The sin which leads to death...

[Couppy]

5 hours ago, shiloh357 said:

Actually, if you put that quotation of Scripture back in its immediate literary context, the complaint Paul is making to these Jewish believers is about spiritual immaturity.   The line of thought that Heb. 6:4-6 occurs in, starts way back in Heb. 5:11ff. 

Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
(Heb 5:11-14)

The break between chapters 5 and 6 is a what we often refer to as a bad chapter break, because chapter six is really a continuation of that line of thought:

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit. 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 6:1-6)

The complaint is NOT that they are apostate; the problem raised is that they are not advancing, they are still living in the elementary principles of the faith.   This is a call to advance into maturity.   The use of the phrase, "fall away"  is not the word in Greek for apostasy.  It is a different word that refers to the way an athlete who is not physically trained well enough to compete in a race falls to the side.

We can't go back to the beginning and start over.  It would be tantamount to re-crucifying Jesus all over again.   His point is that we need to move on the more mature subjects of the Christian life.

It has nothing to do with the sin unto death. 

 

As much as I would like to accept that Paul is just encouraging believers to move on to solid food in verses 4, it is hard to see how he is not warning Christians of turning their back on what they had believed, which is possible if there is no spiritual growth.  If we feed a physical child with only milk when he should be eating solid food the consequence will be undernourishment and eventually death.  Paul was not complaining he was warning about the danger of not feeding on proper food in order to grow up.

Paul used verses 7 to explain what he meant in verses 6. 

"For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God;  but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

This is also in line with John chapter 15: 6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned"

[lastofall]

[for me anyway] the sin that leads to death and not life is unbelieving, which the Lord Jesus Christ told us plainly, that "he that believeth not is condemned already" (John 3:18); therefore except a person repent of unbelieving, they shall die in their sins. (John 8:24)

[Couppy]

46 minutes ago, lastofall said:

[for me anyway] the sin that leads to death and not life is unbelieving, which the Lord Jesus Christ told us plainly, that "he that believeth not is condemned already" (John 3:18); therefore except a person repent of unbelieving, they shall die in their sins. (John 8:24)

I agree that the wages of sin is death, according to the scriptures.  If someone does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour they are bound for spiritual death.   A Christian who decides to intentionally turn their back on God and love the world instead is also heading for spiritual death.