I done read a bit of Hebrews, specifically chpt 6, re: falling away.
v4-6:
"4It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because[2] to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."
Some people I have talked to believe that this passage implies that once we are saved, we do not necessarily remain saved - ie: we can fall away. The footnotes in the NIV Study Bible suggest that this passage is refering to Jews(it is written for the Hebrews, after all) who have become members of the Christian church, have seen the Spirit at work in the body of Christ, have the necessary 'knowledge' - but have not yet come to saving faith. Footnotes, of course, are not infallible.
This passage also addresses an issue I encountered yesterday, in that some propose that we need to seek our salvation daily. v6 states that if this is indeed the case, that person is crucifying Christ all over again, and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Chpt 3 draws similarites between 'disobedience' and 'unbelief'. In fact, footnotes suggest these words may be synonomous in v18.
So, if we find we are disobedient, we surely must examine our own belief!
Conversely, our actions of obedience must therefore reflect our inner belief, and hence give an outward indication that acts toward assurance of our salvation.
How this stacks up against Calvinism, I don't know.
Well, I'm feeling physically tired, due to and hour and a half at the gym this morning, but I'm feeling happy and enthusiastic otherwise.
Michelle felt that I shouldn't always be buying lunch, so she made me a sandwich this morning. I really don't know which is cheaper - to buy lunch, or to bring it from home. I guess it depends fairly heavily on how much you spend.
Well, I best be off.... talk to you later.
