A TERRIFYING WARNING
Mike Cunningham
August 10, 2014

Last weeks sermon included the account of a man named Kaka. He lived in a village located in the isolated mountains of Nepal, India and had been searching for God for a long time. Continuing from where I left off last week, Brian Edwards tells us that:

“Almost three years later, in October of 1969, Dave Watters and a companion stood on a high, lonely pass in northwest Nepal, lost in a blizzard. They had been traveling for three weeks through a wild and unfamiliar territory, trying to learn something of the size and whereabouts of a tribe Dave wanted to speak to about the gospel of Christ, and also to determine the best place to settle among them. And now the way ahead seemed utterly impossible. From the top of the pass there was nothing before them but a complicated maze of cliffs, each one sweeping off hundreds of feet below. Hardly knowing what to do, the travelers suddenly realized to their amazement that a strange set of footprints had forged on ahead. They decided to follow them. On they went, working from one cliff to the next, sometimes across narrow ledges, sometimes across rockslides, but always following the tracks. The snow was no longer falling, but dry snow on the ground was blown about furiously by the wind and the two missionaries considered it incredible that the tracks remained clear and uncovered.

After hours of negotiating through breathtaking terrain, the tracks suddenly brought Dave and his companion onto a small but well traveled mountain trail. Night had already fallen and, totally exhausted, they slept right there on the trail. Early next morning they followed the trail for another two hours until they came to a small mountain village. On inquiry about other travelers, they were told that no one had come over the pass for several weeks. The villagers insisted that the missionaries were the first travelers since the snows! From that day on those footprints on the snow were called “angel tracks.”

Dave Watters was now on the fringe of the tribal territory and he decided to settle there. The area was remote, wild and very cold and it seemed ridiculous to bring a wife and two small boys to such a place. However, the “angel tracks” rekindled his courage with the assurance that God had gone on ahead. Dave was reminded of God’s word to the Israelites: “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared,” (Exodus 23:20). He returned to Kathmandu for his family.

A few months later Dave and his family were settled in a village just across the river from Kaka. They had never met, but Dave decided to search in Kaka’s village for a steady reliable man to help him with the language. As he approached the village he came across a half dozen men standing at the village entrance chatting. Suddenly his attention was caught by one of the men and a strong conviction swept over Dave: “That’s the man. You take him!” He went straight to the man and said in Nepali, “Do you think there might be someone in this village who could come with us to Kathmandu and help me learn your language?’

“If you looked around, I suppose you might find someone,” the villager responded indifferently. “I’m not looking any further,” Dave replied, “You’re the man I want! “Well then,” Kaka said,” we’d better go to my house and talk it over.”

There, Dave met Kaka’s wife and family and, settling on a few practical matters, he agreed to go with Dave on the following day. That night, however, after going to bed, Kaka began to have misgivings. “Why did I agree to go?” he thought. “How can I get out of it now?” After a night of tossing and turning, he finally fell asleep and had a dream. He dreamed that he saw Dave and his wife Nancy come to his village. The missionary walked up to Kaka and said, “You come with me,” and he picked up his rucksack and followed them down the trail. When Kaka woke up he knew from his dream that, regardless of the outcome, he must follow.

The next day when Dave went to see if Kaka was ready, the ex-Gurkha warrior was prepared for the long journey, but hesitated for a moment. “Before we go I want to ask you a question.” He took from a little metal box three tattered booklets and declared, “These booklets tell of one called Jesus Christ. Do you know anything about him?” Stunner by the remarkable providence of God, Dave answered, “Yes, I do.”

“Well then,” Kaka responded firmly, “I’ll go with you if you promise me you’ll explain these booklets to me, and teach me everything you know about Jesus!”

That was the beginning of a deep and lasting friendship and Kaka soon became a devoted follower of Christ. Today he is in charge of a growing, vigorous church, steering them with courage and wisdom through times of persecution and ministering to them is a beautiful and unselfish way. Without knowing where to look, Kaka had been asking, seeking and knocking, and God had answered.

There will never be a man who truly searches for God with all his heart who will not find him, and we have a promise from God himself for this: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 29:13,14). (A)

Now I’m going to speak about something else the Lord wants me to share with you folks today. Those of you who have attended evangelical Christian churches for a while will recognize the kind of people I’ll describe. To begin I want to say that I believe the following Scriptures are among the most important that are recorded in the bible.

Hebrews 6:4-8 says that “For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, those who tasted the free gift from heaven, those who were made sharers in the Holy Spirit, those who tasted the fair word of God and the powers of the age to come, and who then became apostates, for they are crucifying the Son of God again for themselves and are making a mocking show of him. For when the earth has drunk the rain that comes often times upon it and when it brings forth herbage useful to those who cultivate it, it receives a share of blessing from God; but if it produces thorns and thistles it is rejected and is in imminent danger of a curse, and its end is to be appointed for burning.

This is one of the most terrible passages in scripture. It begins with a kind of list of the privileges of the Christian life.

The Christian has been enlightened. This is a favorite New Testament idea. No doubt it goes back to the picture of Jesus as the Light of the World, the Light that enlightens every man who comes into the world (John 1:9; John 9:5).

The Christian has tasted the free gift that comes from heaven. It is only in Christ that a man can be at peace with God. Forgiveness is not something he can ever win; it is a free gift. It is only when he comes to the Cross that his burden is rolled away.

The Christian is a man who knows the immeasurable relief of experiencing the free gift of the forgiveness of God.

The Christian is a sharer in the Holy Spirit. He has in his life a new directive and a new power. He has discovered the presence of a power that can both tell him what to do and enable him to do it.

The Christian has tasted the fair Word of God. That is another way of saying that he has discovered the truth. It is characteristic of men that instinctively they follow truth as blind men long for light; it is part of the penalty and the privilege of being a man that we can never rest content until we have learned the meaning of life. In God’s word we find the truth and the meaning of life.

The Christian has tasted the powers of the world to come. Jew and Christian alike divided time into two ages. There was this present age, which was wholly bad; there was the age to come, which would be wholly good. Some day God would intervene; there would come the shattering destruction and the terrible judgment of the Day of the Lord and then this present age would end and the age to come would begin. But the Christian is a man who here and now is tasting the blessedness of the age which is God’s. Even in time he has a foretaste of eternity.

So the writer to the Hebrews sets out the shining catalog of Christian blessedness; and then at the end of it there comes like a sudden knell, who then became apostates.

In God’s heart there is always, so long as there is sin, this agony of suffering and redeeming love. Sin does not only break God’s law; it breaks his heart. It is true that when we fall away, we crucify Christ again.

Further, the writer to the Hebrews says that when we fall away we make a mocking show of Christ. How is that? When we sin the world will say: “So that is all that Christianity is worth. So that is all this Christ can do. So that is all the Cross achieved.” It is bad enough that when a Church member falls into sin he brings shame to himself and discredit on his Church; but what is worse is that he draws men’s taunts and jeers on Christ.

We may note a final thing. It has been pointed out that in the letter to the Hebrews there are four impossible things. There is the impossibility of this passage. The other three are:

1. It is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18).
2. It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin (Hebrews 10:4).
3. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).(B)

Those of us who grew up in the fifties are quite familiar with the name Mickey Cohen because he was the most flamboyant criminal of the day. Perhaps some of us even remember Cohen’s becoming a “Christian.”

At the height of his career Cohen was persuaded to attend an evangelistic service at which he showed an interest in Christianity. Hearing of this, and realizing what a great influence a converted Mickey Cohen could have for Christ, many prominent Christian leaders began visiting him in an effort to convince him to accept Christ. Late one night, after repeatedly being encouraged to open the door of his life on the basis of Revelation 3:20 (“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in…,” NASB), Cohen did so.

Hopes ran high among his believing acquaintances. But with the passing of time, no one could detect any change in Cohen’s life. Finally they confronted him with the fact that being a Christian meant he would have to give up his friends and his profession. The logic of his response was this: there are “Christian football players, Christian cowboys, Christian politicians; why not a Christian gangster?” Mickey certainly was not one of the Lord’s converts! Down-to-earth Dwight Moody gave us an epigram that wears well because every experienced Christian knows that the authenticity of a conversion will be revealed in time and life. As a pastor, I may witness a moving conversion. But the convert’s life will reveal the ultimate reality. I have seen spectacular conversions fizzle and even produce enemies of the gospel—apostates. I have seen other conversions:both the dramatic and quiet mature into deep Christian commitment.(C)

The author will move on to definitely deeper things in chapter 7, with his profound exposition of Melchizedek. But first he feels compelled to deepen his warning, and he does so by giving what many consider the most terrifying warning in the New Testament—that there can be no second beginning:

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebrews 6:4-6)(D)

“The participation in spiritual realities of those who “fall away,” though they have been “enlightened” and “shared” and “tasted” the things of God, parallels the privileged experience of the children of Israel in the wilderness who fell away and died in unbelief. As part of the covenant community, the fallen Israelites had placed blood on the doorposts, eaten the Passover lamb, miraculously crossed the Red Sea, observed the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, tasted the miraculous waters at Marah, daily ate manna, and heard the voice of God at Sinai.

But their hearts were hardened in unbelief, and they fell away from the living God. True, some of those who perished in the wilderness were regenerate and some were unregenerate, but both were visible members of the covenant community and thus shared a profound mutuality of spiritual experience. Similarly, these catechized ersatz Christians of Hebrews 6 were accepted into the covenant community and likewise experienced something of the spiritual realities, but fell away.

Second, Jesus’ parable of the soils teaches us there are people who at the beginning look very much like believers, but they are unregenerate. Not only do they look like Christians, but they have remarkable spiritual experiences before they fall away—just as the seed sown in rocky places “is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy” (Matthew 13:20). But when trouble comes he falls away. Significantly, in the parable of the soils only the fourth soil, the one that bears fruit signifies true believers!

Third, I hold this view because it accords with the great Scriptural doctrine of the perseverance of the saints that is so specifically affirmed in God’s Holy Word, as is evidenced by the following list compiled by Roger Nicole:

Scripture asserts that “He who has begun a good work… will perfect it until the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:6; cf. Luke 14:28-32).

Scripture asserts that “life” shall not separate believers from the love of God in Christ (Romans 8:38, 39).

Scripture asserts that the golden chain of God’s purpose is not thinning out toward the end, but that the very people who are known, foreordained, called and justified are also glorified (Romans 8:29, 30).

Scripture asserts that believers are “kept by the power of God through faith unto final salvation and for an incorruptible inheritance” (1 Peter 1:4, 5; cf. Jude 24, 25; 2 Timothy 1:12).

Scripture asserts that true believers are “sealed by the Spirit unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).

Scripture asserts that apostates were never true members of Christ because otherwise they would not have fallen away (1 John 2:19).

Scripture asserts again and again that the new life in Christ is “eternal.” What kind of eternity would that be which could be brought to an end in our own life-span?

Jesus asserts that it is impossible “to lead the elect astray” (Matthew 24:24).

Jesus asserts that “everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and he will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40; cf. John 6:54).

Jesus asserts, “I know my sheep, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). (4)

How is it possible for one to experience all of this and not be regenerated, we ask? (4)

I’m sorry, but that’s all the time we have for today. Don’t forget that through this message God has given you and me A TERRIFYING WARNING. It behooves us to take it seriously. It’s a matter of eternal life or eternal death.

Lord willing, next week….

1. Not By Chance, Making Sense Out Of Suffering by Brian H. Edwards, © 1982 Evangelical Press, 16/18 High Street, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 9EQ, England, p. 97-101
2. The Letter of Hebrews, Revised Edition, © 1976 by William Barclay. Published by The Westminster Press, Philadelphia Pa. p. 55-59.
3. Hebrews, Volume One. © 1993 by R. Kent Hughes. Published by Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, 1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton, Il. 60187. P. 153-154.

4. Ibid. p. 156-158.