It can be explained mostly by the following two statements (for the most part):
Baptists believe the Elect and Covenant Members (baptized Church Members) are the same set of people.
Presbyterians beleive that the Elect and Covenant members are not identical sets of people (Invisible vs Visible Church).
Looking at the Old Covenant Jewish community, it was made up of Covenant members (who were members in every way) that were not believers. "Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness." I Corinthians 10:1-5
They were obvious members of the Covenant Community ("OT Church"), circumcised, baptized into Moses, and partakers of every physical and spiritual blessing. But if we keep reading they lusted, complained, committed sexual immorality, thus tempting God. What happened to these members? The NKJV uses very harsh words when it says "they were destroyed".
Is it a surprise that sinners were punished? No. What is shocking is that they were part of God's visibly chosen people. There were blessed unbelievers in the OT Church.
Does the same hold true in the NT Church and the New Covenant? Does the author of Hebrews ever tell us to "not be like them or suffer a similar fate?
If we wait until someone "makes a profession or decision", and then baptize them into the New Covenant Community does it guarantee that they're saved, or can they also fall into unbelief like those Jews and face a scary fate and prove they never really had faith?
Can New Covenant members "fall away" in a similar way to Old Covenant members?
The author of Hebrews says yes, and we'll look at that next.
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