Chapter 12 - IMPOSSIBLE TO RENEW UNTO
REPENTANCE
In Peter's second letter he, I believe,
identifies for us the author, under God, of the
Epistle to the Hebrews. He mentions a letter
written to Jewish believers by "our beloved
brother Paul," "in which are some things hard to
be understood, which they that are unlearned and
unstable wrest, as they do also the other
scriptures, unto their own destruction" (2 Pet.
3:15-16). As we know, Peter's special ministry
was to the circumcision, and he addresses his
letters to Christian Jews of the Diaspora, that
is, those dispersed among the Gentiles. The
letter to the Hebrews therefore must be that
referred to in the verses quoted, as no other of
Paul's Epistles is addressed to Hebrew
believers. And surely there is no other letter
in the New Testament which contains more
difficult statements than this one. How
frequently have ignorant and poorly instructed
saints misunderstood such passages as the first
part of chapter 6 and the last half of chapter
10. Terrified by what was only intended as a
warning against apostasy, true lovers of Christ
have fancied that they have committed the
unpardonable sin and by crucifying the Son of
God afresh have put themselves beyond the pale
of mercy. Reason has tottered on the throne as
the terrible thought has gripped their
consciousness that for them there is now no
hope, for so grave is their sin, they fear, it
is impossible "to renew them again unto
repentance."
Various explanations, or attempted
explanations have been given of the passages in
question, and godly men have differed greatly as
to their proper application. Without going into
the subject extensively, it nevertheless seems
desirable that we should, in this connection,
try to get a real understanding of what is
involved in both these solemn warnings. Note
carefully the exact words of Hebrews 6:1-13. The
paragraph is somewhat lengthy, but it seems
necessary to have it all in view if we are to
grasp its import properly.
"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, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying
on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead,
and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if
God permit. 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, and have tasted the good word of God
and the powers of the world to come, 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. For the earth which drinketh in the rain
that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth
herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed,
receiveth blessing from God: but that which
beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is
nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of
you, and things that accompany salvation, though
we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to
forget your work and labor of love which ye have
showed toward his name, in that ye have
ministered to the saints, and do minister. And
we desire that every one of you do show the same
diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the
end: that ye be not slothful, but followers of
them who through faith and patience inherit the
promises. For when God made promise to Abraham,
because he could swear by no greater, he sware
by himself."
In a previous chapter we have already glanced
at verses 1-3. There we saw that "the first
principles of the doctrine of Christ," or as the
marginal rendering reads, "the word of the
beginning of Christ," refers to the preparatory
or foundation teaching of the former
dispensation, apart from which it is next to
impossible really to understand the true
Christian doctrine. "Perfection" as used here
has no reference to experience, but rather to
the body of New Testament teaching which for the
well instructed believer supersedes the
foundation teaching of that past age. The
tendency of these converted Hebrews, or of those
among them who professed to be converted through
the Gospel message, was to look back longingly
to the ritual practices and the partial
revelation of the Old Testament, in place of
going on to a full understanding and
appreciation of the present truth. The Epistle
is throughout a warning against possible
apostasy where there was unreality, and an
exhortation to "go on" to the better things of
the New Covenant as contrasted with the lesser
things of the Old.
Before examining the solemn statements of
verses 4-6, let us consider the closing part of
this section, verses 9-13. The writer of Hebrews
has no question concerning the ultimate fate of
those truly saved though he warns them of the
danger involved in spiritual sloth and
indifference. But after setting forth the
hopeless condition of the apostates depicted in
verses 4-8 he says, "But, beloved, we are
persuaded better things of you, and things that
accompany salvation though we thus speak." This
is most important. If these words mean anything
at all, they surely tell us that people might
pass through all that is mentioned in verses 4
and 5 without being saved at all. Note this
carefully; it will save from confusion of mind:
Whatever else the five statements that are
enumerated in these verses mean, they do not
necessarily accompany salvation. All of them
might be true, and yet the soul remain out of
Christ.
The evidences of divine life are given in the
following verses. There was real devotion to the
Lord Himself and unselfish care for His
suffering people, seen in these converted
Hebrews. Not merely the acceptance of certain
doctrines, however true, but real trust in a
living Saviour, had made them new creatures, and
so their outward walk evidenced the inward
change that had taken place. God, the righteous
One, would not overlook all this in the day when
He would have to judge the nation to which these
believers belonged by natural birth. He would
not leave a doubt in the minds of any who truly
rested in Christ as to the genuineness of their
conversion, even when He warned of the
possibility of any unreal professors who had
gotten in among them eventually apostatizing.
But he would have all carefully examine the
foundations of their hope of salvation.
If this is clear now go back and read again
the warning: "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, and have tasted the good word of
God, and the powers of the world to come, 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." Who were the people here contemplated?
According to verse 9 they were not saved people.
In other words, they had never been born again
of the Word and Spirit of God.
Who, then, were they? The answer is plain.
They were professed converts to Christianity who
had witnessed much of the supernatural character
of the new and gracious movement, but they had
never actually known Christ. They were like
those in our Lord's day who believed in the
miracles, but did not know the One who wrought
them. What is said of their past? There are five
statements.
First, they had been enlightened. This is
true of every one who listens thoughtfully to
the preaching of the Gospel. Light is thereby
imparted to him to which he was a stranger
before. "The entrance of thy words giveth light;
it giveth understanding unto the simple." But
unhappily many have been thus enlightened who
refuse to walk in the light. And we learn in 1st
John 1:7 that, "If we walk in the light, as he
is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin." Notice it is where
you walk, not how. "Ye were sometimes darkness,
but now are ye light in the Lord." The man who
walks in the light the revealing power of God's
truth, does not shun its manifestations or turn
from its fierce revealing blaze. "God is light
and in him is no darkness at all." Facing the
light, walking in it, he learns that the blood
is sprinkled on the mercy seat from which the
light shines. He no longer dreads its brightness
but allows it to search him to the depths of his
being knowing that the blood meets every evil
thing that is thus exposed. This is a very
different thing from being simply enlightened.
In the second place, they had tasted of the
heavenly gift. Now whether we think of this gift
being the Lord Jesus Himself, whom God the
Father gave to be the propitiation for our sins,
or whether we think of it as that eternal life
which is definitely called "the gift of God," it
is quite evident that there are many who are for
a time greatly impressed by the amazing fact
that God has so loved the world as to send His
Son into the world that He might give eternal
life to all who trust Him; and yet they never
truly feed upon the Living Bread that came down
from heaven to give life to all who believe on
His Name. To taste is one thing; to eat is quite
another. There are vast numbers of persons who
once seemed to appreciate Christ but have since
proven that they never really knew Him, whom to
know is life eternal.
Third, they "were made partakers of the Holy
Spirit." Surely this implies reality. How could
anyone be a partaker of the Spirit of God, and
not be saved? I answer, Balaam was; and so was
Judas. Yet both are lost. The Spirit of God is
sovereign in His working. Yet He compels no one
to surrender to Christ, though none would do so
apart from His gracious brooding over their
hearts. But men may experience much of His
convicting power and be deeply stirred as He
portrays the preciousness of Christ, and yet may
resist His wooing and refuse to heed His
message.
Note carefully we are not told that those
apostates had ever been regenerated by the
Spirit, or sealed, or anointed, or baptized, or
filled. They simply became partakers of His
power; but did not go on to know truly the Lord.
Balaam is a sad example of this, he who felt the
power of the Spirit upon him, but "loved the
wages of unrighteousness" and never repented of
his base intentions, even though not permitted
to carry them out. Did not Judas work miracles
with the rest in the energy of the Spirit?
Apparently he did, for all the Twelve told how
the demons were subject unto them, but our Lord
declared he was a devil; and we are told he died
a suicide and went to his own place.
Fourth, they "tasted the good word of God."
This is closely allied to the first statement
made by the inspired writer concerning them, yet
it is not exactly repetition. They heard the
Word preached. It appealed to them. They felt it
to be what they needed. But, though they tasted
its preciousness, they did not feed on it with a
living faith.
And lastly, they had known something of the
"powers of the world [or age] to come." The
reference is to the miraculous signs that were
given by the Lord to authenticate the early
Christian message. In the coming age miracles
will be the ordinary thing. At the beginning of
this dispensation of grace, they were given by
our merciful God in order that men might be
without excuse for rejecting His Word. And these
Hebrews had seen many signs and wonders, so that
they were, for a time at least, intellectually
convinced of the truth of the new doctrine. But
that truth had not been received into the heart.
They knew much about Jesus, the Prophet, mighty
in word and deed, but they did not know Him as
Saviour and Lord by yielding themselves to His
authority. While our Lord was on earth there
were numbers of temporary followers who believed
on Him when they saw the miracles that He
wrought, but afterwards went back and walked no
more with Him. Continuance is a proof of
reality.
We may well challenge our own hearts as to
whether we are in any better case than they.
Formalists and hypocrites abound on every hand.
If we profess to trust Him, do we love Him and
seek to glorify Him in our lives? An empty
profession saves no one.
In the hour of testing these Hebrews turned
back to Judaism. Apparently they were not
prepared for the suffering that Christians were
called upon to pass through for the Name of the
Lord Jesus. So they turned their backs upon
Christianity and relapsed into Judaism. In so
doing they rejected every testimony that even
God could give them. He had nothing hidden in
reserve. He had told out all His heart when He
spake in His Son. For those who deliberately and
definitely refused to accept that testimony, God
had nothing more to say. It was impossible to
renew them again unto repentance. They
positively and defiantly sided with His
murderers, and so they crucified the Son of God
afresh and put Him to an open shame.
We are not told that God would refuse to save
them if at the last they owned their guilt, bad
as it was, and sought His forgiveness. We are
told that they had so sinned against all light
and all knowledge that God had nothing further
to put before them. The Spirit of God had given
them up, and the day for repentance had gone by.
It was not that He would refuse to heed their
cry, if they did repent; but He knew they would
not. They were given over to hardness of heart
and to a seared conscience.
A little parable follows in verses 7 and 8
before the reassuring words of the close of the
passage at which we have already looked. Two
plots of ground are seen side by side. The soil
is alike in each field; the same sun shines upon
them both; they are refreshed by the same
showers. But at harvest time one produces a fine
crop that is a delight to the farmer's heart;
the other bears only thorns and briars fit for
the fire. What makes the difference? In the one
the good seed had found lodgment, but not in the
other. The application is easy. Two boys grow up
side by side. They attend the same synagogue;
later both come under Christian influence; they
go to the same meetings; they hear the same
preaching; they see the same signs and wonders
wrought by the Spirit of God; they both feel His
convicting power; they alike profess to believe
in His Name; both are baptized; both sit at the
Table of the Lord. But when fiery persecution
breaks out against the infant church, one basely
deserts the cause, while the other stands firm
as a rock. The reason is easy to discern. One
has received the good seed into an honest heart.
The other has only made a lip profession, based
upon a mere intellectual and emotional
acquaintance with Christian truth.
It is the same in Hebrews 10, verses 26-35:
"For if we sin wilfully after that we have
received the knowledge of the truth, there
remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a
certain fearful looking for of judgment, and
fiery indignation, which shall devour the
adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died
without mercy under two or three witnesses: 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? For we know him that hath said,
Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense,
said the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge
his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God. But call to
remembrance the former days, in which, after ye
were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of
afflictions; and partly, whilst ye were made a
gazing stock, both by reproaches and
afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became
companions of them that were so used. For ye had
compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully
the spoiling of your goods, knowing in
yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and
an enduring substance. Cast not away therefore
your confidence which hath great recompense of
reward."
Here too, in the closing part of the passage,
those to whom the author of Hebrews writes are
assured of the reality of their faith. He does
not use such strong language to stumble any.
Even the weakest babe in Christ is safe in Him.
Divinely illumined these Hebrews had suffered
and endured, not only individually, but they had
strengthened the hands of others. Their reward
was sure if they pressed firmly onward, knowing
that they had a home in heaven that was
eternally secure. Read carefully again verses
32-36, and remember that salvation is by grace,
and reward is for service.
Then note the warning of the previous verses.
The willful sin is, of course, apostasy. It is
turning from Christ after having made definite
acquaintance with His truth. Such deliberately
trod the Son of God beneath their feet and
counted His precious blood, on the basis of
which God could look upon them as set aside for
blessing, as a common or unholy thing, of no
more value than the blood of beasts of old. What
can God do with, or for, those who thus spurn
His grace? They refuse His loving kindness.
Therefore they must know His wrath.
These Hebrews might reason thus: 'Even if
Christianity is from heaven, ye the same is true
of Judaism. If we turn away from Jesus, we do
not turn from God. If we reject Calvary, we can
go back to the sacrifice at the Temple.' But no,
"there remaineth no more [that is, no other]
sacrifice for sins." God cannot own now the
sacrifices of bulls and of goats since His own
Son has fulfilled all the types by offering
Himself without spot, a ransom for all who trust
in Him. To refuse Him and to turn from His one
sacrifice for sins was to expose oneself to a
fearful looking for of judgment and fiery
indignation which must destroy His enemies.
Though the majority of the company who
professed to know Jesus as Saviour and Messiah
were real, there was always, as today, the
possibility that some were not genuine. So in
chapter 12 the warning is repeated, but from a
somewhat different standpoint. Note verses
15-17: "Looking diligently lest any man fail of
the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness
springing up trouble you, and thereby many be
defiled; lest there be any fornicator, or
profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of
meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that
afterward, when he would have inherited the
blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place
of repentance, though he sought it carefully
with tears."
Esau is the outstanding example of one who
had full knowledge of the covenant of grace, but
who in the hour of stress put a higher value
upon personal comfort than upon the blessing of
the Lord. When awakened at last to see his folly
in some measure, he wept and pleaded for the
blessing he had once bargained away; but it was
too late. His father had given the blessing to
Jacob, and could not repent. This, as I
understand it, is what is meant by the solemn
words, "he found no place of repentance, though
he sought it carefully with tears." It is not
that he himself could not repent of his former
levity and profaneness; but he could not find a
place of repentance in the mind of his father.
However badly Jacob had acted, Isaac now knew it
was the will of God that the blessing of Abraham
should be given to the younger son. The lesson
is a serious one. Divine things are not to be
trifled with. Mercies despised at one time may
be sought in vain later on. It behooves us all
to be real, to be in earnest while it is called
today.
"Time is earnest, passing by,
Death is earnest, drawing nigh.
Sinner, wilt thou trifling be?
Time and death appeal to thee."
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