Scripture in Context

[marks]

Over the years I've been interested in reviewing anyone's list of Scriptures which they give to show that "salvation can be lost". What that idea really means is that while Jesus begins your salvation, you must complete it in some way.

I never stop learning, and this is such a great way to review and study Scripture. I've seldom found that those who post such lists actually know the meanings of the passages in context. I've always found that putting the verse back into context tells us what we need to know.

So here is a recent list posted to show we can become "unsaved" after being "saved". I'm putting these words in quotes, because the Bible doesn't really talk that way. It talks of being born again, and it talks of being "in Christ".

With no further ado . . .

1 Corinthians 9:27
I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Castaway (G0096 in Strong's) = unapproved, rejected, worthless, reprobate.

This is the same greek word used in Romans 1:28 when the Lord turned those over to a reprobate mind who refused retain God in their knowledge and walk with Him.

This means, Paul believed that if he did not control himself and went back to walking after the flesh HE would be unapproved, rejected, worthless, reprobate!

Obviously the Apostle Paul did not believe in "once saved, always saved" aka "eternal security"

Colossians 1:21-23
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
IF ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.

*A condition is given here to be righteous before the Lord which is IF we continue in the faith.

Matthew 10:22
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved.

Jude 1:5,6
I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

*If once saved always saved was true, then the Lord would not be speaking thru Jude to put us in remembrance about what happened to those that quit believing (turned their backs on the Lord to live in opposition to Him which is to live in sin).

*If angels having been created perfect turn away from the Lord and be separated from Him forever, we would experience the same. Thankfully, the Lord has provided a way for man to confess and forsake sin in order to receive mercy (see Proverbs 28:13), but if we continue in our sin we will not have mercy due having turned away from the Lord

Hebrews 10:26
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins

*If we knowing and willing continue in sin, Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross is no longer applicable and there will be no new sacrifice for sin forthcoming other than what Jesus has already done at the Cross. One must cease from sin for the work of Christ to be applicable to them.

Ephesians 5:3-7
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

*One must cease from sin for the work of Christ to be applicable to them.

1 Corinthians 6:9,10
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Revelation 21:7,8
He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son. (abide In Christ!)
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers (man whores), and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (These things, and all sin, must be confessed and forsaken to avoid going to hell!)

Revelation 9:21
And they did not repent of their murders, or their sorceries, or their sexual immorality, or their thefts

Romans 1:28-32
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

1 Timothy 1:8-11
But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

Ezekiel 18:26,27
When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and dies in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

Again, when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.

Ezekiel 18:20 (see Romans 8:13)
The soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Romans 8:13
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (see 2 Corinthians 5:15 says….Jesus died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again.)

Ezekiel 18:20-24 (see Romans 8:13)
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

Ezekiel 33:13
When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it

Matthew 10:32,33
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 6:14,15
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

John 15:1,2
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

As I have time, I plan to take each of these, put it into it's context, and show the actual meaning.

Much love!

 

[marks]

1 Corinthians 9:27
I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Castaway (G0096 in Strong's) = unapproved, rejected, worthless, reprobate.

This is the same greek word used in Romans 1:28 when the Lord turned those over to a reprobate mind who refused retain God in their knowledge and walk with Him.

This means, Paul believed that if he did not control himself and went back to walking after the flesh HE would be unapproved, rejected, worthless, reprobate!

Obviously the Apostle Paul did not believe in "once saved, always saved" aka "eternal security"
Click to expand...

1 Corinthians 9:16-27
(16) For if I proclaim the gospel, no glory is to me; for necessity is laid on me, and it is woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel.
(17) For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a stewardship.
(18) What then is my reward? That proclaiming the gospel I may make the gospel of Christ free, so as not to use fully my authority in the gospel.
(19) For being free of all, I enslaved myself to all, that I might gain the more.
(20) And I became as a Jew to the Jews, that I might gain Jews; to those under Law as under Law, that I might gain those under Law;
(21) to those without Law as without Law (not being without Law of God, but under the law of Christ), that I might gain those without Law.
(22) I became to the weak as weak, that I might gain the weak. To all I have become all things, that in any and every way I might save some.
(23) And I do this for the gospel, that I might become a fellow partaker of it.
(24) Do you not know that those running in a stadium indeed all run, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain.
(25) But everyone striving controls himself in all things. Then those truly that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.
(26) So I run accordingly, as not uncertainly; so I fight, as not beating air;
(27) but I buffet my body and lead it captive, lest proclaiming to others I myself might be disapproved.

Paul recognizes that God has laid a charge on him to preach the Gospel, and so preaching it is not to his credit, because it's his duty to do so. No reward there.

However, he's determined that he would not do as others did, that is, take in his living from others, but rather he worked as well as "Apostled", even to the point of supporting those with him also.

And I do this for the gospel, that I might become a fellow partaker of it.

He's not just "doing his duty", he also wants reward.

You see the world's athletes, how they compete, how they train, how they run, and that's for fading crown. He wants to run that way, since after all, he's competing for an eternal crown! He wants his reward.

So he even treats himself harshly, making his body his slave, so that even as he's preaching to others, that he himself won't be rejected from that testing.

There are a couple of ways to take this passage. One is, what he'd been talking about, rejected from receiving his reward. That's the "apparent context". Another is, as he's talking about preaching, that he be rejected from salvation. But let's stay with the meaning of the word shall we please? This word is, "reject after testing". It's like, you claim this clear rod is unbreakable with steel rod. So you hit the one against the other as hard as you can, and it either breaks or it doesn't.

This isn't describing how an unbreakable rod becomes breakable, it's about how the testing shows you the true nature of what is being tested.

A modern day example would be a man like Charles Templeton, who, after successfully leading arena evangelism, seemingly leading a great many people to Christ, he himself walked away from it, and later wrote how that in fact he never did believe all these things. But he was a very talented man.

Whichever way you look at this passage, it makes no such statement that the born again become unborn again. If it did, you'd have a real issue between it, and passages such as,

Colossians 3:1-4
(1) If, then, you were raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is sitting at the right of God; Psa. 110:1
(2) mind the things above, not the things on the earth.
(3) For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God.
(4) Whenever Christ our life is revealed, then also you will be revealed with Him in glory.

This passage plainly states that those who are "died and risen with Christ" here in this world, that these will in fact appear with Him in glory when He appears.

The first passage contains an ambiguity, and therefore needs to be interpreted by plainly stated passages which address that ambiguity.

So the question is, was Paul speaking of rewards, as the context indicates? Or should we give greater weight to "proclaiming", that is, preaching the Gospel, and think of this as a salvation matter?

Gaining or losing rewards is something addressed in other places such as 1 Corinthians 3, saved, but without reward.

If we are to look at this regarding Paul's "saved state", "reprobate" or "rejected after testing" isn't a word describing a change of state, only the revealing of the true state having been tested. This also is spoken of elsewhere in the same terms, those who go out were never part.

Much love!

 

[Wick Stick]

Hebrews 6:4-6

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, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame.

 

[Wick Stick]

What that idea really means is that while Jesus begins your salvation, you must complete it in some way.

I view it as a matter of position.

Christ puts us in a safe spot. We don't have to do something, but we do have to NOT do something - we can't leave that spot.

 

[marks]

Colossians 1:21-23
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
IF ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.

*A condition is given here to be righteous before the Lord which is IF we continue in the faith.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This one actually contains a clear statement that is being misrepresented as though your continued righteousness is based on your continued faith. However, that's not what the passage says.

To whom:

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,

Regarding what:
yet now hath he reconciled

How:
In the body of his flesh through death,

Why:
to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

And now your conditional clause:
IF ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.

This is what is called a "first class" condition. It's like saying, you drive in the race, IF you are a driver. If you aren't a driver, you are not driving in the race. It's not saying, if you aren't a driver, you've stopped driving the race.

If you are continuing (present active, that is, ongoing) in the faith, grounded (perfect tense - remains done) and settled . . . then this is you, you've been reconciled to God.

Much love!

 

[marks]

I view it as a matter of position.

Christ puts us in a safe spot. We don't have to do something, but we do have to NOT do something - we can't leave that spot.

Doesn't that mean we have to do something? We have to keep ourselves there?

I would rather say, Christ puts us in a safe spot - In Christ - and there we live. He put us there, we don't put ourselves there.

Much love!

 

[ScottA]

1 Corinthians 9:27
I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Castaway (G0096 in Strong's) = unapproved, rejected, worthless, reprobate.

This is the same greek word used in Romans 1:28 when the Lord turned those over to a reprobate mind who refused retain God in their knowledge and walk with Him.

This means, Paul believed that if he did not control himself and went back to walking after the flesh HE would be unapproved, rejected, worthless, reprobate!

Obviously the Apostle Paul did not believe in "once saved, always saved" aka "eternal security"

Context indeed!

The context that Paul actually refers to in putting in the way that he did, is not regarding his salvation (or even that of the Corinthians), but rather the context of his mission and ministry. That according to his rationale, if he himself did not practice what he preached, that it would be like jumping ship on the task assigned to him by God...and thus would have faded into the obscurity of man's failed attempts to answer the call of God for service, a loser.

Which then, having accepted the call of service, he then appealed to the reason of the Corinthians using himself as an example regarding the struggles and reality of "we who are alive and remain" in the world in weak and sinful flesh to serve spiritually having been given also a new spiritual life and body in Christ. It was this very dilemma that Jesus spoke of showing the man of flesh and sin in contrast to the new man born of the spirit of God, and the reality of them being two and different...saying, "Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left."

 

[marks]

Matthew 10:22
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved.

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Matthew 24:9-35 KJV
9) Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10) And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11) And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12) And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13) But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15) When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)
16) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17) Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18) Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19) And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20) But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21) For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22) And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23) Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25) Behold, I have told you before.
26) Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27) For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28) For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29) Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32) Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33) So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35) Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Those who can endure through to the end of great tribulation will be rescued by Jesus when He returns. This is not a soteriological statement, it's part of a narrative prophecy about Jesus returning to rescue Israel from being persecuted by the beast.

Much love!

 

[marks]

Jude 1:5,6
I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

*If once saved always saved was true, then the Lord would not be speaking thru Jude to put us in remembrance about what happened to those that quit believing (turned their backs on the Lord to live in opposition to Him which is to live in sin).

*If angels having been created perfect turn away from the Lord and be separated from Him forever, we would experience the same. Thankfully, the Lord has provided a way for man to confess and forsake sin in order to receive mercy (see Proverbs 28:13), but if we continue in our sin we will not have mercy due having turned away from the Lord

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A warning against "losing your salvation", those who "quit believing"? That's not in this passage. But Jude does speak of those who did not believe. Not, stopped believing, but, didn't believe.

Jude 1:3-8 KJV
3) Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
4) For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5) I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
6) And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
7) Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
8) Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

No, this is a warning against false teachers of a false gospel.

Don't just think that since they sit among you that they are of you. There are those who believe not, whom God will destroy. Even angels have disobeyed and been judged!

Don't stop contending for the faith! Myself, I'm not planning to stop ever.

Much love!

 

[ScottA]

Colossians 1:21-23
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
IF ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.

*A condition is given here to be righteous before the Lord which is IF we continue in the faith.

No, that is not what Paul set before them. But rather just as Moses set life and death before Israel and told them "therefore choose life", Paul also presented the Colossians with the "if you continue" option which they had yet to fully commit to, indicating that they had not yet received salvation. Thus, what they had not yet committed to could indeed be lost. Which is not a loss of salvation already obtained, but not yet obtained.

 

[ScottA]

Matthew 10:22
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved.

This Jesus said before salvation had come--and therefore cannot be used to show a loss of salvation.

But to clarify, He spoke rather of the events that would "shortly take place." He was preparing his disciples for that very near future time of when they would have to endure until His return--which, He being "the End" would "soon" come just as He promised. Which, as He also said, would be "in the glory of the Father"--which is to say, in spirit.

 

[Wick Stick]

Doesn't that mean have have to do something? We have to keep ourselves there?

No. Abstaining from something is not an action. It's an inaction.

I would rather say, Christ puts us in a safe spot - In Christ - and there we live. He put us there, we don't put ourselves there.

That's what I said.

 

[marks]

That's what I said.

What I'm saying, is, and there we live. You are saying, there we live, maybe, as long as we continue to stay there. Jesus "keeps us saved", we do not "keep ourselves saved".

Much love!

 

[ScottA]

Jude 1:5,6
I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

*If once saved always saved was true, then the Lord would not be speaking thru Jude to put us in remembrance about what happened to those that quit believing (turned their backs on the Lord to live in opposition to Him which is to live in sin).

*If angels having been created perfect turn away from the Lord and be separated from Him forever, we would experience the same. Thankfully, the Lord has provided a way for man to confess and forsake sin in order to receive mercy (see Proverbs 28:13), but if we continue in our sin we will not have mercy due having turned away from the Lord

Jude 1:5-6 does not refer to "salvation" directly, but rather to specifically to "belief."

Some apparently do not know the difference.

Now "belief" has its promises from God, and yes, one must continue in belief to receive salvation. But indeed, they are not the same. One who merely "believes" does not yet "know" salvation, and it remains something hoped for.

Romans 8:25​

But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.​

 

[ScottA]

Hebrews 10:26
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins

*If we knowing and willing continue in sin, Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross is no longer applicable and there will be no new sacrifice for sin forthcoming other than what Jesus has already done at the Cross. One must cease from sin for the work of Christ to be applicable to them.

Hebrews 10:26 is just another salvation not yet obtained but only "hoped for" passage as mere "knowledge."

Looking rather at the complete and correct context, we can see that the author is not speaking to those who are already saved, but rather to those who are still in the repentance stage:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.​

​

26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.​

 

[marks]

Hebrews 10:26 is just another salvation not yet obtained but only "hoped for" passage.

Looking rather at the complete and correct context, we can see that the author is not speaking to those who are already saved, but rather to those who are still in the repentance stage:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.​

​

26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.​

Simply stated, "there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" is saying you cannot continue to offer animals after you know about Jesus.

Much love!

 

[marks]

Hebrews 10:26
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins

*If we knowing and willing continue in sin, Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross is no longer applicable and there will be no new sacrifice for sin forthcoming other than what Jesus has already done at the Cross. One must cease from sin for the work of Christ to be applicable to them.
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Hebrews 10:26-31 KJV
26) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27) But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28) He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29) Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30) For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

What sacrifice is the writer speaking of? What does he mean, there remains "no more" sacrifice for sins?

My answer: You can't keep offering sacrifices if you sin, it's Jesus, or nothing! Think about it. No more sacrifice.

It seems some people read this as though it were saying something like,

Not the Bible:
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, our sacrifice for sins no more remains effective for us.

"there remains no more sacrifice for sins"

Other places this word is used,

Matthew 19:6 KJV
6) Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Matthew 22:46 KJV
46) And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

Mark 14:25 KJV
25) Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

Luke 15:19 KJV
19) And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

Acts 8:39 KJV
39) And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

Romans 6:9 KJV
9) Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

Ephesians 2:19 KJV
19) Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

Revelation 18:14 KJV
14) And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

John 15:15 KJV
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

Mark 12:34 KJV
And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

The meaning, after this there are not any other.

I no more call you servants. I did, but now, I don't.

Men asked Him questions, but after this, no more.

The man saw Philip, but after that, he didn't see him any more.

They were two separate people, but not any more, now they are one flesh.

There were sacrifices you could offer, but now, after Jesus' sacrifice, there aren't any more.

For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

Much love!

 

[Wick Stick]

Hebrews 6:4-6

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, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame.

What about this one?

 

[mailmandan]

Jude 1:5,6
I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

*If once saved always saved was true, then the Lord would not be speaking thru Jude to put us in remembrance about what happened to those that quit believing (turned their backs on the Lord to live in opposition to Him which is to live in sin).

*If angels having been created perfect turn away from the Lord and be separated from Him forever, we would experience the same. Thankfully, the Lord has provided a way for man to confess and forsake sin in order to receive mercy (see Proverbs 28:13), but if we continue in our sin we will not have mercy due having turned away from the Lord

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A warning against "losing your salvation", those who "quit believing"? That's not in this passage. But Jude does speak of those who did not believe. Not, stopped believing, but, didn't believe.

Jude 1:3-8 KJV
3) Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
4) For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5) I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
6) And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
7) Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
8) Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

No, this is a warning against false teachers of a false gospel.

Don't just think that since they sit among you that they are of you. There are those who believe not, whom God will destroy. Even angels have disobeyed and been judged!

Don't stop contending for the faith! Myself, I'm not planning to stop ever.

Much love!

Amen! Jude is exhorting believers to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (vs. 3) because certain ungodly men have crept in unnoticed. Jude further describes these ungodly men as ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. (vs. 19) In CONTRAST with those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and PRESERVED in Jesus Christ. (vs. 1)

 

[mailmandan]

1 Corinthians 9:16-27
(16) For if I proclaim the gospel, no glory is to me; for necessity is laid on me, and it is woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel.
(17) For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a stewardship.
(18) What then is my reward? That proclaiming the gospel I may make the gospel of Christ free, so as not to use fully my authority in the gospel.
(19) For being free of all, I enslaved myself to all, that I might gain the more.
(20) And I became as a Jew to the Jews, that I might gain Jews; to those under Law as under Law, that I might gain those under Law;
(21) to those without Law as without Law (not being without Law of God, but under the law of Christ), that I might gain those without Law.
(22) I became to the weak as weak, that I might gain the weak. To all I have become all things, that in any and every way I might save some.
(23) And I do this for the gospel, that I might become a fellow partaker of it.
(24) Do you not know that those running in a stadium indeed all run, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain.
(25) But everyone striving controls himself in all things. Then those truly that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.
(26) So I run accordingly, as not uncertainly; so I fight, as not beating air;
(27) but I buffet my body and lead it captive, lest proclaiming to others I myself might be disapproved.

Paul recognizes that God has laid a charge on him to preach the Gospel, and so preaching it is not to his credit, because it's his duty to do so. No reward there.

However, he's determined that he would not do as others did, that is, take in his living from others, but rather he worked as well as "Apostled", even to the point of supporting those with him also.

And I do this for the gospel, that I might become a fellow partaker of it.

He's not just "doing his duty", he also wants reward.

You see the world's athletes, how they compete, how they train, how they run, and that's for fading crown. He wants to run that way, since after all, he's competing for an eternal crown! He wants his reward.

So he even treats himself harshly, making his body his slave, so that even as he's preaching to others, that he himself won't be rejected from that testing.

There are a couple of ways to take this passage. One is, what he'd been talking about, rejected from receiving his reward. That's the "apparent context". Another is, as he's talking about preaching, that he be rejected from salvation. But let's stay with the meaning of the word shall we please? This word is, "reject after testing". It's like, you claim this clear rod is unbreakable with steel rod. So you hit the one against the other as hard as you can, and it either breaks or it doesn't.

This isn't describing how an unbreakable rod becomes breakable, it's about how the testing shows you the true nature of what is being tested.

A modern day example would be a man like Charles Templeton, who, after successfully leading arena evangelism, seemingly leading a great many people to Christ, he himself walked away from it, and later wrote how that in fact he never did believe all these things. But he was a very talented man.

Whichever way you look at this passage, it makes no such statement that the born again become unborn again. If it did, you'd have a real issue between it, and passages such as,

Colossians 3:1-4
(1) If, then, you were raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is sitting at the right of God; Psa. 110:1
(2) mind the things above, not the things on the earth.
(3) For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God.
(4) Whenever Christ our life is revealed, then also you will be revealed with Him in glory.

This passage plainly states that those who are "died and risen with Christ" here in this world, that these will in fact appear with Him in glory when He appears.

The first passage contains an ambiguity, and therefore needs to be interpreted by plainly stated passages which address that ambiguity.

So the question is, was Paul speaking of rewards, as the context indicates? Or should we give greater weight to "proclaiming", that is, preaching the Gospel, and think of this as a salvation matter?

Gaining or losing rewards is something addressed in other places such as 1 Corinthians 3, saved, but without reward.

If we are to look at this regarding Paul's "saved state", "reprobate" or "rejected after testing" isn't a word describing a change of state, only the revealing of the true state having been tested. This also is spoken of elsewhere in the same terms, those who go out were never part.

Much love!

1 Corinthians 9:16 - For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel.

*Notice that verse 24 says, "Do you not know that those who run in a race ALL run, but ONLY ONE receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it." In an Olympic race, all runners run but only one receives the gold medal.

So what happens to the runners that receive the silver medal or bronze medal or finish the race with no medal? Are they disqualified from the Olympics or from the prize, receiving the gold medal? In context, Paul is talking about being disqualified for the prize and a prize is something that you work for and earn where a gift is something that you freely accept without merit.

Prize (brabeion) - the prize awarded to a victor, the reward (recognition) that follows triumph. That doesn't sound like a free gift (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8). 1 Corinthians 3:14-15 mentions - If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, (of reward) though he himself will be saved.