Those Secured by God are Secured in Godliness

Hebrews 6:17-18

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath. So that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

If I could impart one of the most significant concepts to you about the connection between what you believe to be true about God and how you live your life, it would be the concept presented in Hebrews 6:17-18. This would be a fantastic mold for producing a life from now until the rest of your life that is pleasing to God and enjoyable to live.

If you can grasp this one single concept, you will do exceedingly well as a Christian. You will never have to wonder about how you should be living as a Christian or what you should be doing as a Christian.

There are often two things that happen as a Christian: the things you learn to be true in the Bible, and then what you do with those things. We teach things from the Bible, but those things are not intended to be simply things that you learn, but ultimately things that you live.

It is really bad preaching if it is nothing more than attempting to teach you things without attempting to teach you things that revolutionize and change your life. We want to impact and change lives because that is what the Bible was intended to do. These truths change life for the better, so that you would be living life in a far more enjoyable, far more significant way than you are now—even in spite of whatever situation you go through, whether horrific and painful or wonderful and easy.

The foundation for how a Christian should be living is to understand that those who are secured by God are secured in Godliness. Being secured by God means that you are secured in Godliness.

This is not just teaching a doctrine about who God is and what God does, but how that affects and impacts the way you live. The entirety of the Christian life is recognizing the reality of the work of God. If God saves somebody, can you see that in that person's life? If God does something in a person's life, is His action noticeable?

Two questions represent this main idea: Is it really impossible for true Christians to lose their salvation? And if so, what would those Christians look like?

1. Those Not Secured as Christians Do Not Stay Christians

Those who are not secured by God—those who are not secured as Christians—do not stay Christians. The author of Hebrews deals with individuals who in the first century may have looked more like Christians than many people in the 21st century.

Is the apostate—just someone who falls away—simply a person who looked like a Christian and then stopped pretending? That person could have looked more Christian than some of us by the way they lived and attended a community of believers.

Hebrews 6:4-6

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.

There are two impossible things in Hebrews 6: the impossibility of the apostate to be renewed or redeemed, and the impossibility for God to lose the redeemed.

It is impossible for the apostate to be redeemed, and it is impossible for God to lose the genuinely redeemed. This answers the first question: It is impossible for the believer to lose their salvation.

These apostates were once enlightened about the truth of the gospel. They had intellectually accepted the concepts of the gospel. They tasted the heavenly gift, experiencing the reality of salvation around them, grace, and covenant community.

They shared in the Holy Spirit—perhaps partnering with Him, even preaching the gospel. They tasted the goodness of the Word of God under preaching they loved and enjoyed. They tasted the powers of the age to come, perhaps enjoying the reign of Jesus Christ.

Have you experienced Christianity the way the apostate experienced it? Christians can and do experience all these things, but notice verse 9: "Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation."

Verse 10: God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. Serving God, serving His people, loving God, loving His people—these are better than the five experiences of the apostate and are proof of salvation.

We want everyone to be earnest and zealous about these things. Those are things an unbeliever can experience, but genuine salvation is shown by work and love toward the name of God and serving His people—things incapable for an unbeliever.

Christians can become sluggish, dull of hearing, not excited about the things of God, thinking repentance is lame. Some may have only experienced the five things and not the two proofs of salvation.

2. Those Secured as Christians Are Secured by God

Those kept by God are constantly busy meeting the needs of their fellow Christians.

Hebrews 6:17-18

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope that is set before us.

This is incredible condescension on God's part. If God promises to save you, that is totally enough. Yet God desired to show it more convincingly to the heirs of the promise—you, as a spiritual descendant of Abraham.

God guaranteed it with an oath: He promised salvation and swore He would save you. He swore by Himself, the highest good.

There are three times the Lord swears in Hebrews: that the apostate will not enter His rest; that He will save you; and that Jesus will be a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, always making intercession for you.

God will never leave you nor forsake you. If you could lose your salvation, you would—but He swore He would not lose you.

Three things prove God will keep you: He promised salvation, He swore it with an oath, and it is impossible for God to lie.

Some might hear this and think it gives a license to sin, but Jude addresses those who pervert grace into licentiousness. If a man is determined to damn himself, he will weave a rope of Scripture to do it—but we will not hold back divine truth.

3. Those Secured by God Have Sought Shelter in Jesus Christ

Here's the crux: Christians flee for refuge. What are Christians fleeing from? They are in mid-flight, running away from their sin and taking refuge in Jesus Christ.

The only thing those secured by this God would flee is sin, not His wrath, not trials or adversity—they joyfully accepted the seizure of their property.

The works of the flesh are obvious. In moments of temptation, do you flee to Christ? There is no such thing as falling into sin—you run into it. Do you run to Christ, cracking open your Bible to find refuge in the Word, which is the consistent representation of Jesus?

We who have fled might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us—the hope of being totally and finally delivered from sin.

Genuine Christians constantly hate the sin within their life and hold fast to the hope of deliverance. If you hold fast to sins themselves, you risk being part of the Hebrews 6:4-6 group.

If you grasp that doctrine demonstrates itself in the life of believers by repentance from sin, refuge in Jesus, and holding fast to the hope of being totally and finally delivered from sin, you will do well as a Christian and enjoy life by taking refuge in Jesus.