Should I Be Scared of Hebrews Chapters 6 and 10?- Tim Conway

Okay, number 7.

This is the last one.

And it's actually two people.

Candace writes - she
nicknames herself "backslider."

"Candace backslider."

"I got saved in August of 2006

right before I was
shipped off to JobCorps.

At least, I thought I was saved.

After returning home,
I continued in the same sins

I'd been doing before.

After I had enough, thankfully,

the Holy Spirit convicted me,

and I was free at last from my sin.

It felt wonderful.

I had some trials, but nothing like

the feeling I had when Jesus set me free.

After a few months of my freedom,

what do you know?

I got comfortable in my faith

and backslid and have been ever since

which was three years ago now.

I asked the Lord for
forgiveness several times,

but I feel nothing.

I fear my heart is hardened

and the Lord has taken
His hands off of me.

What do I do?

I'm tired of hearing what I believe to be

false prophets.

This is my soul and I will
not take it lightly anymore.

Please help me.

I don't know what to do next."

The next one comes from Solomon.

I grouped these both together

because they're basically the same issues.

"Sir, I was saved when I was 20 years old.

I submitted myself completely to Jesus.

I know good from bad
according to the Word of God.

It's been two years and I've backslid.

It's terrible sin - especially
after knowing the truth.

I know there's no life
other than in Jesus,

but I sinned and lost my salvation.

Now I want to begin a new life.

Should I be baptized again?

This is a question haunting me.

I'm confused, depressed, and don't know

what needs to be done.

I believe in Jesus that
He will forgive my sin.

I've tasted the joy of
salvation and now I've lost it.

But is my understanding right?

Will God forgive me if I sin
even after knowing the truth?

Please, please, please.

The pain in my heart is so
bad that I feel I'm lost.

Dear Tim, please clarify my question

if possible with God's Word."

You know what's very interesting

about both Candace and Solomon?

I don't know how well
you know your Bibles yet.

I don't know how well you're familiar

with Hebrews 6 and Hebrews 10.

But you know what's very interesting?

Both of these folks use terminology

that comes out of those two passages,

which is very scary.

Listen, if you didn't catch it,

they use terminology like this:

They acknowledge coming under

Holy Spirit conviction.

They acknowledge sinning

after they know the truth.

They acknowledge tasting
the joy of salvation.

They acknowledge a season

of freedom from sin.

And then both? Back into sin they went.

Listen to this.

Hebrews 6:4,

"It is impossible to restore
again to repentance

those who have once been enlightened..."

They've been hit with the truth.

They've been enlightened.

They've been exposed to
the light of God's Word.

They've tasted the heavenly gift.

They've shared in the Holy Spirit.

They've shared in what of the Holy Spirit?

Holy Spirit conviction.

Holy Spirit empowered
teaching and preaching.

(incomplete thought)

They've tasted "the goodness
of the Word of God

and of the powers of the age to come,

if they then fall away,

since they're crucifying once
again the Son of God

to their own harm

and holding Him up to contempt."

Then, Hebrews 10:26,

"if we go on sinning deliberately

after receiving the
knowledge of the truth,

there no longer remains
a sacrifice for sins

but a fearful expectation of judgment

and a fury of fire that will
consume the adversaries."

Now, listen to this.

2 Peter 2:20,

"If after they have
escaped the defilements

of the world through the knowledge

of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

they are again entangled
in them and overcome.

The last state is worse
for them than the first.

It would have been better for them

never to have known
the way of righteousness,

than after knowing it, to turn back

from the holy commandment
delivered to them.

What the true proverb says
has happened to them.

'The dog return to its own vomit

and the sow, after washing herself,

returns to wallow in the mire.'"

I'll tell you this,

I think people cross the
line more than we know.

Can I tell you something
that's interesting?

You say, "oh, you're going to
scare us with things like this."

I mean to scare you.

And I mean to scare Candace and Solomon.

Can I tell you something?

Go to the New Testament

and I want to ask you something.

How many examples can you find

of people who made false professions

and then were truly saved?

They made a false profession.

They fell away.

And then some time later,

they were truly converted.

How many?

Tell me.

Give me one.

You know why you can't?

Because there isn't one.

God gives you no example

to encourage you that
falling away is safe.

In fact, He gives you reason to believe

that if you once know the truth

and you fall away,

there is no repentance.

Why is this emphasized
so much to the Hebrews?

I'll tell you why.

Because they're Hebrews.

They went after Christ.

Can you imagine the national pressure?

The societal pressure?

The family pressure to come back

to Judaism?

To give up that faith in Christ?

That's what was happening.

The writer of Hebrews
is saying stand fast.

Hold your confession.

Hold to your profession.

Don't let it go.

And he says, look -

because there were some
that were falling away;

there were some that
had made a profession -

and he's not saying, well, it's okay.

You make a false profession,

you can get it right maybe
the second or third time.

Listen, the Bible holds
no hope to you to turn.

If you've once made a profession,

you hold it to the end.

Don't you think you
can play with this thing.

I'll tell you what, these are given

in the Scriptures as warnings.

And you better heed it.

Candace, Solomon,

I can tell you this.

We read over this,

but I'll tell you what.

This does not on the surface

appear fearful, but it is,

if you'll hear what Paul's saying.

Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:12,

"I thank Him

who has given me strength -

Christ Jesus our Lord,

because He judged me faithful,

appointing me to His service.

Though formerly, I was a blasphemer,

persecutor, and insolent opponent..."

But now listen to this:

"I received mercy

because I had acted ignorantly

in unbelief."

And I'll tell you this,

when you once know the truth -

Candace! Solomon! What can I say to you?

You knew the truth!

You knew Christ was the
only way of salvation.

And you went back to your sin!

What can I say?

When you know the only Savior,

and your sin means more
to you than the Savior?

What do you want me to say to you?

Can I offer you a better Gospel

than what you already heard?

I have no other one.

If you turned down the Christ

and went back to your sin -

if you are like the pig and the dog,

and you were once washed,

and you went back to your mire,

what do you want me to tell you?

Do you want me to give you another way

than you already knew?

Do you want me to tell you another Gospel

than you already had?

There's no other Christ.

There's no other way.

If you once have the truth;

if you once know the way;

if you once come square with the truth

of the Gospel and you say,

"I'll have my sin,"

what do you want me to tell you?

Your heart is so wicked

that you rejected Christ
and you walked away.

I'll tell you, people are
doing this all the time.

You know what?

Especially in churches where
the true Gospel's taught.

Because you know where the
true Gospel is not taught,

people still are in ignorance.

We get people come to us all the time.

Hey, you're over there at CBC
like we talked about before.

They're not preaching repentance.

Well, you know what?

There's an enormous amount of ignorance.

We don't wonder people come out of that.

You come out of Mormonism,

there's a great amount of ignorance.

People are believing all sorts of lies.

There's lots of ignorance.

Paul came out of Judaism.

There was lots of ignorance.

Look, if you come out of false religion,

you come out of a bad gospel,

but I'll tell you this,

it's a tremendous blessing

when you find a church

that preaches the true Gospel.

But it's also very dangerous.

Because I'll guarantee,

oh, what a privilege
that God has entrusted

our little church with the truth.

But you know what?

Sinners don't realize it.

When they come through our doors;

when you come face to face with the truth

and you reject it,

it is not a light matter.

Candace and Solomon,

I don't know what ignorance;

I don't know how much light you had.

I can tell you this,

the truth is still there

that whosoever thirsts

can come to Christ and drink.

Whoever desires can come.

And I would say this,

if you're still in a place

where you have a desire to come to Christ,

then come.

It's still true what's
said there in John 6:37.

"Him that comes to Me, I won't cast out."

It's still true.

No matter what's true of your past,

if you go to Him, He's not
going to cast you out.

But you're walking, you're treading

on very dangerous ground.

Very dangerous.

And maybe some of you here.

I tell you, don't turn away.

You see, you take your doctrine

of the sovereignty of God

and you begin to do things with it

that you ought not to do.

I'll tell you what the writer
of Hebrews was saying.

He was imploring these people.

Do not turn back.

You're going to have
temptations to quit this race.

You're going to have
temptations to turn back.

You're going to have
temptations to go back,

some of you to your old sins.

Don't do it.

And I'll tell you what,

the writer of Hebrews admonishes them

like it's their responsibility.

You know why? Because it is.

And if you turn back,
it's you that turns back.

And if you turn back,

you'll not be brought back to repentance.

There will only be a fearful
looking for of judgment.

This is a serious, serious thing.

You that are faithful brethren

and have been preaching the true Gospel,

oh, Judgment Day,

I believe that there are
some of you in this room,

you may look at yourself and say

I'm a little nobody in this world,

but that day, you will
be there with Christ

on the judgment seat

and you will be called to account:

Did you preach the Gospel to that man?

I did.

You'll bear witness against
those who have rejected

the Gospel of Christ.

And what Paul said to the Corinthians -

don't you know who you are?

You're going to judge angels.

I'll tell you this, you better
hold fast till the end.

You turn back, it would have been
better if you had never known,

than to once know the truth and turn back.

Don't think God's going
to hold you guiltless.

The more light you have,

oh, it's glorious if you're saved

and you hold fast till the end,

but the more light you
have and you turn away,

it is dangerous.

Those that knew the Father's will

and did it not are going to be
beaten with many stripes.

Those who did not know the Master's will

and didn't keep that will

will be beaten with few.

If you're here in this Bible study,

you may say,

at least I'm not like
one of those cannibals

like over in Papua.

Oh, on Judgment Day,

if you turned out having rejected Christ,

you will wish you were
one of those cannibals

that never heard the Gospel.

Because the more light you have,

the more severe will be your judgment

if in the end, you reject Jesus Christ.

Solomon, Candace,

I tell you you better repent immediately.

You better come while
you still have desire.

Men think they can repent
any time they want to.

"I'll do it tomorrow."

"I'll do it another day."

Oh, repenting is not such an easy thing

as you may think.

Today is the day of salvation.

Today if you hear His voice,

harden not your heart.

That's my word to Candace and Solomon.