Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Hebrews in the Blogosphere

I have rewritten this post with some updates. Since returning from the regional conference this weekend there has been some considerable discussion on Hebrews in the blogosphere:

Better Bibles Blog has a couple of posts on Hebrews 1:3 and what the phrase "word of his power" means. See The Word of His Power and His Powerful Word. Be sure to read the considerable discussion. In response Bob MacDonald offers his own translation of Hebrews 1:1-4 on his post My insufficiency.

Michael Bird has a post on Hebrews 5:11-6:12 in Perseverance in Hebrews on Euangelion. James Gregory has posted a response on his eponymous blog, along with links to his earlier reflections on the passage. He includes a link to Ben Witherington's post on Christian Apostasy and Hebrews 6 from last year. I think that the passage is a real warning about the danger of apostasy. Otherwise, why would the author of Hebrews have bothered to say anything, if it wasn't a real possibility?

Tony Siew on his blog Revelation is Real has a post on Faith in Hebrews.

2 comments:

  1. Does Hebrews 10:26 refer to any deliberate sin? If so, are not all Christians damned? This verse has bothered me for quite sometime. If we cannot be forgiven after we are saved, it would be best to only get saved on ones deathbead. Any response will be appreciated.

    In Pace Christi

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  2. Hi, sorry I have taken so long to respond. I have been buried with work. Certainly, this verse taken by itself would suggest any deliberate sin, and certainly there have been those in church history who have interpreted this passage and 6:4-6 as meaning there is no forgiveness for post-baptismal sins. But if this is so, what is the benefit of Christ's death? Where would the grace and hope for the Christian be? More likely the author has in view the deliberate sin of apostasy, that is, a complete rejection of the means of salvation through Christ. See verse 29 which says that such person has "regarded unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified..." This suggests a deliberate rejection of Christ and the salvation he offers, rather than as a general reference to intentional sin of which we are all probably guilty.

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