Tuesday, January 8, 2019

A Glimpse of Heaven Without Conversion

Hebrews 6:4-8 
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.  7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

For those who have the light of the gospel truth shone on them and get a taste of God’s Spirit calling out to them, yet who then turn away from that call, these cannot repent again if they reject His call.  Repentance which only turns away from sin but is not completed by then turning to Christ for regeneration and rebirth, this half hearted turning is the seed sown on rocky soil which only brings forth thorns as fruit (Hebrews 10:26, Luke 8:13, John 15:6).  You cannot ask Christ to be crucified over and over as you turn from sin and return to it apart from turning to Him in faith.  True conversion is like the rain falling on good ground, resulting in growth of good things; our will alone apart from God’s regeneration in us can only bear bad fruit, useless for nourishment of godly growth.  We cultivate good things when the soil is prepared by God and sincerely changed and kept.  Those who are not tilled by the heavenly gardener cannot do anything but bring shame to His name in their own efforts. 

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