Posted by Ray Kidder on 11/18/2008, 7:10 pm, in reply to "Re: Comparing Hebrews 6 to I Corinthians 11"
72.83.141.143
Jim,
Thanks for your comments.
I can see how someone who reads Hebrews 6 gets "The idea that once a person is inside the faith they are nonredeemable if they abandon, deny or work against it."
This only makes sense to me if they newer become re-converted to the faith; as though they think they can get the benefits of Christian sanctification that comes from faith, and believing these benefits stay with them even if they chage their beliefs into something that is a denial of Christian faith.
As I have mentioned on this board before, I view St. Peter, St. Thomas, and perhaps even Judas Iscariot, as examples of those who denied the faith unto damnation, but through repentance and conversion, they were later saved.
I suspect there is some connection between the passages from Hebrews 6 and I Corinthians 11, for they both appear to be warnings against lapsing into sin and apostacy. OTOH, I sense important differences that seem to be related to these themes:
1. I Corinthians emphasizes church life, through the body of Christ working through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The service of Holy Communion is mentioned. It seems that this epistle is written to a church, with church fellowship in mind.
2. Hebrews seems to emphasize the life of Christians, who wile associating with each other, are undergoing religious persecution. They may not have regular church meetings, and the fellowship of meeting as a church, with gifts of the Holy Spirit working for the stregthening of different parts of the body is much less noticable in this epistle. It is sort of how Christians met under the Soviet Union, where the dangers of persecution were so threatening that some Christian experiences mentioned in I Corinthians were less common.
I have to wonder if I Corinthians 11 is a warning geared to those who think that they need not fear God just because they take Holy Communion, while Hebrews 6 is written towards those who think they do not need to fear God because they do not take Holy Communion, but have a substitute Communion of Christ through the mere dangers of religious persecution.
Ray Kidder
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