"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly  calling, consider  the Apostle and High Priest of our  profession,  Christ Jesus;   Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses  [was  faithful] in all his house. For  this  [man]  was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who  hath builded  the house hath more honour than the house.

"For  every house is builded by some [man]; but he that built all things [is] God. And Moses verily [was] faithful in all his house,  as  a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be  spoken after; But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the  hope firm unto the end.

"Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To  day if  ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in  the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:  When
your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said,  They do  alway err in [their] heart; and they have not known my  ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my  rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of  you  an  evil heart  of  unbelief, in departing from the living  God.

"But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any  of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we  are made  partakers  of  Christ,  if we hold  the beginning  of  our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye  will  hear his  voice, harden not your  hearts,  as  in  the provocation.   

"For some, when they had heard,  did provoke: howbeit  not  all that came out of Egypt by Moses.  But  with whom was he grieved forty years? [was it] not with them that  had sinned,  whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And  to  whom sware  he that they should not enter into his rest, but  to them that  believed  not? So we see that they could not  enter  in because of unbelief. (Hebrews 3:1-19)

The Saints' Everlasting Rest "NOW in the heart"

"Let  us therefore fear, lest, a promise being  left  [us]  of entering  into his rest, any of you should seem to come short  of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but  the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed  with faith  in them that heard [it].

"For we which have believed  do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall  enter into my rest: although the works were finished  from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain  place of  the seventh [day] on this wise, And God did rest the  seventh day  from  all his works.

"And in this [place] again,  If  they shall  enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some  must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered  not  in  because of unbelief: Again,  he  limiteth  a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is  said,  To  day if ye will hear his  voice,  harden  not  your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would  he  not afterward  have  spoken  of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

"For he that is entered into  his  rest, he also hath ceased from his own works,  as  God [did] from his. Let us labour therefore to enter  into  that rest,  lest any man fall after the same example of  unbelief.  For  the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and  sharper  than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the  thoughts and intents of the heart.

"Neither is there  any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things  [are] naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Jesus, the Great High Priest "NOW" Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is  passed into  the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold  fast  [our] profession.

"For we have not an high priest which  cannot  be touched  with  the  feeling of our infirmities; but  was  in  all points  tempted  like as [we are, yet] without sin.  Let  us therefore  come  boldly  unto the throne of grace,  that  we  may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:1-16 KJV)

"For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in  things [pertaining] to God, that he may offer both gifts  and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also  is compassed  with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought,  as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. And no man  taketh  this honour unto himself, but he that is  called  of God,  as [was] Aaron.

"So also Christ glorified not himself  to be  made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou  art  my Son, to day have I begotten thee. As he saith also in  another [place],  Thou [art]  a  priest for  ever  after  the  order  of Melchisedec. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up  prayers and supplications with strong crying and  tears  unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in  that he  feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience  by the  things  which  he suffered; And being  made perfect, he became  the author of eternal salvation unto all them  that  obey him;  

"Called  of  God an high  priest  after  the  order  of Melchisedec. 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. (Hebrews 5:1-14)

"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.  

"For the earth which drinketh in  the  rain  that cometh  oft  upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for  them  by whom  it  is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:  But  that which beareth thorns and briers [is] rejected, and [is] nigh unto cursing;  whose  end [is] to be burned. But, beloved,  we  are persuaded  better  things  of  you,  and  things  that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

"For God [is] not unrighteous to  forget  your work and labour of love, which  ye  have  shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do  shew  the same  diligence  to the full assurance of hope unto the  end:  That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through  faith and patience inherit the promises.

God Keeps His Promises

"For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could  swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will  bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so,  after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.  For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation [is] to them an end of all strife.

"Wherein God, willing  more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability  of his counsel, confirmed [it] by an oath: That by two immutable things,  in  which [it was] impossible for God to lie,  we  might have  a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay  hold upon  the  hope  set before us:

"Which [hope] we  have  as  an anchor  of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and  which  entereth into  that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for  us entered,  [even]  Jesus, made an high priest for ever  after  the order of Melchisedec. (Hebrews 6:1-20)

Key to Hebrews 6:1 - 6
"The  goal of the Christian is expressed fully by the  Greek  word teleioteta  (5047)  which is translated "perfection"  (v.1).  The ideas  being explained here is that the believer is to pursue  a state of maturity, instead of going back to the initial rudiments of Christianity and basic faith (v.2). The phrase "laying again a foundation" refers to the idea that if a Christian could lose his salvation, he would need to be regenerated again and again.

In  laying the groundwork for this passage, there needs to  be  a proper  understanding of the controversial section consisting  of verses  four  through six. The key idea to consider is that  the whole passage is hypothetical. For the sake of argument, one must accept the supposition that one can undergo the process of salvation,  and  then "fall away": (v.6), or lose his  salvation.

The explanation  in  the  following verses is designed  to  show  the oddity  of  this idea (v.4). The nature of the  impossibility  is tied  directly  to the infinitive in verse six "to  renew" (anakainizein  [340]).In the Greek text, between this phrase,  there are five participles which must be explained thoroughly in  order to properly understand the Holy Spirit's intent in this passage. The first of these participles, which appears in verse four,  and is  the Greek word photisthentas (5461).

This term is  translated "those who were once enlightened." However, it should be rendered "having been enlightened," noting the usage of the passive voice. The latter meaning reveals that the salvation process is initiated by God giving "light" to every man (John 1:9)

The next phrase to consider in this detail of salvation, also found in  verse four, is "and have tasted the heavenly gift." This  too could  be  better expressed "having tasted" (the  Greek word  is geusamenous  [1089].  In this case, the middle voice is  used  to reveal  that a person is responding to the light God  has  given.

The  focus changes to man's responsibility in initiating a  reaction  to his "enlightened state." In this verse, the  person  involved  exercises  his choice to "taste" of God's  free gift  of salvation.  This fact is always clear in the  salvation  process: God offers the gift, but man must take the initiative to  receive it.  (John  1:12; 3:16). The gift must be understood  as nothing that a person earns, rather, it is God's free offer of salvation.

"This "gift" is specified as having a heavenly origin. The  third participle is genethentas (v.4, from  ginomai  [1096]) translated "were made." This also should be rendered in the  passive voice as "having been made," indicating a result of  man's receiving  the gift of God. Connected with the phrase  "partakers of the Holy Ghost," this participle expresses that virtue of  the receiving, one is made a partaker. Therefore, the Holy Spirit  is involved  in the process by coming to indwell the  believer.  

The Holy Spirit not only works in the indwelling, but it is indicated that  the divine revelation and conviction processes previous to salvation are based on the activity an energy of the Holy Spirit. In  examining the fourth Greek participle (found in verse  five), geusamenous  (cf. v. 4) one should consider that the same  interpretation  is intended by the middle voice in the phrase  "having tasted."  

It appears in this form to reveal to man his  responsibility  to God's word. The believer is not merely accountable  to simply follow the "good word of God," he is also urged to  understand  God's future plan to exercise His "power"  (v.5, dumaneis [1411])  to  benefit the believer as well. The word  for  "power" here refers to miracles which God will perform in believers,  not of the impending judgment and destruction to come.

"Now one must turn his attention back to the phrase in verse four, "it  is  impossible," and combine it with  the  Greek  infinitive anakainizein  (340), meaning "to renew again" (v.6). Applied  to verse six, this, this word refers to a repentance which is qualitative
new and different. If a different form of repentance  was needed, Christ would also have to die on the cross a second time. This,  however, is inconsistent with the context of the  rest of Hebrews (cf. Heb. 9:28; 10:11,12).

"The teaching is clear:  Christ died  once  for man's sin. If His death was  insufficient,  there would  be  no security for believers. This is precisely  why  the writer  of Hebrews uses this illustration. In philosophical  language,this form of reasoning is reductio ad absurdum (a reduction to an adsurdity). From a false assumption one deduces absurd conclusions.  It would be false to assume a believer could  fall, because  his repentance, based on Christ death, would be  invalidated.  There would be no security, and Christ would need  to  be crucified again.

"The  difficulty  in this controversy is in determining  when  the actual  decision to follow Christ becomes true salvation. One  is saved  at  the  point  of genuine acceptance  of God's  gift  of "light," and then he is received by God (Eph.1:6). God ultimately judges men's hearts and knows those who are truly repentant.  The decision  for salvation is made ineffective when it is  based  on emotions and his own abilities (2 Thess. 2:13).

See Key 1 John 3:6-9
In this passage, John examines the question of whether the person "born  of  God"  can commit sin. In the verse  six,  The  apostle writes,  "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not...," and in  verse eight, "He that committeth sin is of the devil.." Furthermore, in
verse nine there is an emphatic declaration:

"Whosoever is of God doeth not commit sin... and he cannot sin..." If it were possible for a Christian to sin, there would appear to be a contradiction in these portions of Scripture. In this instance, John says if it is not possible for those who are really born again to sin, there must be very few genuine Christians. Man still possesses a fallen sin  nature,  as well as the indwelling Holy  Spirit.  

Also,  the doctrine of eternal security is evident in Scripture (John  1:12; 10:28; Rom. 8:38, 39). Though they may fall into sin, the believer's sonship is not affected, not his eternal salvation. These  verses expose two erroneous doctrines:  antinomianism  and perfectionism.  Antinomians  (derived from the  Greek  word  anti [473],  "against,"  and  nomos [3551], "law")  contend  that  the covenant  of grace was not established based on  conditions.  The result is man cannot be held accountable to any moral law. It  is only required of him that he believe, then he can then live as he pleases.  

The  perfectionists go as far as to say  that  the  sin nature in man has been eradicated as though surgically removed as a cancer. John was warning believers against this form of  thinking,  that they not continue in sin, but abide  in  righteousness (vv.  8,9). Moreover, the apostle exposes these doctrines in  the command, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye  sin  not.

And if any man sin, we have an  advocate with  the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1John 2:1). This is not  the proper rendering of this verse. It should denote the mere  action of a sin, not the idea of habitually sinning. John explains  that even he was capable of committing sin, not in a habitual  sense, but  as  one particular action. The phrase, used in  verse  nine, "does not commit sin" is in the present tense denoting continuous action.  

On the other hand, in chapter two, verse one, John  uses the  aorist sense, speaking of one point in the past when  a  sin was committed. Furthermore,  there were those who taught that mere  intellectual knowledge  was enough to make men acceptable to God, even though they lived impure lives (Perfectionism). Therefore, John  reiterates meaning "the one habitually doing"), were considered  righteous.  They were not only making the righteousness and holy  life of  Christ  the object of their truth, but alos  the  pattern  of
their walk and practice.

John's  idea  of committing sin on a permanent basis  is  further explained in 3 John 1:11:".. He that doeth good is of God: But he that  doeth  evil hath not seen God." There are  two participial nouns in the verse, ho agathopoion (215), meaning "the one  being a  doer of good, a benevolent person," and ho  kakopoion  (2554), referring  to "the one doing evil, a malicious person."  This  is the same usage found in 1 John 3:7: ".. he that does righteous is righteous.."

 John  does not imply that merely acting  good  will make one righteous. A man is an artisan who has acquired a  skill and works at that trade as his calling or occupation. Hence,  the correct  translation of 1 John 3:8 should be, "The one who  practices sin." The expression, "he cannot sin," (1 John 3:9)  simply means  the  true believer cannot  sin habitually,  deliberately, easily and maliciously (e.g., Cain sinned out of hatred of  goodness, 1 John 3:12).

There is a distinct contract  drawn  between divine and human natures of man. John speaks of the divine nature in  this abstract way, however, he does not ignore the existence of the sinful nature in the believer, which exists as a mortal in a corrupt world. Consequently, John states in 1 John 1:8: "If  we say  that we have no, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is  not in us." (Hebrew Greek Key Study Bible KJV editor Spiros  Zodhiates, Th.D. AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 37422)