Saturday, January 29, 2022

Thomas R. Schreiner (Reformed) Refuting Various Apologetic Arguments Used by Defenders of Eternal Security to Explain Hebrews 6

Reformed Protestant Thomas R. Schreiner, while a proponent of the Perseverance of the Saints, wrote the following about the warning passage in Heb 6 which refutes a lot of the common apologetic responses by defenders of various theologies of eternal security against those who believe a truly saved/justified person can lose their salvation:

 

The third warning text in Hebrews (5:11-6:12) is certainly the most famous. Since all other warning texts in Hebrews address Christians, as is evident by the use of second person plural (“you”) and first person plural (“we,” “us”) pronouns, it is unlikely that the author addresses a distinct group in chapter 6. They are described as “enlightened” (φωτισθεντας), and the same term is used to designate the Hebrews’ response to suffering when they first became believers in 10:32. The readers also “tasted the heavenly gift” (6:4) and “tasted God’s word and the powers of the coming age (6:5). Scholars differ on defining “the heavenly gift,” but it probably denotes salvation. The “word” refers to the gospel which was proclaimed and “the powers of the coming age” the fulfillment of salvation history with the death and resurrection of Christ. The key question for our purposes is whether the readers’ experience of these blessings was saving or partial. Did they just “sip” these blessings or did they ingest them fully? In other words, does the word “taste” signify something short of salvation or salvation itself? The only other use of the word “taste” (γευομαι) in Hebrews refers to Jesus tasting death for others (2:8). Clearly, Jesus did not merely “sip” death; He experienced it fully. The only evidence we have from Hebrews suggests, therefore, that the readers truly experienced salvation, the gospel, and the powers of the coming age.

 

The readers were also “partakers of the Holy Spirit” (6:4). Some understand this to refer to experiences with the Spirit short of salvation. But the word is used of companions (1:9), of those who share a heavenly calling (3:1), of those who share in Christ (3:14), and of legitimate children who receive discipline (12:8). The verb “share” (μετεχω) indicates that Jesus partook of flesh and blood like all other human beings (2:14), of partaking of milk (5:13), and of the tribe to which one belongs (7:13). In every case the word is used of a real and genuine sharing and partaking. In no instances does the term denote an incomplete or partial sharing. The most natural way to take the phrase is that the readers truly shared in the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is the sign that one is a believer. Those who don’t have the Spirit don’t belong to God (Romans 8:9). When Paul wanted to persuade the Galatians that they were already Christians and didn’t need to be circumcised, he reminded them that they received the Spirit when they believed (Galatians 3:1-5). Similarly, at the Apostolic Council Peter argued that circumcision was unnecessary by reminding those present that Cornelius and his friends received the Spirit without submitting to the rite (Acts 15:7-11). What it means to be a Christian is to receive God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:16). It seems likely, therefore, that the author addresses his readers as Christians. (Thomas R. Schreiner, “Promises of Preservation And Exhortations to Perseverance,” in Whomever He Wills: A Surprising Display of Sovereign Mercy, ed. Matthew Barrett and Thomas J. Nettles [Cape Carol, Fla.: Founders Press, 2012], 203-4, italics in original)

 

Further Reading


An Examination and Critique of the Theological Presuppositions Underlying Reformed Theology