The author of Hebrews is getting ready to dive in. We’ve been reminded of the basics, now it’s time to bring our focus on more mature teachings. As we move forward into the book it is essential to remember we are working from a foundation that has already been laid, indeed, the whole house is built! Yet, moving into more difficult doctrine, we must keep in focus that the foundation was laid by God through apostles and prophets with Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone.
And now we do indeed dive deep. Hebrews 6:4-6 are some difficult verses. It makes us wonder, what about my son or daughter, my sister or brother, who had walked in faith, and now does not? The statistics regarding young people who walk away from the church never to return are deeply disturbing. Ken Hamm and Britt Beemer talk about this trend in their book, Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do about it. They observe that it was very common in years past for people in their early twenties to wander from the church, but to return later, but now it is becoming less and less likely that they’ll return. Sadly, they found that seeds of doubt had been planted in their hearts in middle school, long before most churches are ready to reach out to them. Is this passage saying that there is no hope for such people?
No. Notice that I said that these people walked away from church. While gathering to hear the Word and receive the sacrament is an important (essential!) necessity in the life of a Christian, walking away from church is not the same as walking away from Christ. Don’t give up hope, but pray, pray, pray for your loved ones.
Luther wrestled with this text, too, and he says, “If anyone has fallen away from Christ, who is the true sacrifice for sins, and seeks another way or mode to be saved and go to heaven, he will never go there, he will not succeed.” (LSB footnotes) There is no way to salvation apart from Jesus. If a person treats Jesus’ sacrifice with contempt, rejects repentance and refuses the Holy Spirit – whether they’ve tasted the goodness of the word or not – there is nothing we can do to rescue them. However, this passage also needs to be understood in light of Matthew 19:26, where Jesus says that with God all things are possible.
It is hard to deal with loved ones who walk away from the faith. However, I would remind us of a mother by the name of Monica whose son grew up attending church, worshipping, and believing in Jesus. As this young man grew up he became wild and loved to “live it up.” Eventually he even had a child out of wedlock. Monica was heart broken. She prayed and prayed and prayed. For years her son showed no sign of repentance, no sign of faith. But Monica kept praying.
Eventually this young man took up God’s Word and read it again, and God did something miraculous in him. He brought him back to faith, and he shared that faith with his own son. He gave himself to service of the Lord, and he became one of the greatest leaders and teachers of the church. He was St. Augustine.
God’s promises are sure. Remember, He has promised to hear your prayers, even for wandering loved ones. So pray!
Father, help us as we dig into hard teachings to understand and believe. Amen.
And now we do indeed dive deep. Hebrews 6:4-6 are some difficult verses. It makes us wonder, what about my son or daughter, my sister or brother, who had walked in faith, and now does not? The statistics regarding young people who walk away from the church never to return are deeply disturbing. Ken Hamm and Britt Beemer talk about this trend in their book, Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do about it. They observe that it was very common in years past for people in their early twenties to wander from the church, but to return later, but now it is becoming less and less likely that they’ll return. Sadly, they found that seeds of doubt had been planted in their hearts in middle school, long before most churches are ready to reach out to them. Is this passage saying that there is no hope for such people?
No. Notice that I said that these people walked away from church. While gathering to hear the Word and receive the sacrament is an important (essential!) necessity in the life of a Christian, walking away from church is not the same as walking away from Christ. Don’t give up hope, but pray, pray, pray for your loved ones.
Luther wrestled with this text, too, and he says, “If anyone has fallen away from Christ, who is the true sacrifice for sins, and seeks another way or mode to be saved and go to heaven, he will never go there, he will not succeed.” (LSB footnotes) There is no way to salvation apart from Jesus. If a person treats Jesus’ sacrifice with contempt, rejects repentance and refuses the Holy Spirit – whether they’ve tasted the goodness of the word or not – there is nothing we can do to rescue them. However, this passage also needs to be understood in light of Matthew 19:26, where Jesus says that with God all things are possible.
It is hard to deal with loved ones who walk away from the faith. However, I would remind us of a mother by the name of Monica whose son grew up attending church, worshipping, and believing in Jesus. As this young man grew up he became wild and loved to “live it up.” Eventually he even had a child out of wedlock. Monica was heart broken. She prayed and prayed and prayed. For years her son showed no sign of repentance, no sign of faith. But Monica kept praying.
Eventually this young man took up God’s Word and read it again, and God did something miraculous in him. He brought him back to faith, and he shared that faith with his own son. He gave himself to service of the Lord, and he became one of the greatest leaders and teachers of the church. He was St. Augustine.
God’s promises are sure. Remember, He has promised to hear your prayers, even for wandering loved ones. So pray!
Father, help us as we dig into hard teachings to understand and believe. Amen.
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