LA IMPOSIBILIDAD DE RENOVACION

ENTENDIENDO HEBREOS 6:4-6 Y LA IMPOSIBILIDAD DE RENOVACION  

En un pasado el enemigo intentó por todos los medios esconder y retraer la Biblia de las personas, Cristo dijo: “y conoceréis la verdad y la verdad os hará libres” (Juan 8:32) también expresó:“Santifícalos en tu verdad, tu palabra es verdad” (Juan 17:17). Con ambos pasajes juntos concluimos que la Biblia, la palabra de Dios es verdad y que solamente a travez de ellas las personas pueden ser libres y satanás sabe esto. Por eso no parece nada extraño que el Catolisísmo Romano haya quitado el derecho de tener la Biblia por tantos siglos hasta la llegada de Lutero en 1517 aproximadamente, cuando se da la reforma protestante y el pueblo reclama el derecho de poseer la Biblia en sus manos más abiertamente por iniciativa de Lutero. Con todo, este escritor está convencido que el deseo moderno de aquel mismo enemigo viejo; el diablo, es ya no el quitar la Biblia de nuestras manos sino más bien de interpretarla mal. La antigua serpiente entiende perfectamente que el errar en la interpretación de los pasajes resulta exactamente igual o peor que el no tenerla del todo, y es por eso que era necesario escribir acerca de uno de esos tantos textos que encabezan la lista de las malas interpretaciones. Por favor es nuestro deseo que usted pueda comprobar y comparar este articulo con su Biblia en mano pero que Siempre tenga ella la última palabra. 

  El pasaje lee de la siguiente manera: “Porque, en efecto, es imposible que los que una vez fueron iluminados y probaron el don celestial, y llegaron a ser partícipes del Espíritu Santo, y probaron la buena Palabra de Dios y los poderes del mundo venidero y recayeron, sean otra vez renovados para arrepentimiento, crucificando otra vez para sí mismos al Hijo de Dios, habiéndolo expuesto a la ignominia pública.” (Hebreos 6:4-6 Biblia Textual). 

CONTEXTO

“Un texto fuera de contexto siempre es un buen pretexto” (Frase anónima), ciertamente eso es así. El contexto de este pasaje en el sentido general,  la epístola en sí el escritor coloca a Cristo en un plano superior, el tema central o de lo que trata el libro si lo pudiéramos poner una sola frase sería algo como: “La supremacia de Cristo”, y el autor va a probar esto en cada capitulo, este autor anónimo de la epístola a los Hebreos quiere dejar muy en claro, que Cristo y el Nuevo Pacto están muy por encima de todo lo antes conocido. El menciona en el capitulo 1 que el Señor Jesús era superior a los los profetas, en el 2 superior a los ángeles, 3 superior a Moisés, 4 superior al sábado y a las tentaciones humanas, 5 superior a los sacrificios y 6, nuestro capítulo en cuestión, nos presenta a Cristo superior a la ley de Moisés. Es crucial entender esto porque la interpretación del pasaje debe de darse bajo estas condiciones. Al parecer varios cristianos del primer siglo tenían mucho problema al entender que ya la ley de Moisés; el antiguo pacto y todo lo que estaban acostumbrados a hacer, había terminado por completo. Tenían mucha dificultad en comprender que todo el punto del antiguo pacto estaba trazado señalando a Cristo y su nuevo pacto (el capitulo 8 trata en detalle de eso). De hecho, si echamos un vistazo más cercano a otras cartas del Nuevo Testamento (Contexto General) unido al contexto histórico sabemos que este es el caso. Solamente para ejemplificarlo rápidamente observe la carta a los Gálatas (escrita por Pablo entre el 48-55 D.C aproximadamente), el tema central es: No hay otro evangelio diferente. Pablo describe en el 1:6 que se encontraba sorprendido de que ellos se habían apartado tan rápidamente, para seguir un evangelio diferente. Más tarde en la carta reconocemos que ese evangelio diferente era regresar a la ley de Moisés por los indicios del 3:10-29 Y 5:1-2 De la misma carta. Entonces la iglesia del Siglo primero tenía problemas con este tema sin duda alguna y de eso se  rodea nuestro texto en cuestión.

 

IMPOSIBILIDAD DE RENOVACION

A todo lo antes mencionado del contexto y todo lo demás que existe al rededor del pasaje cerremos los ojos y recortemos solo una frase de la página: “Es imposible que los que una vez gustaron sean renovados otra vez”. Por los años del 1500s un hombre llamado Juan Calvino creó un sistema de creencias de 5 puntos que han sido la cuna de la falsa doctrina desde entonces. Una de ellas es: Elección incondicional, es decir que Dios elige quién se salva y quién se condena a su antojo. Esta falsa doctrina sigue teniendo su avance por hace más de 200 años utilizando pasajes como Hebreos 6. Hay quienes piensan que si usted pecó y quiere regresar ya no puede hacerlo porque el pasaje dice que es imposible simplemente porque usted no es de los individuos que Dios escogió para salvación sino los de condenación. Aparte de esta idea hueca le agregan que el pasaje tiene que ver con la Blasfemia contra el Espíritu Santo y que por eso también es imposible ser restaurado. 

Lo real del caso es que si respetamos el contexto a lo que está apuntando el autor es que es imposible ser restaurado para Cristo sí la persona aún está tratando de vivir en la ley de Moisés. En otras palabras no existe perdón y no se alcanza el mismo, si se regresa a la ley antigua. El autor en el Versículo 6 argumenta fuertemente que en tal caso se expone otra vez a crucifixión al Señor de la Gloria. Tiene sentido, es  lógico lo que dice, si alguien todavía sigue en la ley de Moises no hay mejores promesas entonces necesitaría que venga Cristo otra vez y sea crucificado otra vez para traer el nuevo pacto… simplemente eso ya sucedió. Observe con cuidado lo que conocemos como el contexto inmediato el versículo 9 dice que estamos persuadidos de cosas mejores ¿a que se refiere? No está hablando más que del nuevo pacto; mejores promesas, mejor mediador, mejor ley, mejores cosas. 

Cuando el hombre se arrepiente de corazón Dios perdona, siempre que lo haga de corazón cada vez y cada vez El lo hace porque El es justo( Hebreos 6:10 a).

Adam Clarke, quien no fue miembro de la Iglesia de Cristo pero si un reconocido autor denominacional cita lo siguiente como lo que el describe su opinión sobre este pasaje, él dice: 

      Todos aquellos Judíos quienes llaman a Jesús un impostor, y quienes tal vez participaron de su muerte, y por eso se tornaba su salvación imposible porque voluntaria y maliciosamente rechazaban al Señor que les había comprado. Ningún hombre cree en el Señor como el mayor sacrificio por el pecado y conociendo el verdadero cristianismo revelado está aquí destinado para una u otra cosa, muchos menos puede pensar que se ha caído de la salvación  o de cualquier grado de ella por haber creído en Jesús.

Cristo hizo posible la salvación y a pesar de eso últimadamente no puede salvar a quién deliberadamente no quiere ser salvo. Es lógico sensato y racional pensar, que en ese sentido es imposible para Dios. Hacerlo sería una violación a su naturaleza y a su misma palabra y dejaría en ese instante de ser el Dios de la Biblia. Ejemplo: Dios dijo que la fornicación es pecado, si alguien vive toda su vida como fornicario y muere su destino eterno es el Infierno, pero Dios no puede llevarla a la salvación eterna muriendo en fornicación, simplemente es imposible para Dios hacer eso por varias razones.

  1. Sería injusto. Sí Dios hace eso con una persona entonces tiene que hacerlo con todas las demás personas y si salva a todos quienes murieron en pecado..
  2. Entonces nadie iría al infierno no habría necesidad de él, porque todos irían al cielo y si todos los fornicarios van al cielo en esa condición entonces…
  3. Ya no sería el cielo, porque ninguna cosa inmunda entra ahí (Apo. 21:27) y sí ya no es el cielo entonces…
  4. No existe salvación lo que hacemos no vale la pena, Cristo perdió su tiempo en venir a la Cruz y todo el mundo haga lo que quiera.

En Conclusión es imposible para Dios salvar a alguien que no se someta al nuevo pacto y a la ley de Cristo, como era imposible para ellos ser renovados viviendo y estando en la ley de Moisés. Con todo hay cientos y miles de personas que nos llaman fríbolos, y dicen que nosotros somos jueces y mal juzgamos a otros cuando alguien se muere y en el último momento de su vida hizo una simple oración del pecador y ¡ya es salvo!. Nos critican por retener lo que Cristo dijo “El que creyere y fuere bautizado será salvo, más el que no será condenado” (Marcos 16:16). Amigo mío es simple Dios no puede contradecirse a sí mismo. Si creyó y fue bautizado en agua para perdón de pecados es salvo. Pero si hizo una y mil oraciones antes de su muerte y solamente eso, lo siento pero Dios dice es condenado. Para los que insisten en defender el punto les invito a meditar en los 4 razonamientos antes expuestos. En cuento a Hebreos 6:4-6 es imposible para Dios, cuando el hombre no quiere. En el momento que se humilla de corazón y pide perdón al Señor y no continúa en aquel sistema de creencias entonces pasa a ser posible para Dios perdonar y aliviar ese peso de pecado. En todo esto la mejor exhortación para concluir es la que nos hace el mismo escritor a los Hebreos en 2:1 “ Por tanto, es necesario que con más diligencia atendamos a las cosas que hemos oído, no sea que nos deslicemos.”

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Lawlessness

Lawlessness

For years the town had been controlled by the criminal element. Cattle rustlers commonly preyed on unsuspecting cowboys as they worked hard to make a living. The local sheriff was in the back pocket of several known thieves and bandits. The town’s unofficial boss was the saloon owner who relished the opportunity to get a stranger drunk or sell the wares of his female employees. The U.S. Marshall knew coming into this town that he had a job cut out for him with all of the lawlessness that seemingly oozed out of the cracks in the sidewalks.

The degree of lawlessness continues to grow. There is a law giver and He will judge.

The degree of lawlessness continues to grow. There is a law giver and He will judge.

The mystique of the Old West continues to linger in the consciousness of our society even though those ways are long past. Yet, when we think of the term “lawlessness” the above paragraph is exactly the way we picture the word. We may even conjure up memories of a Louis L’Amour or Zane Grey novel as we mull over the word. There wasn’t quite anything as lawless in our recent memories as the Old West! Yet today, we are living in a time of lawlessness.

When we consider how this word is used in the scripture, we get a somewhat different picture than that of the Old West. In Matthew 7:23, Jesus says, “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness'” (ESV). Both the King James Version and the American Standard Version of 1901 translate this word “iniquity.” But it is best translated “lawlessness” as the ESV so translates it. The word comes from the Greek word ANOMIA. It is the Greek word NOMOS meaning “law” and the negating prefix “A”. (The word “atheist” is an English word with the same construction. The “theist” is a believer in God and the “atheist” is someone who doesn’t believe in God.) The meaning of the resulting word is one who disregards law or one who is lawless. That which one who is lawless practices is lawlessness.

In 1 John 3:4, the ASV reads, “Every one that doeth sin doeth also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” That one verse tells us why we live in a lawless world today, because we live in a sinful world today. The world doesn’t have to have cattle rustlers, corrupt sheriffs, or saloon bosses in order to be lawless (though it often does). Sin, in and of itself, does the job. And, truth be told, we probably don’t think of people’s sins as being lawlessness, but they are. Sin is the rejecting of God’s law in our life and the acceptance of some other standard of behavior other than God’s standard. The reason sin is lawlessness is because no other standard of behavior other than God’s can constitute THE LAW. Paul acknowledged this very fact in 1 Corinthians 9:21. In the midst of saying that he sought to become all things to all men, he said, “To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.” Paul acknowledged that some live without law in their life, but he also made clear that he was still under law to God and Christ even in his efforts to persuade those who didn’t acknowledge any law. That’s because God’s law is THE LAW!

Today, we live in a society that would just as soon cast off all law. The ACLU is constantly pushing the envelope the reinterpret the laws in our society so that they become no law at all except license to live lawlessly. What does this world need? It needs law that is THE LAW. It needs God’s law, the gospel.

Yet there are others who would just as soon tell us that to have the gospel is to have no law at all. They erroneously cite Galatians 5:1, 18, and 23 in an effort to “prove” that the Christian is under no law at all, but rather, is under grace. They would teach us that because we are under grace that we have no law to which we need be obedient to please God. They have forgotten Romans 6:1, “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” Grace doesn’t cancel out law. Grace makes it possible for us to be lawful, not lawless!

The gospel provides salvation from a lawless world. How? First, by providing forgiveness of man’s lawless deeds through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. And second, by providing a law of love (Romans 13:10, Galatians 5:14) by which we can live lawful lives in service to God. The gospel is, therefore, God’s perfect law of liberty (James 1:25), the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus that frees us from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Praise be to God who has given us such a masterful plan for man’s salvation! Let us lawfully live according to the gospel of Jesus, the Christ!

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A Generation of Narcissism

The Selfie Generation Won’t Win Olympic Gold

I didn’t believe it when I first heard the news. A college student was sharing with me how no one in one of her classes could fail. She went on to explain how the school had adopted the new “no zero” policy, and one professor had made it a “no fail” policy. She said if students didn’t turn in their work or literally copied their research papers word-for-word from the Internet, the student would receive a C-. I was dumbfounded. I wanted to clarify: “You mean to tell me if you don’t do anything, or turn in someone else’s paper from the internet word-for-word then you still pass?” She responded, “You got it!” Welcome to the new age, where participation trophies and building up self-esteem is all that really matters.

Narcissism is here! The millennial selfie generation! ME ME ME ME!

Narcissism is here! The millennial selfie generation! ME ME ME ME!

We have raised a generation of individuals who definitely have a high self-esteem. But at what cost? These young people are not like Olympians who spend long hours training and working hard. No, these are lazy teens who believe they should be rewarded simply because they exist. They are not willing to put in the time or energy to reach a specific goal. As a result, we are beginning to reap other fruits from this messed up style of parenting. For instance, most modern parents believe their little “angel” is gifted or brilliant—and any problems that arise must be the fault of someone else (i.e., the teacher), not their child.

Add to this the children have bought into the parents’ lies, and they have become the most narcissistic generation in the history of man. These are the young people who think nothing of taking 40-60 selfies per day, and believe they are entitled to a life of luxury without having to work hard. They have grown up believing life is all about being entertained and as a result they show little to no work ethic.

I fully recognize narcissism has always been around—but not to this degree. We hear it in song lyrics and see it emphasized in the media. Young people wear clothing that literally says, “It’s all about me!” or “All me all the time.” So what happens when you try to share the Gospel with individuals who believe the world literally revolves around them? They don’t realize they “need” anything—because after all, it’s all about them.

Parents please think about this: If you are feeding your child’s narcissism then you are directly responsible for teaching them idolatry and you are marching them away from the Almighty Creator. The idol they are now worshipping? Themselves. The inspired psalmist wrote, “The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4).

One would be hard pressed to find any Scripture that supports narcissism. One of the central themes that the Bible teaches against is pride. In Proverbs 16:18-19 we read, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Jesus routinely espoused the first shall be last and the last shall be first. He went on to declare, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mark 8:34).

Moms and Dads, you are not doing your children any favors by constantly building them up. You are not training up servants for Christ if they are obsessed with “selfies.” You are not helping them grow into faithful Christians if they believe they are entitled to a life of ease and entertainment. So of the most powerful growth opportunities come from times of failure. It may be during those times of failure that they discover just how much they need Christ.

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God’s Preachers

God’s Preachers

Look on any church of Christ “Preachers Wanted” website list and you’ll find them: A detailed job description including a preferred list of the desired requirements, components, and qualifications which each congregation of God’s people is specifically searching for in its potential, prospective new preacher. And while God Himself has some very certain and specific requirements which His gospel preachers must meet, the one passage that pretty well sums up His divinely-inspired and dictated job description for them is found in 2 Timothy 4:1-5:

God's preachers, rely on God's Word.

God’s preachers, rely on God’s Word.

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

 Contained in that one, simple, scriptural passage, is a highly concentrated description, of exactly what God requires from His preachers. They must preach and live God’s word – and only His word – in all crowds, times, situations and circumstances. They must do so without compromise, hesitation, partiality, or concern for their own comfort and/or safety (such as God’s preacher Peter as reported in Acts 4 + 5). They must do so not only when they are in the company of people who are truly seeking and hungering and thirsting after what God has to say, but must also proclaim His word just as diligently, directly, and willingly, when surrounded by, or in the presence of people who absolutely do not want to hear it – and even such hostile religious people as those who would militantly and even murderously reject both His message and His messenger who proclaims it (such as God’s preacher Stephen as reported in Acts 7).

In almost every case where they open their mouths amidst more than a few people, God’s preachers must come to understand, accept, and expect, that amongst those who are listening to the message from God that he preaches, there will be those who will come to love and respect both him and what he has to say; as well as those present who will probably resent, reject – and even in some cases come to hate – both him and what God is using him to do and say (See: Matthew 10:22-38, 24:9-13; John 11:45-53, 15:18-16:3; Acts 13:42-51; and etc…).

When one teaches, preaches, defends and practices the eternally-binding truth of God at all earthly cost, it often causes those with less conviction to flee and leave him all alone to face the earthly consequences of his heavenly calling (such as God’s preachers Jesus and Paul as reported in John 16:32 & 2 Timothy 4:9-17). Being one of God’s preachers can therefore oft-times be an extremely lonely place and position to be in life. In fact, sometimes it can appear even to God’s preachers themselves that they are all alone and the only one left (such as God’s preacher Elijah as reported in 1 Kings 18-19).

Additionally, sometimes people just don’t seem to understand that even the greatest of God’s preachers is still human and therefore needs time alone with God for solace, comfort, rest, and reflection. Sometimes he just needs time with God to ask for strength, wisdom, or regarding some great and important upcoming decision (See: Matthew 26:36-44; James 1:2-3; & Lk. 6:12-13). Sometimes he might just need time to grieve over the loss of a personally dear and departed loved one (such as God’s preacher Jesus, as reported in Matthew 14:6-13a). But there will always inevitably be some people among those whom they serve, who apparently seem to think that God’s preacher is somehow never in need, never struggles, and is somewhat superhuman. And to them, the only thing that matters is their own wants, needs, and desires, and what he can do to fulfill them. And so, they come with no thought for his need, but only for their own (just like they did with God’s preacher Jesus, as reported in Matthew 14:13b-21).

But there comes a time, when even the greatest and strongest of God’s preachers must simply demand and insist upon his own personal time alone to grieve and find strength in the arms of his heavenly Father – even if it means the rest of the disciples who continually count on their preacher must fend for themselves for a while; and that, even in the face of their worst storms (Matthew 14:22-25).

Now, of course any sort of expectation of “super humanity” or “imperviousness to painfulness” will always leave God’s preacher open to the charge of being at fault and the one to blame, when or if he can’t or doesn’t automatically and immediately answer the call to be there at once whenever disaster strikes amongst those whom he loves and serves (such as God’s preachers Samuel and Jesus, as reported in 1 Samuel 13:8-12 and John 11:1-33).

But as difficult as life can be for God’s preachers, the stress, strain, and toll on their wives can be even worse (Job 2:9; Ezekiel 24:15-24)!

However; despite the cost, the consequences, the danger, or the mission; despite the stress, the strain, God’s divine job description, or some people’s simply impossible expectations, God’s preacher wouldn’t stop proclaiming God’s word for anything, because there’s only one thing in his mind that truly matters… Hearing what those who have served the Master well and spent themselves in investing what He has given them in others: “Well done good and faithful servant… Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:21+23). The only thing that really matters to God’s true and faithful preachers and their wives – the one thing that makes all of their earthly perils, pitfalls, and job hazards both bearable – and dare I say even enjoyable at times – is their promise of eternal reward from almighty God (as delivered by God’s preacher Paul, at the continuance of the text with which we started this article):

But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:5-8).

 

 

 

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Jesus Lived

You Cannot Ignore the Fact that Jesus Lived

John chapter seven is remarkable in so many ways, but one truth stands out. Read the entire chapter, and it becomes immediately apparent that the people of the first century were struggling to decide who Jesus was and where He was to fit in their lives. There was no way they could deny that Jesus lived among them. The same is true in our day.

Jesus should change His ways. It is hard to imagine what it would have been like to be the younger brothers of Jesus. The opening verses of John seven reveal that they did not believe He was the Messiah, but they were unable to ignore the impact of His teachings and miracles. They came to Him and told Him what He should do and how He should change what He was doing. They were so wrong. He knew precisely what should be done. He did not change.

Jesus is good—Jesus is a deceiver. When the Lord arrived in Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Tabernacles, His presence forced the people to make decisions about Him. Some said that He was a good man, while others said that He was a deceiver (John 7:12). Yet, those who thought that He was good remained silent and would not speak openly about Him, because they feared those around them. In the absence of truth being spoken, only evil will be heard and it will prevail.

Jesus should be ignored for He is not educated. When Jesus arrived in the holy city, He went into the temple and began teaching. At age 12, He had been in that same temple and His wisdom amazed those teachers who were there. In this chapter, He was again in the temple and all who heard Him were amazed. They evidently thought that only theologians could know truth for they asked, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”  They were so wrong.

Jesus has a demon. There were some who immediately dismissed Him because of His message. Their explanation was to ignore Him and openly say to others that He was demon possessed. Their hasty conclusion was the reason Jesus said, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgments” (John 7:24). He commands men to judge.

Jesus is wrong because leaders do not believe in Him. Some refused to do their own thinking and relied on others to tell them what was right (7:26). They evidently were waiting to let their religious leaders tell them what to do. Every man is personally responsible for his own decisions.

The response to His presence was twofold. Some sought to kill Him while many believed on Him (7:30-31). There was no way to ignore Him. The important truth is that there is no way to ignore Him today. The most important decision you will ever make is whether you will ignore Him!

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