Judas was part of this ministry according to the apostle Peter,     For he was counted among us, and received his portion in this ministry.” (NASB) Acts 1:17   Judas was a partner in ministry. Jesus had asked him to be a disciple, and he volunteered just as the others did. He was part of the ministry team. It must have been exciting to be with Jesus, to hear Him at the Sermon on the Mount, to hear His parables and have them explained, to see the reactions of the crowds of people, to cast out demons and perform miracles. Yet, all the time Judas was not a true believer.       Jesus had other disciples at the start of His ministry - many of them. How many we do not know, but John 6:59-71 says that many of them left Jesus.     But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? . . . But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him . . . As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore. (NASB) John 6:61, 64-66   Many of these disciples did not believe from the beginning. Yet the Holy Spirit says they were called “disciples” in John 6:61, and Jesus tells us they were not real disciples because they never believed. Just like Judas - the “son of perdition” (John 17:12), these folks had been enlightened by Jesus’ teachings, and tasted or experienced His power. They had shared in the ministry of the Spirit, but they were not real. We have just used the key words of Hebrews 6:4-6 with their basic Greek meaning.       “I Did.” At the close of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shocked us with,     Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you . . . (NASB) Matt. 7:22-23   If someone cast out demons and performed miracles, most of us would say that God was surely with him. But that may not be true. How did these folks do these miracles and cast out demons? Jesus said they did these things. Were these folks Christians at some time in their lives and then lost their salvation? Were they like those who were called Jesus’ disciples and like Judas had never believed? Jesus gives us the answer when He says He never knew them. The Greek word for “never’ means “never at any time!” They were never Christians. Yet, they performed miracles and cast out demons in Jesus’ name. They looked good, looked real, but they were not. They were enlightened, tasted and shared in the ministry, but they were not real. They did not lose their salvation or turn apostate.       The Heavenly Gift. Another part of the battlefield is the meaning of “have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit” in Heb. 6:4. We must look at Hebrews 3:14 to discover this meaning.     For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end; (NASB) Heb. 3:14   Hebrews 3:14 says that those who become Christians will continue until the end. The Greek tense of “have become” is a perfect. This means that real Christians start as Christians and continue being Christians. Real Christians continue in the faith - “if we hold fast.” Did the Spirit change His mind when He came to Heb. 6:4? Is it possible to start as a real Christian and then not continue? Heb. 4:10 also says that Christians rest from working for their salvation just as God rested. The message in Hebrews 3 and 4 is that if you are real, you are real until the end. If we do not hold fast, we were never Christians from the start.       ”Impossible.” Some understand the phrase “it is impossible to renew them again” in Heb. 6:6 to mean that a Christian can lose his/her salvation, but it is difficult for him/her to come back. If that is true, then we must change our understanding of God in Heb. 6:18,         < Back    Next >
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