Bumby Bible Questions 2

Introduction

Well, again, good morning, and thanks for being here this morning. With this being the fourth or last Sunday of the month, we’re starting this new format of the question and answer where we attempt to answer your pre-submitted questions. And we appreciate uh the enthusiasm that this new format has received. We’ve got a lot of good feedback about it. Uh, have received a lot of questions, and all very good questions, and we appreciate that. But we solicit your further feedback about this. If you like this format, you like what we’re doing, tell me. If you don’t like it, tell Greg. But seriously, you know, we’d love to hear the feedback, some suggestions about it, ways maybe we can make this better. Uh and we just really appreciate uh all the feedback and especially the questions and you being here.

We have a few different ways to submit the questions, and really we’ve taken questions in all forms, which is great. And we’re gonna cover hopefully four, possibly five, but probably somewhere in the three or four count of questions this morning. Uh but just know that in June and July we already have some questions allotted for those time periods. They’re not full, so please keep sending them in. But just know that just because we didn’t get to it today or last month, it will come eventually, and perhaps even in a different format. But the three ways are first of all emailing a box set up directly for this, Bumby BibleQuestions at gmail.com. You can put a question box in the foyer that’s not the big box that says survey.

1. Is It Impossible to Renew Them Again?

It’s the box that says suggestions or questions or comments. Or you can hand them to Ken or myself. So we’re gonna go ahead and get started. We have two questions that are similar this morning, but one of them is does Hebrews chapter 6 and verses 4 through 6 mean that you can’t come back after losing your salvation? Is there a point at which you are eternally lost and there’s nothing God can do about it? So let’s start with Hebrews chapter 6, and we’ll read that. Okay, we’ll just start with the text in case you’re unfamiliar with it. Hebrews chapter 6, verses 4, 5, and 6. Read, for it is impossible. For those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves, the Son of God, and put him to an open chain.

I think you can see where the question comes from in verse 4. It is impossible for those who have been enlightened to be restored in verse 6. So is it impossible to renew them? The question begs an important piece of information. Is it impossible on whose end? Of course, it seems that the question would indicate, is it impossible for God? Because we recognize nobody can just save themselves anyway. So the question is, does Hebrews chapter 6, verses 4 through 6 teach the idea that you can sin in such a way or in such a lifestyle or in such a one particular moment that it’s impossible, God is unwilling and unable to forgive you again. One such passage to look at is Matthew chapter 19. You’ll turn there and look at Matthew chapter 19 and verse 26.

As you read in Matthew chapter 19, even beginning in verse 23, Jesus addresses his disciples on the heels of speaking to the rich young man. He says, Truly I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. And again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Now, when the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, With man, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible. We need to be careful that we don’t put God into a box of our own understanding. Of course, passages apply like Isaiah 55, the idea that God’s ways are higher than our ways, his thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

And sometimes when we read the Bible and we go through these questions, not on purpose, just because they’re our mindset. We kind of think in our own box when Jesus makes it clear, and the whole Bible makes it abundantly obvious, that God operates on a plane far outside of our own. So if something’s impossible with God, it’s only because he made it that way, not because it’s impossible for him. Now, it would be possible for man to get to such a state to where it could be said of that person that his return, nay, even his own salvation would be impossible. Look in 1 Timothy chapter 4 at the warning of that state of man. 1 Timothy chapter 4, the Apostle Paul here talking about those who have departed, according to verse 1, who had departed from the faith, and had so departed from the faith in such a way and for such a time period that it says in verse 2 that they were speaking lies in hypocrisy.

Excuse me, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. And so here’s someone who is so far gone and has been gone for so long that that conscience has been violated so many times that it’s described as being seared. This word seared is the Greek word from which we get our English word cauterized. And so it’s just been cauterized. It’s beyond feeling. And so it’s possible for someone who has fallen away to fall away so far and so severe that their conscience is so hardened or so seared that even the beauty of the gospel can’t touch them. You think of someone who’s just so callous to the truth or so callous to emotion or to sin. And it could be stated of that person that then it’s impossible because of their own conscience.

Again, as Greg said, not because of the impossibility on God’s end, but possibly on man’s end. So when the question is, is it impossible can we reach a state where it’s impossible to be renewed or forgiven or to reach true repentance? The question could be answered, yes, but not on the end of God by any means, but by on our own means. If you look at Hebrews 6 again, you’ll note the theme that matches with Luke 15 and the prodigal son. Now, who who would make it impossible? In Hebrews 6, note the description in verse 4: it’s impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, taste of the heavenly gifts, shared in the Holy Spirit. This is somebody who understands the fruits of salvation.

They understand what God has offered, and they have done what with it? Well, rejected it. This isn’t somebody who’s fallen away on hard times or somebody who’s sinned once or twice, and we’ll address that concept in a couple questions from now. But when you think about the prodigal son, was he forever lost? Well, no. But how long was his journey? It wasn’t simply an hour or two away. It wasn’t a day or two. He was gone for a period of time, and what was the father doing? Waiting and hoping for his return. Now, the son could have stayed away, but the father was there ready to take back the son. And the son hadn’t yet reached a point where he refused to come home. In fact, what was his turning point?

Do you remember his thoughts? My father’s servants are eating better than what I am. But he did come back, and where was the prodigal father? Standing, and I like the picture with his arms wide open, ready to celebrate a returned soul. And that’s the picture of our God. It’s not impossible for God. It would be impossible when we reject every good thing that God has to offer. What else would draw somebody back? Those are the questions that are kind of left for us. And impossible in some sense for faithful Christians. What are you going to say to someone who has experienced the glories of salvation and have rebelliously walked away? Like that father in the story of the prodigal son. We wait. We welcome their return.

And not that we don’t make attempts, but there may be really nothing that we can say to that person other than we love them and that we’re patiently waiting along with the Father for them to come back. And so this idea of the impossible to renew them again, not that God would not accept them back, but impossible to renew them. If someone is so far gone, what is to be said? And so the warning, I think, the takeaway from this is as the theme of the book of Hebrews from which this text comes. Number one, don’t fall away. Don’t fall away because of the inherent dangers that are there. Keep that freshness of the gospel, that love of God and of salvation, so that you never get to that state where your conscience is so far gone that there’s really nothing to bring you back.

If you look at this and a final comment on the idea of not falling away, this passage, if you take the popular idea of once saved, always saved, this passage cannot make any sense with just about any reasonable interpretation. And when you pair that with Hebrews 3, verses 12 through 14, where he warns you against falling away from the living God, you take this passage, you take Hebrews chapter 10. If you go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the forgiveness, the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. These passages don’t make any sense. So we have to be reasonable with scriptures to then understand even more difficult scriptures. So you see the importance of rightly dividing the word of truth as we go along for this question to even have an answer that we can get to.

2. Could Jesus Have Sinned?

Alright, that brings us to question two. Could Jesus have sinned? Of course, this is a good question, and we have a temptation to take this a million different ways, and Ken and I could each preach very long sermons on different interpretations of this question. But we’re taking it at its core of the idea is what is. Was it possible for Jesus to sin? Was it within his ability to choose to do wrong? So we’re going to look at one critical passage of could Jesus sin is found in Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4, and again, if we take the idea that Jesus it was not possible for him to sin, he could not choose that if he wanted to. It makes this passage not only diluted, but perhaps a waste of space.

In Hebrews chapter 4, verses 14 through 16. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. Let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The idea that Jesus was sinless is not only important for his sacrifice, a point we’ll perhaps make soon. But if you notice in this context, it’s that he was tempted, and so we are to do what in verse 16?

Knowing that, take confidence, and have an assurance that our great high priest has been tempted, knows what the struggle is like. That would be an artificial, non-real struggle, though, if he couldn’t sin. So of course, he not only was tempted by Satan to do wrong, he could have chosen to do wrong. Yet that last phrase, the end of verse 15, yet without sin, was the choice of Jesus, not an unconditional statement. Temptation by its very definition implies the ability to be able to give in to that temptation, or it really ceases to be a temptation. We won’t necessarily turn over there, but you remember the context in Matthew chapter 4 of what we sometimes call the temptation of Jesus. I think we need to be careful to not imply that that’s the only time that Jesus was tempted.

But he was tempted those three times directly by Satan. Tempted to turn the stones into bread, tempted to cast himself off the pinnacle of the temple to prove that God was with him, and tempted in the sense of bowing down to Satan to receive all the kingdoms of the world. And so there again, temptation. Jesus was tempted by Satan. Tempted to what? Tempted to sin. And again, by its very definition, temptation to sin implies the ability to be able to give in to that sin. And so it would seem from that passage alone that yes, Jesus could have sinned. He could have given in to either one of those three temptations. We might even look at it this way. If he was not able, if he was just physically not able to commit a sin, then wouldn’t his quest, his reply to Satan’s temptations been very different.

Would it have simply said, Satan, you’re wasting your time? I can’t see it. But he didn’t. He answered those and set an example for how we ought to answer temptation by turning to the Word of God and resisting that temptation to sin. And that’s exactly the pattern that’s left for us. In 1 Peter chapter 2, if you’ll look there, we’re supposed to do something with the fact that Jesus not only didn’t sin, but that he was tempted and did not sin by his choice, by his commitment to God’s will. In fact, again, this is the only way to understand Peter’s line of reasoning here. In 1 Peter chapter 2, beginning in verse 20, 1 Peter 2, verse 20, for what credit is it if when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure?

But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. And of course, when you think about Jesus and you continue that passage, there’s a great emphasis on suffering, and when you’re mistreated. But alone, verse 22, Jesus committed no sin, no deceit was found in his mouth, and we’re to do what with that? Follow in his example, even when it’s difficult, even when it’s hard, just as Jesus stood up to temptation. And we talked about would Jesus even be facing real temptation, but would the devil even waste his time himself if he knew Jesus couldn’t sin?

There’s a couple ways you could look at that, but you start adding in these questions and becomes more and more doubtful. And when you look at the Word of God, it becomes clear. Jesus not only could sin, but his commitment to God kept him from sin so that he could be our great perfect sacrifice and our example. It’s another reason to praise our Lord and to be thankful that we have a God who not only sent Jesus to come into this world to die for us, but to set us a real example that when we’re struggling, we can say, Jesus went through this, and here’s how. Jesus faced this, and he was able to persevere. We can too as God’s children. It’s a powerful blessing that’s offered, and a good question.

3. What Is the Sin That Does Not Lead to Death?

Alright, two good questions. Question number three is what is the sin that does not lead to death?

Very similar to our first question, but this text, of course, is found in 1 John chapter 5. And Greg’s going to read that for us. 1 John chapter 5, verses 16 through 18. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life. To those who commit sins that do not lead to death, there is a sin that leads to death.

See the interesting question come out of that text. The question then is, what kind of sin leads to death? What’s the distinction here?

But one sin that leads to death and one sin that does not lead to death. Again, they’re both obviously sins that are being talked about, but what’s the distinction? What is the sin that leads to death? It could be said that the sin that leads to death, one category of that, or one way of defining it, is this just outright rebellious or defiant sin. Turn over to Hebrews chapter 10. Again, this kind of ties into the concept of that impossibility of renewing someone, that it would be impossible to renew someone to repentance, if they are just openly rebellious and defiantly sinning. In Hebrews chapter 10, verse 26, it says, For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, and go on to verse 27, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

Christ died for our sins. We receive and accept that blood to wash away our sins. But then if we just defiantly and openly in a rebellious way, walk away from him, then there’s no other sacrifice. If we reject that sacrifice and are unwilling to submit to that Christ, there’s not going to be another Messiah. There’s not going to be another cross that we can appeal to. And so this open, defiant, rebellious sin is certainly could be a sin that’s obviously going to lead to death. Because that person, unless there is abject repentance in turning around, that person’s not going to come back to Christ. And that leaves verse 31 for them, a fearful thing to fall in the hands of the living God. This just kind of quickly is reminiscent of that first question.

Hebrews 6, verse 4 through 6. This is a person. It’s impossible again to renew Hebrews 6, verse 4. They’ve tasted the heavenly gift, they’ve shared in the goodness. They’ve received all the blessings. What’s going to bring them back, as we mentioned before? This would be somebody who has given up on God. That sin leads to death. Now the question becomes well, isn’t Hebrews 10 26, isn’t most all sin deliberate? Sure, there are some sins we commit, not always knowing the full will of God. There are sins of ignorance. But for the most part, don’t we deliberately sin every time? This is not just deliberately in the choice to sin, but the choice to not do anything about it. That I know this is God’s will, and I don’t care.

And I know that that imperils my state before God, but I don’t care about that either. And so we see then the question in the distinguishing line between sin leading to death and sin that does not lead to death is not about the sin itself per se, but that sin that is properly taken care of, sin that is truly repented of. Look in 1 John chapter 1. In 1 John chapter 1. If you read with me in verse 5, 1 John chapter 1 and verse 5, this is the message we have heard from him and proclaimed to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we’d lie and do not practice the truth.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. As John is addressing these Christian people, he doesn’t say, all right, well, as Christians, you’re going to be perfect 100% of the time, and once you sin, I hope it’s not the one that makes you out. Right? He says in verse 8, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.

And in verse 10, if we have say we have not sinned, we make him a liar. But verse 9, what can we do about it? If we confess our sins, our God is faithful and just to forgive us of all our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness. So sin that leads to death is sin that’s unrepented of. Willful, deliberate choice to disobey and to step away from God. Where a sin that can be forgiven is that which is confessed and committed by somebody still committed to God. So it’s not the sin per se that distinguishes one into death, the other one not unto death. It’s our attitude and our response toward that sin. If we turn back to him and seek his forgiveness, then that’s obviously not a sin that’s going to lead to death.

4. What Should I Do If My Friend Won’t Listen?

Again, very good questions. I think, Greg, I think we’ve got time for one more. And so, what should I do if my friend won’t listen to the truth? What should I do if I talk to my friend and he just won’t listen? It’s all the good news. Maybe get better friends. No, that’s we we’ve all faced this problem, haven’t we? And we’ve been frustrated and really heartbroken by it. When you see the truth and you want someone that you care about and that you love to see that truth, and they just either can’t or won’t. What do you do? Well, there’s a couple options in this. Number one is, first, it’s worthy to pause and to make sure that it’s not you. That it’s not the way you’re presenting the truth.

Turn over to Colossians chapter 4 and talk about the importance of how we teach someone and really just how we talk to them, period. Colossians chapter 4. And in verse 6 says, Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Again, this application could be made to our speech in general, but in this context, it seems maybe specifically in answering each one of how do we present the gospel. So make sure that you’re presenting it with grace, that it’s seasoned with Saul, that you’re not coming across in some hateful, overly condemning way, but that you’re coming in love, and that you’re presenting the truth in a loving and truthful way. So there is that possibility that the problem’s not with your friend, it might be with you and the way you’re presenting it.

In fact, Paul further warns Timothy, of course, the young evangelist in 2 Timothy 2, beginning in verse 24, the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his will. I think sometimes we look at the scriptures and we see Paul and his boldness, and we see the way Jesus even would be very forthright with the Pharisees, let’s say that was a nice way of putting that. But as you think about their approach, we say, Well, we just need to be bold.

People just need to know the truth. And that would be true if that was how it was done, but it’s not. Jesus could be a judge of the Pharisees. Paul spoke to the Jews with love as a brother, as one of them. He had a connection that we don’t have to random strangers. So when Paul walked in to a synagogue, for example, but even when you look at his wisdom here for Timothy, be kind to everyone, patiently endure evil. But look at verse 25. Correcting his opponents, yes. But how should it be done? With gentleness. Sometimes the question of what do I do when my friend won’t listen is I’ve told him everything they need to do and they just won’t change. I told him how they were wrong.

I told him how he wasn’t doing it right, and I told them that he needed to be better. And for some reason he didn’t like that message. We need to teach the message of love with love. We need to take teach the message of salvation being possible with joy. And that not only encounters how we talk to someone in a one-on-one basis, it would affect how we live our life on a daily basis. Are we somebody who’s happy and alight, or somebody who’s kind of upset and some sort of person who’s going to be a literal perhaps Bible thumper when somebody doesn’t just do what we say or what we think they should do. So as always, our first step would be to pause and do some introspection, some self-examination.

But then there’s the other possibility.

In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus sends his apostles out to preach and to teach the gospel. And he prepares them for the eventuality, not the eventuality, but the reality that there’ll be some who won’t listen, who won’t hear the truth. And you remember famously what Jesus told them to do in that case. He said to shake the dust off of your feet. There comes a time where you have to just move on. Not necessarily move on from that friend. You can still be friends with them and still leave that door open and still from time to time try. But it may simply be that here’s a heart that’s not the type of soil, in that parable of the soils, that’s ready to hear the gospel at that time.

That’s a hard pill to swallow, but sometimes we just have to face the facts and shake the dust off our feet. And in one way or another, move on. And of course, sometimes there’s the more nuclear option. There’s sometimes it might be needing to come back, and sometimes it just won’t work. In Matthew 7, verse 6, sometimes this passage is asked, what is an application? I think we have found one here. In Matthew 7 and verse 6, do not give dogs what is holy. Do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. That certainly is what many of the Jews did with Paul his entire life. They literally chased him around trying to attack him because they rejected his message.

And there wasn’t anything wrong with that messenger. Sometimes people will just not listen to truth. The darkness sometimes hates the light. We have to do all that we can, be always willing, like God, who, as we’ve already discussed, always wants people to return in repentance. We have to be willing to teach, but also be cognizant of the fact that sometimes the soil’s not ready. And sometimes the heart is not right. And at that point in time, when we’ve done the best we can, we’ve prayed, and we’ve known that God is the one who ultimately provides the increase. It’s time to move forward for that time, or at least for a little while. So as we think about the question of what do I do when my friend won’t listen, we need to do some introspection.

Conclusion

And then we need to think about who we’re talking to, not prejudging them, but teaching them with love, gentleness, and with a kindness, recognizing that they too, like us, need the gospel message. That it’s a message of love and forgiveness and salvation, not one just of condemnation, although that’s something to avoid. We want to defeat the devil. We want to be with our God. Thanks again for your questions. Keep them coming. We’ve got some lined up, but as Greg said, we still need more. And so we appreciate your kind attention as we are examining the scriptures together this morning. Greg, will you lead us in a word of prayer? Our dear God, most gracious and loving Heavenly Father, we praise you always. We praise your great name.

We thank you for being the Almighty God that you are, who created the world, who holds it in your hand, and who knows each and every one of us, the hairs on our head, the thoughts in our heart. Help us to be dedicated servants of yours. Thank you so much for revealing your word to us. Help us to cherish it and study it daily, to speak to you daily, and that when we don’t, that you will strengthen us, and you encourage us, and that the Christians here will rally together as a team to be pleasing to you, and so that we won’t fall away, but rather be strengthened in our service. Help us as we teach others, that we do so with gentleness and kindness, that we reflect reflect on your great love, your great mercy, and the salvation that you offer.

Thank you for all the Christians here and the searching for truth. Help us to always find what we need. We trust you, we love you. We thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. And it’s in his name we pray. Amen.