Transcript

Hebrews chapter 6, let’s go there again this morning. If you’re visiting with us we’re preaching through the book of Hebrews, and we’ve come to this section in Hebrews chapter 6 that is considered one of the most difficult or troubling texts of scriptures. And, as I began to study it and meditate on it and work on it, it actually seemed to me to be very clear where the writer was taking us. This will be part two of the series in this section that I’m calling, “The Pretenders.” The pretenders.

Let’s read the text together. Hebrews chapter 6 beginning in verse 4: For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and they put Him to open shame.

I am convinced that those who are mentioned here, those who have tasted the heavenly gift, they’ve the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, they were once enlightened, I am convinced that this group is not a group of truly saved or converted people. As you’ll notice, we’ve been studying through Hebrews. The writer seems to address both believers and unbelievers perhaps in this book more than any other New Testament book. There were a lot of pretenders among, or rather with in the Hebrew congregation. Those who had to some degree embraced the gospel, to some degree embraced Christ, but were not truly converted. And I believe those are the ones he is addressing in Hebrews chapter 6. They’d been enlightened, as we said last time, in their minds, but their hearts were never changed.

Let me give you a review from last week’s introduction that I think will set a good foundation for us. We said last week that we believe these are unbelievers for five reasons. First of all, because there is a non-saving repentance. There is a turning, there is a changing of the heart, there is a repentance, but it’s a non-saving repentance. Among other texts, we looked at Second Corinthians 7:10: For the sorrow of the world that is according to the, or rather, the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. There is a sorrow, there is a turning, there is a type of repentance that’s a non-saving repentance. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 17, “For you know that even afterwards when he desired to inherit the blessing he was rejected for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.” Esau, who sold his birthright and then had a change of heart, and with weeping turned, but God gave him no true repentance unto salvation. So there’s a non-saving repentance taught in the scriptures.

Secondly, I believe these are unsaved, uh, people that are being addressed because there’s a non-saving faith in the scriptures. There is a type of trust, there is a type of belief, typically you might call it an intellectual ascent of things, but it’s not saving faith. First Corinthians 15 verse 2 says, “By which you are saved if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you have believed in vain.” There was a faith here, but a non-saving faith.

Thirdly, there terms that are used in this text are far and away not the typical terms used to denote the converted or the truly saved or the true children of God. He said they were once enlightened. Enlightened is never used to speak of those who are truly converted. He says they have tasted the heavenly gift, tasted the good word of God, tasted the powers of the age to come. But he didn’t say that they ate them or swallowed them or ingested or possessively claimed those. Just tasted. Partakers of the Holy Spirit he says, which means an association or a partnership, an associate if you will. Not that you’re possessed of the Spirit or that the Spirit possesses you. Jesus did not say, “I’m the bread of heaven, you must taste Me.” He says, “Eat the bread.” These are not the terms you find elsewhere in the New Testament to describe or point out truly saved people.

Number four, the context is clearly talking about the unconverted. Clearly the unconverted are here. If you look at verses 7 and 8, he gives another metaphor of rain and fruit or thorns and thistles coming up from the ground after the rain. And he says there in verse 7 of Hebrews 6, “For the ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God.” The rain is the gospel. The rains is, is the grace of God working on the hearts of men, and it produces a profitable and good result. Fruit useful for the one who tilled the ground. That’s God, the tiller of the ground. And that’s the truly saved man. But here he goes with a parallel to those he’s been addressing in verses 4 through 6, and that is in verse 8, “But if it yields thorns and thistles it is worthless and close to being cursed and ends up being burned.” IN other words, it had no true fruitfulness to it. It received the rain, tasted the rain, was enlightened by the rain, but didn’t produce any true and good fruit, proving itself to be a pretender, not the real thing.

And then number five, we pointed out how if these are saved people and then as verse 6 says they’ve fallen away, that is they lose their regeneration, if you will, or their salvation for a more general term, then the text makes it very clear they can never, ever be converted again. Notice how he words it there in verse 6, “and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”
So those are five reasons, and could use more like the phrase falling away and describe what it means. But those are five reasons for more of a systematic overview of the, especially the New Testament why I am convinced these are not Christians who fall away from salvation. These are unsaved, church-going, church-fellowshipping pretenders who are not truly converted.
Now let’s go to the second part of this for today’s message, and we see that in verse 4. We’ve talked about those who were enlightened, and we termed that as those who were enlightened in their minds but not changed in their heart. Then the next phrase of verse 4 says, “And have tasted the heavenly gift.” Tasted the heavenly gift. I call this a tasting of Christ but not swallowing Him. I think that’s exactly what the author wants you to get. A tasting of Christ, but not ingesting Him. A tasting of Christ, but not possessing Him and Him certainly not possessing them.

In John chapter 6 verse 51, Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven. If anyone tastes?” NO, “If anyone eats this bread.” Totally different Greek word. Could even be translated devour, swallow it all in. “If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever, and the bread also, which I shall give him, for the life of the world is My flesh.” Geuomai (γεύομαι) is the Greek word here for taste. Geuomai is obviously a metaphor. And if you understand the way it’s used in the Bible and in this particular context when he’s pointing out, I think the meaning becomes clear. It’s like in Matthew 27 verse 34, the Bible speaks of Jesus on the cross, and it says He tasted, He tasted the sour vinegar, but He didn’t drink it. Very different thing there. Same Greek word here, geuomai, tasting but not drinking. Josephus, who was a trustworthy first century historian, said that this word for taste, geuomai, is a word that would be used when the philosophers would teach, and they were always sharing some new philosophy. And people would consider it, analyze it, see some good in the philosophy, but not wholly embrace it. And when they weren’t truly converted to that new philosophy, but they saw some good in it, and might be attracted to things about it. They didn’t fully embrace it. They would say, “He’s geuomai, he’s tasted but not embraced.”

Now are we talking about a real experience, I mean were they tasting something Satanic? Were they tasting some sort of counterfeit Christ? Were they tasting some false gospel? No. This is a real experience with the real Christ, but not a saving experience. It’s short of that. It’s a pre-salvation ministry of the Holy Spirit. Geuomai, or tasting is the same way you and I would use the English word taste or tasting, which means to discern the savor of something. Or you might say to discern or discover the flavor of something. You put it in your mouth, and you discern is it sweet or is it sour? Is it salty or is it bitter? That’s what he’s saying. These people had been under the gospel. The grace of God was working. The grace of God that accompanies gospel preaching was working in their very hearts, and they tasted it, and they saw that it was good, and it was a sweet thing, and it stimulated their appetite.

One time in the Old Testament King Saul, being the diabolical man that he was, on one occasion forbid his soldiers from eating until nightfall. And Jonathan, uh, reached down and ate some of the honey that was in the land. And the scripture says in First Samuel 14:29, he says, “Look how my eyes have brightened because I tasted this honey.” That’s the idea here. He means, “My appetite was stirred and stimulated because we’re so hungry. And I got a taste of the sweet honey.” And that’s what he’s saying is true of these pretenders. They were genuinely stirred. They’re appetites are genuinely provoked. They’re genuinely interested. They, they’ve genuinely believe there’s something good and sweet and wonderful about this Christ, but they’re not converted. They’re not saved. Of course the flow of the context tells us they became totally apostate. They turned their back on Christ and denied Him completely.

Here’s what’s troubling to me in our present culture. That is that you can become apostate and I believe it’s likely you can join a shallow, carnal, worldly church and be an apostate. Because it’s not just the verbal things you proclaim with your mouth, it’s the heart possession and the life fruit that shows the truth of discipleship. So this is a real experience, but it’s only a testing.

In Job chapter 12 verse 11, the Bible says, “Does not the ear test words and the palette taste its food?” Just a tasting. Not the swallowing and digesting that is necessary that the Bible speaks of in Ezekiel chapter 3 verse 3 where the text says, “And He said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll, which I am giving you.’ Then I ate it and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.” He tasted it, but he ingested it. He swallowed it. Could it be that in this church and on our rolls are people who could genuinely say good things about Christ, genuinely say they find things appealing and stimulating and moving about Christ? They can see something of His goodness and something of His sweetness, but He’s never changed them. In their heart of hearts, He’s not their treasure and their hope and their pleasure and their joy. He’s just one of the several important things that taste good to them. Tasted Him but never swallowed Him.

Now there’s an interesting cross reference to this verse in Hebrews chapter 2. Would you turn there? Hebrews chapter 2 and look at verse 9. The writer here says, “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus, because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” Well, didn’t He truly die? Yes. But He only tasted death. He was not swallowed up by death. He tasted death. He was not possessed by death. By the way, He was only in death’s house for three days, and then He tore the house down. Tasted it, but was not under its power. He truly tasted death. He really partook of death. But you see, death does not become the King of Life. He underwent no corruption, no decaying. He did not lastingly embrace death as His and what He treasured and loved and longed for. And death did not lastingly claim Him. And in like manner, when you go back over to Hebrews chapter 6 verse 4, these pretenders indeed truly tasted something of the sweetness and the goodness of Christ, but never fully embraced Him, and Christ never embraced them. I’m preaching to you stuff I have never preached before in my life. You know why? I’m an expository preacher and that’s next. Amen, choir? Isn’t that so good about the Word of God? All the sudden my little concise, clean, easy to understand, neat package theology gets blown to bits. And God’s bigger than I am and our minds and our Southern Baptist Convention. “Pastor, this makes us uncomfortable. It makes us sort of tremble. It makes us worry.” Good! Good! There may be some of you that I’ll se in heave because this text troubled your soul to seek Christ and trade in your pretending membership and your empty baptism and find your treasure of heaven, Christ, and love Him and embrace Him and realize the glory of Him. “Pastor, we would probably believe this way, but until you came along we didn’t hear much preaching like this.” I don’t know what you heard or what you didn’t hear, but this is God’s truth.

You see, when you taste a morsel of food but do not swallow that food, you relish the flavor in your mouth, but you do not receive the nourishment to your body. If one only tastes food and never swallows, he will starve to death. Now note that there are other metaphors that Paul could have used here, and it would’ve been much more clear that these are truly saved people. Or it would’ve been clear, let’s put it this way, that these are truly converted people who have fallen away somehow. He could have used the metaphor for swallow. Katapino is the Greek word. It means to fully swallow, entirely swallow, to swallow the whole thing. If he used that word, we’d have no grammatical, contextual basis but to say these people really knew Christ. But he didn’t use that one. He used tasting, geuomai.

He could’ve used the metaphor of eat, esthio. Esthio means to devour, to swallow completely. If he had used the Greek word, grammatically, we’d have been bound by proper biblical exposition and exegesis to say, “That looks like conversion.” He didn’t use swallow. He didn’t use eat. He used taste. Very different meaning here.
I think one of the things he’s showing us is the serious error, and in the flow of the context as you get down to verse 6 where he says you can’t renew them again to repentance, he’s showing the unforgivable error of thoroughly tasting Christ but not receiving Him as Lord and Savior. James Petigru Boyce was the founding president of our Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the flagship seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Al Moeller is the president there now. You know Al Moeller because he’s on Larry King Live about once a week. And Dr. James Pedigru Boyce, the founding president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary says this, this tasting element, like the enlightening element we looked at last time, and like the further tasting of the good word of God and the power of the ages to come, all come under what should be called the outward call of the Spirit of God. The outward call that all men are under to some degree if they’re under the preaching of the gospel. And you could even include in the outward call of God the witness of nature, that men could look at nature and know there’s a God. And the inward witness of conscience, or the law that men know there’s a law-giver. And then even under the gospel, the Spirit of God works in men’s heart illuminating, enlightening, even convicting to some degree, and it’s part of the outward call of the Spirit. And men can harden their hearts and turn against that call. James Pedigru Boyce says you have to separate that from the other call of God, which is called the effectual call of God. Brothers and sisters, this is old time, four hundred plus year old Baptist and protestant doctrine. There’s a general outward call, but there’s also an effectual call. And the effectual call effectually carries out what it intended to perform. It draws the sinner to repentance and faith in Christ. But this tasting is not under the effectual call. It’s under the outward call. When the outward call of the Spirit is working in the heart, you can see, you can touch, you can taste something of the truthfulness and the goodness of the meat, but that’s all you will do under the outward call. You do not eat thereof at all. And soon the good taste vanishes without doing any good and giving any benefit.

Dr. Gray Allison was preaching in our church two or three years ago, and Dr. Gray Allison said that seventy-five percent of Southern Baptists are lost. You say, “Dr. Gray, how can you say that?” He said, “There’s not fruit, no fruit that looks like conversion fruit.” You can put on a shenanigan, you can put on a dog and pony show, you can whoop up amusements and entertainments and fleshly excitements and keep them coming to church. But having a heart for God, a love for truth, a treasuring of Christ, not much fruit of that, he says. NO wonder the text says you can once be enlightened but not be saved, you can even tasted of the heavenly gift, which is Christ, but not yet be truly converted.
I think this phrase “heavenly gift” needs to be looked at, so we’re gonna look at it. Probably won’t look at it completely this morning, but we’re gonna look at it for just a moment here because it points out the dire seriousness of tasting and then rejecting Christ. I want you to hear me. These people did not taste the pastor’s sermon. They did not just taste some man’s interpretation or opinion. They did not just taste what might be generally called church dogma or empty doctrine. They tasted the heavenly gift. The heavenly gift. You see, in your fallen, depraved mind, you like the separate the words of Jeff Noblit from the truth of God. But God has ordained to call fallen, weak men to proclaim His infallible truth. And if I’m preaching His infallible truth, you better learn to separate my personality from God ‘cause you’ll give an account for tasting and rejecting, not Jeff Noblit. You can reject me all you want. God doesn’t have to have me. God doesn’t have to use me. I am deeply grateful He’d even let me serve Him. But you will give an account for tasting the heavenly gift and refusing Him.

How offensive and how loathsome to God is the vile apostate who has tasted God’s steak and spit it out. Christ was unacceptable to them. They’re like Proverbs 26:11, “Like a dog that returns to his vomit,” the King James translation says. I’m out here in the world and I’m tasting the polluted dregs of this world, the vomit of the world, I turn and I learn something of the sweet and the beautiful and the lovely Christ, I think I’ll go back to the vomit. How dare you. How dare you turn your back on heaven’s gift. Tasting the glories, the meat of the heavenly Christ and rejecting Him. No wonder Romans chapter 5 says in the eyes of God lost men are ungodly, which means they are loathsome to God, which means we in our natural state before the regenerating effect of God in our hearts, we are all loathsome. God looks at us and He loathes us. He abhors us. Away with this foolish, man-centered teaching that there’s some sort of delightful, pleasing thing in you. Yeah, you’re so delightful and pleasing it didn’t take the death of God’s Son to cure your problem. Some of you are so delightful and pleasing to save you Jesus didn’t even have to die, did He? No, we’re so abhorrent and loathsome God in love beyond comprehension chose in His will to manifest His own glory to save loathsome wretches. We’re altogether repulsive to God, and I’ll bring this out later, we’ll amplify it some. But to taste the heavenly gift and spit it out is a powerfully clear teaching of the depravity of men’s hearts.

This wretched disposition to refuse heaven’s gift and prefer the unholy filth of this world deeply increases the guilt of rejecting Christ. “If we’re that loathsome, if we’re that ungodly, if we’re that wicked, pastor, is there hope?” Yes. Yes. Yes, a thousand times yes. He saves deeply offensive, loathsome wretches. Matter of fact, that’s the only kind He saves.

Turn to Romans chapter 5 and we’ll close there for this morning. This has become one of my favorite texts of scripture. Romans chapter 5 beginning in verse 6. For while we were still helpless, let’s stop there for just a moment. Helpless means without strength, weak or sick. You know I like to hunt, I like the out of doors. And I’ve been lost a time or two out in the woods. And it’s like a man being lost in the woods and you give him a map but you don’t give him a compass. He’s just helpless. He don’t know where north is, south is, the map is almost useless to him. But, no, it’s worse than that. He not only doesn’t have a compass, he doesn’t even have a map. And it’s worse than that. He not only doesn’t have a map or even a compass, he’s a quadriplegic. He don’t even have the strength to move if he knew where to go even if he had a map to guide him there. That’s what we are as far as finding God. Helpless. Helpless. Did I ever tell you that this thing of truly being saved is a humbling thing? There I am quadriplegic in the middle of a wilderness, no map, no compass, and somebody says, “If you’ll just go seven miles you’ll be free!” “What do you mean seven miles? I don’t know which way. I don’t have a compass, and I can’t walk or drag myself with my arms!” Helpless. Don’t you like that?

Then the last part of verse 6, Christ died for the ungodly. We talked about that. It means altogether repulsive to God. God looks down at you stuck there in the wilderness and lost, and God says, “Because I can’t change the holiness of who I am, furthermore I don’t want to change the holiness of who I am because I’m perfect. But you contradict everything I am! You vilely offend the totality of My glorious nature.” You’re in trouble ‘cause you’re helpless, and to Him ungodly.

Look down at verse 8. While we were yet sinners… One commentary writer amplified that and said we are criminal lawbreakers whose destruction by God would abound to the glory of God. Criminal lawbreakers, and if God would destroy us, the hosts of heaven would praise Him for it and rightfully so because we’re sinners.

Verse 10: For if while we were enemies, not only are we helpless and ungodly and sinners. We’re enemies. It means that we naturally loathe God. Now you listen to what I’m gonna tell you. I’m not talking about this little fictitious idol that’s taught in a lot of evangelical circles today. I’m talking about the true God of the Bible as He is truly taught and truly revealed through His Word, naturally we loathe Him. We’re against Him. We line up against Him. But it’s far, far, far worse than that. Not only are you naturally God’s enemy. God naturally is your enemy. You know what that means? Helpless, ungodly sinners, enemies. But now let’s read the whole text. For if while we were still helpless, in that state with no one changing us, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. “Well, He must have seen something in me.” He saw nothing in you. He saw something in Himself. He saw a love that would reach out to and do the most for the most loathsome in His sight. If that isn’t love the ocean’s dry. If that isn’t love heaven’s a myth. What love is that?

Verse 8, But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, while we yet were in the position before God as a condemned lawbreaker and should He throw us into hell it would be just and a glorification of His holy nature, in that state He loved us and gave His Son for us.

And then verse 10, For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son; much more having been reconciled we shall be saved by His life. I want to tell you something. If there’s hope for the helpless, the ungodly, the sinner, and the enemy, there’s hope for everybody in this room, everybody in this world. There is no one, as John Calvin said, everyone should be given the gospel without discrimination. Everyone should be urged to come to Christ. Everyone should be urged to repent. Everyone should be urged to place their faith in Christ, ‘cause there’s hope. There’s hope. But, oh, God help us. God, be merciful to us if we’re one of those who as we’ve seen in the text so far has been enlightened in the mind but heart not changed, has tasted but didn’t swallow the heavenly gift.

We’ll close with Second Corinthians 13:5. He says, “Test yourselves.” Test there means to put yourself on trial. Have a trial, have a trial in your mind. Use the Word of God. Put yourself on trial and see according to scripture if your heart and fruit looks like a true child of God. Test yourself to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you not recognize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless you fail the test.” This is a part, brothers and sisters, of gospel preaching, of Bible preaching. Sober, serious seasons of introspection to see if you’re in the faith.

Wednesday night I finished up my last appointment about eight o’clock and went out the door, and there was a dear man standing there with his wife. He’s here today. He said, “I need to talk with you a minute.” I said, “I’d be glad to.” And we sat down and we talked, and in so many words, he said, “I’m fifty-eight. I’m retired. Haven’t been in church in awhile. But I was here last Sunday, and I believe the Lord has saved me.” And he’s been enlightened but never really changed. We’re gonna meet again and schedule his baptism. And I believe that’s true of some here today. Today God the Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart and you need to call on Him, lay yourself before Him, abandon yourself totally to Him and say, “Lord Jesus, if You don’t save me, I’m sunk. I put it all on You.”

Would you bow together with heads bowed and eyes closed this morning in something of just a solemn assembly…