ETERNAL SECURITY
REFUTED BY THE BOOK OF HEBREWS
by Charles Vander Ploeg

Hebrews Stresses The End, Not The Beginning Of The Christian Life

Part II of IV 
CHAPTER SIX OF HEBREWS

As we have said before, it is always the END of the Christian life that the writer is emphasizing, and not the new birth, as Eternal Security does.  Eternal Security would have us believer that if a man is once born again, he cannot be lost again but the writer says, "HOLD FAST THE HOPE FIRM UNTO THE END."  All thru this book, it is always the END that is stressed and NOT ONCE is the beginning of the Christian life given the pre-eminence as Eternal Security does.

Now we arrive at the major application of all that we have said and this is found in ch.5-9 where the writer says, "And being made perfect, He became the author of ETERNAL SALVATION, to all that OBEY HIM."  We have explained that being made perfect, meant that He was obedient to the Father's will and that HE learned obedience by the things that He suffered.  We learned that He was perfected on the third day and that was the day that He rose from the dead and was glorified.  It was on that day that the Father said, "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee."  That day He became the author of eternal salvation unto all that OBEY HIM because He was OBEDIENT Himself.  The point at issue is:  If it was necessary for Christ to be OBEDIENT unto death, to be the author of ETERNAL SALVATION, (glorification), unto all that OBEY HIM; can we ever expect to be a partaker of that ETERNAL SALVATION, if we DISOBEY HIM and do not HOLD FAST unto the END?  If so where in this book are we so informed?  The fact is that nowhere in this book are we so informed?  The fact is that nowhere in the scriptures, has the wilful disobedient any hope offered to him except repentance.
 
Jesus said in Lu.17,3-4, "If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him, and IF HE REPENT, forgive him.  And if he trespass against thee seven times in one day and seven times in a day turn to thee and say, "I repent"; thou shalt forgive him."  This is the divine law; no repentance; no forgiveness.  There is no need to cry 'legality' here for we will simply refer the reader to Mat.18,15-17 where we find the discipline that Jesus gave for the future church.  Would Christ give us admonition on forgiveness contrary to His own divine principles?  This is inconsistent and also unbelievable.  We will enlarge on this discipline later on in this book.
 
Eternal Security tries to avoid this by referring to Eph.4-32 where Paul said, "Forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."  Let us all remember that the vilest sinner is already forgiven provisionally, but unless he accepts Christ as His savior, he never will be forgiven experimentally.  Let us see how this works.  On the cross Jesus prayed for those that had Him condemned to death and said, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do."  Has this been fulfilled?  Many think it has but it emphatically has not and will not be until Israel repents and says, "Blessed is He (Christ) that cometh in the name of the Lord."  In that day there shall be a fountain opened in the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness, Zech.,13-1.  Forgiveness was obtained for Israel at Calvary provisionally but not until they accept Him as Messiah, will they be forgiven experimentally.  And this forgiveness must first be preceded by repentance exactly as Jesus said in Lu.17,3-4.  Because Israel refused to repent before two or three witnesses, John the Baptist, Christ and the apostles; therefore they are as the heathens and publicans in God's sight at present, Mat.18,15-17.
 
If it was necessary for the Son of God to be obedient unto death, what can we expect if we are wilfully disobedient?  We are not referring to those who sin thru weakness or ignorance.  While they have sinned indeed and lost their fellowship pro tem, they can be immediately restored by repentance and confession.  It is not occasional disobedience that is in question here, but wilful permanent disobedience.  Thus ETERNAL SALVATION is only for ALL THAT OBEY HIM.
 
In Acts 5-29 Peter said, "We ought to OBEY GOD rather than man;" and in Acts 5-32 he said, "We are His witnesses- and so is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that OBEY HIM."  Does God give the Holy Ghost to them that DISOBEY HIM?  The answer is, "NO!"  Did not Peter say in Acts 2-38, "Repent and be baptized - and ye shall receive - the Holy Ghost?"
 
As DISOBEDIENT, they received reproof but as OBEDIENT, they received the Holy Ghost. In Rom.6-16 Paul said, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to OBEY, HIS SERVANTS ye are to whom ye OBEY; whether of sin unto death, or OBEDIENCE unto righteousness?"  In John 8,34-35 Jesus said, "Whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin.  And the servant abideth not in the house forever; but the Son abideth ever."
 
It was OBEDIENCE that made Christ the author of ETERNAL SALVATION, and it will require OBEDIENCE on our part to be a partaker of that ETERNAL SALVATION.  If it required OBEDIENCE on Christ's part to be GLORIFIED, it will require the same on our part.  He gives the Holy Ghost to them that OBEY HIM and not to those that DISOBEY HIM.  Likewise He is the author of ETERNAL SALVATION to all that OBEY HIM and not to any one else.
 
Let Eternal Security claim eternal life for the disobedient if they so desire, but one thing is an unequivocal certainty: God will never give the Holy Ghost to those disobedient ones.  Since the Holy Ghost is the earnest of our inheritance, II Cor.1-22; does Eternal Security think that God will give them any part of the ETERNAL INHERITANCE in eternity, when He will not give them the EARNEST NOW?
 
This word 'earnest' means a 'pledge or down payment.'  In Eph.1, 13-14 we read, "Ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession."  The Holy Spirit is the very first thing promised to a believer, Acts 2-38.  If the believer disobeys God, and God will not give him the very first thing promised while here on earth, how can such a wilful disobedient one, ever expect one thing from God in eternity?
 
Christ is indeed the author of ETERNAL SALVATION to all that OBEY HIM, ch. 5-9; but Eternal Security places the emphasis on the word 'eternal' but the author places the emphasis on the words 'OBEY HIM'.  This is evidenced by the fact that the writer always emphasized THE END and not the BEGINNING of the Hebrews' profession.
 
CHAPTER SIX OF HEBREWS
The sixth chapter of Hebrews is really the most important chapter in the phase of our writing and the tenth chapter is the second most important on this subject.  This chapter deals with the apostates who had gone back to Judaism and with the waverers who were on the verge of returning also, due to the severe trials that they were going thru at that time.
 
There are many who have misunderstood vs.4-6 of this chapter and have thought that anyone who has been saved and has fallen away, could not be restored to God.  Some have even taught that they had blasphemed the Holy Ghost and therefore there was no hope for them at all.  This of course is entirely wrong as will be seen as we continue our exposition of this chapter.
 
In v.1-3, the writer instructs the Hebrew Christians to leave the first principles of the doctrine of Christ and go on to perfection.  This is indeed the great point at issue, as they had indeed learned the first principles and had stopped there and were not going on to perfection.  It is hard for some to see that this book was written for the benefit of the waverers because they do not see them mentioned and cannot see that it refers to them in v.1-3.  The truth of the matter is that the subject of these waverers is begun in ch.5,11-14 and that is why we discontinued our comments on that chapter at v.10.  We will commence our discussion there as that is the starting point and the prelude to chapter six.  We quote herewith the balance of chapter five.

v.11, "Of whom (Melchisedec) we have many things to say, and are hard to be understood, seeing ye are dull of hearing.

v.12, For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God:  and are become such as have need of milk, and not strong meat.

v.13, For ever one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness:  for he is a babe.

v.14, But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
 
In the preceding four verses, the writer accuses them of the following charges:  Were dull of hearing, were babes instead of teachers, needed milk instead of meat, unskilled in the word and had not discerned evil (slipping back) from good (going on to perfection).
 
In v.12 he said in part, "Ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of God."  Then in ch.6-1 he said, "Therefore leaving the (first) principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection."  This then is the introduction to the sixth chapter of which we quote v.4-6 herewith.
 
v.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,

v.5, And have tasted of the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come.

v.6, If they should fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify unto themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame."
 
The above quotation was advanced by the writer as a warning to those waverers who were slipping back into Judaism even as others had done and had become apostates.  It was intended to show them the consequences of their spiritual declension and what the result would be if they became apostates like those who had already done so.
 
But Eternal Security with their carefully concocted misinterpretations and misapplications, have perverted and diverted the truth so that the word of God would not denounce their doctrine and expose their errors.
 
In the Scofield Bible there is a note on these verses which states that these are Jewish professed believers who halt short of faith in Christ.  He claims that they came to the threshold of salvation and were convicted and enlightened, John 16,8-10, and then did not have saving faith.  He makes it appear that they were like the ten spies who spied out the land, had the fruit of it in their hands, and yet turned back, Deut.1, 19-36.
 
It is just such reasoning as the above note that makes void the word of God.  These spies were redeemed by the blood of the passover lamb, had left Egypt, a type of the world, were circumcised, and were in covenant relation with the Lord; and kept the sabbath which is a type of the FIRST REST in Christ as explained in chapter four.  They also ate manna in the wilderness which is a type of Christ the bread of life, and also drank of the water that came from the smitten rock which also was a type of Christ giving us the water of life.  Yet Scofield would have us believe that they are typical of Jewish believers who halt short of faith in Christ and never were saved.
 
In our comments on the fourth chapter, we showed that there were two rests and not one.  The ten spies had obtained the FIRST REST in the wilderness but never obtained the SECOND REST in Canaan.  When the two spies came back with the fruit in their hands, they had the earnest of their INHERITANCE which was the land of Canaan.  The fruit had nothing to do with salvation or their deliverance because the Red Sea typified the door of salvation and not the River Jordan.  They already had the tabernacle, the priesthood and sacrifices to make atonement for their sins; then how could they be typical of unsaved Jewish believers?  We are not so gullible as to accept such reasoning which beguiles the simple and teaches them to believe in a false security.
 
In contrast to Scofield's note we quote a note from the Companion Bible on the context under consideration as follows:

"The warning is that if, that after accepting Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah and Lord, they go back to Judaism, they cut themselves off (Gal.5-4), as there is no other Messiah to be looked for, and by rejecting Him they put Him to open shame.  Tho the interpretation is for APOSTATES who go back to JUDAISM, the application remains a solemn warning to ALL WHO PROFESS TO BELIEVE". (Caps ours).  Thus the Companion Bible refutes the fallacious teaching of Eternal Security at this point.
 
In connection with the above note, we next present an article from Dickson's Analytical Bible for the reader's consideration.
 
THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN AWAY
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened- if they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance." (6,1-6).  The exact teaching of this passage has been missed in many instances when employed to support certain doctrines.  The opening statement, "For it is impossible" is too far removed from the

statement of verse 6, "to renew them unto repentance."  The rendering of the R.V. is better:  "For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them unto repentance."
 
The writer's position is that we should advance beyond the things we learned at the beginning of the Christian life; to leave those first things, these first principles, and to proceed to the things that make for the full grown, matured Christian.  He now states why he will not re-instruct them in the rudiments of Christianity; that it is useless to repeat such instructions in trying to restore to repentance those who have "fallen away."  He does not say it is impossible for them to return to Christ. It is at this point the passage is frequently misread.  He is speaking of human agency in the attempt to restore these apostates by reiterating these principles in which they have been instructed.  He says it is impossible (not for the apostates) for us to renew them again by such measures.  He is willing to do it again however, if it be the divine will: "And this we will do if God permit."  He is speaking in a popular manner when he says there is no reason to believe that these apostates will be restored by a constant reiteration of the rudiments of the gospel.
 
Thus we see here is another standard authority that refutes Eternal Security.  Our next quotation if from The Life and Epistles of St. Paul, by Connebeare and Howson.  This quotation is note no.6, p.863.
 
"A reason is here given by the writer why he will not attempt to teach his readers the rudiments of Christianity over again; namely, that is useless to attempt, by the repetition of such instruction, to recall those who have renounced Christianity to repentance.  The 'impossibility' that he speaks of has reference (it should be observed) only to "human agents", it is only said that all 'human' means of acting on the heart have been exhausted in such a case.  Of course no limit is placed on the Divine power. Even in the passage 10, 26-31 (which is much stronger than the present passage), it is not said that such apostates are never brought to repentance, only that it cannot be 'expected' that they ever should be."
 
"AIM AND OBJECT." It must be clear to every careful reader that this epistle was written with one definite aim in view...  The author makes straight for his goal from start to finish... The Christians addressed are evidently in danger of falling away from their faith and apostatizing altogether.  So desperate does the condition appear to the author, that he feels it necessary to expostulate in the gravest of terms.  It is no fascination of the world luring them away from their original consecration that occasions the danger.  The Hebrews are discouraged almost to the point of despair because they do not see how the gospel can offer them anything like compensation, for what they have lost in being cast out of the synagogue on account of their confession of the Nazarene.  This is the condition that the epistle has to face."
 
Having produced these standard witnesses against Eternal Security, we will proceed with our own evidence against this false doctrine.  In v.4 the writer speaks about those who were enlightened.  Were these Hebrews 'spiritually enlightened' or were they only 'intellectually enlightened."  We claim the former to be true while Eternal Security claims the latter to be true.  This word 'enlightened' is 'photizo' in the Greek and it is quoted only three times in the New Testament. It is translated 'enlightened' twice and 'illuminated' once. We quote all three passages herewith.
 
Heb.6-4, "For it is impossible for those who were once ENLIGHTENED, and have tasted of the heavenly gift," etc.

Eph.1-18, "The eyes of your understanding being ENLIGHTENED; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and the riches of the glory of His inheritance IN THE SAINTS."

Heb.10-32, "But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were ILLUMINATED, ye endured a great fight of afflictions."

Tho Eph.1-18, speaks about their 'understanding being enlightened', it ends with the words 'in the saints', indicating that they were a saved people.  It cannot be denied that those referred to in Heb.10-32 were saved and since the word 'enlightened' or 'illuminated' is 'photizo' in all three cases, the evidence presented clinches the fact that this enlightment was identical and that it was a 'spiritual enlightment' and not just a 'going along with' the believers, as Scofield puts it.
 
We next take up the expression "and have tasted of the heavenly gift."  It is both ridiculous and inconsistent the way Eternal Security attempts to prove that these so-called unsaved Hebrews had tasted of the heavenly gift.  We know that this "heavenly gift" is none else than Christ Himself. How a Christ rejecting Hebrew could taste of the heavenly gift is more than we can comprehend.  In Ps.34-8 David said, "O taste and see that the Lord is Good," and he certainly was not referring to sinners.  In I Pet.2,2-3 he said, "As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:  If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious."  He told them to desire-the word- "IF SO BE YE HAVE TASTED-THE LORD."  He meant that they could not grow until they had tasted of Christ (the heavenly gift) experimentally.  To taste of the Lord is synonymous to being a partaker of Him.  We list herewith a number of scriptures with the word 'partaker' in them, which apply to the expression now before us and the reader can readily discern that they apply to saved people only.
 
Heb.3-1, "Wherefore brethren, PARTAKERS of the heavenly calling-."

Heb.3-14, "For we (not sinners) are PARTAKERS of Christ--."

Heb.12-10, "That we (not sinners) might be partakers of His holiness."

I Pet.5-1, "I--am--a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed." II Pet.1-4, "That by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature."
 
The next thought for our consideration is the expression, "and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost."  We can readily see by the five scriptures above, that to be a partaker of Christ or any of the above mentioned things, it would be necessary for a person to be saved.  The Holy Ghost is a person and we either have Him or do not have Him.  There are two phases of His presence, 'with us' and 'in us' and neither one of these is true of the unsaved, John 14-17.  Jesus said in John 16-8, "When He (the Comforter) is come, He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment."  Nowhere in the scriptures is this work in any person referred to as being made partakers of the Holy Ghost.
 
When Ananias kept part of the money that he intended to give, he lied about it to Peter.  Peter said to him, "Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?"  Ananias died for his sin immediately and later, when Sapphire his wife came in, Peter said to her, "How is it ye agreed to tempt the spirit of the Lord?  "Then she also dropped dead and they carried her out likewise.  Just because they were smitten down by the Holy Ghost, is no evidence that they were partakers of the Holy Ghost in that incident, but rather they were partakers of the Devil because Peter said to them, "Why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?"
 
In Acts 8, 18-21, Simon the sorcerer professed to be saved and later tried to buy the power of the Holy Ghost. But Peter said to him, "Thou hast neither PART OR LOT in this matter:  for thy heart is not right in the sight of God."  He had neither PART OR LOT in the matter and that is proof that he was not a PARTAKER OF THE HOLY GHOST.  In Rom.8-2 and Rev.11-11, the Holy Ghost is called the Spirit of life, and if sinners were a partaker of the Holy Ghost, they would be a partaker of life also, but instead they are dead in sin, Eph.2-1; Col.3-3.
 
In God's plan of salvation, there are two gifts mentioned, the Son of God is God's gift to the world, John 3-16; and the Holy Ghost is God's gift to the church, Acts 2-38. Concerning this Spirit Jesus said, "Who the world cannot receive," John 14-17."  The world does not receive Him in any sense whatsoever as He is the Spirit of holiness, Rom.1-4, and they cannot be a partaker of Him in their defiled carnal nature.  When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, He was not a partaker of her water until He actually drank it, and He drank it because he desired it. Seeing it or hearing of it, did not make him a partaker of it.  When Jesus fed the multitude, there was not one who was a partaker, until he actually ate that bread; and the same thing is true of Christ the bread of life.  There is absolutely nothing imparted by the Holy Ghost to sinners and neither are they partakers of God's Spirit in any sense until the blood is applied at conversion.  At the time of the new birth, the soul receives it first partaking of the Holy Spirit and not at any time before.
 
When Noah let the dove out of the ark, it didn't rest on anything until the earth was dry.  But the raven never came back because it was an unclean bird and would rest on any dead carcass.  The dove, a type of the Holy Spirit, refused to rest on anything or eat anything on earth until it was dried up and new life had sprung forth.  When the dove came back the second time, it had an olive leaf in it's mouth that it had plucked off of an olive tree that had come to life again.  This is a type of the new life that we receive thru Christ and the dove is a type of the Holy Spirit, Mat.3-16.  So neither does the Holy Spirit rest on sinners or impart any thing to them; nor are they partakers of Him in any sense.  Being convicted and convinced of sin by Him, is never considered being a partaker of Him.  That is just another instance how Eternal Security perverts and diverts the truth.
 
We now come to v.5 where in the first part we read, "and have tasted the good word of God."  What we have said about "tasting the heavenly gift," will apply to this expression also.  To taste a thing one must be a partaker of that thing; and to be a partaker of a thing, one must receive that thing.  In Jas.1-21 he says, "Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls."  To receive God's word, is to receive that thing that his word has promised to bestow.  In John 6-63 Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are life."  Therefore to taste of that word, is to taste of that Spirit, and of that life; nothing else.
 
Nowhere does God's word inform us that the unsaved tasted His word or received it.  Whenever it speaks of people receiving His word, it is equal to saying that the word brought them Spirit and life, just as Jesus said it would in John 6-63.  As evidence of this consider the following passages.
 
Acts 2-41, "Then they that GLADLY RECEIVED HIS WORD, were baptized--."

Acts 8-14, "When the apostles---heard that Samaria RECEIVED THE WORD OF GOD, they sent unto them Peter and John. Who ---prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost."  (So they must have been saved).

Acts 11-1, "The apostles--in Judea heard that the Gentiles had RECEIVED THE WORD OF GOD."

I Thess.1-6, "And ye became followers--of the Lord, having RECEIVED THE WORD in much affliction."
 
We now come to the last part of v.5 which speaks of (have tasted) "the powers of the world to come."  Just what are we to understand by this and in what respect can the unsaved be partakers of these "powers"?  First of all, the word 'world' should be 'age' and refers to the kingdom age usually called the Millennium.  The word 'powers' is 'dunamis' in the Greek and it is the same word as in Acts 1-8 where Jesus said, "Ye shall receive POWER after the Holy Ghost is come upon you."  Jesus referred to that age in Mat.12-32; Mat.19,27-28 and Mk.10,28-30; and was seen by the three apostles at the transfiguration, Mat.17-10; II Pet.1,17-18.  It is those who have TASTED OF THE POWER OF THAT AGE, who are going to LIVE WITH CHRIST IN THAT AGE.
 
Israel as a nation, was not a partaker of the power of that age to come, but individuals as Simeon, Anna, Zecharias, John the Baptist, and the twelve apostles were, and will live in that coming age.  Paul said he was as one born out of due season, I Cor.15-8, because he was blinded by unbelief like the rest of his nation, but on the Damascus road he became a partaker of Christ's divine nature and therefore became a partaker of the POWERS OF THE AGE TO COME.
 
In Mk.9-1 Jesus said, "There be some that stand here, that shall not taste death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power."  Six days later He took three apostles with Him and was transfigured before them, and they saw the kingdom come in type.  Elijah and Moses appeared there with Him, Elijah representing the translated saints, Moses representing the resurrected saints, and the three apostles represented the nation of Israel.  They were partakers of the AGE TO COME because they were born of that power that is going to bring that coming age.  There are no Christ rejecting Hebrews that ever tasted of the power of that world (age) to come regardless how Eternal Security endeavors to twist the word to suit their doctrine.
 
On p.863 of Connebeare and Howson's Life and Epistles of St.Paul, there is a note on this passage as follows:  "The 'powers of the world to come' appear to denote the miraculous operations of the spiritual gifts.  These properly belonged to the world to come."
 
It is comforting at this pint to know that this standard authority rejects Eternal Security's false security here as well as elsewhere.  No Christ rejecting Hebrew could exercise any of these spiritual gifts or be a partaker of their blessings.  That this is what is meant is quite evident for in chap.2-4, the writer of Hebrews said, "God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will."
 
Carrying the first thought of v.4 to v.6, the writer said, "If they fall away, (it is impossible) to renew them unto repentance:"  This word 'renew' is 'anakainizo' in the greek and this is the only place where it is found in the New Testament.  It means 'to make new again" and it is quite evident that thing cannot be 'renewed' if it never was new.  Eternal Security claims these were unsaved, that these unconverted Hebrews 'went along with' the Holy Spirit in his work of enlightment and conviction.  Had they even done so, that is no proof that they had repented.  The four gospels and the Acts are the only five books that we have concerning the ministry of Christ and the apostles with the nation of Israel.  But no where do we find any mention of any one who repented, but what they became saved people.  There are scores of sinners living today, who at one time were under conviction, but who have never repented of their sins.  Since they never came to repentance, it would be impossible to 'renew' them unto repentance; because if they had come to repentance, repentance to them would be a 'new' experience.  Should they fall away after being converted, then it would be necessary to 'renew' them unto repentance.  A hardy plant raised from seed would have a 'new' life but, the next spring it would have a 'renewed' life inasmuch as spring is a type of resurrection anyway.
 
Concerning the word 'repentance', we can make no better statement than that found in appendix No.111 of the Companion Bible.  There are three words listed there from the Greek which are translated 'repentance' which are: Mentanoeo, to change one's mind; Metametomai, to regret; and Metanoia, which is the word under consideration.  The first two words are verbs and the latter word is a noun, and concerning this word 'mentanoia', we quote the following paragraph from the Companion Bible:

"METANOIA, A real change of mind and attitude towards sin itself, and the cause of it (not merely the consequences of it), which affects the whole life and not only a single act.  It has been defined as a change in our principle of action (gr.nous) from what it is by nature, (to) the exact opposite.  It occurs twenty-four times and - is a real 'repentance toward God.'  It is associated with the work of the Holy Spirit, and is connected with the remission of sins and the promises of salvation."

What a tremendous contrast between the true meaning of this word 'repentance' and its application; and what Eternal Security would have us to believe.  Paul uses this same word 'repentance' (gr. mentanoia) in 2 Cor.7,9-10 where he says, "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.  For Godly sorrow worketh repentance (gr. metanoia) to salvation, not to be repented of."
 
Part I            Part II             Part III            Part IV
 

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Bill Burkett

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