Author Archives: MikeB

Cross-Fit: What the Original Hebrew audience and Runners have in common

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The author of Hebrews challenges his original audience to “run the race with endurance” and to cast aside those things that will slow them down. And while we may not be tempted to return the Mosaic Law as they were, we too are called to “finish our race” by keeping the faith. TM_Mud

As some readers may know, when I am not reading a theology book or hanging with the family I can be found working out for an upcoming race. A race that often involves mud and obstacles. As in any race, we can start off well, but fail to reach the finish line if we become sluggish in our training and fail to keep our eyes focused on the finish line.

This truth about running races was an analogy used by Paul (1 Cor 9:24-27; 2 Tim 2:5) as well as the author of Hebrews (12:1) to describe the Christian life. Both Paul and the author of Hebrews were afraid of running the race in vain (Gal 2:2) even if they started off well (Gal 5:7) because they did not want to fail to receive what was promised (1 Cor 9:27; Heb 10:35-36). This motivated them to press on and strive to reach their goal (Philippians 3:14; Heb 4:11) so that they could reach that finish line (2 Tim 4:7) and exclaim:

I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

And they encouraged others to do the same.

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The Warning Conundrum

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A conundrum is a difficult or challenging problem. And if any book in the NT presents a conundrum it is the writing we know as Hebrews. Filled with incredibly profound  theological depictions of Christ and His work, it also has some of the most difficult passages for the reader to wrestle with. There is significant debate on who wrote the book, where the original audience lived, and to a lesser degree when it was written. But the real challenge is trying to determine what the warning passages are warning us about.

By Beeblebrox (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

Picture by Beeblebrox via Wikimedia Commons

There is even debate as to which passages are to be considered warning passages (see this list here).

The warning passages confront the scholar and lay reader alike.

  • What does it mean to “hold fast our confidence”, “confession” or “hope” to the end (3:6, 14; 4:14; 6:18; 10:23)?
  • What happens if we fail to heed these warnings?
  • What punishment will we fail to escape (2:3; 10:28-29; 12:25)?
  • What rest will we fail to enter (3:11,18-19; 4:3-5)?
  • What does it mean to be part of “God’s house” (3:6) or to “share in Christ”? (3:14) or to “share in the Holy Spirit” (6:4)? How does enduring confidence and falling away affect how we participate in these things?
  • What does the author mean by sanctification? And is that something that is  considered in process, completed, and/or reversible (2:11; 10:10, 14, 29; 13:12)?

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The Apostasy Vortex

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From a scientific point of view a vortex is a circular, spiral motion in water or air that pulls things toward its center. The term is often used for topics that draw or pull people in and results in a challenging situation.

By Robert D Anderson (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) via Wikimedia Commons

By Robert D Anderson (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons

Recently I taught a lesson on the Hebrews warning passages and the inter-related topics of eternal security, faith, and apostasy, which created a vortex within the classroom.

In this post I hope to outline three major views of eternal security and how they relate to enduring faith and apostasy.

Before we do that, we will need to make an assertion and then define three terms.

While Christians may differ on how one comes to faith, all would agree that salvation is conditioned on a person having faith (John 3:16, 36; 6:47).

whoever believes has eternal life. – John 6:47

The doctrine of Eternal Security holds that if a person has been genuinely saved, then that  person cannot forfeit salvation. They will receive eternal life. However, how eternal security relates to the related doctrines of apostasy, and enduring (or persevering) faith varies among proponents. Continue reading →