Vol. 38, No. 12           December 2007

    Most evangelical believers know there are five warning passages in the book of Hebrews: 2:1-4; 3:7-4:13; 5:11-6:12; 10:19-39 and 12:14-29. However, not all evangelicals agree on how these passages should be interpreted. One of the most basic issues of debate concerns the New Testament teaching on apostasy and the possibility of believers “falling away” from the faith, either intentionally or unintentionally.

    In many passages Paul encouraged the believers to whom he was writing to “stand” (histemi) firm in their faith (1 Cor. 15:58; 16:13; 2 Cor. 1:21, 24; Gal. 5:1; Eph. 6:14; Phil. 1:27; 4:1; Col. 4:12; 2 Thess. 2:15), as did James (5:8). Peter encouraged those to whom he wrote to “stand fast” in God’s grace (1 Peter 5:12; cf. Rom. 11:20). Paul encouraged believers to “stand” in God’s grace in Romans 5:2, to “stand” in the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1; and “stand against” the trickery and deceitfulness of the devil in Ephesians 6:11ff.

    One verb used for the opposite of this effort to “stand” firm is aphistemi, which comes from the most common New Testament term meaning “to stand” (histemi), with a negative prefix. Aphistemi has the meaning of “draw away” or “depart” in most of its fifteen occurrences in the New Testament. In Luke 8:13, in Jesus’ explanation of His “Parable of the Soils/Seed,” it is used to refer to those who hear the word of God with initial eagerness and joy, but then “fall away” from the faith in time of temptation. Were they ever believers?

    It is tempting here to be drawn into the debate about whether the warnings passages in Hebrews shed any light on the idea that genuine believers cannot fall away. Those who wish to pursue that discussion should read Four Views on the Warning Passages in Hebrews (Kregel, 2007), edited by Herbert W. Bateman IV, which is the result of the discussions of the Hebrew Study Group during the 56^th annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (November 17-19, 2004). One reason it is tempting is because the perseverance of believers was the focus of my M.A. thesis, in which I concluded there is a measure of biblical truth in the idea of “once saved always saved.” My position then, and today, is that, on the one hand, believers do not routinely move in and out of grace or a saving relationship with Christ, which some Armenians seem to imply, but the New Testament does not. On the other hand, when one looks at the whole of the New Testament, it is clear that God does not easily release His hold on believers (cf. Rom. 8:35-39). This is essentially the view put forward by I. Howard Marshall. It is noteworthy that even John Calvin believed God does not save anyone against his or her will, a point which many of his theological heirs deny. My point here is that there is biblical truth in both the Calvinistic and the Arminian position concerning the subject of eternal security. It is regrettable that the tendency of both sides is generally not to recognize anything of value in the other’s position.

...a kind of transitory faith, a form of conversion which, like the seed sown on rocky soil, has all the signs of life, but which does not persevere (Carson, “Reflections on Assurance,” in Still Sovereign: Contemporary Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace, by Thomas Schreiner and Bruce Ware, Baker Academic, 2000, 403).

Carson’s point is well made. Many who leave the faith were, in reality, never genuine believers. But that argument does not explain everything the New Testament writers had to say about apostasy and the need to persevere in the faith.

    In the New Testament, just as there is in the Old Testament, reference is made to those who remain faithful to God and those who, despite God’s love and grace, rebel or turn against Him. When we come to Hebrews 2:1, the term which is translated “drift away” (NIV, RSV, “slip” in the KJV) is pararrhueo, the aorist passive subjunctive of pararreo, meaning “to drift away from what has been heard,” that is, to drift away from the faith, the passive emphasizing a gradual (over time) relinquishing of what one has previously believed, perhaps through carelessness, unconcern, or indifference, although direct, intentional disobedience is also a possibility.

    It is the gradual falling away that Jesus seems to emphasize in Luke 8:13, for He says of such people, “...when they hear the word, [they] receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away” (RSV). Theologians often debate the length or period of time such people can appear to be believers, or can honestly view themselves as believers, before they finally fall away and it becomes clear, to others, if not themselves, that they are not believers, and perhaps never were.

    In his efforts to bring down believers, Satan utilizes a variety of methods and offenses to deceive. With some, often what might be termed a clear, frontal assault is not used, rather, as is the enemy’s practice, deception is used. In such a context, if the believer is aware he is involved in sin, he or she often assumes or rationalizes that the sin does not amount to anything significant and is nothing to really be concerned about. But as one learns in geometry, at their point of origin, two lines may appear to be parallel or “true,” but if the lines are continued from that point, the further they go, that small degree they are off will eventually result in their meeting or in their moving further and further away from each other as they continue.

    This is the problem the modern church faces in terms of how we have tended to blend and mix in pagan elements of our culture with our understanding of and thinking about God. It has taken place so slowly that we have gradually adapted to it and think nothing much of it. We are like the proverbial frog in the kettle, we gradually adapt to the heat as it is slowly turned up by the enemy. Then, after a time, we have adapted so well to it, we are blind to the trouble we are in and, like the frog, unable to escape our destruction.

    This is why there has been so much written in recent years about the place of the Bible in the local church. We have a tendency to be wayward, to drift, if we do not intentionally and daily focus on God and His word (notice this emphasis in Hebrews 3:13). The warning repeatedly given in Hebrews is to believers who are in danger of drifting away from God, in danger of not giving themselves wholly and completely to Him in terms of their total selves (cf. Matt. 22:37). This remains a problem today. George Barna has pointed out in many of his writings, based on his research, that there is little that separates evangelical believers from nonbelievers when it comes to values and lifestyle. Both groups appear to be overly concerned with what Jesus termed the “cares” of this world (Matt. 13:22). Indeed, many so-called believers today have little or no concern for sin in their lives.

    The church’s present context is not unlike the picture painted for us in Isaiah 1, where the supposedly dumb ox knows more than Israel, God’s people (1:3). In the next verse the prophet says:

Ah, sinful nation,
a people loaded with guilt,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the LORD;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him. (Isaiah 1:4, NIV)

No doubt, these words were much to the surprise and shock of the Hebrews, who were yet making a “multitude of sacrifices” to God (Isaiah 1:11). But God was not impressed with their external worship because it was inconsistent with what was truly in their hearts - sin!

    Speaking through the prophet, God expresses His surprise over what His people, the chosen people, have become, how far they have fallen. The depth of their sin and iniquity is such that there is only one thing to say, “Ah!” God and His prophet are astonished, astonished at how these people, to whom God had revealed Himself and called into a covenant relationship, had drifted away from Him.

    This is why in Hebrews 2:1 the writer of Hebrews expresses the negative purpose of giving due attention to the gospel message. There is great, eternal danger in failing to heed this important revelation. What is it? It is the danger of abandoning their faith, losing sight of the reality of salvation. No one should be so foolish, and yet so many are (cf. Rom. 1:18ff.), even to the point where they can no longer distinguish good from evil, right from wrong, or what is of God and what is not of God (lack discernment).

    The term used in Hebrews 3:12 and translated in the NIV as “turns away” (“fall away” in the RSV) is also aphistemi, the form being the aorist active infinitive. In the NASB it is translated as “to apostatize,” while in the KJV it is translated “to depart.” The verb can also be translated as a noun: “deserter.” The term refers to apostasy or rebellion against the truth, against God, in this case, clearly quite deliberately or intentionally.

    Another important word in this passage is the noun apistias, from apistos. The word means “unbelief,” “disbelief,” “doubts,” “disobedience,” but it can also be translated as an adjective meaning “unfaithful,” “unbelieving”. It means to willingly refuse to believe or to reject belief or faith (notice the negative prefix) previously held. In this verse, the author warns that this unbelief can lead to apostasy, unbelief or lack of faith being demonstrated or made clear in the falling away.

    It is important to observe that in the immediate context, Hebrews 3:13, the writer speaks of the danger of the readers being “hardened” by “the deceitfulness of sin” (RSV). Sin is here personified as if it could act, the writer’s point being that sin deceives. This is the major point in this section (Hebrews 3:7-19).

    It is noteworthy that there are no passages in the New Testament where unbelievers are warned not to harden their heart. Rather, all such passages are addressed to believers. We are told in the Old Testament and the book of Exodus that Pharaoh, an unbeliever, hardened his heart. But in the New Testament this warning is always directed toward those who are followers of Christ. Why? In the context of Hebrews, one reason is the deceitfulness of sin.

    Similarly, it is also noteworthy that when many preachers and evangelists speak of the deceitfulness of sin in the modern church, they are usually addressing unbelievers. But here in Hebrews, the writer is addressing his “brothers” in Christ (3:12-13). In his comments on these verses, British professor Edgar Andrews writes:

It is unusual in our easygoing days for Christians to be warned. Indeed, there is such a spirit of toleration abroad that language of the kind used here would be considered inflammatory. Yet the Writer’s words flow from a deep pastoral concern for his readers, and where such care exists, even today, it will always find expression in biblical terms. Warning is still appropriate in our modern times, and even more so because there are few preachers who are willing to risk opprobrium [public reproach or contempt] by proclaiming, without fear or favor, the whole counsel of God. The dangers facing the church and individual believers are just as great - and just the same - as those that threatened believers in the first century (Edgar Andrews, Welwyn Commentary Series: A Glorious High Throne - Hebrews Simply Explained, Evangelical Press, 2003, 109-110).

    That the writer is addressing believers is also made clear from what is said in Hebrews 3:14: “For we share in Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end.” The NKJV reads, “We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.” It is on this verse that D.A. Carson and other Calvinists argue that the final evidence or proof of a person’s salvation is that they do not fall away during their walk with Christ here on earth. Many Reformed believers also say there is no way for us to be sure who is and who is not a believer until the “end,” or at least, tentatively, when we see that a person who professes to follow Christ successfully endures temptation or testing.

    As noted above, there is an element of truth in this idea. But the way it is often stated, it is implied that there is no room for drifting whatsoever, that those who endure and are rewarded at the end are those who never fall away. Thus, there is no allowance made for the genuine believer who did indeed fall or drifted away for a time, but then heeded these warnings and returned to Christ and “endured until the end.” If this were not possible there would not be passages like 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Revelation 3:20 addressed to people who were once believers, but who need to repent because they have obviously fallen into sin:

...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV).

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me (Rev. 3:20, NIV).

    The point being made in the warning passages in Hebrews is that initial faith is not enough. In Hebrews 3:16-19 the Hebrews in the wilderness are used to illustrate this fact. They had begun in faith, but they did not continue. In 3:16 we are reminded they heard, yet they still rebelled. They witnessed all the plagues God brought on the Egyptians, the miracle of the Red Sea, and the destruction of the Egyptian army, yet they rebelled. It was their unbelief that made them unable to enter “God’s rest” (3:18), symbolized by the promised land.

    Still, doesn’t Hebrews 6:4-6 say that when a believer falls away, that person cannot be renewed or saved once again? As we said, if that were the case, what do we do with passages like 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Revelation 3:20? The whole of Scripture should never be interpreted on the basis of one or two passages alone. Rather, the whole always interprets the parts. Marshall’s “uneasy” balance summarizes what the Bible teaches on this subject. He concludes:

...we cannot go beyond the teaching of the New Testament which places side by side the possibility of failure to persevere and the greater possibility of a confidence in God and a continuing faith which, as it is sustained by God, is preserved from the fear of falling. We must rest content with this twofold emphasis and not try to deny either side of it.

It may be objected that this conclusion deprives the Christian of an absolute confidence in persever-ance. But it must be remembered that the Calvinist does not have an absolute confidence either; it is always possible that he may not be one of the elect, and he must constantly strive to make his calling and election sure. This does not mean the Calvinist lives in an attitude of uncertainty or even of despair, for he may claim the “whosoever” promises, but at the same time there is not the certainty of irresistible logic, since it is admitted that a man may taste deeply of the grace of God and yet fall away. There is a similar element of logical uncertainty in the conclusion which is suggesting itself to us in this study, and one must be prepared to admit the necessity of this in order to drive believers to a closer trust in their faithful God. At the same time, there is a confidence which can grow and deepen, and hence the possibility of the faith that God will preserve us for His heavenly king-dom.

It is possible, therefore, to maintain the confi-dence of the believer without committing ourselves to a watertight logical system of irresistible grace and unconditional election to final salvation, and at the same time to give a realistic meaning to the warnings of the New Testament. We have found it necessary to admit the possibility of falling away. John Bunyan, it will be remembered, saw that there was a way to hell even from the gates of heaven. We have been unable to state that attainment of final salvation logically follows on from true conversion. We have been unable to give a rationale of why some Christians persevere and others do not, and it is dangerous to impose a dogmatic system, whether of Calvin or Arminius, upon the Bible. But we can say firmly that, while it is possible for a Christian to fail to persevere after a genuine experience of salvation, yet, with all the promises of a faithful God to sustain those who trust in Him, the main emphasis of the New Testament is on confidence and assurance of final salvation (Marshall, 210-211).