Falling Away
Falling
Away
Hebrews
chapter six
4
“or
it
is
impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of
the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
6
If
they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing
they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him
to an open shame.
7
For
the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and
bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth
blessing from God:
8
But
that which beareth thorns and briers is
rejected, and is
nigh unto cursing; whose end is
to be burned.
“The
humbled sinner who pleads guilty, and cries for mercy, can have no
ground from this passage to be discouraged, whatever his conscience
may accuse him of. Nor does it prove that any one who is made a new
creature in Christ, ever becomes a final apostate from him. The
apostle is not speaking of the falling away of mere professors, never
convinced or influenced by the gospel. Such have nothing to fall away
from, but an empty name, or hypocritical profession. Neither is he
speaking of partial declinings or backslidings. Nor are such sins
meant, as Christians fall into through the strength of temptations,
or the power of some worldly or fleshly lust. But the falling away
here mentioned, is an open and avowed renouncing of Christ, from
enmity of heart against him, his cause, and people, by men approving
in their minds the deeds of his murderers, and all this after they
have received the knowledge of the truth, and tasted some of its
comforts. Of these it is said, that it is impossible to renew them
again unto repentance. Not because the blood of Christ is not
sufficient to obtain pardon for this sin; but this sin, in its very
nature, is opposite to repentance and every thing that leads to it.
If those who through mistaken views of this passage, as well as of
their own case, fear that there is no mercy for them, would attend to
the account given of the nature of this sin, that it is a total and a
willing renouncing of Christ, and his cause, and joining with his
enemies, it would relieve them from wrong fears. We should ourselves
beware, and caution others, of every approach near to a gulf so awful
as apostacy; yet in doing this we should keep close to the word of
God, and be careful not to wound and terrify the weak, or discourage
the fallen and penitent. Believers not only taste of the word of God,
but they drink it in. And this fruitful field or garden receives the
blessing. But the merely nominal Christian, continuing unfruitful
under the means of grace, or producing nothing but deceit and
selfishness, was near the awful state above described; and
everlasting misery was the end reserved for him. Let us watch with
humble caution and prayer as to ourselves.” (Matthew Henry
1710)
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