The Apostate

Most of the following was copied from the Believer’s Bible Commentary. It is mostly raw data from this reference.

Apostates are those who hear the gospel, make a profession of being Christian, and become identified with a Christian church. Later they abandon their profession of faith, decisively repudiate Christ, desert the Christian fellowship, and take their place with enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ. Apostasy is an act which can be committed only by unbelievers, not by those who are merely deceived, but by those who knowingly, willfully, and maliciously turn against the Lord.

Apostasy should not be confused with the acts of the average unbeliever who hear the gospel but does nothing about it. For instance, a man may fail to respond to Christ after repeated invitations from the Holy Spirit. But he is not an apostate. He can still be saved if he will commit himself to the Savior. Of course, if he dies in unbelief, he is lost forever, but he is not hopeless as long as he is capable of exercising faith in the Lord.

Apostasy should not be confused with backsliding. A true believer may wander far from Christ. Through rebellion, his fellowship with God is strained even though he is a child of God. He may reach the point where he is no longer recognized in his daily life as being a “reliable” Christian; however, he is still a “child of God”. He can be restored to fellowship when he confesses and forsakes his backslidden ways.

The backslider is somewhat like the prodigal son. Even though he has lost fellowship with the family, he is still a member and still a son of the father. As in the story of the prodigal son, the father was glad to see his son come to his senses and restore the fellowship with his family. The father killed the fatted calf and had a feast, because his son had overcome his rebelliousness. He “never” ceased to be his father’s son.

John was writing about people who had professed to be believers and had participated in the activities of local churches. They then imbibed the false teaching of the Gnostics and spitefully left the Christian fellowship. Their deliberate departure indicates they had never been born again, by openly denying that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22 who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denies the Father and the Son), they proved they did not have the love of Christ (Holy Ghost) dwelling in them.

1 John 2:19 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 they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

Some earnest Christians are troubled when they read Hebrews 6 and similar passages. Satan uses these verses to unsettle believers who are having physical, mental, or emotional difficulties. These fear they have fallen away from Christ and there is no hope for restoration. They worry that they have drifted beyond redemption’s point. The fact they are even concerned about it is conclusive evidence they are not apostates! An apostate would not have any such fears; he would brazenly repudiate Christ.

If the sin of apostasy does not apply to believers, to whom then does it apply in our day? It might apply, for instance, to a young person who makes a profession of faith in Christ and seems to go on brightly for a while, but then something happens in his/her life. Perhaps he/she experiences bitter persecution, falls into gross immorality, or shaken by the anti-Christian arguments of atheistic people. With full knowledge of the truth, the apostate deliberately turns away from it, completely renounces Christ, and viciously tramples on every sacred fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith.

The Bible says it is impossible to restore such a one to repentance, and experience corroborates the Bible. We have known many who apostate from Christ, but never one who has returned to him. As we approach the end, expect a rising tide of apostasy. The warning against falling away becomes more relevant every day that passes. Those that do not fall away, but continue seeking the love of Christ eventually accept Christ and are sealed with the Holy Ghost.

6:7 The writer then turns to the world of nature to find a counterpart to the true believer (v7) and to the apostate (v8). In both cases the person is likened to the land. Privileges listed in verses 4 and 5 are compared to the invigorating rain. The crop of vegetation speaks of the ultimate response of the person to the privileges received. This determines whether the land is blessed or cursed. The true believer is like the land which drinks in the rain, brings forth useful vegetation, and is blessed by God.

6:8 The apostate is like land that is well watered but bears only thorns and briers, the fruit of sin. It receives but never produces useful plants. Such land is worthless. It is condemned, the hot sun continually bakes the land, and it lies desolate. The apostate receives the same preaching, outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the entire congregation, and fellowship of Christians, but he is still empty inside. They have never really accepted Christ as their Savior and God. He eventually turns from the Christian concept and denies Christ as God and Savior.

6:9 There are two strong indications in verses 9 and 10 that the apostates, described in the preceding verses, are unbelievers. First, there is the abrupt change in pronouns. In discussing apostates, the writer refers to them as “they.” Now in addressing true believers, he uses the pronouns you and your. The second indication is even clearer. Speaking to believers, he says, “But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation.” The inference is that the things he had described in verses 4–6 and 8 do not accompany salvation.

6:10 Two things that accompany salvation were manifest in the lives of the saints—their work and their labor of love. Their faith manifested itself in a life of good works, and they had the hallmark of true Christianity—active love for the household of faith. They continued to serve the Lord’s people for his sake. This is a case for the verse “faith without works is dead”. The apostates have no faith. They enjoy and join in the physical fellowship of individuals, but never show the joy and peace of the Christian who has the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in his life. They really have no faith, so the end result is the apostate finally rejects Christ. Since there were no righteous works of peace and joy in their lives, it was evident they had no faith.

6:11 The next two verses seem to be written to a different class of people; namely, to those of whom the writer was not sure. These were the ones who seemed to be in danger of drifting back into Judaism. First, he desires that they will show the same earnestness as the true believers have shown in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end. He wants them to go on steadfastly for Christ until the final hope of a Christian is realized in their life. This is a proof of reality.

6:12 They should not become sluggish, allowing their feet to drag and their spirits to lag. They should press on, imitating all true believers who through faith and patience inherit the promises. If they press on toward achieving a faith in God, they will eventually accept Christ as Savior and God. If they never completely give themselves to God’s love, they become apostate. Matthew, chapter 13, the first parable shows the example of the apostate in the “seed” that gets choked by the pleasures of the world. The seed was planted, but never became wheat.

6:13 The closing section of chapter 6 is linked with the exhortation in verse 12 to press on with confidence and patience. The example of Abraham is given as a stimulus and the certainty of the believer’s hope is affirmed. In one sense, the Christian may seem to be at a disadvantage. He has given up all for Christ, and has nothing material to show for it. Everything is in the future. How then can he be sure that his hope is not in vain? The answer is found in God’s promise to Abraham, a promise that included in germ form “all” that he would later bestow in the Person of Christ. When God made that promise, he swore by himself since he could swear by no one greater.

6:14 The promise is found in Genesis 22:16, 17: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD … blessing I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply your descendants. . . .” God pledged himself to carry out this promise, and therefore its fulfillment was assured.

6:15 Abraham believed in God; he patiently endured; and he received the fulfillment. Actually Abraham was not taking a chance in believing God. No risk was involved. The word of God is the surest thing in the universe. Any promise of God is as certain of fulfillment as if it had already taken place. Abraham was not saved by his act of willingness to sacrifice his son. He was saved by his faith in God that his son would live to be the Father of spiritual Israel. His act of sacrifice only proved he already had faith.

6:16 In human affairs, men swear by someone greater than themselves. In courts of law, for example, they promise to tell the truth and then add, “So help me, God.” They appeal to God for confirmation that what they are going to say is true. When men take an oath to confirm a promise, it normally ends all disputes. It is understood that the promise will be kept.

6:17 God wanted his believing people to be absolutely assured that what he promised would come to pass. Actually his bare promise would have been enough, but he wanted to show it to a greater extent than even by a promise. So he added an oath to the promise. The heirs of promise are all those who by faith are children of faithful Abraham. The heirs referred to is the promise of eternal salvation to all who believe on him. When God made a promise of a seed to Abraham, the promise found its full and ultimate fulfillment in Christ, and all the blessings that flow from union with Christ were therefore included in the promise.

6:18 The believer now has two unchangeable things on which to rely—God’s word and his oath. It is impossible to imagine anything more secure or certain. God promises to save all who believe on Christ; then he confirms it with an oath. The conclusion is inevitable: the believer is eternally secure.

In the remainder of chapter 6, the writer employs four figures to drive home the utter reliability of the Christian hope: (1) a city of refuge, (2) an anchor, (3) a forerunner, and (4) a High Priest. First, those who are true believers are pictured as fleeing from this doomed world to the heavenly city of refuge. To encourage them in their flight, God has given them an unfailing hope based upon his word and his oath.

6:19 In the storms and trials of life this hope serves as an anchor of the soul. The knowledge that our glorification is as certain as if it had already happened keeps us from drifting on the wild waves of doubt and despair. The anchor is not cast in the shifting sands of this world but takes hold in the heavenly sanctuary. Since our hope is the anchor, the meaning is that our hope is secured in God’s very presence behind the veil. Just as sure as the anchor is there, we shall be there also.

6:20 Jesus has gone into the inner shrine also as our forerunner. His presence there insures the ultimate entrance of all who belong to him. It is no exaggeration to say that the simplest believer on earth is as certain of heaven as the saints who are already there.

D. Anderson-Berry writes: The word translated “forerunner” is found nowhere else in the New Testament. This expresses an idea never contemplated in the Levitical economy, for the high priest entered the holiest only as a representative. He entered where none could follow. But our forerunner is a pledge that where he is, we also shall be. As forerunner he (1) announced our future arrival there; (2) took possession of heaven’s glories on our behalf; and (3) has gone to be able to bid his people welcome when they come, and to present them before the Majesty of heaven.

The fourth figure is that of High Priest. Our Lord has become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. His eternal priesthood guarantees our eternal preservation. Just as surely as we have been reconciled to God by his death, so surely are we saved by his life as our Priest at God’s right hand (Rom. 5:10).

This mention of Jesus as High Priest in the order of Melchizedek reminds us that this subject was interrupted at verse 5:10 when the author digressed on the extended warning against apostasy. Now he is ready to resume his theme that Christ’s high priesthood is superior to Aaron’s. He has skillfully returned to the main flow of argument.

7:1 Melchizedek was an enigmatic figure who appeared briefly on the stage of human history (Gen. 14:18–20), then disappeared. Centuries later his name was mentioned by David (Ps. 110:4). Then, after a lapse of additional centuries, it reappears in the book of Hebrews. One thing is apparent: God arranged the details of his life so that he would be an excellent type of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In these first three verses of chapter 7 we have some historical facts concerning him. We are reminded that he combined the offices of king and priest in his person. He was king of Salem (later called Jerusalem), and priest of the Most High God. He was the political and spiritual leader of his people. That is, of course, God’s ideal—that there should be no separation between the secular and the sacred. When sinful man is reigning it is necessary to separate church and state. Only when Christ reigns in righteousness will it be possible to unite the two (Isaiah. 32:1, 17).

Melchizedek encountered Abraham when the latter was returning from a military victory and blessed him. The significance of this act is reserved for verse 7. If we had only the OT Scriptures, we would never realize the deep significance of these seemingly irrelevant details.

7:2 Abraham gave a tenth part of the spoils of war to this mysterious king-priest. Again we must wait till verses 4, 6, 8–10 to learn the hidden meaning of Abraham’s tithe. In the Scriptures, a man’s name stands for what he is. We learn about Melchizedek’s name and his title: his name means “king of righteousness” and his title (king of Salem) means “king of peace.” It is not without meaning that righteousness is mentioned first, then peace. There cannot be peace unless first there is righteousness. We see this clearly in the work of Christ. At the cross, “Mercy and truth … met together; righteousness and peace … kissed” (Ps. 85:10). Because the Savior met all the righteous demands of God against our sins, we can have peace with God.

7:3 The puzzle concerning Melchizedek deepens when we read that he had no father nor mother, genealogy, birth, nor death. If we divorce these statements from their context, we would have to conclude that he was a visitor from heaven or from another planet, or that he was a special creation of God.

But the key to understanding lies in taking these statements in their context. The subject is priesthood. The writer is distinguishing between the Melchizedekan priesthood and the Aaronic. In order to qualify for the Aaronic priesthood a man had to be born of the tribe of Levi and of the family of Aaron. Genealogy was all-important. Also, his qualification began at birth and ended at death.

Melchizedek’s priesthood was quite different. He did not inherit the priesthood by being born into a priestly family. God simply picked him out and designated him as a priest. As far as his priesthood was concerned, there is no record of his father or mother or genealogy. In his case, this was of no importance, and as far as the record is concerned, no mention is made of his birth or death; therefore his priesthood continues.

We should not conclude that Melchizedek had no parents, that he was never born, and that he never died. That is not the point. The thought is that as far as his priesthood was concerned, there is no record of these vital statistics because his ministry as priest was not dependent on them.

He was not the Son of God, as some have mistakenly thought, but was made like the Son of God in this respect, that his priesthood continued without interruption. Now the author is going to demonstrate that Melchizedek’s priesthood is superior to Aaron’s. There are three arguments in the proof: the argument concerning the tithes and blessing; the argument concerning a change that has taken place, replacing the Aaronic priesthood; and the argument concerning the perpetuity of the Melchizedekan priesthood.

Father Time