A Falling Away

“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”- Hebrews 6:4-6 NLT

                  There has been much discussion as to the author of Hebrews, but there is no mistaking who the letter is being written to. It was for Hebrew Christians who appeared to have been considering returning to Judaism, perhaps due to a misunderstanding of biblical truths. These couple verses address those believers who deliberately turn from the truth, even though salvation can only be found in Christ. They are treating Christ’s crucifixion as if it were not enough to cleanse them of their sins.  In effect they are crucifying Christ all over again.

                  The Bible speaks of an apostasy,a falling away. According to scripture there will be a falling away of the faith by certain individuals. This could take place for a variety of reasons. One could be social pressure from outside the church. Another could be the church weakening their stance on certain issues that are listed as sinful in scripture. According to an article on the website Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry(aka, CARM), the church itself is pulling away from certain unalterable biblical truths. 

                  The Bible stands as a bastion of truth and hope for all ages. God doesn’t change his mind and he makes no mistakes. Man has decided to alter biblical truth to please society and not look intolerant of those things that fly in the face of said truth. Many hot button issues like homosexuals integrating with today’s church and even taking leadership roles is in direct conflict with what scripture says, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God,"_{(1 Cor. 6:9-10).}  Man doesn’t have the right to alter the laws of God, when they do they become heretics. It becomes a simple matter of man trying to make things more palatable to an unbelieving world. We must stand firm in our beliefs and never soften our stance regarding issues that are clearly sinful in the eyes of our God. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller

Resources: The Life Application Study Bible; NIV Culteral Backgrounds Study Bible; https://carm.org/examples-apostasy-christian-church