The Covenant With Israel (2)
Many would vehemently dispute the teaching that Israel is the church of the Old Testament and that, therefore, God’s covenant with Israel is the same covenant He has with His church in the New Testament. For this reason, it must be proved carefully from Scripture.
That Israel and the church are one is clear. Israel in Scripture is not an earthly people or a carnal nation, but the spiritual people of God—as is the church.
In Romans 9:6-8, the word of God teaches that “they are not all Israel, which are of Israel.” A distinction is made between those who are Israel only outwardly and those who are Israel in truth. Not all who belonged to the nation were Israel, but only those who were born by the power of the promise, that is, those regenerated by the living word of God. These were counted as the seed, as the children of Abraham and of God. They were a spiritual people.
Romans 2:28-29 confirms this. It teaches plainly that one is not a Jew who is “outwardly” so, but one who is a Jew “inwardly,” that is, one who is circumcised in heart and spirit (cf. Col. 2:11).
According to this biblical definition, even believing Gentiles are counted as children of Abraham and as Israelites. Scripture teaches this clearly. Romans 4:11-16 shows that Abraham is the father not only of believing Jews, but also of believing Gentiles—of one spiritual people. Galatians 3:7 says, “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”
The New Testament also makes clear that believing Gentiles are more truly Jews and more truly circumcised than unbelieving descendants of Abraham. Those who are Jews only according to the flesh are called “the concision” (Phil. 3:2), that is, mere mutilators, because though circumcised outwardly, they are unspiritual. In contrast, believers, including the Gentile Philippians, are called “the circumcision” (3).
Other passages teach the same truth. Galatians 4:1-7 shows that the church of the Old and New Testaments is one, likened to a single person growing from infancy to maturity. Galatians 3:16 and 29 teaches that there is one seed, namely Christ and those who are in Him. Hebrews 13:22-24 identifies (i.e., treats as the same reality) “Jerusalem,” “mount Sion” and “the church of the living God,” so that to come to one is to come to all.
This is of great importance. Our participation in all the blessings and promises of the covenant depends upon it. Rev. Ron Hanko
Crucifying the Son of God Afresh
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” (Heb. 6:4-6).
“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” (Heb. 10:26-29).
Our readers will recall that we are discussing a number of texts which appear to be contrary to the doctrine of the preservation of the saints. It is not that those who submitted these texts deny that doctrine, for some expressed firm conviction concerning it. Yet the passages themselves seemed, at first sight, to point in another direction.
It will also be remembered that, some time ago, we treated the doctrine itself at length, setting forth its positive teaching. It is necessary to be clear on the doctrine before examining the texts that seem to contradict it. For that reason, an entire article was devoted to it, and readers were urged to keep it at hand for reference (see Volume IV, Issue 14). It would be well to lay this discussion aside for a moment and review that earlier article.
The two passages from Hebrews may be treated together, since they address the same subject. The Hebrew Christians, under pressure, though not yet “unto blood” (12:4), were in danger of returning to Judaistic teaching, seeking salvation by the works of the law rather than in the blood of Jesus Christ. The epistle warns of the serious consequences of such a course.
Both passages speak of members of the church and of what is implied in such membership. Hebrews 6 describes them as “enlightened,” “tast[ing] the heavenly gift,” “made partakers of the Holy Ghost” and “tast[ing] the good word of God and the powers of the world to come.” Hebrews 10 describes them as “sanctified.”
Both passages also speak of rejecting what was once professed. Hebrews 6 describes that rejection as a dreadful sin: “crucify[ing] the Son of God afresh” (6). Hebrews 10 expresses this as “[treading] under foot the Son of God,” “count[ing] the blood of the covenant … an unholy thing,” and “[doing] despite unto the Spirit” (29). Clearly, both passages refer to the same reality.
Both speak of the terrible punishment that follows. Hebrews 6 speaks of the impossibility of renewal unto repentance, while Hebrews 10 declares that there remains “no more sacrifice for sins” (26). Thus both passages deal with what is sometimes called the unpardonable sin.
These texts have often been used in support of the doctrine that true believers may fall away. Do they, in fact, teach this?
Such a conclusion is drawn from the strong language used to describe those who were once in the church but who wilfully reject what they once professed. It would seem that they were once truly saved and have now fallen from grace.
Hebrews 10 speaks of them as “sanctified” by “the blood of the covenant” (29), while Hebrews 6 speaks of them as “enlightened” and as having “tasted” heavenly things (4). In this connection, it is helpful to recall the false teachers mentioned in (II Pet. 2:1; see Volume IV, Issue 15 for an explanation of this text), who at one time, as members of the church, confessed that they were “bought” with the blood of Christ.
The same perspective is found in Hebrews 10. These persons were not, in fact, sanctified by the blood of the covenant, but are described from the standpoint of their confession, which they now deny. They once confessed that the blood of Christ alone sanctifies, and that they themselves were sanctified by it. Now they deny both. This denial is not due to ignorance, but to hatred of Christ and of His precious blood shed on Calvary. They tread under foot the Son of God and count His blood an unholy thing.
Hebrews 6 views these same persons from another angle, namely, their life in the church. They were fully part of the church outwardly and so closely identified with it that certain benefits belonging to God’s people were theirs.
All of this is outward, yet it is real. They are “enlightened,” in that they understand the truth clearly. They know, as well as any, that salvation is through the blood of Christ crucified.
They “taste” the heavenly gift, are “made partakers of” the Holy Ghost, and “taste” the good word of God and the powers of the world to come. That is, they perceive the goodness of the word of God and understand the blessed truths it proclaims. They know of the salvation worked by the Holy Spirit and have some sense of its blessedness. They even have some knowledge of the joys of heaven and the glory of eternal life with Christ.
They are like those described by Christ in the parable of the sower (Matt. 13). They “receive” the word “with joy” (20) and are enthusiastic about it for a time (21). Yet they turn away and, more than that, deny what they once professed. They deny the sacrifice of Christ and reject the truth that salvation is through His atoning blood.
This is a dreadful sin, for which there is no forgiveness. Such persons crucify the Son of God afresh and put Him to open shame (Heb. 6:6). Yet they were never truly saved. Their religion was only an outward profession. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (I Cor. 10:12). Prof. Herman Hanko
The Lord’s Supper: Who Should Partake?
One reader has submitted several questions concerning the Lord’s Supper, which we intend to answer in this and in the next issue of the News. The questions are:
1) Who is eligible for the Lord’s Supper?
2) Must the church examine those who partake to determine whether they are “in Christ”?
3) How often should the Lord’s Supper be celebrated?
4) Should baptised children who have not yet come to years of discretion partake?
Questions 1 and 4 are closely related, and it is these that we address here.
Both are answered in I Corinthians 11:29, which speaks of “discerning the Lord’s body” in eating and drinking at the Supper. This implies two things.
First, those who partake must be believers. Only faith discerns in the bread and wine the broken body and shed blood of our Saviour. As one of the Reformed creeds states, “The ungodly indeed receives the sacrament to his condemnation, but he doth not receive the truth of the sacrament” (Belgic Confession 35).
Second, those who partake must live a faithful and godly life. II Corinthians 13:5, which also speaks of self-examination (cf. I Cor. 11:28), says, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
This passage does not call us to examine ourselves to determine whether we are believers, but whether we are living and walking by faith. One who is not a believer will not truly examine himself, and if he attempts to do so, he will be deceived (Jer. 17:9). The believer, however, is called continually to examine himself, to prove himself and to remember that Jesus Christ is in him. Being mindful of this, he will not walk in the ways of the world.
To discern the Lord’s body also requires sufficient age and understanding. Young children, therefore, and others who have not yet received adequate instruction, ought not to come to the Lord’s table. They must first be able to know and discern Christ in the eating and drinking.
This places upon the church the responsibility to instruct and prepare those who are to be admitted to the Lord’s table—a responsibility which, it must be said, is often neglected. Only in fulfilling this duty can the church avoid the judgment and chastening of the Lord (I Cor. 11:30-32). Rev. Ron Hanko
