Look at how many if’s are in the following passage. It would seem that the entire book of Hebrews totally debunks the notion of election as spelled out by Calvin and his spiritual descendants.

Hebrews 3:6-19. “[We are Christ’s house] if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end…The Holy Spirit [in Psalm 95:7-11] says, ‘If you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…’ Beware lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily… lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end… we see that they [Israel] could not enter in [to Canaan] because of unbelief.”

And who can deal with this next series of verses? Did the writer of Hebrews not “get the memo”? Clear statement. The possibility of falling away is real, and serious.

Hebrews 6:4-10. “…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… if [the earth] bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.…”

But not so fast. Are we confident that the people being described above are true believers? Enlightened means they understood what they were to do. Partakers of the Holy Spirit, as was Judas. Tasted and delighted in the Scriptures, saw and even experienced miracles. But are we sure there was a time when such people truly came to Christ and were received by Him?

You say, yes, we are sure of this. Then consider the rest of the passage, and read the whole in its light:

“We are confident of better things [than falling away and being cursed] concerning you, yes and things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister…”

So there are such people, close but not the real deal? And then there are the ones for whom the writer intended his work. The God who calls, remembers your works and will cause you to persevere. The ones He saw from the foundation of the world cannot turn away finally.

Following is, for me, another clear insight into the way God does His work, the way we come to grace. Here is the announcement, via Jeremiah, of a New Covenant, a New Way of God’s working. Before, it was, “Read the Book, try your best,” but now… well, read it for yourself…

Hebrews 8:8-12, 10:16-17. (Quoting Jeremiah 31:31-34) “… This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel… I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts… all shall know Me… for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

If ever “I” am “good”, it is because God Himself has written His own law on my heart. And of course it is out of the heart that proceed the issues of life. We may say one thing and do one thing with our actions, but eventually it is the heart that tells the story about our lives. Confirmation is in chapter 9:

Hebrews 9:15. “(Jesus) is the Mediator of the new covenant… that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

Get it? The called need an assist. They receive it by the New Covenant, God’s etching of His own will on ours.

But lest we get carried away too far on this line of thinking, we have to deal with the ever-present Hebrews 10, reminding us of the same cautions we saw in chapter 6.

Hebrews 10:26. “…If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment… Of how much worse punishment [than those who rejected Moses] … will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?... [He] said [Deuteronomy 32:36], ‘the Lord will judge His people.’”

Meaning, if we continue on in sin after we have heard the Gospel, if we reject His offer of salvation, there is no hope. Others want it to say that it refers to the possibility of falling away after we have come to Christ. The Hebrews author seems to want to rule out that possibility by reminding his readers that they have endured so far…

Hebrews 10:32. “… Recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings…”

He then goes on to compare those who persevere with those who do not:

Hebrews 10:38. “Now the just shall live by faith, but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

In case there is any doubt as to the subject of this denunciation, he quickly adds:

Hebrews 10:39. “We are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”

After all, the One Who started this thing in us will complete it. He is…

Hebrews 12:2. “… Jesus, the author [originator] and the finisher [perfecter] of our faith…”

So why this warning only a few verses later?

Hebrews 12:15. “[Be careful] lest anyone fall short of the grace of God…”

It is admonitions such as these that produce life in the true believers. They read such statements and they decide they will not fall short, they will not draw back. God uses His words as the means of producing what He has promised to produce.

God has a people. Their names are in the Book of Life and will not be erased:

Hebrews 12:22-23. “…You have come to… the general assembly and church of the firstborn, who are registered in heaven… to the spirits of just men made perfect.”

God has been perfecting His own through the years, and will finish what He started.

Hebrews 13:5. “…He Himself has said [in Deuteronomy 31:6,8, Joshua 1:5], ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”Hebrews 13:20-21. “Now may the God of peace… make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight…”

Seems like Hebrews is saying the same thing from start to finish. Those Who are His are secure if they persevere. And they will do just that.

JOHN

Outside the sayings of Jesus in the books of John are the Spirit-inspired words of John himself. What do you make of this combination of ideas from the apostle of love?

John 1:12. As many as received Him to them he gave power to become children of God, who believe in His name.” John 1:13. “…who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

First it seems as though salvation is a matter of receiving Christ, followed by God’s response of accepting the said receivers into His family. But then John tells us that man’s rebirth has nothing to do with man’s will at all, but is simply a gift from God. Which is it? Was John confused? Or as usual, only us?

Perhaps the way to put it all in order is to start at the beginning: God. God working in the human heart. God introducing Himself to a sinner via the preached God. God being received by that sinner. God then allowing him the right to become a son of God. No contradiction.

The same author shows up toward the end of your Bible in three short letters, one of which is of interest to this study. Once again, a seeming problem. God is first seen as the giver, through Christ, of a universal salvation.

1 John 2:2. “He Himself [Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

The “our” of this passage is, no doubt, the born-again believer. But how does the “whole world” profit from Jesus’ sacrifice? John is looking here at the spread of the Gospel into the whole world, as Jesus commanded. Those who believe after that proclamation will be added to the “our” that has already been taken in. He merely states what we already know: the present number of true believers in the world will not remain static. As the Gospel is preached, the number will increase until the return of Christ.

We will talk more of this when discussing John 3:16 later. Meanwhile John sees the “other” side very clearly:

1 John 4:10, 19. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins… We love Him because He first loved us.”

Once more the “our” and “we” refer to believers. Here it is made clear that the initiative for salvation was begun in Heaven. He died for us, then came to us and told us about it. What did we add to His invitation?