An Interview with Marcus A. Mininger

We got a chance to catch up with Dr Marcus A. Mininger, author of the upcoming latest volume in our highly esteemed NSBT Series ‘Impossible To Be Restored?’. Read on to understand more about the heart of this important work and why you need to read it...

Can you tell us a bit about your new book and what led you to write it?

This book began because I found the warning passages in Hebrews confusing, and scholarly interpretations of the passages had a lot of cracks in them.  I wanted a clearer interpretation that I could stand by with confidence.  As I wrestled more and more with Hebrews, an entirely new view of the passages emerged, which makes more sense in the original context and also fits better with other parts of Scripture.

Was there a particular passage of Scripture or moment in your walk with God that sparked this book?|

The particular passage that sparked this book was Heb 6:4-6, which says it is impossible for some people to be restored to repentance.  This statement has befuddled interpreters on every side.  As I was teaching a class focused on Hebrews, it confused me as well.  But as I looked more closely, I began to see themes that connected it to other parts of Hebrews, and slowly I came to a new view of what it meant.  Reading the passage in light of the whole book is very intense, immersive work.  But it made all the difference for me, and I hope it will be useful to others as well.

Who do you hope will pick this book up - and how do you hope it will encourage or challenge them?

I wrote this book especially for people who: (a) find the warning passages in Hebrews confusing, (b) struggle with whether they or others who have turned from Christ can ever return, and/or (c) who want to help others facing these issues.  I hope it is written with enough depth to address scholarly questions, enough clarity for a general audience to read, and enough pastoral heart to show why its content matters for us and how it can impact our lives today.

How have you seen God use the message of this book already -  perhaps in early readers or your own life?

Some time ago I got an email from a woman who had heard a podcast describing my book, and she urgently wanted to talk.  Her own experience was one of having wandered from the faith into immorality and denial of Christ.  Now she was convicted of these sins, but she felt unsure whether she could ever truly repent and be forgiven because of the warning passages in Hebrews.  We talked for a while, I sent her my manuscript, and she was greatly encouraged.  Hebrews does not say that it is impossible for an apostate to return to Christ.  It says it is impossible to return in repentance from the new covenant to the old.  And while saying that, it also exalts the abundant grace of God in Christ and urges us to approach God confidently in and through Christ as sympathetic mediator.  I hope my book will encourage both apostates and Christians to do just this.

What’s next for you - in writing, ministry, or your own spiritual journey?

For better or worse, I tend to gravitate toward heavily debated passages of Scripture where neither side seems to explain aspects of the text very well.  Along those lines, my next projects focus on offering new evidence to help interpret Rom 7 more clearly.  After that, I hope to publish a shorter, more popular edition of my dissertation on Rom 1-3 and then to work on Paul’s controversial statements about the old and new covenants in 2 Cor 3.

If a church or small group were to read your book together, what conversations or changes do you hope it might spark?

I hope the book would:  (a) challenge them to read Scripture carefully in context, since it is easy for us to force our own meaning onto it, (b) encourage them about the abundant sufficiency of Christ’s work, who makes God’s throne into a source of grace and help for us, (c) give them courage to accept back people who have strayed from the faith but want to return, and (d) show them how to be both charitable and firm in addressing false views that threaten the church.

You can get your copy of 'Impossible To Be Restored' now, here.