Hebrews chapter 6, verses 1 through 8. We'll figure it out in a minute. Turn there with me, if you would, in your Bibles. Hear the word of the Lord. Therefore, let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits, for it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 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. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. All right, so I will tell you in advance that this is one of the hardest texts in all the New Testament. Purposely chose every hymn this morning to correspond with salvation by grace In case you don't get the message clearly this morning, but if it's not as clear this morning Hold on till next week because next week he's going to give you the solution completely I'm going to hint at it today and try to lead you to Christ today but at the same time I do think the author of Hebrews wants you to feel the weight of of his Challenge today as well. So with that being said let's let's pray together Our Father, we ask for your blessing as we read your word. We pray, Lord, that we would pay careful attention to what we're hearing. We pray, Lord, that as we examine the text and as we examine our own hearts, Lord, that we would see not only our sin and our doubt, but we also would see the Savior, Jesus Christ. We pray, Father, that you would continue to help us to hope in him. We pray in Christ's name, amen. Whatever happened to Susan Pevensey? For those of you who are familiar with the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, she was one of the four children who walked through the magical wardrobe, if you remember, and the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe, and joined with the League of the Saints, if you will, to fight against the white witch. And then eventually, she was one of the children that reigned on the throne in Narnia for a number of years. And then all of a sudden, they found their way back through the wardrobe back to their home again. It's a great adventure, but that was the last time Susan was ever seen in Narnia. The rest of the children all came back at some point, and in the last book in the series, in the book called The Last Battle, we see all the other children entering into Aslan's country, which is supposed to represent Heaven, if you will. And there is one person missing, and it's a glaring absence, and everyone's asking, where's Susan? Why isn't she here with us, sharing with us in our glory? And the oldest brother, Peter, answers very soberly, saying, Susan is no longer a friend of Narnia. If you're a child who's read through the series, that should make you sit up and ask why. Another of the friends chimed in and said, whenever you try to get her to come and to talk about Narnia or do anything about Narnia, she says, what wonderful memories we have. Fancy, you still think, you're thinking about all those funny games that we used to play when we were children. For now, all she cares about is lipstick, nylons, and invitations to parties. That's how it's written in the book. Now she didn't think that she had time anymore for those childish pursuits. The irony of the matter, she's the one who never grew up. She's sort of stuck in this perpetual teenage life in which she never advances into full adulthood, whereas all the other children have grown by leaps and bounds in their faith and have continued to persevere in that faith and finally end up in Aslan's country. Did Susan change her mind later on? We don't know. We're not given that answer in the book. We're left wondering whether she walked away for good or whether maybe she was just stunted in her growth. In our text this morning, the writer of Hebrews is making that same connection. He's making the same connection between those who never really grew up in their faith and the possibility of some walking away from the faith altogether. Admittedly, one of the most sobering and difficult passages in all the Bible, specifically the New Testament, for this reason, that there might be the realization that there are some in the church today, maybe some even here this morning, who have never really understood the gospel and who eventually will walk away from Christ and the church altogether. Those who have made a false profession of faith, those who have been a part of us but were not really of us. Very serious warning. I hope you pay close attention to it. But I hope at the same time that the message would drive you back into the arms of Christ as your only hope, Is your only sense of security? We're gonna talk a lot about that next week, but but for the time being no This is the Robert Murray McShane used to say this over and over again for every Look that you take it yourself When you're reading the word take ten looks at Christ Or else you'll lose all hope Because all of us are at times doubtful, and none of us are without sin. But for the sake of an outline this morning, I just want to ask the journalistic questions, you know, the basic questions, who, what, when, where, why, how, those types of things, to try to get at the meaning of the text, because I think it's very important that we don't miss what he's saying. It's one of the most controversial texts in Scripture, not just one of the most difficult ones. But let's begin with the who. Who is the author of Hebrews talking about when he's Particularly discussing people in verses 4 through 6. Who is he talking about? It's very important that we pay attention to pronouns in Scripture for all of those of you who hated grammar in school, it's very important to actually know a little bit about grammar when you're reading a You'll notice in this text he continues to transition from one set of pronouns to another and then back to another and then still to another. Let me help you see this. If you would turn backwards just a little bit to chapter 5 and look at verses 11 and 12. I want you to notice in those verses that Paul continues to use the second person plural pronouns. Over and over again, he keeps saying, you have become dull of hearing. You need to have someone teach you again the basic principles. You need milk, not solid food. Now, move forward to chapter 6 verses 1 through 3. Notice the pronouns here. This time it's first person plural pronouns. He says, let us leave the elementary principles and go on to maturity. But then if you look at verses 4 and 4 through 6, which are the most controversial ones, notice he switches again to third-person plural pronouns, this time speaking of those who have been enlightened and have fallen away, and that it's impossible to restore them since they are crucifying the Lord once again Now, why the grammar lesson? Well, I want you to understand the text doesn't assume the automatic correlation between someone who's childish in faith and someone who walked away from it. It's not necessarily the same person, although it could be. That's his point. Not necessarily the same person. He's talking about people who have literally walked away from Christ in the church. But then you'll notice, if you skip ahead to verse nine, we're not in there yet this week, but we will be next week. Again, he goes back to the second person plural pronouns. There he says, but in your case, we feel sure of better things, things that belong to salvation, for God is not unjust to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints as you still do. So again, the author's not accusing them of having walked away from the faith. But he's saying some have, and you might be in the same dangerous position if you don't grow up in your faith. That's his point. So know that from the beginning. He's not automatically assuming that the people that he's writing to, the recipients of this letter, have walked away from the faith, but others have. And it's a real danger, so he wants them to know about it. So that's sort of the who. Now let's look at the what. What is the author talking about here? He's talking about falling away from the faith. Now we we sometimes will used to use the terms backsliding We've already talked about drifting away, which is a slow process of drifting from christ Whereas in this passage the falling away seems to be a complete act That happens at a moment in time where someone has walked away. It's already taken place. We've already seen this once hebrews 3 verse 12 Um there in that case it was more of a process to hear as we're falling away from the living god through an unbelieving evil heart, but now he's using In the greek he's using the term in the arist tense, which means it's a completed action. It's already happened These people have walked away. These are apostates. That's literally the word that's used in the greek They are apostates who have walked away from the church now. He's going to bring them up again in hebrews chapter 10 He's going to bring them up again in hebrews chapter 12 He keeps bringing it up. Why because this is a very real possibility for those who go to church Regularly that there are some that can walk away from Christ and then never come back. Now, here's the most important part of it. This is not something that happens without your knowing about it. It's something that is very decisive. It's a choice that you make that is not by accident, it's not unintentional, but rather something very purposeful, something very intentional that's always accompanied by a hardening of the heart. And speaking on the issue, listen to what John Calvin, the reformer, says. He says, this total defection of falling away from the gospel occurs when a sinner offends God, not in just one thing, but entirely renounces His grace altogether. Likewise, John Owen, one of the early Puritans, said of this apostasy, he said, they must continue, this consists in a total renunciation of all the constituent principles and doctrines of Christianity in an avowed and professed manner. They're renouncing Christianity altogether. So it's not something that's just happened. It's something that they purposely wanted to happen. He's not talking of those who are in a slow process of falling away, but those who have fallen away. They have renounced Christianity. Of course, no one just gets out of bed one morning, right? Sunday morning they wake up. You know, I don't feel like going to church. I renounce Christianity. No one does that. Even though it's an act that takes place in a moment of time, sort of like justification is. Justification is an act of God's grace where He saves you. This falling away is an act that takes place in which someone has just completely renounced the faith. But I'd say to you that there is a process that leads up to that act, of course. In fact, if you remember reading from Psalm 1, he talks about the man who's blessed and is the one who meditates on God's word day and night, he's blessed. But then he compares them to the man who's not blessed. And he speaks of three different things in reference to that man. He says, first of all, he walks in the counsel of the ungodly. So in other words, if you can imagine a guy who used to walk and talk with Christians, but now he's walking with the ungodly instead. He's just walking along with them and talking to them about non-Christian things that are sort of somewhat antagonistic to Christ, but not necessarily too much. But then as he's walking, one day he decides he wants to get a little bit more serious with them and just stops and talks with them in a deeper way, in the foolish ways outside of Christianity. And then it gets a little bit more serious, and then he finally says, I'm going to sit down with these guys, and now I'm in fellowship with them. I'm a part of them. This is my group. And now he begins to sit and to scoff the things of the faith. You see, there's a process. It slowly has happened over time, but then at some point, he wakes up and he says, I don't believe this anymore at all. I renounce it altogether. And that leads us to the when. When does this happen? Does the falling away happen before or after regeneration? In other words, is the author of Hebrews talking about Christians here who have lost their salvation? Or is he talking about those who are almost Christians? I actually stole the title of the sermon from a Puritan named Matthew Mead, who is explaining how close someone can get to Christianity and yet not be a Christian. They're almost Christians. Now, some seek to avoid the question altogether, is this a Christian or non-Christian, but they're trying to make it a hypothetical situation, trying to say that the writer of Hebrews isn't really saying this actually could happen, but that it's just a possibility that would never happen. In fact, one of the reasons why we got rid of the 1984 version of the NIV is because there's a little bit of interpretation in there that's not correct. In the NIV version, on this passage, it would say, if one could fall away, They're trying to lead you to think that it's not possible from the very beginning. But the word if doesn't occur in the Greek at all. It's not saying whether or not it's a possibility to fall away. Rather, he's talking about the possibility of whether someone can be restored once they have fallen away. He's not questioning whether someone can fall away. He's questioning whether someone can come back. So the question again is this. Does someone fall away before or after they have faith in Jesus Christ? John Wesley, the father of the Methodist Church, emphatically taught that Christians could lose their salvation primarily based upon this passage in Scripture. He sees their enlightenment and their sharing somehow in the Holy Spirit is a sign of their being a part of Christ, a sign of having faith in Christ, and thus they have somehow lost it. He says on this authority, quote, I believe a saint may fall away and that one who is holy or righteous in the eyes of God may nevertheless so fall from God as to perish everlastingly. Now, his good friend, but also one who stood in opposition to this greatly on this particular topic, George Whitefield, would quote a number of scriptures to say there's no possible way that someone who was genuinely saved by God could ever fall away from the grace of God. And I'll give you a few of the verses that he would use and others. There are thousands of them, I think, in scripture, but I'm going to give you maybe five of them. John 6, verse 36 and following. Jesus says this, He who believes will be saved, he says. John 10, similarly, verses 28 and 29, Jesus says, I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand, no one. The apostle Paul agrees, Romans 8, verses 38, 39, he says, I am sure that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord, nothing. And then as we sang earlier, the hymn based upon 2 Timothy chapter one, verse 12, Paul says, for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. So again, I could go on and on and on giving you others, but the point is, if someone has received the grace of God by faith in Jesus Christ, he cannot ever lose that. What God has begun. He will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. One cannot lose his salvation. It is impossible. But what is a real possibility, on the other hand, is someone who has professed faith in Christ and has been a member of the church of Christ, In any evangelical church for years and years and years and yet somehow Come so close to christianity that he figuratively rubbed shoulders with jesus as judas did And yet did not know him and did not trust him That's a real possibility Later on, the Apostle John would say in 1 John 2, verse 19, he says, you could tell these apostates, he says, they went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that it might become plain that they all are not of us because they have fallen away. And that leads us to the where. Where is this happening? It's always in the context of the church. It begins with people who were in the church, who then walked away from the church. The obvious implication is that anyone who has fallen away from God also falls away from his church. And then if someone falls away from his church, he has fallen away from God. It's always that correlation. One can't be in a good relationship with God and fall away from his church. He's the head. This is the body. Doesn't have to be this particular church, but if someone stops going to church altogether, the assumption is that they've fallen away from God because they've fallen away from the church. And it's in this context that he keeps bringing up things like baptism and repentance and the laying on of hands. All of these things are things that take place in a public confession before the church. Similarly, those words that he talks about, the one who is enlightened, The one who has shared in the Holy Spirit, tasted the heavenly gift, tasted something of the powers of the age to come, tasted the goodness of the word of God. All of these things are things that take place in the context of the church. Think of it this way. In the Old Testament, the Israelites, and again, keep in mind the writer of Hebrews always has the Old Testament people, the Israelites, from the time they were in Egypt to the time of the wilderness. The Israelites were enlightened. by the Shekinah glory cloud, by the pillar of fire at night. They were guided and they were enlightened. They were able to see what God was doing, and yet they still fell in the wilderness in doubt. In the same way, he says, they tasted the heavenly gift. What do you think the Israelites tasted? The manna from heaven. They tasted something great, something good that came from heaven itself, and yet they fell away. He says they even shared in the Holy Spirit and tasted something of the powers of the age to come. How many miracles did the Israelites witness? How much power did they see God display in Egypt and then throughout the time of the wilderness? How many times did he have to prove to them his great power? They saw his power at work. Some of them even had that power flowing through them and yet they still walked away. And then the same way, he says, some tasted the goodness of the word of God. Again, how many times did the people of Israel hear the covenant promises? How much of the law did they receive? How much of the covenant did they, were they granted over and over and over again? They had heard the word, tasted how good it was, and yet they walked away. From the passage we read earlier in the Old Testament, King Saul, is one who walked away. And yet, if you remember, he tasted the powers of the age to come, did he not? Did not King Saul prophesy along with the prophets? Did not the Spirit come upon him, enabling him to do things that a normal person wouldn't be able to do? And yet he walked away from God. Think of Judas. Judas is one of the 12. They cannot recognize any difference between them and He on the night in which Jesus shared the Lord's Supper with them after having spent all these years of ministry with Him. They all had cast out demons in the name of Christ. They all had healed people through the power of Christ. How is that possible? Well, someone can have gifts of the Spirit and not be enthralled by the Spirit. Someone can have gifts of the Spirit and not bear the fruit of the Spirit. And that's one of the scariest things I think you could ever see. The parable of the sower continues to unveil this, though. As Jesus tells, the very first parable he gives in Matthew and Mark, explaining to them the context of how to even interpret parables, he's saying, many will not understand what I'm saying because The devil immediately comes and eats up the seed like the bird that comes and eats the seed off the path. He said, others, though, will stay in the church for many years. You won't be able to tell any difference between them and you, and yet, Somehow the thorns will grow up and choke them. The sun will begin to beat down upon them and scorch them. In other words, the trials of this life and the love of this world, the temptations, the treasures of this world can lead them astray to where they walk away from Christ altogether. And yet there are those who hear the word and bear fruit. So there's a big difference between those four different types of ground. I myself have worked with two pastors. Now this should tell you something right here. I've walked with two pastors who have been serving in the ministry for 20 years who walked away from Christ. I personally. And still have not come back. Doesn't matter how gifted a man is, and these men were gifted. I tell you, one of the men that I worked with, I patterned my entire ministry off of his. The man could pray, the man could sing, the man could preach. And yet he didn't bear the fruit of the Spirit. That should give us pause. If it can happen to the leaders of the church, certainly to the members as well. It's not enough to listen to God's word preached and to say, good sermon, pastor. It's not enough to be a part of the fellowship of the church. It's not enough to use your gifts in doing things for the church and serving for the church. I'm so grateful for all those who came in and worked yesterday, helping on church work day. That alone won't get you into heaven. One could do all those things and yet still not have a confidence that's in Christ. can somehow still miss the gospel, miss Christianity. And therefore, the author of Hebrews continues to remind his hearers in this epistle, he says that you can be a part of God's house only if you hold fast your confidence and boasting and hope until the end. If you're really a part of God's household, it's someone who is confident in Christ, And holds firmly to the hope that they have in christ and nothing else Hebrews 10 verse 25 though. He says Let us not neglect to meet together as is the habit of some in other words He's saying some have stopped going to church because they didn't have hope in christ So they just stopped coming Hebrews 12 verse 22, he reminds the believers that when they come to the Lord through Christ, they're also coming to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. In other words, when you want to know Christ, you have to know him through the context of his people. And you can tell when you've walked away from Christ because you've walked away from his people. Direct correlation between those two again and again throughout Hebrews. Now, how does this happen? That's the fifth point. Let's consider the how. If we're to put all the passages of these warning passages together in Hebrews, there's like six of them, it always starts with an unbelieving heart that does not listen to God's Word. If someone is listening, they're half-heartedly listening. He says they're childishly and sluggishly listening. In other words, they don't want to listen well. They don't want to have to put the work into it to really know who God is, to know who Christ is. They don't want to learn anything other than what they learned the first day that they made a profession of faith, the first day that they joined the church. They don't want to grow. They're happy being children. It starts with that. But then soon enough, their disinterest, their boredom from sermons and from reading the Bible on their own eventually affects their attendance at church as well. They become more and more sporadic. Anything else, everything else is more important than going to church because there they find life, there they find joy. Church, not so much. Slowly then a root of bitterness begins to grow up. Usually it often happens someone has lost someone. They had a prayer that they prayed to God that God didn't answer in the way they wanted and immediately they began to hold some grudge against God and then begin to doubt that God is who he says he is. and then complained bitterly against the church for not understanding where they're at. It happens so, I can't even tell you how many times that has happened. Again and again and again. It starts with someone not paying attention to the word, and because they don't pay attention to the word, they don't know how God acts. They don't know how he answers prayers and why he doesn't answer the prayers that they're praying. And then they hold grudges against him and hold grudges against the church because they now think it's all hypocrisy because they never learned. They didn't know God's ways. And then they assume God has to think like I do, that God's ways have to be like my ways. And when he doesn't do what we want, we say to hell with him. I've seen it so many times. To the point where one day that person in their anger In their doubt, they eventually wake up and they say, I'm done. I renounce it. That's how it happens. Now, why is it that when this happens, it's impossible to be restored to repentance? That's the last one, the why. Some have said that it's impossible with men, but possible with God, but that's just a Salvation is always impossible with men. We're not saying anything new if that's what the author of Hebrews is saying here. He's not saying that. Some have said, well, it's impossible if the man doesn't repent. Again, we know that. If someone doesn't repent, they can't be saved. We know that. That's not what he's saying. What he's saying is what common sense tells us he's saying, that the very plain reading of the scripture is there is a point of no return that someone can get because they've grown so hard of heart, they've continued to not listen to what God says, to the point where when they walk away, their heart is so hard they can't have it ever softened again. And there are two reasons for this the scripture gives. The first is based upon the person themselves. Somehow the apostasy harms their own heart because they're so obstinate. Verse six, look there, he says that person is crucifying once again the son of God, look, to his own hurt, he says. It affects them to their own hurt. Only a fool would despise the mercy of God. And yet that person despises the mercy of God. They despise God's salvation. They despise the good news of the gospel. They despise the very cross that could save them. Somehow they've harmed themselves so much spiritually that they actually despise the very news that could save them. And so they've hurt themselves. This is why Jesus weeps over the city of Jerusalem. He weeps over them because he knows they're not capable of repenting. They've grown so hard, they won't listen. He longs to gather them like a hen gathers its chicks under its wings, and yet they refuse because they're so hard of heart. But there's also a heavenly perspective on this impossibility as well. Through their continual rejection of God's Word, they're bringing contempt upon the Father and contempt upon salvation in His Son to the point where God's justice is required. To the point where His judgment has to be relegated against those who sin continually against the light. These are not people who didn't understand. They did understand. And yet they rejected the truth of God's Word. For those professing Christ who came out of Judaism and then later renounced Christ, it's not that they didn't understand Christ, they did. And yet they renounced him. In this case, the writer of Hebrews is saying they're now standing with the Pharisees. Mocking Jesus, accusing him of sin. If he's not the Messiah who he says he is, then he's a liar and he's a sinner and he was worthy of going to the cross in the first place. He's mocking Christ, the one who knew Christ and yet says he's not good. says he's actually of the devil instead. This is what, if you remember, Jesus has brought out in every one of the synoptic gospels. He continues to say that there is a sin in which you cannot be forgiven. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, right? What is that? He says you can sin against Christ, but if you sin against the Spirit in this way, you can never be forgiven because each case, notice the context in which that's being said, each case the Pharisees who had seen all the miracles that Jesus had done and heard about many of the others still said he's of the devil. He's not good. He's not the Messiah. He's a liar. Somehow people inside the church are capable of doing the same thing if they don't have the grace of God. And even though they know something to be true, they reject it. So see, here's the thing. When Jesus is on the cross and he says, Father, forgive them for they know not what they're doing. He's talking about those who participated in calling out, crucify him, but didn't know who he was. They're ignorant, you see. Jesus wasn't praying that for the Pharisees, who had already blasphemed the Holy Spirit. And we know that he didn't, because there's another strange passage in 1 John 5, verse 16, in which Jesus says, if someone has committed this sin that leads to death, he says, don't even pray for him, because they've sinned a sin unto death. It's the same sin. A sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, a sin of walking away from the God whom you know is real and whom you know is true, and yet I renounce it. Now, I haven't seen that type of sin very often in the church at all, thankfully. However, there have been a couple of occasions in which it's really made me wonder how close this person has come to the point of no return. I think I shared a little bit with a group already here at the church once. There was a young woman in a church that I was in prior to this one. who I had known her for a couple of years, but one who came to church sporadically. She always had a chip on her shoulder. Every time she came, she didn't want to get to know anyone. And again, it came from something that had happened in the past. She had prayed to God that God would save one of her loved ones. He didn't. And there was doubt that began to grow up there. And she began to hold a grudge against God. She began to hold a grudge against the church. One day, after her not coming for a number of months, I asked her parents about it. And her parents told me that their daughter had renounced her faith. She no longer believed. And so I wrote a letter to her and just said, you know, this is what I've heard from your parents. I'm sorry to hear that. Certainly respect the fact that you're trying to go according to what your conscience is saying to you. And yet I warn you of the danger that you're in. And went off on that a little bit and then explained to her that we ultimately would have to erase her name from the roll because she no longer confesses the name of Christ. She didn't respond for a couple days, but then eventually she sent me a picture. Just a picture. That's all it was. No words. And it was a picture of a very famous painting by Caravaggio. It's a painting of Doubting Thomas. So that should give you a hint of where she's at. But it was captioned by an atheistic group. And in the picture, you actually see Thomas sticking his finger in the side of Christ. And the caption read, stick your right finger in, stick your right finger out, stick your right finger in and wiggle it all about. As you can imagine, version of the Hokey Pokey, but mocking Christ, mocking him. A girl who had gone before the entire church, years before, and said, I know him, I trust him, I need a savior, he's mine. Now, mocking him. What do you say to someone who sends you a picture like that? Immediately, my heart sunk. I had no idea what to do, and knowing these scriptures in my mind, I thought, well, should I even pray for her? But not knowing for sure where she stood, I decided to pray to him. Lord, give me wisdom. I don't know how to respond to her. Eventually I came to the conclusion that if a picture paints a thousand words, then let me send her a picture. So I responded picture for picture. I sent her a picture of another famous painting by Rembrandt of the Prodigal Son. on his knees before his father, being embraced in love. A couple days later, she emailed me and apologized for sending the picture. But then she continued to ran against me and against the church. against Christianity. I haven't heard from her since. She told me not to contact her anymore. Last Sunday, if you remember, a number of us went out to stand in the right to life chain, holding up the posters. If you ever want to be blessed in the sort of sermon on the mount kind of way of being blessed, you'll hold up a sign that says, This is sin. Don't do this. You're taking someone's life. What I mean, the sort of blessing I'm referring to is when Jesus says, blessed are you when others revile you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. You will be doubly blessed on that day if you stand in the right to life chain. And you'll be blessed in a very demonstrative way by a number of young people particularly. It's always the young people. What you don't know, though, is this. Some of you may not know, at least. Most of those young people went to church at one time. They were a part of a church at one time. And they walked away. And now they're cursing at anyone who represents any vestige of Christianity. And they're doing it with such great passion. That should give you pause. Peter says in 2 Peter 2, verses 20 through 22, he says, it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. In other words, it would have been better for them to never have to ever darken the door of a church ever, because at least it would have been in ignorance. But they were sitting against the light because they knew better. So what do we do with this? What do we do with this exhortation? It does no good for you to ask me if you've committed this sin. If you're asking me and you're here, then you haven't committed this sin. I can tell you that at least. Of course, there's always a process before that happens, and the intention of the author of Hebrews is simply trying to tell you that all of those who have not grown up in their faith, those who are still childish in some way or another, are in danger of this. He's not saying it will happen, but saying there is a danger of this, a bitter root growing up in your life, and when that bitter root happens because you don't know God, because you don't trust Christ, you will turn against Him. You have to know Him in order to trust Him. And if you don't know him, I guarantee you, you'll trust something else instead and you'll walk away from the church altogether. The hard part is we think that, okay, well, I'll try to listen better next time maybe, but not today. What makes you think that you're going to have ears to hear tomorrow? For those of you who have not trusted in Christ today, what makes you think that your heart will be soft enough tomorrow? The Lord gives us His grace today. Today is the day of salvation. Today the gospel is being preached to you that Christ has died for sinners, that He's the friend of sinners, and that all who trust in Him, that all their sins will be blotted out and they'll be white as snow. That all who know Him and love Him He will continue to hold in the palm of His hand until that final day. There's nothing that can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus if you know Him and you love Him. So I encourage you, be careful what you hear. Be careful how you hear. And cry out to god if you don't have a clue what i'm talking about Maybe you're one of those sitting in the congregation and have been a part of the congregation for many years, but have no idea What i'm talking about come talk to me Don't miss out on the grace of god Don't let the spirit pass you by I'd be happy to pray with you anytime. Let's pray together even now Our father we ask Lord that your spirit would be moving even now in the midst of this assembly. Father, bring true conviction of sin, of righteousness, the judgment to come. Bring a true conviction of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior of sinners. Bring a true conviction of the Lord of the universe who demands to be our Lord and master as well because he's made us, he's laid down his life for us. Oh Lord, help us to know him and to love him. We pray, Lord, that we would not be hard-hearted any longer, that we would not be so dull of hearing, that we would not be so childish and foolish in our ways, that we think that we know better than you. And that when we pray, that you have to do what we say. Lord, we are your creatures, you are the creator. You are God, and we're so small. Lord, help us to trust you. and to leave it at Your feet, knowing that You love us and You care for us and that You've made a way for us, we pray in Christ's name, amen.