Hebrews 6:4-6 states the following:
"For in the case of 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 again
crucify to themselves the Son-of-God, and put Him to open shame."
Often times Christians take this passage out of
the context of the Bible and say that if a Christian backslides it
is impossible to bring them back to Jesus. Is that true?
If this passage was the only one in the Bible, we would be hard
pressed to prove otherwise. However, this is a passage taken
out of the 31,124 verses in the Bible. When one reads this
passage in light of the Bible as a whole it cannot mean it the way
these people interpret this passage. If it did then David and
Jonah of the Old Testament and Peter and Mark (Paul & Barnabas's
companion) of the New Testament would not be saved because they all
backslid once in their relationship with God. However, they
all did come back and became fruitful witnesses of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
What is true then? What is meant by this
passage in Hebrews Chapter 6? James 4:7 states "Submit
therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
The promise is true, but what is also true is that when a person
leaves the Lord and comes back it is harder for them the second time
around than the first. Because of their rebellion they have
been under the influence of unclean spirits and maybe even picked up
some new vices along the way. Now they have new battles to fight
they did not have before. Satan does not give up easily and
these unclean spirits will do all they can to keep that person from
coming back and staying true to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now suppose they leave the Lord and come back
several times. Each time they leave and come back they have
picked up new problems and vices and each time it is harder and
harder for them to fight off these vices and unclean spirits and
stay clean. If they are faithful and do not give up, Jesus
will give them the victory (1 Peter 5:10). However, by the
third or fourth time. . . . what happens then? The
fourth time around the person gives up because they feel the battle
is too hard for them. They are not willing to pay the price to
win. Finally, they give up and surrender to the world
completely without a fight. This is the meaning of Hebrews
6:4-6.
How do we stay in the Holy Spirit and true to the
Lord? First, understand
that the Bible teaches us in 1 John 1:8 "If we say that we
have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in
us." No Christian goes through a day without sinning whether
intentional or unintentional. How then do we stay clean and
close to the Lord? We stay clean and close to the Lord by
immediately confessing and repenting of sin when we become aware of
it. Unclean spirits do not just attach themselves to us when
we sin, they attach themselves to us when we do not confess and
repent of our known sins. Therefore, when you do sin, and you
will sin, confess and repent of your sin immediately! Pray
like this:
Jesus, I confess that act as sin. Thank
you for forgiving me according to 1 John 1:9 which states "If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I ask You to
refill me with Your Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18, 1 John 5:14-15),
to retake control of my life and to continue to lead me into Your
will and plan for my life in Jesus' name, amen!
And go on. Some days you may have to do
this many times, hopefully most less. However, you do not need
to be out of fellowship with Jesus and in submission to Him any
longer than it takes to confess your sin the moment you are aware
you have committed them, thank Him for His
forgiveness and ask Him to refill you with His Holy Spirit and
retake control of Your life and continue to lead you into His will
and plan for your life. If you are diligent to do that the
moment you are aware of sin, you will remain clean and free of
unclean spirits. It is only when you do not immediately
confess and repent of your sins and resubmit yourself to Jesus that a door is opened and you become
susceptible to the attack of unclean spirits. We only have
authority over unclean spirits when we have no unconfessed sin in
our lives, are filled with the Holy Spirit and are walking in submission to
Jesus. When we are walking in submission to Jesus, unclean spirits
must obey our command to leave in Jesus' name.
Next, seek
and submit yourself to Jesus will and plan for your life according
to Ephesians 5:15-17,
"Therefore be careful how you
walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time,
because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand
what the will of the Lord is."
Jesus clearly commands you in His Word to know
what His will is for your life and to walk in it. How do you discover Jesus' will and plan for your
life? By starting your day with Jesus in prayer while reading
His Word. Jesus said in John 8:47 "He who is of God hears the
Words of God." When you obey Jesus by starting off your
day seeking Him and His will for your life while reading and
studying His Word the Bible, He then promises in John 14:21
to reveal Himself to you. Jesus said "He who has My
commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves
Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will
disclose Myself to him."
What do you do when you do not think you can
resist the sin you are being tempted with? Get down on your
knees and cry out to Jesus for His Holy Spirit grace, strength and
power to resist and turn away from the sin you are being tempted
with. He says in Ephesians 6:10 "Finally, be strong in
the Lord, and in the strength of His might." And in 1 Chronicles
16:11 & Psalm 105:4 "Seek Yehovah and His strength; seek
His face continually." The key to victorious Christian
living is learning how to draw upon Jesus' Holy Spirit grace,
strength and power to live the Christian life, not on your strength. Jesus then promises in Romans 10:13
"For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."
Jesus promises to save and deliver those who call on His name.
Don't be embarrassed by this, even I have to do this in some
capacity on a weekly basis. In other words we all need to
daily stay humble before the Lord. It is when we become proud
and self-reliant that we fall.
Ecclesiastes7:20 "Indeed, there is not a
righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never
sins."
For Further Reading
See:
When you have the time I would also encourage you
to read my articles on
Discipleship
and
Spiritual Warfare.
Sincerely in Jesus,
Dale P. Kruse
Pastor Evangelist
Jesus Christ is Lord
Bible
Internet