Call-In Classic Christianity Radio – Bob George P442 (5-23-19)
Holley called to ask about Hebrews 6:4-6. She asked what it means to be partakers of the Holy Spirit. Bob explained the finality of the cross. The passage, in context, is directed to those who never repented of their unbelief in Jesus in the first place, going back to the day of atonement for the forgiveness of sins, making a mockery of the cross and insulting the Spirit of grace. Dominic asked about the meaning of Revelation 3:5. Is everyone in the book of life and then certain people blotted out? Bob explained that anyone who does not have life is not born again. So only those who have life, the Holy Spirit living them, is ever in the book of life. This passage is a terrific encouragement to believers on the assurance of salvation. Adam called to ask the meaning of the vine and the branches in John 15. Bob explained the meaning of this passage in context of those living under the Old Covenant, the Jews, and those of us today, living under a New Covenant, while explaining that Jesus lived under the old while explaining the new. Bob further explained what abiding means. Todd called to ask how to live free of past memories of sin. Bob explained that we are complete in Christ and will always struggle on this earth, but we should delight in our weaknesses so God’s grace may rest on us. Bob shared truth from Hebrews 10:14, Romans 12:1 and 2 Corinthians 12:9 to encourage him to grow in the grace of God.
Holley from Brownsville, OR
Holley shared that both her and her husband Ben have been legalistic in the past. They have been reading Classic Christianity. The Lord’s been teaching her that you cannot lose salvation. Her husband wanted to know in Hebrews 6:4-6, what it means to become partakers of the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 6:4-6
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 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.
That passage is talking to, is pointed toward, the Hebrew People. There are people, like today, who are professors of Christ but not yet possessors of Christ. These were people who were giving lip service to something, but in their hearts, there had never been a repentance taking place, they had never given their heart to Jesus, and they never had a change of their mind. These are people giving lip service saying, “I believe in Jesus”, but were looking for him as a political Messiah or saying “I believe Jesus died for my sins but I am going back to the sacrificial system” or saying “I believe Jesus was a political Messiah but I believe he had nothing to do with this forgiveness bit”. They still think they have to go back to the temple to get forgiveness. So we have people in all kinds of places in their understanding of Jesus of Nazareth. The proof is that they were saying, “Jesus died for my sins but I am going back to the sacrificial system”. So it is like saying to somebody, “Where are you going?” He replies, “Back to Jerusalem”. “What for?” “To go to the day of atonement.” “What for?” “To get my sins forgiven?” “I thought you said Jesus died for all your sins.” “Well, I do.” “Where are you going?” “Back to Jerusalem.” “What for?” “To get my sins forgiven.” “I thought you said Jesus died for all your sins”. “Well, I do. Yes, but I am going back to Jerusalem, to the day of atonement, to get my sins forgiven.” That person has tasted, he has understood something, but he has never repented. He has never changed his mind that Jesus is the final sacrifice for sin. That final sacrifice for sin is covered in more detail in Hebrews 10 right after it is announced the New Covenant we are under today.
Hebrews 10:15-18
15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”[Jeremiah 31:33]
17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”[Jeremiah 31:34]
18 And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any more sacrifice for sin.
These people were enlightened. Judas was enlightened, tasted it, shared in the things of the Holy Spirit, and certainly saw evidence of the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 6:4-6
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 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.
What are they doing? They are denying the finality of the cross. That is what people are teaching who say you can lose salvation are doing. So you say to them, “You are denying the finality of the cross. The reason you cannot be brought back to repentance is because you have never repented to begin with. You never changed your mind. You cannot come back to where you have never been.” People that teach you can lose salvation love this verse. They teach you are going to fall away, and when you do it, it is too late, and you can never be brought back to repentance. So you say to them, “The reason you cannot be brought back to repentance is because you have never repented to begin with. As long as you are saying there is some other way to get sins forgiven except Jesus then what are you doing? You are crucifying the son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. If there is any further forgiveness to be exercised on your and my behalf, and there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood, then he would have to die again.
Hebrews 9:22
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
What would Jesus have to do? Die again. Is he going to do that? Of course not. Unless we accept the finality of the time he did, and we think there is more forgiveness, we would have to crucify him again. Why? Because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.
Hebrews 10:26
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
Hebrews 10:18
18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
If anyone is not going to trust Jesus sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins, there is no more sacrifice.
Hebrews 10:19-20
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body
We have confidence to go into the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, a new and living way, not the old way that only the high priests can go in.
Hebrews 10:21-23a
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
How come? He who promised is faithful, not us, but him.
Hebrews 10:23b
for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:24-26
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
What is is sin?
Romans 14:23
and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
John 16:9
The world’s sin is unbelief in me
Hebrews 10:26
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
If you do not have the truth in you, then you never came to faith in the first palace. And if you do not have faith, you are still in the sin of unbelief, not trusting what Jesus did.
Hebrews 10:27-29
27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
How are that insulting the Spirit of grace? Denying the sacrifice for sin is final. What people are doing in Catholicism and Protestantism is with equal vigor. Instead of thanking God for total forgiveness that was provided, they are still asking him to do what he died to do, and in so doing, they are making a mockery of the cross.
Dominic from Arlington, TX
Thank you for your ministry, what God has given you to reveal to us. It has helped me out. Dominic called to ask about Revelation 3:5.
Revelation 3:5
The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.
What is the meaning of “blotting out”? Are the names already written in there because he saved the world, he died for all theirs sins, or is he going to blot out those that do not come to receive his life?
No, Dominic, I think it is a passage to give the believer a terrific assurance of salvation. The only people in the book of life are those who have been made alive in Christ, who have life. Jesus is saying, “To those made alive in Christ, I will never blot out your name from the book of life. I will acknowledge his name before my angels in heaven.” No one is in the book of life if they are still dead. A lot of people look at the book of life that everyone ever born is in that book. Only those who are born again are in that book for those are the only ones who have life. That is another way of saying you cannot lose your salvation.
Adam from Sacramento, CA
He was listening to a preacher talking about the analogy of the vine and the branches in John 15. He was implying that under was under an Old Covenant and is not applicable for people today. Can you shed some light on that. I think it is New Covenant teaching.
What you are dealing with, what people need to understand, is that when Jesus was here on earth, he was teaching under the old covenant, proclaiming the new but under the old. He buried us under the old and revealed who we were under the Old Covenant. In the delineation of the bible, the Old Testament records the history of man’s failure to ever be made righteous by their own works. That is what the Old Testament is. It was man trying to define his own righteousness.
Romans 3:20
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
Jesus came on this earth for 30 years. He explained and demonstrated righteousness, not man’s but God’s. Paul, and the rest of the New Testament, went further to explain man’s total inability to live up to the righteousness o the law and therefore paving the way for man to come to Christ for His righteousness.
Romans 1:17
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
So in the Old Testament was man trying to define his own righteousness, then later Jesus came to explain God’s righteousness and later Paul came to say you cannot have righteousness apart from a relationship with Christ.
Isaiah 56:1
This is what the Lord says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
Romans 3:21
But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
Romans 3:28
For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
So in John 15, Jesus is teaching about the vine and the branches. Jesus is saying he is the true vine. The true vine in comparison to what? Israel was also called the vine. Israel is not the vine. The true vine is Jesus not Israel. So salvation is not coming by being a Jew, practicing Judaism, dedication to a sacrificial system or sacrificial laws, ceremonial laws or the ten commandments. Jesus says, “I am the vine”. To a Jew, salvation comes through adherence to the law. No, that is Israel. But Jesus says, “I am the vine”.
John 15:1
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,
Who is Jesus taking out? The Jew, and in particular the religious. What did Jesus say to the religious?
Luke 11:39-40
39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?
John 15:2-4
while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
To his disciples, he said they were already clean because of the word he spoke to them. Where did their cleanliness come from? Where did their truth come from? From Christ Jesus. Jesus is saying, “You are already clean. I have already given you what you need through the word of God spoken unto you and you believed.” Among the disciples, Judas Iscariot failed to believe.
John 13:10-11
10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
John 15:5
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
To the rest of the disciples, Jesus said, “Since you are clean, remain in me”. Why? So you can bear fruit. Without Jesus you cannot bear fruit.
John 15:6
6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
He is comparing with those who bear no fruit. Among the reason not bearing fruit is because not connected to the vine. Israel is not connected to the true vine. They are connected to the vine of Israel, trusting in the law of Moses to save them.
Notice also he likened it to a branch that is thrown away. Someone who is clean may not be listening to truth and still living in error. If so, it like a worthless branch that cannot bear fruit. Here there is no use for it. If a branch is not going to abide in the life of the vine then there is no use for it.
John 15:7-8
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Jesus is saying to us today to abide. Jesus is the Old Covenant. He fulfilled it and spoke of new life to come. Jesus is the New Covenant. He initiated it at his death and sent his Holy Spirit of life to dwell in men. Jesus just made a new arrangement for us today at his death. Jesus is talking about abiding, abiding before the cross and abiding after the cross. Remain in me and my words remain in you, then this is for the Father’ glory.
If you do not abide in me, who is your life, there is no way you are going to bear Christ’s fruit. He does not say he is going to throw you away. He just said it is like throwing away for it has no use in bearing fruit.
John 15:9-11
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Here is his command: Love each other as I have loved you .
John 15:12-14
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
What did he just command? Love one another.
John 15:15-17
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
So Jesus calls you friend since he makes known to you the things of His Father. He chose you to bear fruit. This is his command: to love one another. Upon love. Love is the fulfillment of the law.
We try to keep people under the law instead of teaching them about the love of God.
The disciples, and anyone prior to Pentecost, did not have Christ in them. They would have no idea what Jesus was talking about until that was revealed later. Jesus proclaimed this life but that was explained only after his death, burial and resurrection. Quite frankly, after Pentecost, when Spirit came to live in people, until that time we had no ability to understand the meaning of the word of God.
John 2:22
After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
1 Corinthians 2:9-11
However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him- 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
Until Pentecost, someone might have heard what Jesus said but did not understand what he meant, including his disciples. Until the Spirit lives in a person he has no ability to understand truth revealed to him.
Before Pentecost, the disciples were denying him, cowering in utter fear. After Pentecost, they boldly proclaimed him. What is the difference between the two, the same men. Before they were fearful, but after they were bold as a lion. After the cross, they had the Spirit of God living in them, and they were abiding in him.
Todd from Dale City, VA
Before he became a Christian, he had girl friends and had not see them in a long time. He struggles with thoughts of them. How are we to let that go? Unfortunately, he said, there was sexual sin. He still has memories.
Jesus said:
Matthew 5:28
But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
What you repent of is the sin of unbelief in Christ so that you come to Christ for new life. The issue is you can do it again. You had no righteousness of your own. The issue is that you are now in Christ Jesus. That does not mean after becoming born again, that you will have no more memories. You still have memories. If they are evil memories, the sexual aspect of that, recognize who is trying to get that in your mind to get you off base. There is nothing sinful having those thoughts but do you act on them or do you replace such thoughts with what truth is. Maybe some of the girls may be a believer today. You are. All that now is fantasy. If so madly in love with them then you would not have broken up with them. When you got saved you had to step away. Do not put yourself on a guilt trip on that. He does that with all of us. Any one who says they will never think about that is either dead or lying.
Todd then said, “I do not want to be tied to that and I want to walk right”
Hebrews 10:14
14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
That is who you are. You have been made complete by that one offering. You are not going to get any more complete. God made you holy. You cannot make yourself more holy nor can you improve upon it. You rest in the fact that God has called you and set you apart for the divine purpose of walking in the newness of life, allowing Christ Jesus, who lives in you, to live in you and through you. Sometimes we fall on our face and when you do, pick yourself up and start walking again. You will be facing this the rest of your time on earth. We will be facing struggles. We all have them. Those struggles are what you keep you dependent on Jesus. Paul rejoiced in those weaknesses because those weaknesses kept him dependent on Jesus. Keep growing in grace.
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
