OSAS And Hebrews 10
I have a question on Hebrews 10:26-29. I was brought up to believe in “once saved, always saved”, yet this scripture plus some other scriptures in Hebrews would make someone think that salvation could be lost.
Q. I have a question on Hebrews 10:26-29. I was brought up to believe in “once saved, always saved”, yet this scripture plus some other scriptures in Hebrews would make someone think that salvation could be lost.
“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of truth,there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law will die without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, 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.”
I am new to your site, but you seem to have some pretty knowledgable things to say. Please clear this one up for me.
A. Let’s review the concept of OSAS. The Bible clearly tells us that at the moment we first believed, the Holy Spirit was sealed within us as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance, confirming that our salvation is assured (Ephes. 1:13-14) It also says that we’re saved by faith alone, not by works (Ephes. 2:8-9) So the basis for our salvation is belief, not behavior and it’s guaranteed right from the start.
These are two incrediblly clear statements on the unconditionality and durability of our salvation, and form the foundation for the OSAS view. To deny OSAS you have to believe that other statements in the Bible rescind or contradict these promises. That means you believe that either God wasn’t sincere when He had Paul make them, or that He let Paul make a promise in His name that isn’t true, or that He changed His mind and revoked them.
Now let’s look at your quote from Hebrews 10:26-29. If the writer was referring to our salvation then the first phrase of that passage has disqualified everyone who has ever lived from ever going to Heaven because no Christian has ever lived a sin free life.
Even the mighty Paul confessed that he couldn’t keep himself from sinning. (Romans 7:19) The Apostle John agreed. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” (1 John 1:8-10) Both were writing to the Church, not to unbelievers.
Finally, look at the context in which the Hebrews passage was given. The whole letter is an argument against the tendency of Jewish believers to go back into the Levitical system. Statements both before and after the passage you quoted confirm the confidence we have that Jesus paid the whole price for all the sins of our lives.
Hebrews 10:19-23 says, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
And Hebrews 10:35-36 says, “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” Jesus Himself said that the will of God is that everyone Who looks to the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life. (John 6:40)
Taken in that context Hebrews 10:26-29 says that there’s no longer any acceptable sacrifice for sin in the Levitical system, and that looking for one has the effect of “trampling the Son of God underfoot, counting the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulting the Spirit of grace,” and that going back to the Law of Moses after Jesus had come to fulfill it was a worse insult to God than disobeying it before He came.
But even that wouldn’t cost them their salvation. As that other favorite of OSAS deniers, Hebrews 6:4-6 had already taught them, they were in danger of living a life out of fellowship with God, depriving themselves of all the blessings they could otherwise have had. Here’s a link to the question I answered on that passage.
http://www.gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/does-hebrews-6-deny-osas
Tags: Grace, Once Saved Always Saved, Salvation
Related Posts:
- OSAS And Hebrews 12
- Hardship As Training
- Another Hebrews 6 Question
- OSAS that Isn’t Really OSAS Follow Up
- OSAS That Isn’t Really OSAS
