#apostacy

Agatha Christie, The Burden

#DailyDevotion Don't Shipwreck Your Faith Like Judas Heb. 6 4When those who once had the light and tasted the gift from heaven, who had the Holy Spirit just as others did 5and tasted how good God's Word is and the powers of the coming world 6when those fall away, it is impossible to bring them back to a new repentance because they to their own undoing again crucify God's Son and hold Him up for mockery. 7When ground drinks the rain that often falls on it and produces plants that can be used by those for whom it is worked, it is blessed by God. 8But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless. A curse hangs over it, and finally it will be burned. Today we get to learn two new words: antilegomena and homologoumena. These words mean spoken against and spoken for. We use them to classify books of the Bible. All those books which have always and every place have been accepted as Scripture and canonical are homologoumena. Those which have not alwas been accepted as Scripture and canonical are the other. There are several books of the New Testament that are antilegomena: Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Jude and Revelation. Because they were spoken against at various times in the Church we don't use them as a "source" of doctrine but do use them to support other Scripture passages that we do use as a source. The book of Hebrews had trouble making it into the canon for two reasons: its anonymity (no one was certain who actually wrote it) and secondly because of verse 6. Hebrews was allowed into the canon on the basis of two reasons. The first, some fathers reasoned the author meant of themselves. Secondly, some fathers reasoned they could not be baptized again. Ok, so let's look into the text. So there are three participial phrases here that describe our divine life. Those illuminated, those tasted the gifts from heaven and those who tasted the goodness of God's Word and the power of the coming age. These three things sum up the initiation into the Christian life of God. They are our participation in the preaching of God, our baptism into Christ and our participation in the LORD's Supper. In the early Church, those seeking to become Christians were watched for three years to see the genuineness of their faith. At the end of that time, the weekend of the passion and the resurrection of Christ, they would be instructed in Baptism, the LORD's Prayer, the Creed and the LORD's Supper and get to participate and experience all of these. Before this, they were ushered out of Church, the doors were closed, and only the initiated were allowed to participate in these mysteries. Now what sort of falling away are we talking about here? This (with the exception of adultery) was always considered a public, knowledgeable, purposeful, and willful rejection of Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has done for them after their initiation into the Christian faith. Most often seen as those who fell away because of persecution. They had been enlightened with the Word of God, they were baptized into Christ, and they had received the LORD's Supper. Yet, despite all the LORD had given them in these things, they now reject their Savior, Jesus Christ. Now the one other place in Scripture that speaks of an unrepentable sin is when Jesus speaks of the blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 12:31, Mar. 3:28-30; Luk. 12:10; Act 7:51; 1Jn. 5:16) In Mark it seems to be attributing to the devil the work of the Holy Spirit. To make such a willful, knowledgeable rejection of Christ seems akin to the sin of Judas as opposed to the sin of Peter. We see this in those who have fallen away and make it their mission to destroy faith in others. Watch your life and doctrine carefully. Continue in the means of grace where the Spirit works. Be faithful in the confession of your faith which the Spirit wrought. Faithful Father, when we are faithless, restore our faith again by Your Spirit through Your means so we do not shipwreck our faith. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Read the full article

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