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The Staunch Calvinist

"Absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God." - Jonathan Edwards

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Hebrews 6:4-6, Apostasy and Calvinism

...tyle="color: #99cc00;"have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

(This post is taken from a section in my commentary on chapter 17 of the 1689 Baptist Confession, so there are some things here that have been previously argued for, as for example the positive case for the doctrine of Perseverance).

This is arguably one of the most difficult and notorious passages in Holy Writ. There is no consensus on its interpretation. I have consulted many commentaries and articles on this passage and I come to it knowing that I don’t have all the answers. But I also come to it with presuppositions in mind. I am unashamed to say that the Bible does in fact teach the Perseverance of the Saints, therefore this passage cannot be describing the actual apostasy of a regenerate believer totally from the faith. It may be a warning about true believers, it may be hypothetical, but what it cannot be is say that some true and regenerate believers will in fact fall away completely from the faith. I have argued that even in the book of Hebrews itself, the doctrine of Perseverance and the perfection of the work of Christ on behalf of the elect is taught. I have consulted the following articles and commentaries and will cite from some of them freely in the following discussion:

The passage does not say that regenerate believers apostatize:

  • John Calvin. Commentaries. Taken from the TheWord Bible Software. Hebrews 6:4-9. Can also be found at here.
  • John Gill. Exposition of the Entire Bible. Taken from the TheWord Bible Software. Hebrews 6:4-9. Can also be read at here.
  • Arthur W. Pink. Exposition of Hebrews. Taken from the TheWord Bible Software. Chapters 24-27. His commentary on Hebrews 6 can be found here.
  • Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994). Chapter 40.
  • John M. Frame. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief. (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2014). Chapter 44.
  • J. Ligon Duncan III – Falling Away? (Sermon)
  • Mathew Poole - English Annotations on the Holy Bible. Commentary on Hebrews 6, here.
  • William Burkitt – Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament. Commentary on Hebrews 6, here
  • Albert Barnes - Notes on the New Testament. Commentary on Hebrews 6, here. He accepts that the descriptions describe a true Christian, but rejects that it is possible for a true Christian to apostatize.
  • Robert Jamieson, Andrew Robert Fausset, David Brown – Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Commentary on Hebrews 6, here.
  • Matthew Henry – Complete Commentary on the Bible. Commentary on Hebrews 6, here.
  • Bob Utley – You Can Understand The Bible (Not that explicit). Commentary on Hebrews 6, here and here.
  • John Owen – Exposition of Hebrews. Commentary on Hebrews 6, here.
  • Steven J. Cole – Lesson 17: When Repentance Becomes Impossible (Hebrews 6:4-8).

The passage describes regenerate believers who have fallen away:

I have collected some commentaries, articles, and sermons on this pas...


The Purpose For Writing The Commentary On The 1689

About a year ago or more,[1] I started diving into the 1689 Baptist Confession of faith to study it. My main purpose was not to study the Confession per sé, but to study the doctrines asserted by the Confession and to see if they were biblical. My main focus was to teach myself to make a biblical case for cardinal doctrines which Reformed folk believe, and I believe that I have been able to make a biblical case for every (or almost all?) doctrine which is espoused by the Confession to my satisfaction. If you want a study which focuses on the words of the Confession[2], this is not what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a study which intends to make a case for the doctrines asserted, you may be blessed by this study. Basically, the purpose was to teach myself systematic theology and teach myself to defend Reformed doctrine biblically.

I cannot say that I disagree with any doctrine in the Confession, but there may be some who may question whether I hold to the Confession, especially chapter 1, because I consider myself a theological continuationist. I stress theological, because I do not practice “prophecy” or “speaking in tongues.” Practically, I’m a cessationist with a very high view of Holy Writ and critical of charismania and those weird things which you see on the Net of charismatics. The study on the gifts is one which I started, but have not finished yet (I have not read all the books which I have purchased from both sides). But I must honestly say that I’m not convinced of cessationism because I don’t believe the Bible teaches it. The statement in 1:1 which says “those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased” may be the only one which I would interpret differently.

I’m not big on names, it doesn’t matter to me if one considers me a Reformed Baptist or not, I will not pride myself in that, either way it is not essential to me what title I have besides Δοῦλος Χριστοῦ.

Footnotes

  1. ^ The dates of publication which every post has for the Confession, do not mean that I finished the commentary on that day. At the beginning I commented very briefly (few lines) on the whole Confession, just because I was simply willing to know what it taught. Sometime after, I’m not sure when, maybe a year ago, I started enlarging the chapters and adding more of my thoughts and comments. The first longest chapter was chapter 7 on God’s Covenants, which makes a case for 1689 Federalism.
  2. ^ https://1689commentary.org/ is such a study.

 


Benjamin Keach's Gold Refined, or Baptism in its Primitive Puirty (1689) transcribed and formatted

I’ve found myself lately to be diving into the subject of baptism again and especially searching old resources. Some great books were transcribed and available at Reformed Baptist Disk, but many more are not yet transcribed or properly formatted. But there are a lot of works which are available in scanned form (especially on Google Books) and image-to-text form on Early English Books. I first came across these sites and resources thanks to Samuel Renihan’s blog post. Tip: use the Wayback Machine to access some (currently) dead links. I’ve also formatted Isaac Backus’ A Short Description of the Difference between the Bond-Woman and the Free, but it still needs a proof read. But I will post it here soon, Lord willing. But for now:

Benjamin Keach – Gold Refin’d, or Baptism in its Primitive Purity (1689)

See the book here.

If you find any mistakes and would like to report them, then feel free to respond back to this message or message me at admin@thecalvinist.net.


Quotes from A. W. Pink's The Divine Covenants

...">^ Ibid. p. 52.
  • ^ Ibid. p. 9.
  • ...

    A Review Of Robert Martin's The Christian Sabbath

    ...y. He notes that often the word Sabbath was retrained for the Jewish Sabbath and was not frequently used for Sunday. Rather, from the earliest times, the expression "the Lord's Day" was used for the first day of the week on which Christ rose.

    Finally, he moves on in the last part (3) to teach us how we should observe the Sabbath. He is careful in his suggestions and what He may say and deduce from God's Word. His desire is not to bind consciences where God has not bound them, but carefully give guidelines and suggestions.

    Overall, I very much enjoyed reading this book and I used it a lot in my own study for the 1689 Baptist Confession's chapter 22 on the Sabbath (sections 7-8). It is detailed, it is biblical and it is written in a loving and respectful tone. What more can we expect? Get it and read it already!

    ...

    A Review of Hell Under Fire

    ...pening and very helpful.

    Summary

    I loved the respectful tone of the authors and their respectful and fair interaction with the other side. I enjoyed their fair and honest handling of the Scriptures. I loved the fact that the authors frequently referred back to earlier portions of the book, which tells me that the editor did a great job at putting the book together. Sometimes they even cite earlier portions. Much could be learned from this book, from both its theological as well as pastoral tone, and I will no doubt return and look up the arguments and the texts again. Lord willing, I will try to update my commentary on chapter 32 of the 1689 sometime in the future with the insights I've gained from this work.

    My final advice is: tolle lege! 

    ...

    Extensive review of Jonathan Menn's Biblical Eschatology

    ...thousand years. Amillennialists, on the other hand, contend that the thousand years is the current time (the church age) until Christ comes back. As to the nature of the resurrection, they ‘contend that the “first resurrection” refers to Christians’ new life in and union with Christ, Christ’s resurrection in which believers spiritually participate, or the Christians’ translation to heaven upon their physical death.’ (p. 310) I show in my book that the most prominent amillennial interpretation of the nature of the resurrection is the entrance of the believers into heaven (Simon Wartanian, A Layman’s Systematic and Biblical Exposition of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith: Vol. II [Creative Space KDP, 2021], p. 513, expanded version of this article):

    1. The saints’ share in the resurrection of Christ (Sam Waldron);
    2. Regeneration (Kim Riddlebarger, A Case For Amillennialism, pp. 247-249, though he mixes views 2 and 3; Robert L. Reymond, A New Systematic Theology, p. 1063; James P. Boyce, Abstract of Systematic Theology, pp. 458-461);
    3. Entering heaven (Herman Hoeksema; Anthony Hoekema, Bible and The Future, pp. 232-237; William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors, pp. 191-192; G. K. Beale, Revelation: A Shorter Commentary, pp. 438-445; Dean Davis, The High King of Heaven, pp. 478-482; Sam Storms, Kingdom Come, pp. 451-466; Kim Riddlebarger, A Case For Amillennialism, pp. 242-249; Cornelis Venema, The Promise of the Future, pp. 331-336; Robert B. Strimple, “Amillennialism” in Three Views of the Millennium; David J. Engelsma; Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, pp. 715-716, 726-727; Saekle Greijdanus, De Openbaring Des Heeren Aan Johannes, pp. 299-303; Herman Bavinck, Gereformeerde Dogmatiek, pp. IV:660-663, §569; B. B. Warfield; Geerhardus Vos, Shorter Writings, pp. 44-45; John Calvin, Tracts and Treatises, p. III:446).

    The parallel with Revelation 6:9 also indicates that the reign is currently happening in heaven. This is also consistent with the promises given to the churches in Revelation 2:26-27 and 3:21. Dr. Menn seems to take a combined view of the first resurrection (see pp. 386-289).

    (3) In Revelation 20:7-10 we see a recapitulation of what we’ve previously seen in Revelation 16:14-16 and 19:17-21 (as well as Rev. 6:12-17). The same final battle is fought. These other passages clearly describe the final judgment and final battle; therefore, the structure of Revelation cannot be chronological but is rather recapitulatory. The connection between these passages is not only seen by the use of the same description for “the war” (ton polemon) or the idea of forces being “gathered,” but also in their dependence upon Ezekiel 38-39.

    (4) Menn contends that “Rev 20:7-10 and 20:11-15 bo

    ...

    1 John 2:2, 'for the sins of the whole world'

    ...om the Bible software The Word. See “Resources.”

    ...

    2 Peter 3:8-9, not wishing that any should perish

    ...xposition of the Entire Bible. Taken from the Bible software The Word. See “Resources.”

    ...

    John 1:29, 'takes away the sin of the world'

    ...ecalvinist.net/post/God%27s+Absolute+Sovereignty%3A+Resources+used/486">Resources.”

    [3] Matthew Henry, Whole Bible Commentary on John 1:29-36. Taken from the Bible software The Word. See “Resources.”

    ...