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“ Summary, Part 5 (final) ” In *Pilgrim’s Progress*, we meet Christian in his despair. But he never fell away because he persevered. 3. The true Christian will and must bear fruit. JOHN 15:8 – fruit-bearing glorifies God, proves the disciple, and marks him with holiness. The Christian and the worldly man are different in appearance, but much more in soul. 4. Narrow is the way, and few find it. It grieves us that many will fall away, but it shouldn’t surprise us. 5. How far professing believers may press on, yet never be believers at all. This is the most sobering consideration, but shouldn’t surprise us, either. We’ve known of people who threw themselves into faith, only to be lured away by some worldly distraction. 6. Paul’s encouragement to persevere. From verse 10, he reminds us that the good Christian work that we do must never cease; it will make our salvation not actual, but sure.
Ian Migala (6/30/2014)
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
“ Summary, Part 4 ” 5. They are nominal Christians; unsaved people who identify with the Church and sit under Biblical teaching, but never come to faith [35:45]. This is the correct interpretation. The most extreme example is Judas, who was no less than one of Jesus’ disciples for three years. Much less extreme are the ones who sit in our midst for a time, even a long time. It is tragic indeed when they fall away, for what other gospel could convict them if the true one never did? D. CONCLUSION [39:30]. 1. THE INSTRUCTIVE ILLUSTRATION. Verses 7-8 tell us that the same gospel rains upon everyone, but their fruits are very different. This fruit reveals the true Christian and the nominal one. 2. THE PRONOUNCED PERSUASION. Verses 9-10 tell of Paul’s faith in his audience and his encouragement of them to press on to the end. E. CONSIDERATIONS [42:50]. 1. The only safe course in the Christian life is forward progress. Growth in faith is just that; we call it sanctification. In HEBREWS 10:38, Paul reminds us of Habakkuk’s warning: that God has no delight in the soul that draws back. 2. All sin is evil, but not all sin is apostasy. Even the best Christian sins. David sinned grievously, but he never fell away. God was always willing to restore him.
Ian Migala (6/30/2014)
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
“ Summary, Part 3 ” 1. They are Christians who fell away [26:25]. In the immediate sense, this is the most apparent. Verses 4-5 indeed sound like believers. But Scripture interprets Scripture. True believers are regenerate: born again. When the Father delivered us to the Son, it was for keeps (cf. JOHN 6:37-40). So believing these people to be Christians would defy God’s faithfulness to Christians, not to mention so much else in the Bible. 2. That they are Christians who failed to heed these present warnings [29:50]. But though we agree that such warnings are means of grace to keep Christians to the narrow path, this interpretation defies the spirit of the passage’s context: that Christians must press on beyond these very fundamentals. A further clue is the first person tense of verses 1-3, and the third person tense of verses 4-5. 3. They are potential Christians [32:35]. That they received infant baptism or some form of prevenient grace, but never embraced the “final justification” of true, saving faith. But such a doctrine isn't in the Bible, which tells us that we are justified by faith apart from works, once and forever. 4. They are true believers under some temporal judgment [35:00]. However, that does not accord with the passage's warnings and is not rectified "crucifying Christ afresh".
Ian Migala (6/30/2014)
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
“ Summary, Part 2 ” We are not destined to build foundations for the rest of our lives, but to build on them; not just individual Christians, but churches fall into this trap as well. They may do it for the sake of visitors and new Christians, but the older flock will wither and starve. But as verse 3 indicates, it is God Himself who determines our progress. This does not conflict with Paul’s exhortation to press on: we are to press on, and our sovereign God will set the limits. At verse 4, we begin to see the rationale of the passage. We press on to not get caught in an impossibility: the renewal of apostates who have fallen away. It is possible for such people to fall away, but it is impossible to bring them back. Doing so would require another sacrifice of Christ. Biblical theology makes it plain that Paul’s language here is hypothetical: Christ’s atoning sacrifice was once and final for all eternity. The thought of such a requirement is blasphemous, but what does the Roman Catholic Mass do every week, and how many Reformation martyrs were murdered for calling that what it is? C. CONUNDRUM, or CONTROVERSY [25:30]. Who is being described here? A number of explanations have been offered.
Ian Migala (6/30/2014)
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
“ Summary, Part 1 ” [Starting at 6:56 of the audio]. Narrative and historical portions of Scripture are relatively easy to understand, but passages like our source text can be thick and dense with no clear path, even to the point of discouragement. HEBREWS 6:1-10 is such a passage, with verses 4-9 deserving our careful attention. A. CONTEXT [8:30]. The book of Hebrews is a diverse terrain, containing the plains of repeated themes, but with lofty peaks of important truths rising out of them. Among the peaks is 1. THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS [9:30]. In this subject, we see what we need to do, and why we need to press on in the faith. Essential to this perseverance is 2. THE PRESERVATION OF THE SAINTS. Though the book of Hebrews doesn’t deal with this very much, it does visit it here and there. It is point is that God keeps His own unto eternal life. Running underneath are 3. WARNINGS. Lest we presume upon our preservation, we are given cautions. If we turn away from the gospel, how shall we escape His wrath? B. CONSTRUCTION [14:13]. HEBREWS 5:12ff leads directly to the source text. Christians who have sat under gospel teaching for a significant time need to move on beyond the basic truths.
