2007 picture of Ray Sparre

Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67


September 29, 2015

Greetings on another gorgeous fall day.

It’s a beautiful day for being overwhelmed with the volume of work piling up before me. All I can do is try to cover the bases and stay busy. It’s really quite frustrating to feel the work pressure while also seeing the beauty and bounty of the season in the form of tomatoes, grapes, and apples, etc. that need to be harvested and processed so as to not be wasted.

One thing to say about the devotional composition below is that it’s fresh off the press—you’ve never seen it before.

I better keep moving. Besides more sign design, I need to crank up the sawmill.

Blessings on your evening.

Love, Dad/Ray.

29 September
Hebrews 4:1-13
Focus: "Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.” Hebrews 4:1.

Let me call attention to a popular theological persuasion within the Christian community that emphasizes the ETERNAL SECURITY of the believer—often described as, “Once saved-always saved.” While it is Biblically valid to affirm that believers are ETERNALLY SECURE, the essential condition is “IN CHRIST”—and I reason that to be in anything else is extremely dangerous. To say that it is impossible to be removed from Christ after one has been joined with Christ is a flawed thesis according to the readings before us in Hebrews.

Without attempting to exhaustively settle the matter, I simply want to put forth a compilation of possibilities drawn from chapters 3 and 4 of Hebrews.

IT IS POSSIBLE TO ALLOW SIN AND UNBELIEF TO DAMAGE OR DESTROY BELIEF. “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God” (3:12).

IT IS POSSIBLE TO TURN AWAY FROM GOD. (Same)

IT IS POSSIBLE TO HARDEN ONE’S HEART. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion” (3:15).

IT IS POSSIBLE TO REBEL. (Same.)

IT IS POSSIBLE TO DISOBEY GOD WITH SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES. “And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest, if not to those who disobeyed?” (3:18).

IT IS POSSIBLE FOR FAITH TO DEGENERATE DUE TO LACK OF MAINTENANCE. “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it” (4:1).

IT IS POSSIBLE TO HOLD THE GIFT OF SALVATION CARELESSLY. (Same.)

IT IS POSSIBLE TO FALL SHORT OF GOD’S PURPOSES AND INTENTIONS. (Same.)

“Some of the best arguments are spoiled by people who know what they’re talking about.”