Commentaries:
These verses give great difficulty to those who believe in an unconditional salvation. It is very clear that anyone who fits this description will not be in God's Kingdom.
If it were not possible for us to fall away, why would Paul even write as he did in I Corinthians 9:27? "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified [castaway, KJV]." He also warns in Colossians 1:22-23:
In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
John W. Ritenbaugh
After Pentecost, Then What?
To receive salvation, a Christian must now live a life of obedience to the law of God. Those who claim that they know Christ and still continue in a life of breaking God's commandments are liars.
Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)
Basic Doctrines: Salvation
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Christ's sacrifice applies only once for each person, and if we reject God's grace, it cannot be applied again. This is why willing apostasy is so terrible and why the apostles fought so strongly against heresy in the first century. The eternal lives of thousands of God's people were at stake!
In a more passive way, sin can lead to eternal death by continued neglect. The sinner may know he should repent of sin, but because of lethargy he never bothers to overcome it. He is apathetic; he just does not care. The Laodicean attitude (Revelation 3:15-19) comes dangerously close to this type of sin, and if not repented of, it can lead to the unpardonable sin.
Martin G. Collins
Are Some Sins Worse Than Others?
These verses mean exactly what they say. Every Protestant commentary has trouble with this because, to them, justification and salvation are the same thing, but they are not! Their belief flies in the face of the reality of God's Word. A person who has been justified can fall away, just as verse 6 says. This is reiterated in Hebrews 10:26-31, in what is arguably the strongest language in the entire Bible.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 29)
It is only those to whom God has revealed the knowledge of His truth who have been given a chance to understand spiritual salvation and receive eternal life. If they sin willfully after receiving that knowledge, they will not have a second chance for salvation!
There is a big difference between sinning willingly and willfully. Adam sinned willingly, but that does not mean he is condemned to perish in the Lake of Fire because of it. There are only a few who have sinned willfully, and they are condemned to the Lake of Fire!
God will forgive any sin that is repented of—even if, through weakness, temptation, or habit, the sin is repeated. As long as a person's intention, attitude, and desire is to obey God, he will repent, and God will forgive him (I John 1:9). Jesus said we ought to forgive seventy times seven times (Matthew 18:21-22). God is even more willing to forgive than that!
So what is a willful or an unforgiveable sin?
If a person has been given spiritual understanding of God's way and has experienced the blessings of that way, but decides he no longer wants it, changes his attitude, deliberately chooses a life of rebellion, despising God's law, then this sin is unforgiveable because he will not repent of it! God will not give eternal life to anyone who insists on living Satan's way.
"It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance" (Hebrews 6:4-6, NIV).
Such people have been specially called by God and given His Spirit, yet at some point in time they purposely, knowingly, rejected it! Perhaps through bitterness, refusal to forgive others, or neglect of prayer and Bible study, they stopped allowing God to build His character in them. Like the servant who did nothing with his pound or talent, they failed in God's purpose for them. They have become so calloused to their sins that they, no matter what God could do to try to correct them, will never want to repent.
Staff
Is This the Only Day of Salvation?
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Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Luke 13:9
Luke 14:15-24
2 Corinthians 13:5
Galatians 5:1
Hebrews 6:4-6
Hebrews 10:26-29
Hebrews 10:26-29
1 John 5:16-17
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