Book 49

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 4 * BOOK 49

Hebrews 6:4-10 – Part 2

Alright, Hebrews chapter 6 and we’ll just pick up now in verse 8:

Hebrews 6:8a

” But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected,…” Briers and thorns and thistles and they are good for nothing but to be cast to the fire. Then verse 9, we get yet another “B-u-t” another flipside back. But Paul says to these people, “You’re not in that thorn and thistle category.”

Hebrews 6:9a

“But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation,…” Notice how Paul calls them “beloved.” That’s the secret. He wouldn’t call them beloved if they weren’t believers. And so he says, “But beloved, we are persuaded.” That word persuaded is probably a little stronger than our English and he was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt. He said, “We are persuaded better things of you.” Well, better than what? Better than thorns and thistles. We’re to have considered “better things of you and things that accompany salvation.”

What is the number one theme of all of Scripture? Salvation. The whole reason for the Word of God is to bring lost mankind to a knowledge of salvation. Because, after all, three score and ten is the allotted time, 70 years. If we go beyond that, that’s just by God’s good grace.

So let’s stretch it and say we could live 90 years. That’s a long time, but compared to eternity, what is 90 years? Not even a blink of the eyelash. Mankind can’t get it through their heads that 90 years is nothing to be compared with eternity. And to have 90 years of the good things in this life and push God out and then lose it all for eternity. I can’t comprehend it. But yet, that’s the way it’s always been. The vast majority have spurned God. They’ve spurned His salvation.

But, now Paul is admonishing these people – that he understands that they do have salvation and the things that accompany it. Now it comes right back to what I’ve said so often. Salvation is not just a “fire escape.” Salvation is not just a matter of escaping eternal doom, but rather salvation is that which precipitates a life of spiritual production here on earth, and that’s what we’re here for.

Now that doesn’t mean you all have to be preachers or evangelists or missionaries but it simply means that God expects every believer to be fruitful. Let’s go back to Romans chapter 1 verse 16 and pick this whole thing up of salvation. Here’s where I have one of my controversies with some of these new translations. They have taken out the word “salvation,” in this verse, which is probably the most critical word in all of Scripture, and they’ve put something else in it. I think most of you know this verse, where Paul writes:

Romans 1:16a

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it (the Gospel) is the power of God unto (what?) salvation…” Salvation! Eternal life! The hope of glory to come! But, that which makes it possible for us to live a godly life in the here and now in this Church Age.

Romans 1:16b

“…to everyone that believeth;…” Now, skip over to chapter 3, and we’re going to use some verses associated with this one crucial word – salvation. Verse 23, which I always call the very first step of faith to salvation and that is, we have to recognize that we’re sinners. That we have fallen short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

“For all (Jew and Gentile, Black and White, rich and poor) have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Why? Because we’re sons of Adam. We have inherited a sin nature. Now verse 24,

Romans 3:24a

“Being justified…” What’s justification? It’s a result of salvation. When we enter into God’s great salvation, He justifies us, see?

Romans 3:24

“Being justified freely by his grace (not by works) through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”

It’s been a long time since we taught Romans. Maybe we should stop a second. What is the whole idea of redemption? Paying the price to gain something back that was lost. In other words, if you’ve got a big beautiful diamond ring and you get in financial straits you can go to the pawn shop and you can get a few bucks for that diamond ring. Put it in hock. But you cannot get it back until you do what? Redeem it. You pay the price to once again gain control of that which was pawned.

Well, you see, that’s exactly what happened when Adam sinned. He “pawned” the human race to Satan. And the whole idea of the coming Tribulation is when God will finally pay off that debt that Satan is holding over the planet. And He’s going to pay it off with all of the wrath and vexation of that. But for mankind, He paid the price of redemption with His death on the Cross. Every sin was paid for. It has been made possible for every human being to come out of that slave market. The price of redemption was paid and we experience it only by virtue of our salvation experience.

Again, the other offshoot word of “salvation” in Scripture is “saved.” Paul uses it over and over, by which you are saved. By which you experience salvation. Alright, so we have two great words right here in one verse. We are “justified freely through the redemption (or the process of paying the price) which is in Christ Jesus.” Then verse 25:

Romans 3:25a

“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood….” The price of redemption. Now Peter said, “You’ve not been redeemed with silver and gold but with what? With the precious blood of Christ.” That was the price of redemption. And to think that most of Christendom has thrown the blood out the back door. They’ll never mention it. They don’t preach it, and it’s disappeared from my hymnals. Horrors! It is the very basis of our salvation and we dare not walk it under foot because it’s by virtue of our faith in that shed blood which is the price of redemption. That He could buy us back from having been hocked to Satan when Adam fell. Now verse 26:

Romans 3:26a

“To declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness: that he (God in Christ) might be just,….” Now what does it mean to be just? Fair! With no room for controversy and so God is just in doing what? Justifying the person who believes. Oh I love these verses! How it just screams against a works religion. We’re redeemed by placing our faith in that shed blood of Christ. We are justified when we believe the Gospel, that Christ died, was buried and rose again. And God is perfectly just in declaring us as justified. He’s Sovereign. He can do that.

Now that’s a concept that’s beyond my understanding. How can he take this sinner, born of Adam, and by my simple faith in what He has done there at Calvary, declare me “just as if I have never sinned. That’s justification.” That doesn’t mean I won’t sin. Don’t ever think that. Ask my wife! But, so far as God is concerned, I’m ‘just as if I have never sinned.’ That’s what justification does for us.

And we’re to live with that concept. Listen, if you go through life knowing that God has declared you as bought out of a slave market, justified from all things – doesn’t that give you incentive to do your part? Not for salvation, but as a result of it. Sure it should. And it should behoove every believer to do everything we can as Paul instructs in his epistles to “flee the things of the flesh and to avoid every appearance of evil.”

Now I’m going to Romans chapter 7 and the whole idea is that as a result of our salvation, God has now redeemed us, justified us. He has given us the indwelling Holy Spirit. He has placed us into the Body of Christ. He has declared that we are now children of God and on and on I could go, with all the things that came in the moment we were saved as a result of our salvation, by simply believing Paul’s Gospel.

But, that’s not just for a fire escape. We are to be productive. We are to do all we can to win others. Now I remember way back, in some of our early programs, I used an example out of Time Magazine. It was a little box on the bottom of the page and they had interviewed a young Communist worker in Moscow. And I shared it on the program, how that young man said that as soon as he got off work, say at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, he couldn’t wait to get down to Communist Headquarters to work for the Party. And he would work for the Communist Party until 10 or 11 o’clock at night, for the sole purpose of promoting Communism.

I said at the time, would that some believers have that kind of motivation. But most Christians are just content to sit and let the rest of the world go by. We should be motivated to get out there and do something that will bring somebody to Christ. See? Alright the other one is, right now today. Who are the militants? The Muslim world. And what do they really want? World dominion. And what are they going to do to get it? Work day and night. And we sit on our duff and do nothing. But that’s not what God intended. God intends us to be productive.

Romans 7:4a

“Wherefore, my brethren, (Paul writes) ye also are become dead to the law…” We’re not under Law. See that’s the same thing he’s trying to tell these Hebrews. Get away from the legalism. Get out from under Judaism and step out into this which is so much better. And so he says:

Romans 7:4

“Wherefore, my brethren ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; (In other words, by virtue of His crucifixion) that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, (now this of course, is just a scriptural use of words to prove a point, that we are now united with Christ. Just like a man married, and for what purpose)that we should bring forth fruit.” You should have an impact on people around you to the place that you can bring in some lost souls. Now, I believe most believers go all the way to their grave never having led one person to Christ. Even their own children, they have never brought them to a knowledge of salvation. And if every believer would just win one, my what a difference we could make! But we don’t do it.

I remember in my younger days, hearing people say, “Well, that’s the preacher’s job. That’s the Sunday School teacher’s job.” Well, yes but it’s yours also, and it’s mine. And I always say, that doesn’t mean you collar people and force these things down their throat. It simply means that you’re skilled enough in the Scriptures that when someone asks a question – take them to The Book! If nothing else have a few notes in the back of your Bible That will help you to show them some Scriptures. How that it is by faith in that work of the Cross plus nothing!

I know people hate to hear that! I had a gentleman call again the other day and say, “Les why do people think they have to DO something?” Well it’s that old Adamic nature, see? And so to overcome that takes a lot a patience. I had another gentleman call and say, “You know, I can’t understand it, since I’ve been saved through your program,” he says, “I’ve gone back to the church where I was raised and I present these things.” And he said, “I’ve asked some of my fellow church people, do you know what the Gospel is? And you know what? They look at me and they don’t have a clue. They don’t know what the Gospel is.”

Another gentleman said, “You know what most people in my church answered when I asked them, “What’s the Gospel?” They said, “The Bible.” “Well,” he said, “The Bible’s got the Gospel in it, but that’s not the Gospel.” But see, this is where Christendom is tonight. They are so pitifully ignorant that most church people cannot tell you what Paul’s Gospel is, and how you gain salvation. They simply don’t have a clue.

Well, that’s where you and I come in. We’ve got to let them know that it’s not a whole bunch of do’s and don’ts. It’s not getting so holy that you’re just sort of an oddball. No way. The Christian life as I’ve said over and over on this program, is the most practical thing on earth. There is nothing more practical that a solid Christian life. You’ll never find a good, true believing Christian caught up in the throws of court proceedings and crime. That’s not their lifestyle. Now, we can all fail. My, we can all make a mistake, but it is not the Christian’s lifestyle to be constantly on the police blotter. And so, this is what the Scripture tells us, that now we’re to consider ourselves just like a woman that is married to her husband. We are in union with Christ and the purpose is that we are to produce fruit. We’re to get busy. And we’d better or the Muslim world will overtake us. And then, we’ll wish we would have.

Now let’s go to Ephesians chapter 2 verse 4. Remember this is all jumping off from that word salvation in Hebrews chapter 6 as Paul was agreeing that the believing element of these Hebrews had salvation. So he wasn’t condemning them for being apostate but it was the people who were a part and parcel of their congregation who were and had been.

Ephesians 2:4-6

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5. Even when we were dead in sins, (the offspring of Adam) hath quickened (or made us alive spiritually)us together with Christ, ( by grace are you saved”) 6. And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” God always has a purpose in everything He does, and here is another one, in the next verse.

Ephesians 2:7-8

“That in the ages to come (eternity) he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (and here comes that classic verse that every believer should know) 8. For by grace are you saved (unmerited favor that we don’t deserve) through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”

Is there anything added there? No. There’s nothing in there of baptism, or of tongues. There’s nothing in there of good works, because the only way we’re saved is by faith plus nothing! Now I always have to qualify that. That doesn’t mean that we can say, “Oh I’m saved”, and then go on our way. That’s not what I’m teaching. We’re saved for the purpose of producing fruit, and that’s not “easy believeism.” It’s not easy to get out there and produce fruit. You’ve heard me use it over and over and I’ll use it again. If you’re paddling a canoe up a river, upstream, how much of the time can you take the paddle out of the water? Never! Because the moment you do, back down the river you go.

And it’s a constant exercise of energy to keep moving on in the Christian experience. So don’t ever let anyone accuse me of an easy believeism. All I say is it is so simple because God has done all that needs to be done and all we have to do is believe it. But, recognize that God’s going to move in and make us a new creation, so that we can bear fruit.

Ephesians 2:8-10

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (and you don’t work for a gift) 9. Not of works, (because if it was works then) any man should boast. (now we follow-up after salvation) 10. For we are his workmanship, (We are something now that God is working to form us and to prepare us for our service.) created in Christ Jesus unto good works, (Not for salvation I think that’s evident, but as a result of it.) which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Alright now, I’m going to take verses 11, 12 and 13 because again, too many people don’t know these are in their Bible. Look what they say:

Ephesians 2:11a

“Wherefore remember, (he’s writing to Gentiles. He’s writing to you and I.) that ye being in times past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision…” Which remember was a derogatory term that the Jews used concerning Gentiles. And usually they made it a little more derogatory by adding the word dogs. Gentiles were uncircumcised dogs in the Jewish vernacular and so Paul is alluding to that same thing. That that’s what the circumcision in the flesh called Gentiles. Now verse 12.

Ephesians 2:12

“That at that time (while God was dealing with Israel back there in that Old Testament economy and during Christ’s earthly ministry and yes, even these Hebrews to whom Paul is addressing in the letter) ye (Gentiles) were without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel (we weren’t citizens of Israel. We’re not Jews. We were uncircumcised Gentiles)and strangers from the covenants of promise, (consequently where were the Gentiles before the Age of Grace?) having no hope, and without God in the world.” But verse 13, This is the flipside – we’re no longer in that time, we are now in this Age of Grace,

Ephesians 2:13

“But now in Christ ye who sometimes were far off (we Gentiles) are now made nigh (not through the Mosaic Law. Not through Judaism. Not through legalism. But through what?) by the blood of Christ.” Through the blood of Christ. And remember what the Book of Romans said concerning the blood of Christ? “Put your faith in it, and believe it with all your heart.” God has said that the blood of Christ has paid your sin debt. Alright, Hebrews chapter 6 verse 9 again,

Hebrews 6:9-10

“But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, through we thus speak. 10. 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.”

So these people Paul is commending because they were true believers.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 3 * BOOK 49

Hebrews 6:4-10

Here we are in chapter 6 of Hebrews.

Now, I realize that sometimes this is kind of scary. But if you’re a believer, this doesn’t have to scare you one bit, because as we pointed out in our last program, there’s a big difference between backsliding or failing as a believer, and being an apostate. We’re going to look at that word more in depth this next half-hour. Maybe it would be better if we start up there again at verse 4.

Hebrews 6:4a & 6a

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened,… 6. If they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance.”

But now remember, we’ve been looking at everything in between in the last couple of lessons. These folks can have this kind of knowledge. They can have the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and they certainly understood a lot of Old Testament truths. Remember we’re talking about Jews who are hanging on to Judaism. And so let’s just start at verse 4 again.

Hebrews 6:4-5

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, (remember watch the language. They didn’t ingest it they merely tasted) they were made partakers of the Holy Ghost. (they didn’t actually have the Holy Spirit they merely brought Him along side) 5. And have tasted the good word of God, (oh they knew about Christ’s earthly ministry, and they knew all the Old Testament promises) and the powers of the world to come,”

We covered that in the closing moments of our last program, how that they understood this coming Kingdom and all the glories of it.

Hebrews 4:6a

“If (scary word isn’t it?) they (these people who had this much understanding) shall fall away…”

We’re going to stop right there. This word that is translated “fall away” and I put it on the board ahead of time, in the Greek is ‘parapipto.’ Now I’m not a Greek scholar and you don’t have to be, but here’s one instance where it pays to see the difference. This word is the only time it’s used in the whole New Testament. Where it’s translated in verse 6 that “if they shall fall away,” it is a “parapipto,” whereas the other word that we’re most familiar with like in II Thessalonians chapter 2 that “unless there is a falling away first” – that term is “apostasia” and it, too, is translated “falling away.” But it does not have the connotation that this one does.

And I’m going to show you why, because since it’s the only time it’s used in the Greek in our whole New Testament, even the Greek scholars have a hard time really nailing it down. But, I went through enough and found that one great linguist of days gone by said, “The only way you can understand this term – parapipto – is to realize what it means in the Hebrew.” And so the Hebrew word is “mahal.” M-A-H-A-L. We’re going to look and see what that word “mahal” really is talking about.

Let’s come all the way back to Numbers chapter 5, and let’s just drop down to verse 12. Remember what we’re showing – that this Hebrew word “mahal” is the best parallel with the Greek word “parapipto” which is only used in Hebrews chapter 6.

And I’m taking the time to show the difference because I want you to see that this falling away in Hebrews chapter 6 is far worse than the normal term to fall away or to be apostasia. Let’s start with verse 11.

Numbers 5:11-12

“And the LORD spake unto Moses saying, 12. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a (what’s the word?) trespass (that’s the Hebrew word “mahal”) against him,” (her husband)

And what does she do? She commits adultery with another man. Now of course, we know that adultery was common in Israel just like it is today, but this is a unique situation from the word “mahal.” It is when this woman literally “turns her back with scorn” on her husband. She doesn’t just get caught in a moment of temptation and weakness but she, of her own volition, with a scornful turning her back to her husband goes and commits adultery, now that’s the word mahal translated ‘trespass.’ Alright, the next one is in Ezekiel chapter 14, and we’ll start with verse 14. This is the same Hebrew word.

Ezekiel 14:12-13

“The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, 13. Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing (mahal) grievously, then will I stretch out my hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it and will cut off man and beast from it:”

Is that the term that was used with backsliding that we looked at in the last program? No. Backsliding would bring in God’s mercy and grace but this “scornfully turning the back” is an apostasy or a “parapipto” that is so scornful in it’s act that God has nothing left but judgment. He can’t deal with it in mercy and grace. Now see, that’s what makes the difference then.

Alright, flip all the way back to Hebrews chapter 6 and this is what makes the difference, I think, in these verses in Hebrews that so many people have got all confused and are shook up about. This is not the common ordinary believer who has suddenly fallen into sin and he’s not lost. He hasn’t scornfully rejected the things of God, but rather he’s just simply been human and he’s been caught in a moment of weakness and he falls, like we saw in our last program. The man in Corinth that was restored, and forgiven. Can you see that?

But these people made a scornful turning of the back on these things that God had revealed to them. Now then, since this is a much different situation of an apostatizing, look what the result will be.

Hebrews 6:6

“If they shall fall away, (or if they shall turn their backs scornfully on these things that are now revealed to them, it is impossible) to renew them again unto repentance; (it’s impossible) seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”

What are we dealing with? We’re dealing with people who have claimed to be believers. Now, I’m going to keep it in the Hebrew element first. And then we’ll jump up to where we are today. Even these Hebrews to whom Paul is now writing, have made a semblance of believing. They have gone along with all these things, but then when they really were pressed to make a decision to move on forward, what did they scornfully do? They went back under the Law and there was no more of God dealing with them.

Now I know I have taught, and I will continue to teach, that God never gives up on a lost person. But, it would seem to indicate that someone who has made a profession of faith without really becoming a believer and then at one point in time, they scornfully, like the ones we’ve looked at in King Saul, what did he do? He just scornfully went his own way. What was his end? Suicide.

Judas. Three years he trafficked along with Jesus and the eleven, playing the perfect hypocrite. But in the final analysis, when it was time to really show his colors, what did he do? He scorned the Lord and went and sold Him for thirty pieces of silver. And ends up committing suicide.

We probably have the same thing with Demas that Paul dealt with. He went along with Paul – worked with him. But yet, as Paul said later on in Timothy, “For Demas has forsaken me.”He forsook Paul’s Gospel because he loved the things of this world. Now we don’t know that Demas ended up committing suicide, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Because this is the end of these people who “scornfully” reject the enlightenment that they have received. Now in verse 6, not only do “they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, they put him to an open shame.”

Stop and think. Does the man of the world, well let’s just use the Mafia for example. He lives a life of crime. He lives a life that is anything but Godly and Christian. Can he bring any reproach to the name of Christ? No. Nobody associates him with Christ. He’d be the last one that someone would say, “Well boy, I just don’t know what to think. That guy is supposed to be like Christ.” No, that’s never the idea.

But, you take these people who have taken on a semblance of being like Christ, now what does the world say. “Hey, he claims to be a Christian and look!” You remember the one I gave you, the lady called and said, “What about my preacher, he ran off with his secretary and left his wife and kids?” Well what is that man doing? He is throwing reproach on the name of Christ because at one time he claimed to know Him. Now that’s the difference.

But you take the ungodly person out there who has never had any concern about spiritual things, they don’t bring a bad reflection. They’ve never had anything to do with Christ. And that’s exactly what this verse is saying. But these people who have claimed to have tasted and they were enlightened and they had a knowledge of Scripture and then they scornfully turn and go back to where they come from. They bring nothing but reproach upon the name of Christ and that’s why I think God has to deal with it so drastically and they “put the name of Christ to an open shame.”

Alright, let’s just move on. I think I’ve covered that sufficiently. Always remember that this word falling away (mahal) in Hebrews 6:6 is a far stronger act on the person’s behalf than the word apostasia that we see in II Thessalonians 2 where it says that unless there is a falling away before the anti-Christ would come. Okay, I think we’ve belabored that enough. Let’s go to verse 7.

Hebrews 6:7a

“For the earth….” Now we’re still talking about these same kind of people. These same people who have been enlightened. They have a knowledge of Scripture, but they have turned their back and they have put Christ to an open shame. Alright now, the analogy is in verse 7:

Hebrews 6:7

“For the earth (an everyday experience in nature now) 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.”

Now there’s just another earthly illustration again of the believer. The believer is just like tilled land, and that tilled land is kept free of weeds so that it can produce. Now I think you’re all close enough to agriculture, out here in the Midwest. What if our wheat farmers out here North and West of Oklahoma City would just let their land go, and just let the weeds take over? Why they could plant wheat until kingdom come, but would they get a crop? No. Why? Because the weeds are going to choke it out and the wheat would never survive.

But, instead, you can always tell a good farmer or a good husbandman. When you drive by his crops in the summer time as to how much weeds it has in it. And if it’s loaded with weeds well you can just rest assured, he’s not exactly the best farmer in the community. Because you go down the road a little ways and you’ll see a crop that is just pure, gold and beautiful.

You know, as I was thinking since we left crop farming up in Iowa some 26 years ago, a lot of technology has come over agriculture and now Iris and I are just aghast as we drive up through the Midwest and on our way out to Ohio and Indiana at these beautiful soybean fields. Now when Iris and I were farming it was a constant battle. We, by hand, would go out and hoe out the large weeds that would come up in our soybeans. The sunflower and so forth. I’ll never forget she said, “Is this going to increase our production or is this all cosmetic?” Well, it was mostly cosmetic and I remember one hot day, she just threw down her hoe and went home. (Laughter) “If it’s not going to increase production and it’s cosmetic, why should I be doing it?”

But you see this is what the Bible is teaching us. That the farmer who is a good husbandman is going to control those weeds. Well, getting back to what I was going to say, these soybean fields now are just totally weed free. Mile after mile. I know some of you people watching me out on the East Coast, you go through the Midwest, and you think what’s more boring than going by all those miles of corn and soybeans? Listen, there’s nothing more beautiful! Not a weed to be seen. Those soybean fields are just like velvet for miles on end.

Well, you know what has happened? The technology has now come that they can actually maneuver the genes so that these soybeans are not killed with Roundup. Amazing! Now this is what they tell me. They put in Roundup ready soybean seed and they just let the soybeans come up and they may get pretty weedy and then about the middle of June they come in with Roundup and Roundup kills everything but the soybeans! And so here you now have these beautiful weed free fields.

You see, that’s what the Scripture says. “That if you take care of your crop and you keep the weeds out, the rain is going to bring you a crop.” A hundred-fold Jesus spoke of in John’s Gospel. Alright, so it’s the “blessing of God.” What’s the first word of verse 8? “But,” There’s always a flipside. And what’s the flipside? If you don’t have a field that’s been taken care of with good husbandry and you let the weeds come in, now look what happens:

Hebrews 6:8a

“But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected,…” Who wants a field full of briers? Who wants a field full of cockleburs and thistles?

Well, you see, the analogy is the same way in the spiritual. Now, the true believer is going to keep the weeds out. He’s going to keep his life a testimony that the world can look at and say, “I see Christ in that person.” And that’s what God expects of every one of us. Now that doesn’t mean, and I’ve used the expression over and over, throughout the years. “God doesn’t expect us to be so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good.” That’s not what God expects. But God does expect that every moment of our life, our priorities are centered first and foremost upon Him and His Word.

Now there again, that doesn’t mean that every time you talk to somebody you preach at them. I don’t take that approach. But you know what it does mean? That every time somebody gives you an opening. Somebody asks you a question. What should you be ready to do? Show them from the Scripture. Don’t get a denominational paper. That may not always be right, so show them from the Scripture.

See, that’s what he was talking about up there in chapter 5. He said, “you should be ready to teach others also, but you’re not. You’re still on the milk bottle.” And so this is why I teach. Oh, that we can get people to get such an understanding of Scripture. I gave a couple of illustrations in our last taping of men that had called. How that people came into their office just with a question. And they just took out a piece of paper and drew the timeline. And get people to understand how all these things have unfolded, bringing us to this Age of Grace. And this tremendous Gospel that was given the Apostle Paul, how that Christ died and rose from the dead and by believing it, God will move in and transform us. Now continue on in verse 8.

Hebrews 6:8a

“But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing;…” Why? Because those briers and weeds are so awful. Have you ever gotten caught in a brier patch? I mean you get halfway in and you don’t know whether to go back out the way you’ve come or keep going. It’s no fun. And you hate them. I’ll never forget the first time I got to Oklahoma and went out on the ranch to fix fence or something that’s what happened to me. I got caught in one of those green briers. And I didn’t like Oklahoma. But, I’ve learned to live with it.

But, alright the Bible is telling us the same thing. A person’s life who is filled with briers and weeds almost brings people to the place of cursing.

Hebrews 6:8b

“…whose end is to be (what?) burned.” Well now that’s always the indication in Scripture. Let me show you in I Corinthians chapter 3, and this is coming back into Paul dealing with us Gentiles but it’s the same God and the same God that inspired Paul to write to the Hebrews and to write all his other epistles. Here Paul is dealing with believers in their working for reward during their Christian life. Now we’re not dealing with any but believers and, remember, Corinthians had a lot of carnal believers, they were not spiritual. And so here’s the illustration.

I Corinthians 3:12

“Now if any man build upon this foundation (which is Jesus Christ. He is the foundation of our faith and from that we build. And remember He gives us 6 materials which we can use for our rewards) gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay and stubble;” Three materials that fire cannot touch, and three materials that fire will put away in a puff. Verse 13:

I Corinthians 3:13

“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: (one day our works are going to come up before the Bema Seat. Not for salvation – that’s done. But for reward) for the day (the Bema Seat Judgment day) shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by (what?) fire.; and the fire shall try (or test) every man’s work of what sort it is.”

Now remember what we’re looking at. Gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay and stubble. The first three, fire will do nothing but purify. The next three, it’s going to disappear. And so, “the fire will test every man’s work of what sort it is.” Look at verse 14,

I Corinthians 3:14

“If any man’s work abide (it’s gold, silver and precious stones) which he hath built thereupon he shall receive a reward.”

Now verse 15, the carnal believer who has never really gotten into any service for the Lord. Oh he’s a believer; he’ll be in Glory.

I Corinthians 3:15

“If any man’s work shall be burned, (it’s wood, hay and stubble) he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved.” (he’s going to make it. But he’s not going to have any reward. See that? He’s going to be saved) yet so as by fire.”

Alright now then, come back to Hebrews and we’ve got the same analogy. In fact, the Lord uses the same thing in John’s Gospel, that branches that don’t produce are going to be cast off and burned. They are useless. But here in Hebrews we’re talking about people who are not just carnal believers, they are apostates. They have scornfully turned their back on the truth of what God has offered.

So, “it is rejected nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned.” Or cast aside as worthless. That’s strong language. Now, let’s also look at the eternal state. It too is fire. Come back to Revelation chapter 20.

Revelation 20:13-14

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; (now this is the Great White Throne Judgment for the lost.) and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14. And death and hell were cast into (what?) the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 2 * BOOK 49

Turning Your Back Scornfully – Part 2

Hebrews 6:4-10

I guess, I’ve said it often enough over the years, we’re just an informal Bible study. I’m not a pastor, I’m not a preacher, I don’t claim to be a theologian, but all we try to do is just pick these verses apart and get everything out of it that we possibly can and help folks understand that the Word of God is not that difficult. And of course, the secret is to be able to separate God dealing with Israel and His dealing with the Gentile Body of Christ. Until you do that, it is confusing. It’s hard to comprehend and you sometimes wonder what in the world the Bible is all about. But, once you separate it and realize that what God is speaking to Israel is, for the most part, under the Law, we can learn from it. But that’s not where we are. We’re under Grace. Also remember Grace is not license but it is that tremendous fulfilling of God’s tremendous plan of redemption – we enter in by Faith and Faith alone. But we don’t stop there. We move on into a life of works and service for the Lord.

Okay, let’s keep right on going where we were in Hebrew chapter 6 in the last lesson, and we’re going to constantly remind you that this is dealing first and foremost with Jews who were still hanging on to Judaism, though they had embraced Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. But as the early Jewish believers there in Jerusalem were prone to do, they still hadn’t understood Paul’s whole doctrine of not being under Law but under Grace.

So I feel the Apostle Paul now is not divulging who he is because, you want to remember, the Jews hated him. They thought he was a turncoat. They thought he was somebody who became a renegade of Judaism because he was now proposing that “we’re not under the Law; we’re under Grace.” But the whole idea as he approaches these Jewish believers only in, I guess we could say, the Gospel of the Kingdom, that which was preached in Christ’s earthly ministry, and as Peter continues in the early chapters of Acts. And all they understood was that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ. But Paul is trying to get them to move on and recognize that now Christ not only was the Messiah but He had died for the sins of the world. He became the great high priest, not just for Israel, but for the whole human race. And we’ll be going into that especially when we get into chapter 7 when, once again, we pick up the priesthood of Melchisedec who was not a priest of Israel but he was a priest of the non-Jewish world.

Alright, but before we get there we’re going to continue to deal with these Jewish people who had embraced that much of the program, that Jesus was the Messiah. And the Holy Spirit had enlightened them to some of these things, but they refused to let go of their legalism. Of course, that shows up so clearly then when you get into Paul’s epistles, especially the letter to the Galatians. Because these very kind of Jews, not these particularly because like I’ve said, I don’t think this was addressed to the Jerusalem church. I think it was to another congregation. But, when we get to Paul’s epistles we always note that the Judaisers from the Jerusalem church were constantly beseeching Paul’s new converts to go back under the Law.

And that was something that just drove the Apostle up the wall and that’s the reason for the strong language in Galatians that “how in the world can you who’ve begun now in Faith and Grace go back under the Law?” Well, this is just the other way around. He’s trying to get these Jews to let go of the things concerning Judaism and come on into this whole economy of grace.

Before I go any further, I’m going to put a couple of words on the board. Because I don’t want people to get these two concepts mixed. There is a big difference between “apostasy”and “backsliding.” Now I take that word out of the Old Testament, so before I put it on the board, I’m going to have you turn back with me to Jeremiah. Because I don’t want people to confuse the issues. I don’t want people to think that just because you haven’t lived an exemplary Christian life the last few days, that you’ve lost your salvation.

It’s very possible to be a backslider as a believer, and never lose your salvation. But on the other hand, for people who were never really saved, it’s not hard for them to turn their back on revealed truth and become an apostate. Jeremiah chapter 3, and verse 11. Now granted this is Israel under the Law.

Jeremiah 3:11

“And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.” Now remember this is when the nation was divided and the Northern Kingdom had already gone far down the tube into idolatry and so forth, and Judah is still enjoying the Temple worship and all the ramifications of the feasts days. But it’s just a comparison that even Israel, with all of their idolatry and their sin, in God’s eyes were still better than those religious Jews down in Judah. So he says:

Jeremiah 3:12

“Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.”

See that term? Remember when I’m always using Exodus – what is it – 31? Where God says, “I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy, and I will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” He’s Sovereign. But on the other hand, He cannot show mercy to someone who has scornfully apostatized. But the backslider, yes. And so He says, “I am merciful, I will not keep my anger forever.”

Jeremiah 3:13a

“Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree,…” Alright that was the Old Testament’s format, that Israel could certainly backslide and they could turn cold but as long as they were still in that mode of faith and belief He would bring them back and He could forgive and be merciful.

Now again, let’s come into the New Testament account. And I suppose the most flagrant instance of backsliding would be in I Corinthians chapter 5, and we’ll start in verse 1. There’s not one word of Scripture to indicate that this man was ever lost, because he was a believer. He fell into a horrible sin, but yet we know from the record that he was restored and he was never lost. He was a backslider. He was not an apostate. See the difference?

I Corinthians 5:1

“It is reported commonly (in other words, everybody knew it) that there is fornication (immorality) among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.” In other words, his stepmother. And of course, the Corinthian church was admonished to deal with him and they did deal with him rather severely but, the man was restored, and he was forgiven. He was a backslider. And now we have the other comforting account in I John chapter 2. We all know that we cannot go through life sinless. The most spiritual are still prone to sin every day. If we don’t fail anywhere else, we fail in the thought processes. And we always have this comfort that even though we fail, even though we stumble and we’re a true believer; God will never cast us out but instead He gives us that opportunity for a restoration.

I John 2:1-2

“My little children, (what a term of endearment) these things write I unto you, that you sin not. And (what’s the next statement) if any man sin, we have an advocate. (we have someone there at the Father’s right hand interceding for us constantly) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2. And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Alright, so here we have this whole concept then that there is such a thing as “backsliding.” So I’m going to put this on the board because what we see we’re more prone to remember than what we simply hear. And that is that “backsliding” – falling into sin temporarily – backsliding can lead to a forgiveness or I’ll use the word restoration. We’re made right back and are in full fellowship once again.

Whereas – “apostasy” – oh, what an awful word. Apostasy only has one thing ahead of it and that is judgment. There is no other way that God will deal with apostasy but by judgment. Now remember we saw the first instance of that when Israel refused to go in at Kadesh-barnea. And it’s one of the themes of Scripture that is a constant warning, to not be as Israel was, when because of unbelief they failed to go in and take the Promised Land. Well, it was scornful turning their back on what God had offered.

Consequently, what happened to that generation of people? They went out into the desert and their carcasses died by the thousands. And it was a judgment because of their apostasy; they were not like backsliding Israel. Alright so keep those two terms in mind as we continue on now for the next few moments on this whole concept – is it possible for someone to be truly saved and then have this awful anathema pronounced, that they’re lost? No! Paul makes it so plain. For the person who is genuinely saved and has been placed into the Body of Christ there is nothing that can take us out.

So when you see instances, as I mentioned in the last program, of people and you say, “And he’s still a Christian?” Invariably I think you can answer – “They never were.” Oh, they had had an emotional experience. They had gone through some of the rigmarole of whatever the denomination may require but they never embraced their faith, and so they are just lost! They never were saved.

Alright but let’s go a little further now in Hebrews chapter 6 and so now we’ll go into verse 5. Coming out of verse 4 where they were partakers or they “came along side” the work of the Holy Spirit but they never were indwelled by Him, now verse 5. So these Jewish people:

Hebrews 6;5a

“And had tasted the good word of God….” Let’s just stop there again. How long would you survive if you never did anything but taste something? Why by the end of the first day you’d be so hungry you’d be ready to collapse. Because the word taste does not mean that you take it in, you’re what? You’re testing it; you’re trying it. You come up with a new dish in a restaurant or something and I don’t think you’re going to lay out $10-$15 bucks for something you don’t know anything about. So, what do you do? Well, you’ll taste it. Just take a little bit. See if you like it and then, yes, gorge yourself if you want to, I guess, but that is what it takes to satisfy the needs of the body. Tasting will never do it.

When I was a wee little kid, my mom used to make pumpkin pie out of the old pumpkin, from scratch. They didn’t know what canned pumpkin was. And I can still see her stirring up that pumpkin pie batter and ever so often what would she do? She’d taste it. Put in a little more salt, a little more sugar, a little more cinnamon and stir it up and taste it.

Well, how much energy would she have ever developed from taking that much food? None. That’s all she was doing, just tasting it. Well, see, that’s what these people were doing, they were dabbling in it. They were looking at it and then they probably just said, “Without the Law?’ Without Sabbath keeping?” There is no way I can do that.

You see, I’m up against the same thing today. Oh my goodness, you get especially some of these cult people and you’ve got them on the fence and you’ve got them thinking and invariably they’ll call “But Les, this has been drummed into me since I was little. You think I can turn my back on that?” Well you’d better because unless you do, you’re going to be outside. If you don’t then you’re tied to a dead horse. That’s the best way to put it. But oh, it’s so hard to come out of that background. Well, these people were the same way. They’d been steeped in Judaism. And they just could not let go of it. And so, here was the warning “you’d better.” Now I’m sure that the vast majority of that congregation to whom Paul is writing were truly saved, but there was an element that were not, see? Alright, so now let’s move on in verse 5.

Hebrews 6:5

And have tasted the good word of God, (but wouldn’t swallow it. They would just peck at it. Then Paul goes one more step) and the powers of the world to come,”

He said, “You’ve understood the powers of the age to come.” They were that enlightened. What’s the age to come? Well, for Israel it was the Kingdom, and what we know as the 1000 year reign of Christ at the beginning of eternity. The whole Old Testament is full of promises of this earthly kingdom that’s coming for the Nation of Israel. They even had a pretty good handle on that. And even today, secular Jews for the last centuries, for the last you might say, maybe 2,500 years, what has been the favorite cliche among the Jewish people out there in the Gentile world? “Next year Jerusalem!” You know that. Why? Because Jerusalem is going to be the capital of their coming kingdom. And they had a pretty good handle on that. But that didn’t save them, of course, and so never forget that Israel had a good understanding of this age to come.

Let me bring you back to Isaiah because I always have to prove what I say with Scripture because otherwise it counts for nothing. So let’s turn to Isaiah chapter 35, and I just want to give you a little inkling of how these Jews up through their national history had this inkling of this glorious Kingdom that was coming to the Nation of Israel. And these people to whom Paul is writing the letter to the Hebrews were no different. They had an understanding of this age to come. But it wasn’t enough to bring them to a full knowledge of salvation. It was just merely something that was part and parcel of their religion. See?

Isaiah 35:5-7a

“Then (when this Kingdom comes in. This age to come) the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb will sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. (you’ve all heard those terms) 7. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty lands springs of water:…” That whole Middle East will cease being a desert and it will revert back to the Garden of Eden, see?

Isaiah 35:7b-8a

“…in the habitations of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; it shall be called the way of holiness….”

Well, let’s back up for a minute to the left and come back to chapter 11, and this again is an unfolding of the age to come. The Kingdom. Starting at verse 1.

Isaiah 11:1

“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, (who was the father of David.) and a Branch (that we’re talking about) shall grow out of his roots:” That will be the Messiah. The Christ. The coming King. See? Now verse 2.

Isaiah 11:2-3a

“And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. 3. And shall make him of quick understanding…”

Isaiah 11:4a.

“But with righteousness shall he judge (or govern) the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth:…” Now I always remind myself here of the Beatitudes. This is when the Beatitudes will become valid. In the Kingdom. They’re the constitution of the Kingdom and the King will bring it about. Now verse 5.

Isaiah 11:5

“And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” In other words, His power and His authority. Alright now the physical attributes of this age to come, those of you that love animals, my this will make your heart jump.

Isaiah 11:6

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”

See children in the midst of what we would think are fearsome animals? No. They’re all going to be once again domesticated and tame. And then you come on down to verse 7,

Isaiah 11:7-9

“The cow and the bear shall feed: (together. Oh, this is going to be glorious. No death. No sin, no sickness. And this is what Israel was looking for. See?) their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.. 8. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.(and then we know this is the Kingdom from verse 9,) They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: (which is another word for Kingdom) for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the water covers the sea.”

Well you see, Israel was looking forward to all of these promises of this glorious coming Kingdom. Let’s look at just another one or two and come on up through Daniel, that’s the next one that’s easiest to find. Go past Daniel, then Hosea and then we’ll hit Joel and then Amos. I want to pick a few verses out of the book of Amos. Amos chapter 9 verse 13. And Israel knew all this. They knew this but it wasn’t sufficient to bring them into a true salvation. It was not enough to lock them in. And the same way today.

My, people may know Scripture, they may be able to pray in public but they have never experienced a true salvation and so they’re in danger. But, we’ll cover that later.

Amos 9:13a

“Behold the days come, saith the LORD,…”

That was future, and it’s still future. It’s been put on hold now for 2,000 years but it’s still coming. Don’t let anybody tell you that these things are now moot. It’s still coming. God’s eternal! He’s got a lot of time! And so yes, He interrupted this Old Testament program in order to bring in the Church Age but when the Church is gone He’ll pick right up where he left off with Israel. And so these things are going to come.

Amos 9:13a

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper,…” Now you know what that means? Continuous planting and harvest. Now the first thing old farmers are going to think is ‘Oh my, I don’t even have time to go south in the winter!’ Well, you see, this will be such a light work, there’ll be no weeds, no insects. No drought. It’s just going to be tremendous production. The light labor and it’s just going to be beyond comprehension. See?

Amos 9:13b

“…and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.” In other words these are all just adjectives to show the tremendous production of foodstuffs and the beauty of nature that’s coming in this coming age. Verse 14, God said:

Amos 9:14a

“And I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel,….”

Now listen, what an appropriate place to stop a moment. Why are they back in the land? It’s miraculous! The Nation of Israel should have disappeared 1,500 years ago. They should have just totally amalgamated and assimilated and intermarried and disappeared. But they didn’t! And they were hated. They were driven from place to place. They were persecuted. Over and over, complete nations – England I think in 12 hundred and something made a decree that every Jew had to leave England. They had to be off the island by such and such a date.

In 1492, Spain did the same thing. Every Jew had only two alternatives. Leave or be put to death. And over and over this is what happened to the Jew. Then when you get to the New Testament you remember, that when Paul met Priscilla and Aquila back there in Acts 18, I think it is. What does it say about Priscilla and Aquila? They had recently left Rome because all the Jews had been required to leave Italy. When you pick that up you find Paul had just returned from Athens, and had came to Corinth:

Acts 18:2

“And found a certain Jew named Aquila born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.”

Well, that was their history. Driven from place to place and yet they never lost their national identity. And here they are, back in the land! The land that was deeded to their Father Abraham. And isn’t it amazing that the world can’t figure that out? I just can’t understand it. That takes an intelligence level that’s far beyond anything I can comprehend because just the very concept that here we have a group of people, scattered into every nation on earth. Never lost their identity, still have a lot of their old ancient customs and now they’re miraculously back in that same terra firma that God deeded to their Father Abraham. They are again speaking their ancient language. A miracle! But there they are even as we speak today.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 1 * BOOK 49

Turning Your Back Scornfully

Hebrews 6:4-10

We just are always amazed at how many letters we get expressing that for the first time in your life you’re understanding what the Bible is all about. We just praise the Lord for that, and now to continue on with our study in Hebrews. We’re going to be searching the Scriptures, and be comparing Scripture with Scripture. So we’ll begin again in chapter 6, and verse 4.

But first, for a little bit of introductory comment, I started Hebrews chapter 6 with a statement sort of like this, “I feel like I’m almost bungling into an area that even angels fear to tread because this chapter 6 of Hebrews has probably precipitated more questions in our mail and phone calls than almost any other portion of Scripture. It is a portion of Scripture, I think, that has been totally, totally twisted all out of shape. It has caused a lot of people to have fear that shouldn’t. On the other hand, we don’t take away the fact that it is a warning to people who may be taking these things lightly.” Remember, we used that word several programs back that we’re warned not to take these things lightly. These things are serious business because we’re dealing with eternity and we’re dealing with the Living God, as Hebrews puts it.

Now you’ll remember that back up there in chapter 5, several programs back, Paul was lamenting the fact that these Hebrews were still unable to teach others, as they were still on the milk bottle. They were still even like the Corinthian believers, who were carnal. So the problem with these believers was that they had never matured or moved on. And so, as you come into chapter 6 then, that first word “Therefore,” is in response to that. That the admonition to these Hebrews is to move on, don’t stay back there in Christ’s earthly ministry.

Again, I’m going to qualify. I’m going to keep repeating that the book of Hebrews is indeed written first and foremost to Hebrews but don’t count the Book out as being superfluous and of no importance to us. It’s just like the Old Testament and I treat it more or less in that same vein. We don’t throw the Old Testament away because it was written for the Jew nor do we cast off the Book of Hebrews because it’s addressed to the Jew, but on the other hand, to really get an understanding of what Paul is saying here, we have to realize that it is written to Jews. But as Paul writes to Jews, we as Gentiles can learn so much! In fact I’ve stressed it over the years, Paul always writes his letters to believers. Paul never addresses one word to the unsaved world, but, what’s the end result? It reaches to the unsaved world.

Alright, so as we look at these verses now, keep those things in mind. It’s written primarily to Jewish believers who have come out of Christ’s earthly ministry. And they still are not able to comprehend Paul’s Gospel and so I think what the Apostle is trying to do is show these people that his Gospel is not something totally foreign but that it came up through Judaism and the Jewish people.

So we’ll just jump right in now at verse 4. Remember, Paul has stated up in verses 1 and 2 that they were to “leave the words of Christ.” In other words, His earthly ministry and progress on. And I think I made the illustration in our last program. It’s much like when the Scripture tells the young man and his bride to do what with their parents? Leave them. Leave father and mother and cling to your wife. And I made the analogy that it doesn’t mean that they forsake them. That doesn’t mean that they say, “So long, Mom I’ll never see you again, because now I’ve got a bride.” No. It only means that you cut the apron strings and that young couple now move on in their life and they begin to take on responsibilities that they never had when they were back home with their parents.

And it’s the same way spiritually. We have to keep moving on. We don’t stay back there in the elementary things – God wants us to get into the deep things of Scripture, because that’s when it gets exciting. But see, most Sunday School material is elementary because they try to direct everything to the person who knows nothing, and that’s what it really amounts to. They’re just constantly rehashing things that are at the level of the person who knows almost nothing. Well, that isn’t what God wants. He wants us to keep increasing in the knowledge of God. Now finally I think we’re ready for verse 4.

Hebrews 6:4a

“For (Paul says) it is impossible…” Now I’m going to break the rest of verse 4, 5 and part of 6 down so that you pick up where the thought really goes to and that would be all the way down to verse 6 where it says,

Hebrews 6:6a

“…to renew them again…” Do you see that? Because after all this is what we’re going to look at. It’s going to be “impossible to renew them again.” And in between we’re going to look at the things that makes it impossible. Now, like I said, this is an area that I suppose angels fear to tread, because there’s so much confusion on these few verses here.

It’s a fact that many people teach that you can be saved and lost and saved and lost. No way! No way! On the other hand, is the Scripture saying that you’re saved and you’ve got nothing to worry about? No way. And so what we’re going to look at is the possibility for people as it says here in verse 4, “who were enlightened” and we started to touch on it a little bit in our last program when we ran out of time.

Hebrews 6:4a

“For it is impossible for those who have tasted…” Now what does that mean? That they got a brief understanding. They tasted but they never took it in and ingested it. And remember I gave the illustration that if on a hot summer day, somebody comes along with some ice-cold water, are you going to sip it and taste it to see if it’s okay? No, you’re just going to guzzle it down. You know when I was thinking of this last night, I couldn’t help but think of some of our soft drink commercials. My goodness, they can guzzle that whole 12 ounce can in a matter of seconds. Well you see, this is what God expects us to do with Paul’s Gospel. Not just taste it. Not just pick at it. But we’re to just simply embrace it and just ingest it. And that’s what a lot of people have never done. Oh, they’ve tasted it, they’ve picked at it, they’ve had a little bit of an enlightening, they’ve had an experience, but they were never saved.

In fact, this reminds me, I didn’t intend to do this but it just comes to mind. I hadn’t been on television too long here in Oklahoma and I think it was probably in association with my teaching on Noah’s Ark, where I made it so plain that once Noah and the family were in the Ark and God shut the door, that family was what? Safe! Nothing could jerk them back out of that Ark. They were safe, because they were in God’s presence. They had nothing to fear.

But on the other hand, by the same token, I guess I should say, while they were building the Ark there must of have been scores of people that helped Noah and those three sons build that humongous Ark. And they labored years, crawling all over that humongous thing. But, yet when judgment came, were they in the Ark? No. They were outside. Oh they had labored, and helped build the Ark and yet – they were lost. Well, the analogy of course is that this is a lot of Church people. They are active in the Church. They work in the Church. They sing in the choir. They cook in the kitchen. And they do this and they do that, but they have never entered in to a real salvation. And so, that’s what we’re talking about here.

These people aren’t just saved and lost. They’re never saved. Well, about the same time two phone calls came in. One was all upset, he said, “Les am I hearing you right? You believe once saved always saved?” And I said, “Yes and no.” He said, “What do you mean by that?” I said, “For the person that’s truly saved, yes, they are safe. They are set for eternity. But remember there are a lot of people who are not truly saved, they’ve simply tasted. They have simply been enlightened without embracing it.” And I said, “They may make a profession of faith. They may walk the aisle. They may join the church or other denominations may put them through the catechism and the communion rite but they’re never saved.”

And so, then the world wonders. ‘’Well why are these people claiming to be Christians and they live worse than I do.” That’s the pity of it all. Then on the same program almost, at least about the same day another call came in and she said, “Now Les, I don’t know that I can agree with you.” She said, “A few years back we had a pastor, who had been our pastor for a few years. Had a lovely wife and three kids. And all of a sudden one day, he ran off with our church secretary and we’ve never seen him since. You mean he’s still saved?” And without even thinking, I said, “He never was.”

Now I know I can’t be that judgmental but see, this is the way I look at these things. When people do things that you wonder how can a believer behave like that and God does nothing to bring them back, they were never saved in the first place. And remember I’m not saying this to make you doubt your own salvation but on the other hand it is a warning. Peter says, “make your calling and your election sure.” What’d he mean by that?

What do you really base your salvation on? And I get phone call after phone call, “Les, how can I know that I’m saved?” Well, I just ask a few pertinent questions. Do you love the Lord? Do you love His Word? Do you spend time in it day after day? Do you spend time in prayer every day? And then here’s the kicker, would you rather be with God’s people on Saturday night or out there in some nightclub? Now that’s pretty self-evident. And that’s what being a believer determines. It just simply separates us from the chaff.

Alright, so we’re going to look at this. And it’s so scriptural – I’m going to show you that:

Hebrews 6:4

“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, “it’s impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakes of the Holy Ghost” (or the Holy Spirit). That’s what it said. They were made partakers. Now I’m not a Greek scholar, not by any stretch of the imagination. But once in while I’ll take a verb or a word and look it up and this word “partaker” does not follow what Paul says, “you have been indwelled by the Holy Spirit,” but a “partaker” was just someone called along side to help. And it was just that. It didn’t really envelop them.

Alright, let’s go back and see what the Scripture says and first, let’s go back to I Samuel and we’re going to look at King Saul. Now I know a lot of people, a lot of Sunday School writers, think that Saul’s going to be in Glory, because they think he was a believer. No-no. Saul is another one of the typical candidates that Hebrews 6 is talking about. He was enlightened. And he spent a period of time under the influence of the Holy Spirit, but it never registered. He ended up turning his back on everything. I Samuel chapter 10, drop in at verse 6, and you all know the story. How that Samuel went and found Saul of the Tribe of Benjamin – a big, tall, good looking fellow – and anointed him King.

I Samuel 10:6-7

“And the Spirit of the LORD (and it’s capitalized, so we’re talking about the Holy Spirit) will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.” (in other words, Saul’s going to be different than he was before) 7. And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.” Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Alright but now let’s go on over to chapter 13 still in I Samuel, and drop in at verse 9. And here it is just a little while later, and here Saul is told to wait for Samuel. And of course, the enemy is approaching, and Saul gets impatient. He doesn’t wait for Samuel and he does something that he had no business doing.

I Samuel 13:9

“And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.”

Did he have any business doing that? No! That was the job of the priest. But what’s he doing? He’s assuming his own importance. That’s not Spirit led. He is acting in the flesh, see? Alright now then, you come on down to verse 13. Now look what Samuel says when he gets there and this has just been done and Samuel says to Saul,

I Samuel 9:13-14a

“Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.” (but because of Saul’s rank disobedience, here it comes.) 14. But now thy kingdom shall not continue:…”

Because of one act of disobedience? Yes. Because it showed that Saul was not really what he thought he was. Now, let’s see what happens as he moves on through his life, which of course, went quite a number of years. I think he reigned 40 years if I’m not mistaken. And let’s come on over to chapter 28, verse 7. Now goodness sakes, even a novice in Scripture would know that this is something that a man of God would never do. And look what he does.

I Samuel 28:7

“Then Saul said unto his servants, Seek me a woman that has a familiar spirit, (what’s he looking for? A fortune-teller, a soothsayer. See? Which was totally forbidden in Israel) that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said, to him, Behold there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.”

And so you know what happened. He sought her out, because he wanted help to determine how he should handle things at hand and so he thought the best way would be to bring up Samuel so he could talk to him. Well, I can’t explain that situation, but we know that in some way or another, Samuel appeared. Alright now let’s just come on over to see the end of this man who became a rebel. Chapter 31, still in I Samuel at verse 3. Now remember what’s been happening. Oh sure, first he was anointed King. He had the Spirit of God upon him. And then it wasn’t long until he took things in his own hands that he shouldn’t have done. Then he goes another step down and instead of going to ask the things of God, he goes to a soothsayer, a fortune-teller and now here’s his end.

I Samuel 31:3-4

“And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. 4. Then said Saul unto his armour bearer, ‘Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith: lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armour bearer would not; for he was sore afraid.” (after all this is the King)Therefore, Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.” What did he do? He committed suicide. That was his end. He committed suicide. And yet here’s a man that began with the Holy Spirit. Also II Samuel 28: 16 tells us: “The LORD had become Saul’s enemy.”

Alright, let’s look at another individual in Scripture that everybody knows everything about, I think. Come all the way up now to the New Testament to John’s Gospel, chapter 6, and I’ll let you guess who I’m going to talk about. Who is another apostate that ends up killing himself? Judas! Now I’m not going to look up all the Scriptures, I’m just going to look at the one in chapter 6, and verse 70.

Now you all know the story of Judas. He was numbered with the Twelve. You read Matthew chapter 10 and it lists the Twelve disciples and Judas Iscariot is in there. Now for three years, what did Judas do? He played the role. The others never caught on that he was an unbeliever and a fake. I always say Judas is the most perfect example of a hypocrite in the whole human race. He played the hypocrite for three years, and even carried the moneybag. That’s how much they trusted him and yet he was never part of them. He just simply played along, like so many do in the Church today.

John 6:70

“Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” Jesus said he was a demon! Well, he didn’t just become a demon in the last month or so. He was one from the beginning. He was just simply playing along.

John 6:71

“He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon; for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.”

Now, Judas then becomes a good example of someone who was enlightened. He tasted and he was a part of the ministry. But what in finality did he do? He turned his back on it and had nothing more to do with it and betrayed the Savior. Oh, it’s a horrible thing, but yes it’s possible. Now Paul gives us an example of one as well in Colossians chapter 4. Now these aren’t men that were at one time saved and totally in – no they were merely walking on the outside, they had never really partaken of the things of God.

Now let’s just drop down to verse 12, so we pick up the flow. Paul is just rehearsing the men that had been working with him.

Colossians 4:12-14

“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayer that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 13. For I bear him record, (that is Epaphras). that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis. 14. Luke the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.” In other words, they were in his traveling party. They were working with Paul in his evangelistic endeavor. Alright, now let’s go over to II Timothy chapter 4 and verse 10. And what a sad, sad commentary. Let’s just again, for sake of picking up the flow, go up to verse 8. Of course here, Paul now realizes that his life is coming to an end. He will shortly be martyred and his ministry is over. And so he’s writing to Timothy, his farewell letter you might say.

II Timothy 4:8-10a

“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only but unto all them also that love his appearing. 9. Do thy diligence (remember he’s writing to Timothy) to come shortly unto me. 10. For Demas (the same one he referred to back there in Colossians) hath (what?)forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica;… “

And so yes, this is very, very possible that someone can be enlightened. Back to Hebrews for the minute or two we’ve got left. So, it’s so possible, whether it’s an Old Testament economy or whether it’s in Christ’s earthly ministry or whether it’s now during this Age of Grace, we’ve had instances of people who were enlightened, they tasted, they went along with it, but they never embraced it. I guess we could look at it this way. How about people today that have gone through that same kind of a situation? Well, it’s just like the parable that the Lord gave with the sower. And we touched on that in our last program. Some fell on rocky ground, only had a little bit of topsoil. What happened? It sprung up but as soon as the noonday sun hit it, what happened? It died and it never amounted to anything. Some fell on thorny ground. And nothing happened to it. It had no place to germinate. And some fell on hard, untilled ground and the birds picked it up. But then only a small portion fell on fertile ground and it was able to spring up and bring forth as Jesus Himself uses the terminology. Some fifty fold, some a hundred fold. But there are many who were never truly believers.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 2 * PART 4 * BOOK 49

Hebrews 6:1-4 – Part 2

Alright, so again we’re just an informal Bible study and for those of you just seeing us for the first time, I’m just a layman. I’m not a pastor and I don’t have a congregation. We have no one underwriting us so we are totally dependent on the gifts of God’s people. And it’s amazing, oh it’s amazing how God provides! Our bookkeeper and daughter Laura, who is still a young Christian compared to some of us, was fretting about the ministry’s finances with about three days before the end of the year, and was afraid that we were going to finish in the red, unless something else came in. But you know what, when she got all through tallying up the checks at the end of the year she was able to pay all the bills, including television time and the newsletter expenses. I mean, everything was paid up in full, and she still had $3,000 in the checking account. And, oh, she was so thrilled! Now $3,000 may seem like a lot, but I’ll tell you what, when you see our television bill for one month – $3,000 isn’t much. But the Lord provides, and that’s all we ask. So thank you for your financial help and your prayers and, again, for your encouraging letters.

Now let’s move right on where we left off in the last lesson, and that’s Hebrews chapter 6 and again, I’ll be reviewing a lot today of what we’ve covered because remember we move on again next month into another four programs. But here today we’ve been looking at this whole idea of not staying status quo; you’ve got to progress. You’ve got to move on. And it’s as true of us as it was of these Jews who were still tied up with the legalism and the ramifications of Judaism.

I always like to point out that secular archaeology proves these events. You know, Christ was crucified in about 29 AD. Paul begins his ministry, I always maintain around 40 AD. And so here you have these Jews who had come out of Christ’s earthly ministry still under the Law. Remember I am always emphasizing that during Christ’s earthly ministry they were still keeping the Jewish Law. They had Saturday Synagogue, they kept their food kosher. I mean everything was still under the Law.

Then, of course, when we come into Paul’s ministry, the first thing that Paul makes so plain is “you’re not under the Law, you’re under Grace!” But you see, like the Book of Hebrews is telling us, a lot of these Jews had not yet made the break from Judaism and embraced Jesus as the Messiah – putting that behind them and moving into Paul’s doctrines of Grace. Faith plus nothing, as we see in I Corinthians 15:1-4.

Alright, secular archaeology has pretty much proven that there were Jews up until about the end of the first century, who were showing in their potsherds, the clay particles that archaeologists find, that in the same little piece of clay, there would be a symbol of the menorah – the seven candled candle stick, and the fish. You know, the mark of Jesus of Nazareth, or Christianity, later on.

Now what does that show you? That these Jews were still practicing both sides. They were still involved in the legalism of Judaism but they also had embraced Jesus of Nazareth. And for that reason, of course, they had been scattered out of Jerusalem because of Paul’s persecution. And so one of the cities of the Decapolis, I think, was Pella. And that’s probably where a lot of those Jerusalem Jews fled to – the area of Pella up there just east of Galilee that the archaeologists have found so much evidence of just this very thing. That they must have been practicing both aspects. They had Judaism and yet they were followers of Jesus of Nazareth.

See, this is what Paul is dealing with and I think it was to a congregation maybe in a city like Pella that the Book of Hebrews was written. We don’t know, but that’s just my own idea.He has now been telling them that they’ve got to grow up spiritually. They’ve got to get off the milk-bottle of the simple things and get on into the deeper things of Paul’s revelations of the mysteries and what we call the Age of Grace. But, oh, they were having a problem.

And that’s understandable because we run into it all the time where people may come out of a cult, or what we certainly feel is a totally false religion and it’s a struggle. It is a struggle to just simply cut the ties of that old religion and step out here in Grace. Like a gentleman called me again just the other day. And he said, “Les it must be part of the human nature to want to do something.” And I said, “That’s what I’m always saying.”

Remember, human nature says, “I’ve got to do something,” and that appeals to people. And when I come along and say, you step out by faith and faith alone. Well, it’s just like telling somebody to step out in the street without any clothes on. And I’ve used that analogy because you do, you step out naked before God. With nothing else to enhance eternal life. It’s Faith plus Nothing! Alright so now then, Paul is saying:

Hebrews 6:1-2

“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, 2. Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”

Leave behind these doctrines of baptisms, laying on of hands, repentance from dead works and resurrection of the dead. These are all valid concepts of course, but they are now of no real basis for this Gospel of Grace.

Now I think, Dwight, I’m going to use what you reminded me of. And I appreciate when people do this at break time. I’m going to stop right here a moment, and we’re going to jump clear back to Romans chapter 2, and even though it may not fit with my line of thinking as I prepared for these, I’m going to insert it here, because I want people to know that when I stand up and proclaim Paul’s Gospel of the Grace of God, it is because this is what God has mandated. And anybody that slips out into eternity with less than Paul’s Gospel for their Salvation is in trouble. Alright, Romans chapter 2 verse 16 and it’s a verse that can pretty much stand by itself.

Romans 2:16a

“In the day (That will be at the Great White Throne) when God shall judge (now you see, God won’t be the judge until the Great White Throne) the secrets of men…”

Now I don’t think I have to explain what that is. The very thought processes of an individual. What is his faith basis? With what is he going into eternity? Those are the secrets of men that Paul is referring to. Alright, let’s look at it.

Romans 2:16

“In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ (He’s going to be the judge. Not the Savior – the judge. And He’s going to judge them) according (Paul says) to my gospel.”

Now you think about that. Wake up at 2 o’clock tomorrow morning and think about it. What is going to be the basis of Christ judging lost humanity? What did you do with Paul’s Gospel? And that’s why I stand up unashamed and proclaim Paul’s Gospel because this is what people have to hear. What is Paul’s Gospel? Yes, that Christ was the Son of God. That’s what we’ve seen in Hebrews. He’s the Son, He’s the Creator of everything, but He took on human flesh and He went the way of the Cross. He suffered, He died, He shed His blood, He was buried and He arose again the third day to satisfy all the demands of a Holy God! And all we have to do for salvation is believe that with all our heart.

You know, I’ve been rehearsing over and over in my classes and in my personal testimonies and so forth, that twice in all of human history, God did something that was so perfect. You know what I’m talking about? It was so perfect that He couldn’t add one thing to it, He couldn’t enhance it, He couldn’t embellish it, it was perfect! And because it was perfect, He sat down.

Well, the first one of course, is Creation. Genesis 1 the last verse says that God looked at all that He had created and made and it was what? Very good. And the Hebrew expounds it a lot more. It was perfect. There wasn’t a thing wrong that He could correct. So you get into chapter 2, what did God do? He rested! And you remember I made the statement, now ordinarily you come home from a day of hard work and if you’re going to rest, what do you do? You sit down. Take the load off. Well, that’s what Christ did, because it was perfect. Now again, you get to Hebrews chapter 1 and what did it say?

Hebrews 1:1-3

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. 2. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right had of the Majesty on high;” Well why? Everything was perfect! He couldn’t add to that work of the cross one iota. It was perfect! And then He offers it to the human race, through the Apostle Paul. And what does the human race say, “that’s not enough. I’ve got to do this, I’ve got to do that.” And that’s why God is so displeased with that kind of unbelief.

Alright, so now then, coming back here, these concepts of Judaism now have to be left behind and we have to move on. We have to make a progression out of a dead works religion and move on. Now, in verse 3 we find a word that raises eyebrows.

Hebrews 6:3

“And this we will do (Paul writes. Wow! The next part throws a curve.) if God permit.”

What does that tell you? You can’t do it on your own. God is always going to be involved in every decision we make. And so – even these Jews that Paul is admonishing to move on, get away from all the dead works of Judaism, and move on into this whole finished work of Grace – can they do it alone? “If God permit.” He’s still going to be involved. He’s Sovereign.

Like I say, I’m not a Five-Point Calvinist. I maintain that yes, God is going to make the initial move. He does the initial enlightening, as we’re going to see here in just a moment. But what does the individual have to do? He has to make a decision to accept it or reject it. That’s our decision to make. But God is going to do the prompting. So, we can’t leave God out of the picture.

Hebrews 6:3

“This we will do, if God permit.”

We always have to take all the other Scriptures. Does God want anyone to be lost? No! God doesn’t want anyone to perish. No, for He has died for the whole human race.

Alright now, I don’t think I can do justice to this next portion with only 15 minutes, so I’ll probably have to start and finish next month. But here is a portion of Scripture that I almost hate to, what shall I say, blunder into, an area where angels fear to tread. An area of Scripture that has probably caused more questions in our mail and in our phone calls than any other one portion of Scripture. Mostly because so many have totally ground this thing up to where it doesn’t mean what it’s supposed to mean. But it is a tremendous warning.

Now again, I’m going to make it clear, that even though Paul is addressing Hebrews (who are still hanging on to their old religion) yet, we as Grace believers today, can take the same warning. You see, there are a lot of preachers out there who are telling people from their pulpit that these verses teach that you can be saved today and lost tomorrow. And then you can get saved again and you can get lost again, however many times that your lifetime will permit. And I say, don’t you believe it! Salvation is a one-time thing. And either you’re saved or you’re not. And for those who are not, it’s a warning. Alright, here’s the warning, verse 4,

Hebrews 6:4

“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,”

I’m going to have to stop there because we’ll never get though that verse let alone on into the rest of it.

What’s the Scripture telling us? That there is a possibility for an individual to be enlightened. To have the Holy Spirit open their understanding. They may even have an emotional experience; they may walk an aisle. They may do all the various things that churches and denominations require of them, but they never took it hook, line and sinker. Now, we’ve got plenty of examples in Scripture. I mean all kinds of them.

And the first one without even going back and looking it up in the Book because I trust you all know what I’m talking about is Israel at Kadesh-barnea. Remember it? Here they had just come away from Mt. Sinai, they now have the Tabernacle, the Law and the priesthood. They have everything ready and God has promised the “land of milk and honey” out in front of them. All you have to do is go in and occupy. It’s all ready for them. The fields and vineyards are producing, the pastures are productive, and the water is flowing. God said, “It’s all there for you, and I’ll push the Canaanites out. I’ve used them for the last four hundred years to get it all ready.”

You know, I always have to think of the place that the Lord brought us to here in Kinta, Oklahoma. Iris and I love that hill and over and over I have to say, the guy that got it ready was an instrument in God’s hands. Because he did, he just carved our place out of a hill in his pasture and then within a little while he had heart trouble and he had to sell it. And we moved in and we’ve enjoyed it ever since.

Well, I think that’s how God works. He did the same thing with Israel. Got it all ready. And then told them, “I’ll drive the Canaanites out, don’t you worry about them. I’ll use hornets. You won’t have to lift a sword, just go in and occupy.” There it was. What could they have done? They could have gone in and had it! But instead what did they do, in unbelief? No, no, we can’t do it. And they wept. Wept all night. Because they couldn’t do it. And you know, we’ve been looking at it ever since we’ve been in Hebrews. And what did God call that?Unbelief! And, oh, how He hates unbelief.

Well, it’s the same way with so many people who are approached with salvation. They may have an emotional upheaval. They may have gotten an inkling of the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit but they don’t take it. They turn around and they say, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Alright, let’s look at some more Scripture. Come back with me to Mark chapter 4. This again back in the Lord’s earthly ministry and from the lips of the Lord Himself. This is the parable of the Sower of the Seed.

Mark 4:3-6

“Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4. And it came to pass, as he sowed, (casting the seed) some fell by the way side, fowl of the air came and devoured it up (In other words, it didn’t even have a chance to effect anybody. It was there and gone, just that quick.) 5, And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; (maybe just an inch of topsoil) and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6. But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no (what?) root, it withered away.”

We’re talking about an inch of topsoil on a piece of rock and the seed comes up but there’s no root. And consequently it withered away. Oh it had life, but it withered and it disappeared. Now verse 7.

Mark 4:7-8

“And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8. And other fell on good ground, and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.” And then, Jesus comes down to verse 14:

Mark 4:14

“The sower soweth (what?) the word.” We’re not talking about wheat. We’re talking about Spiritual things. And as the Word went out even over Israel, from the lips of the Lord and the Twelve disciples what happened to most of it? Nothing. Only a little small portion took root.

Now I don’t like to be adamant and say 25% were believers. I don’t think it was even that many. But we know that in the whole concept of Spiritual sowing, the vast majority falls on thorny ground, or on dry ground, too hard for any root to take. The birds get it. And then some fall on shallow ground and springs up but doesn’t mature. And that’s the part that’s so scary.

Alright, come back to Hebrews just a moment. R. E. Torrey, great evangelist of a by-gone day, made statements something like this and I’m trying to be real close, I just read it the other night for the first time. R. E. Torrey made the statement “that there is an enlightenment of the Spirit that does not lead to regeneration.” Did you hear that? There is an enlightening power of the Spirit that does not lead to regeneration. That’s exactly what Paul is addressing here in these verses. These Jews had been steeped in their religion. They had considered Paul’s Gospel but they wouldn’t swallow it.

Now let’s look at another one. Let’s go back to John’s Gospel, and I hope I can find it – it should be in chapter 4. John’s Gospel chapter 4 and you all know the account. Jesus and the woman of Samaria at the well. They meet out there at Jacob’s well.

John 4:7-8

“There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat,)”

Now of course, I always call this a unique situation in Christ’s earthly ministry. Why did He send the disciples away? He knew that this woman was coming and He knew that the Twelve would have a big flap about Him having even one word of conversation with a woman of the street from Samaria. So He gets rid of the Twelve because He knows this woman is coming. So for the woman of Samaria, what was it? A divine appointment! She didn’t know it but Jesus did. Alright so here she comes to her divine appointment.

John 4:9-10

“Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”

Alright I won’t be able to finish this because I’m out of time, I’m going to have to stop here, but if you are working out in a hot summer sun, whether in your garden or mowing your lawn, or whether it’s myself out in a hayfield. And somebody comes along with a drink of ice-cold water – I have a fellow farmer and rancher right over here, Andy what are you going to do? Sip it to see if it’s good? No sir! Boy you’re going to guzzle it. Why? Because you’re going to take it and satisfy the needs of your body. And that’s the way true believers are, they believe it with all their heart, and satisfy their need for salvation, rather than just sip it and go through the motions. Well we’re out of time and we’ll pick up with these thoughts in the next lesson.