The Warning Passages of Hebrews
The book of Hebrews features four difficult sections we call 'warning passages.' They are Hebrews 2:1-4, 3:7-4:13, 5:11-6:12, 10:19-39 and 12:14-29. Some believe these passages teach that a born-again Christian may relinquish his salvation. They may call this 'losing' your salvation. Others prefer to call it 'walking away from God', or something similar.Do these passages teach this? John 10:27-29, Romans 8:28-39, 2 Timothy 1:8-12 and 1 Peter 1:3-5 (to name a few among many others) indicate that the salvation of Christ, received by faith, is a permanent condition. (For a podcast on this encouraging truth, click here.)Does the Bible contradict itself on this gospel issue? It does not.If you have wrestled with these 'warning passages' before, or have recently discovered them, I strongly recommend a couple of very helpful, thorough resources for you to read:
- Here is a thorough article examining Hebrews 6:4-8 specifically. I know Bro. Hudson as a friend and mentor and recommend his work.
- Then here is a very valuable PDF document, only 10 pages, that focuses on Heb. 2:1-3, 3:12-14, 4:1-2 and 10:26-31 (verses central to this discussion). I highly recommend the work that the late Dr. Rod Decker has provided. Here are some excerpts from his conclusion:
These warnings are addressed to genuine believers who are not threatened with loss of salvation. Yet they are genuine warnings. Just because we are saved by grace does not mean that we can live as we please. God has established standards of holy living. To deny Christ is a serious matter.The writer of Hebrews is addressing that exact situation. His argument is simple. Trust God; go forward in your Christian maturity; don’t deny Christ, because to do so will result in God’s chastening. If we put our Savior to shame in the public forum, we can anticipate only judgment. In the words of Paul, if we deny him, he will also deny us. Those words, from 2 Timothy 2:12, were written during Paul’s last imprisonment just before he was beheaded by Nero, and that at almost the same time as these warnings were written to a group of Jewish Christians in Rome.None of these passages threaten Christians with the loss of salvation, but they do exhort and warn us of the seriousness of what we profess—and of the consequences of not obeying him.
