can do, right?
Everything that you can do with your flesh, unsaved people can do, right?
They can love their neighbor. They can give to the poor. They can build houses for the homeless.
And every sin that they can sin, saved people can sin too right?
Christians can lie. Christians can steal. Christians can fornicate. Christians can even murder!
If good works are the result of salvation, then why can unsaved people, unbelievers, do the same works that saved people can do???
We all do the same things. We are all capable of the same works. And not one of those works is a TRUE good work to God. None of us, in the flesh, truly serve or worship God.
You know why? Because we are earthy and our works are earthy.
1 Corinthians 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
We, in our flesh, are earthy. We do EARTHY things. We don’t do heavenly things. We don’t work heavenly works. All flesh is capable of the same fleshly works. Flesh is not capable of heavenly works.
A heavenly work LASTS FOREVER. Once again:
2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
You can’t see a true good work. Feeding the poor, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, and loving your neighbor on earth, are NOT true good works. You know how I know that? 1 – Because I CAN SEE THEM. And 2 – because THEY ARE NOT ETERNAL.
But… give somebody THE GOSPEL, and they live forever, and they will never hunger, and they will never be naked, and they will never be homeless. That is an ETERNAL good work. A heavenly good work, which lasts forever, which no man can SEE.
Build a church on earth with your HANDS… that is NOT a true good work.
Build the church in heaven with your WORDS, by giving people the gospel, that IS a true good work.
The only true good work that God will accept is to build His house. How do you do that? You get saved, and you save others. You win souls! That is really the only work for which we will be eternally rewarded.
It is an eternal good work. A true good work from a true worshipper of God. It can only be done “in spirit”. It cannot be done with flesh.
So we will touch on this some more, but this is part of the understanding that we must have in order to understand how to apply Hebrews 6 & 10. We have to look at things which we CANNOT SEE. We have to look at Hebrews SPIRITUALLY.
Dec 1 2024
Hebrews 6 & 10 – The Impossibility of Salvation – Part 1
Hebrews 6 & 10 – The Impossibility of Salvation – Part 1
Introduction
I want to take some time and explain the problem texts in Hebrews 6 and 10.
I’m calling this “The Impossibility of Salvation”, because that is what I believe these passages are about.
The letter of Hebrews was written to the nation of Israel. Not just to a small group of believers, but to the whole nation. Hebrews is preaching the same gospel that we preach today. It is the gospel of grace. It is not a different gospel. It is not a different way to be saved. It does not teach you can lose your salvation.
And the admonitions, the warnings, the fearful statements that we find in Hebrews, are that if they reject salvation by the grace of Jesus Christ, if they don’t believe the gospel, and get saved BY grace, without works, then they will get cut off and cast away, and it will be impossible for them to get saved. They will receive The Impossibility of Salvation. And that is exactly what happened to Israel, because that is exactly what they did!
Now, that is the answer to the passages. That is Hebrews in a nutshell.
If you want to turn this video off now, be my guest. I won’t make you stick around for hours and hours just to hear what I believe. That is what I believe. That is the true interpretation of Hebrews.
But saying that is one thing… proving it Scripturally, that is another!
So if you stick around, I’m not only going to explain what I mean, but prove it scripturally, by unlocking the book of Hebrews, and proving that it is NOT teaching a works-based gospel. And it is not applicable ONLY for Jews, nor is it inapplicable for Gentiles today, in the age of grace.
I believe this study is going to strengthen your faith and understanding of the gospel. It has mine!
Hebrews is church-age doctrine. But I recognize, because of the very blunt, and very terrible warnings given to the nation of Israel, in a Jewish-themed book, someone can easily look at Hebrews 6 and 10, and simply NOT have any answer for these difficult passages. Which of course, whenever that happens, makes Christians vulnerable to believing lies… satanic false doctrine.
James 2 is almost undoubtedly the most difficult problem text for Bible believing Christians to deal with. And when I say that, I mean Real Christians, who have believed that they are saved by grace alone WITHOUT their own fleshly works.
We have videos on James 2 – explaining exactly how, “faith without works is dead”. We believe it is. Faith without works IS dead.
But faith and grace are different things. We are not saved by faith without works. We are saved by grace without works.
And secondly, the works are spiritual. Believe and Confess. Those are the works that put someone IN GRACE.
And once IN GRACE, a person’s salvation is set. Done. Finished. They are done working. They are at rest.
You have to look at James 2 spiritually to understand it.
If you look at it carnally, if you think its really about justification by fleshly works… you will get into serious trouble and you will add works into the gospel of grace.
Now, in order to avoid getting into that serious trouble, one of the main things Christians have done is “divided it”. They say, “oh well, that is written to the Jews by a Jewish Apostle and so it isn’t applicable to Christians today.”
Well, we wholeheartedly disagree.
James, John, Jude, and Peter were Christian Apostles. Their writings are absolutely applicable to Christians today. They teach the same gospel as Paul does, they carry the same doctrine.
All New Testament Epistles apply to us. The book of Hebrews included!
But, we have to study these things, so we can understand HOW these things apply to us.
So here are the main “problem texts” in Hebrews 6 & 10:
Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 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 10:26-29 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Many people hear these and immediately interpret them to mean that someone who is saved can do something bad, that they can fall away, or sin wilfully, and subsequently lose their salvation. Which is absolutely not true!
So I want to spend some time on these, to explain, not just these two passages, but also, the context around them in the book of Hebrews, so that we can fully understand these passages, and not be afraid of them, or uncertain about whether they cause issues for the doctrine that we teach. I want you to know that an answer exists, and that the answer is not, “the book of Hebrews doesn’t apply to me”, and the answer certainly is not, “you can lose your salvation”. Neither of those is true, and we will prove this.
But let me be clear though, this is not going to be an exhaustive study on the book of Hebrews. I’m sure I’m going to skip things and miss things and I’m not going to explain everything written in the book of Hebrews. But we are going to explain a lot of it, and you will understand the theme of it.
We hear these two passages in Hebrews 6 & 10 used against Christians quite often, mostly from people claiming that they are proof that Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS) is not true, and you can definitely lose your salvation. And… that is for a reason!
I will admit, that a reasonable person, who knows a fair amount about the Bible and Christianity, could very easily, simply read those passages, and come to the conclusion that they are teaching that somebody who was saved, can lose their salvation.
And you know what? They are not completely off base! I get it. I can see why they think that.
Please, don’t get ahead of me… A believer, whether Jew or Gentile…. a Christian, a believer CANNOT lose their salvation.
But these passages are terrifying! And they are very difficult to deal with.
That is why these passages scare so many people – both Christians and false Christians alike.
I once read from Peter Ruckman (whom I know was saved, and who’s thoughts I definitely respected, and I know had a LOT of experience as a Pastor and a Christian educator) that he recommends that young Pastors absolutely do not attempt to teach out of the books of Hebrews and Romans. That they need to build a good, strong foundation before they attempt to teach those books.
And you think, “well okay Hebrews, but why Romans? I mean you got Romans road in there right? That’s some easy salvation doctrine in there!”
Yes, but there are also some very difficult things to understand and explain in Romans, especially starting in chapter 6 through chapter 11. And Romans 11 especially, you will see, has a very strong parallel to the book of Hebrews.
So if you try to dive into Hebrews, and you don’t carefully study those passages, having first a strong foundation in salvation doctrine, you could very easily come to the conclusion that Christians, believers, can lose their salvation. Which again, is absolutely not true, and is NOT the truth of these passages in Hebrews.
But… they are not completely off base, in thinking that those passages say that someone is losing salvation. Why? Because someone here is losing something!
So I want to go through how to understand the truth of these things. Who they apply to, and HOW they apply. I know it has really helped me, to study these things and look at Hebrews this way, and I believe this will help you too.
Next to James 2, Hebrews 6 and 10 are probably the next most difficult passages to explain for Christians who believe in OSAS.
2 Peter 2 and Intro to Our Gospel
Now, we hear 2 Peter sometimes…
2 Peter 2:21-22 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
We may do a video or some videos about that passage at some point… but honestly, that is a much easier passage to answer than those things that are written in Hebrews. How so?
Just look at the word DOG! I mean, a dog returning to his own vomit, was still a dog the whole time. A cleaned up sow that was washed, returning to the mire, was always a sow. It was never a sheep. It was never a Christian. He was never a believer. This is nobody losing their salvation. This was a lost person the whole time. He was just temporarily cleaned up on the outside.
2 Peter 2 doesn’t mean that if you are a true Christian you won’t turn back to a life of sin. Its not about sin.
If a pig is cleaned up, and starts acting like a sheep, is that proof that it is a sheep? Of course not!
And, if a sheep plays in the mud, does that mean it is really a pig? If a sheep acts like a dog, does that mean it isn’t really a sheep? Of course not!
“Oh well if you turn back to your sins then you were never really saved”, they say.
Fleshly works have nothing to do with salvation, and they are no indication of salvation. To think that they are, is to judge others by their works. Jesus said…
Matthew 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
So if you judge others as saved or lost by THEIR works, then God will judge you by YOUR works.
And you are a sinner, who cannot stop sinning.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
If you judge others by their works, then you will be judged by YOUR works.
If you believe good works are the result of salvation, or are proof of salvation, and thus that someone who does only evil works, and has no good works, is not really saved, then YOU are not really saved.
That is how you judged others, so that is how you will be judged.
Because the truth is, you do NOT do good works, and you do not SIN NOT. No one does good works and no one does not sin. In God’s eyes, Jesus was the only man who ever did good. And Jesus was the only man that ever sinned not. You do not sin not, and you have never done good.
So how will a righteous judge, judge you, if He judges you the same way you judge the salvation of others?
Psalms 130:3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
If God judged you by your works, you will not stand in the judgment.
I’m not going to be judged by my works. Why? Because I don’t judge others by their works. Their works, no matter how good or how evil, don’t mean a thing to me.
I don’t look at anyone and think to know their salvation by what they do, or how they treat other people.
Because if you mark their iniquities, then the Lord will mark yours.
In the judgment, we are not going to be compared to other men. You being better than other men, is not proof of your justification.
In the judgment we are not going to be compared to even ourselves. You being better now, or TRYING harder now, than you were before you believed on Jesus, is not proof of your innocence or salvation.
The truth is, we are all going to be judged by how we compare to Jesus Christ.
Acts 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
God is going to judge mankind in righteousness… BY Jesus Christ. Jesus is the weight, the measure. He is the measure of righteousness. If you are not AS RIGHTEOUS as Jesus Christ, then you are not going to be counted righteous at all. You are going to be condemned.
So unless you are PERFECT… as perfect and righteous, and holy and sinless, as Jesus Christ, you are NOT GOING TO MEASURE UP. You are not going to STAND in the judgment.
1 John 3:3-7 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. … 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
Every man that is saved is a pure and righteous as Jesus Christ.
Every man that does ONE good work, does ONLY good works, never sins, CANNOT sin, and is pure and righteous as Jesus Christ.
This is ONLY true of a Christian’s spirit. But it is NOT AT ALL true of the flesh.
This is what we call Binarism. You are either ALL righteous or all wicked. Not both.
You either sinneth, or you sinneth not. You either do righteousness, or you cannot do righteousness. Not both.
You can’t be righteous, and be a sinner. Its impossible.
If giving to the poor, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, etc. etc., if those are true good works, then why aren’t the people that do them no longer able to sin? Why are they not as righteous as Jesus Christ?
I’ll tell you why… because fleshly good works, works you do with your hands, are NOT true good works, they are NOT true righteousness to God. The world does not “doeth righteousness”. And Christians, in the flesh, do not “doeth righteousness” either. The Bible says they are “free from righteousness”. They CANNOT do it.
If works are proof of salvation, and Jesus is responsible for cleaning up the lives of Christian’s and he is responsible for what they do – because that is what I hear lots of people preach nowadays, “it isn’t me doing the good works and transforming my life, it is Jesus living through me, Jesus is to credit”.
Well the problem with that is, if Jesus is to CREDIT when you do GOOD, then Jesus is to BLAME when you SIN.
Yes. That’s right! Because Paul said:
Galatians 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
Paul is saying if Jesus justifies us, then we are going to be justified; perfect, righteous. But if we are still sinners, then Jesus hasn’t justified us. Otherwise, Jesus is a sinner.
You can’t be justified by Christ AND still be a sinner.
If Jesus’ job is to justify you and give you eternal life, then He has to remove sin from you entirely.
And He does… spiritually. Spiritually a Christian “sinneth not”. But not carnally, not fleshly… not until the resurrection.
We are not justified in the flesh. We are not righteous in the flesh. We are not sanctified in the flesh. We are NO BETTER in the flesh. Because Jesus does not live or work in our flesh. If He does… if you want to give Him credit, then you have to give him the blame: He is a minister of sin.
If you apply Christ to your flesh, and He does not 100% completely remove your ability to sin in the flesh, but you are still a sinner, then Christ is the minister of sin – Christ is the sinner. Is that the case?
Paul says, of course not. God forbid! So we cannot apply Christ to our flesh.
And if Christ is NOT the minister of YOUR SIN, then Christ is not the minister of your good works either. He is not the one responsible for your works.
If Jesus was the one doing the works in you, taking that sow and cleaning it up, then you would only do good ever. He is not going to be found a SINNER, like you are. If Jesus is to credit, then Jesus is to blame.
Do you only ever do good works? Never sin? Of course not! You sin, right?
Well then it isn’t Jesus doing your works. Because…
Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
Jesus does not dwell in your flesh, and He does not work in your flesh. If He did, your flesh would be perfect. It would never sin, and it would never die.
And that is the promise of the gospel: not that God slowly makes you BETTER, yet still leaves you imperfect, but that God instantly MAKES you PERFECT! I know we haven’t seen much directly from Hebrews yet, but it completely agrees! Hebrews preaches this same gospel, this same promise!
Hebrews 11:39-40 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Not better. Not slowly, continually, gradually more Christ-like. Perfect!
If Jesus saves you, you are perfect. If he does His work in you, you are perfect. If you receive His promise, then you are PERFECT.
But you are NOT perfect, so you can’t tell me that Jesus is the one doing the good works in you. Jesus is not responsible for what you do in your flesh. He isn’t to blame OR to credit. Jesus is not IN your flesh.
But if that is what you believe, “that Jesus makes Christians better”, then He isn’t in your spirit either. You are not saved, because you haven’t repented, of believing in works.
Jesus does not clean up our flesh. Not until the resurrection.
They say, “Jesus transforms Christians”. The Bible NEVER says that God transforms Christians. It says,
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…
Now, you SHOULD do that. And you CAN do that. You can get yourself a King James Bible and you can learn what you should do, and how you should live, and how you should treat people, and how you should think, and what you should wear, and what you should and should not celebrate, and how a righteous person SHOULD act.
You can get wisdom and YOU can transform YOURSELF by renewing your mind with the word of God.
You can clean yourself up pretty good. You’ll still be a pig. But you can wash a lot of that mire off of you.
But you know what? That transformation is NOT the mark of a true Christian. Not even a little bit!
You know how I know that? Because a lost person can do the same thing!! False prophets can do that too. And they DO!
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
An unsaved person can be transformed to appear like a saved person. How? By his WORKS. He is a deceitful WORKER. He cleans up his works, and looks outwardly righteous unto men. He does good works. He lives a righteous, pious life. But within, he is still the same thing that he was. He is a dog, a sow, a wolf.
Satan is a seven-headed red dragon, no matter how transforms himself, to APPEAR to you.
If you think WORKS matter: if you think, “Oh well, if you were a real Christian then Jesus would keep transforming you and you wouldn’t turn back to living in sin. At least not for good. You wouldn’t be able to live in sin, because Jesus won’t Christians do that. Jesus would keep transforming you and making you cleaner and better. And if you DID turn back to your sins, and you turned your back on God, and you didn’t care to serve Him anymore, but you became a serial killer or something, then you were never REALLY saved, because every REAL Christian is transformed by Jesus.”
If you think Jesus transforms Christians, then you are judging wrong judgment.
You are WORKING deceitfully, to transform yourself.
You transform yourself in the eyes of men, you APPEAR righteous unto men. But secretly, spiritually, you are still a sinner, still a WORKER, working to be transformed. You haven’t rested, you haven’t stopped working. You’re not a sheep, you’re just a cleaned up dog, a washed up pig.
God doesn’t transform anyone, and transformation in the flesh is not a part, or a result of salvation. God is not responsible for doing ANYTHING in the flesh of a saved person.
Fleshly good works are not required for salvation and they are not a RESULT of salvation. Jesus said, “it is the spirit that quickeneth, the FLESH PROFITETH NOTHING”.
I’m going to heaven when I die, no matter what I ever do, no matter what I ever transform myself, and my life into. Whether into the life of a pious Christian, or even into the life of a serial killer. My fleshly works DO NOT MATTER! Spiritually I am a sheep, even if my flesh barks like a dog, and bites like a dog, and craps like a dog, and sleeps like a dog, and licks up vomit like a dog, and I can probably truthfully say, even IS a dog. My flesh can be a dog, while my spirit is a sheep. It doesn’t matter what my flesh is, or what my flesh does, or how it appears, or how I transform it. If I transform it into a minister of righteousness, great. Hopefully God will let me keep preaching the gospel to others until the day I die. And if I transform it into a dirty rotten, lying, adulterous, child-molesting, devil worshipping, serial killer, WHICH I COULD DO (and still be saved), then I will probably spend my earthly life in prison and have no opportunity to serve the Lord and lay up treasures in heaven.
But EITHER WAY I transform myself in the flesh, my spirit is not a cleaned up pig or a washed up dog. It is a NEW CREATURE!
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The people in 2 Peter 2 were not new creatures, they were dogs.
Revelation 22:14-15 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
A dog has never eaten of the tree of life. He has never gone into the city of God. He is WITHOUT, with no access. Just like Adam and Eve. No access to the tree of life.
If you can make a lie, if you can sin, if you are not MADE PERFECT, as perfect as Jesus Christ, then you are not a new creature.
There are more things in 2 Peter 2 that show that Peter preaches the same gospel that we do, and that this dog is a lost person who heard the name of Christ and cleaned himself up on the outside but never actually believed the true gospel.
Of course, this study really isn’t about 2 Peter 2, but if you’ve never heard any of our stuff, if this is the first video that you are ever hearing of our ministry: this is what we believe. GRACE alone. Not FAITH alone. Grace alone… through faith. Through faith AND works. The spiritual works of Believing and Confessing.
But a man has to repent of works. He has to understand that he has to be saved by grace alone, that salvation is by what Jesus did alone, and that once he places his faith in Christ, that he is saved, no matter what he ever does afterwards, no matter how he lives his life, that his works do not matter. He has to understand that once he believes this thing, and calls on the Lord one time asking to be saved, that he is saved.
And when he understands that, and then does that, calling on the Lord for salvation according to this gospel … then He is saved, he is done, sealed, circumcised, born again, IN CHRIST, IN THE SPIRIT. He doesn’t have to do anything else for the rest of his life. It doesn’t matter HOW he lives, or what he DOES. He doesn’t have to be faithful, he doesn’t have to serve, he doesn’t have to even WANT to serve. And he very well may not want to.
From that moment on he is SAVED. Past tense. SAVED.
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved😉
Not “being saved”. Not “getting saved”. Not “will be saved”. Are saved. Past tense. SAVED. We are not saved yet, in the flesh, but in the spirit, we are ALREADY SAVED.
But you cannot get already saved, past tense, unless you REPENT.
Luke 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
You have to REPENT from dead works. What works are dead? ALL fleshly works are dead. Not a single one produces eternal life! They all result in death.
Your flesh is dead, and all your fleshly works are dead.
You must repent, change your mind, from believing that fleshly works matter. They are not a part, and they are not a result of salvation at all.
You have to judge righteous judgment. You cannot be judging based on works.
Then once you repent… You just have to believe and confess.
Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Repent of works. Believe the gospel. Confess it… Call upon the Lord.
That is how you get ALREADY saved.
That is all you have to do: R-B-C. Another C word is… Call!
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
You do that ONE TIME, and you are saved, past tense. Done.
No matter what you ever do, no matter how you live, no matter what you transform yourself into, no matter if you STOP believing, or even if you KILL YOURSELF! You are saved, and your body is going to be resurrected to eternal life.
That is the PROMISE of Jesus Christ. The promise that you must believe in order to gain salvation.
If you have not believed that, then you still need to be saved. And if you are listening to this, and if that is the case, and you have not seen our salvation plan videos, please do so. They are on our website, on YouTube, and on TikTok. We have a 5 min version, a 1 hour version, and a 3 minute version that we made for Kids. They explain the true gospel of grace, how to repent, believe, and confess, and there is a prayer at the end of each of them that you can pray to call on God and get saved. Past tense. Saved.
So alright, with all that in mind, let’s actually start talking about Hebrews.
How to Look at Hebrews
Hebrews 6 and 10 do offer a real challenge to people who believe what we believe.
And look I won’t sit here and pretend it isn’t challenging, or that it is easy to interpret, or that I have it all figured out. I don’t. These things are very hard, and very spiritual, and to a large extent, we CANNOT fully understand them now, because we are flesh, and salvation is spiritual.
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
We can kind of see the shape and patterns of spiritual things, but we just can’t see them clearly.
So you have to open your spiritual eyes, and train those spiritual eyes to see spiritual things.
2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
The true things are the spiritual things. And the true spiritual things are eternal; they last forever.
If you produce true good fruit, it lasts forever. But you can’t see it now.
If you do a true good work, spiritually, it lasts forever. But you can’t see it now.
If you build a house for the homeless spiritually, it lasts forever. But you can’t see it now.
You can’t see spiritual things. You can’t see them, but they are there. And the things we are going to see in Hebrews: they are there. We just can’t see them clearly yet. We can only see them THROUGH a VAIL: a vail of FLESH.
Isaiah 25:7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
Hebrews 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
His flesh is a veil, and I believe our flesh is a veil as well. Flesh is a veil. It stops us from seeing the true spiritual things. One day that vail (our flesh) is going to be removed, but until then, we see through a VAIL. We see through a glass darkly.
So it can be hard to paint a very clear picture of what is going on in Hebrews.
The best we can do right now, is to try to look at the things which are not seen: the eternal things.
The eternal things were PATTERNED, and PICTURED in the Old Testament by earthly things.
The earthly things are a SHADOW of the heavenly things.
The tabernacle of Moses was a SHADOW of God’s true tabernacle in Heaven.
God told Moses to make all things after their heavenly PATTERN.
Hebrews 8:5-6 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. 6 But now hath he [Jesus] obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
The very best things on Earth, called “holy things” by God, made with the very best intents,… I mean building the tabernacle, serving God in His temple, and doing his sacrifices to get forgiveness of sins for the people… the very best good works that mankind can do, are at best, a mere EXAMPLE, a mere SHADOW, a mere PATTERN of true good heavenly things.
All those things were temporal. And they perished. True good things are ETERNAL.
Do you know that there is only instance of “good work” in the ENTIRE old testament? The only thing that was ever called a “good work” in the Old Testament was building the city of Jerusalem. Building the house of God.
Nehemiah 2:17-18 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. 18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
That is the ONLY mention of “good work” in the entire Old Testament.
Building God’s house is a good work.
But that house on earth, was just a figure of God’s true house, as says Hebrews.
Building that house was not a true good work… it was just a figure of the true good work.
A true good work is to build God’s house in heaven. To build New Jerusalem, in heaven.
Hebrews 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
So to build God’s house on the earth is a FIGURE of a true good work. But to build and serve in God’s house in heaven is a TRUE good work.
Hebrews 9:23-24 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Earthly things are not true good things to God. Heavenly things and heavenly, spiritual works are true good things to God. Earthly things, earthly good works, things that you can do, and build, and give, with your hands, are only “FIGURES of the true”.
That is what the good things on the earth are: patterns of things in the heavens.
The light from the sun? That isn’t the true light. Bread? Manna? That isn’t the true bread. Circumcision of your manhood? That isn’t the true circumcision. Water baptism? That isn’t the true baptism. Jerusalem is called The City of God. But the one on earth isn’t the true Jerusalem. The temple of God in Jerusalem is not God’s true house. God told Solomon that He would dwell in that house that Solomon built forever. Well… that house is long gone. So either God is a liar, or we have to understand what God said SPIRITUALLY. The house Solomon built was a FIGURE of the true house of God that Jesus is currently building, which is His church.
Things on earth, things that you do, are NOT the true good things. You cannot please God with your flesh.
Romans 8:8-9 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
God does not accept FLESHLY good works. You cannot truly serve Him with your flesh. Good works on the earth are not acceptable to God.
He only accepts SPIRITUAL, ETERNAL, good works.
Serving God in the flesh is NOT true service. It will not be counted as true service, and it will not be rewarded as true service. Jesus said …
John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
A Christian worships IN SPIRIT. And He worships IN TRUTH. (That is true service: get the truth and give the truth. Get saved, and save others. Win souls! That is a TRUE good work – building God’s heavenly house.)
SHOULD you do the figure too? Yes. You SHOULD do good works in the flesh. But they are just figures of true good things.
Not a single person alive before Jesus was a “true worshipper” of God. Of all the OT saints, not of them was able to worship God in truth. None of them was able to do a true good work.
Why not? They could do every good work that you can do, right?
Everything that you can do with your flesh, unsaved people can do, right?
They can love their neighbor. They can give to the poor. They can build houses for the homeless.
And every sin that they can sin, saved people can sin too right?
Christians can lie. Christians can steal. Christians can fornicate. Christians can even murder!
If good works are the result of salvation, then why can unsaved people, unbelievers, do the same works that saved people can do???
We all do the same things. We are all capable of the same works. And not one of those works is a TRUE good work to God. None of us, in the flesh, truly serve or worship God.
You know why? Because we are earthy and our works are earthy.
1 Corinthians 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
We, in our flesh, are earthy. We do EARTHY things. We don’t do heavenly things. We don’t work heavenly works. All flesh is capable of the same fleshly works. Flesh is not capable of heavenly works.
A heavenly work LASTS FOREVER. Once again:
2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
You can’t see a true good work. Feeding the poor, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, and loving your neighbor on earth, are NOT true good works. You know how I know that? 1 – Because I CAN SEE THEM. And 2 – because THEY ARE NOT ETERNAL.
But… give somebody THE GOSPEL, and they live forever, and they will never hunger, and they will never be naked, and they will never be homeless. That is an ETERNAL good work. A heavenly good work, which lasts forever, which no man can SEE.
Build a church on earth with your HANDS… that is NOT a true good work.
Build the church in heaven with your WORDS, by giving people the gospel, that IS a true good work.
The only true good work that God will accept is to build His house. How do you do that? You get saved, and you save others. You win souls! That is really the only work for which we will be eternally rewarded.
It is an eternal good work. A true good work from a true worshipper of God. It can only be done “in spirit”. It cannot be done with flesh.
So we will touch on this some more, but this is part of the understanding that we must have in order to understand how to apply Hebrews 6 & 10. We have to look at things which we CANNOT SEE. We have to look at Hebrews SPIRITUALLY.
By Pastor • Uncategorized • 0