Hello to each of
you. Since I initiated this post I felt the need to bring clarity to the
scripture verse that is quoted. It is important that we shed light on sin and
that we engage every issue with truth, but we must have a strong grasp on the
passages we present for the sake of doctrinal integrity.
We must be careful not to take scripture out of context. We are called to accurately dissect and analyze the Word of God. This scripture does not address salvation directly. A closer look at this passage reveals the turning away or falling away from the faith and the way it impacts repentance. This is one of the most hotly debated passages of scripture among bible scholars. There are a number of postulation and hypothetical suggestions applied to this scripture, but when attempting to apply the scripture to actually salvation and the possibility of losing one’s salvation it must be view in light of the Bible’s complete teaching on the topic – meaning that it cannot stand on its own. I know this is a lot, but is a reminder of the monumental endeavor of attempting to apprehend scripture. Scripture does not contradict scripture, so where there seems to be contradiction, you must be willing to shift your perspective to reconcile all the the Word of God has to say on the matter.
I am a firm believer that sin has consequences and that a believer’s walk should be reflective of the faith they claim; however, I cannot misapply scripture to make my point. If I wanted to view this passage in the light of soteriology (the study of salvation) I would also have to consider verses of scripture to present the doctrine of eternal security (cf John 6:39, 40; 10:27-29; Rom. 8:28-30) You would also have to consider the theological arguments for eternal security, such as:
I. The Positional Approach – Every believer is in union with Christ from the point of salvation (Rom. 8:1; Eph. 1:3-6; Jude 1)
II. The Logical Approach – If God did the most for us when we were His enemies, the a fortiori logic (greater than reasoning) follows the point the He will do much more for us as member of His royal family (Rom. 5:9-10, 15, 17, 20; 8:32)
III. The anthropomorphic approach – The believer is held in the hand of God and He will never let go (Ps. 37:24; John 10:28)
IV. The family approach – We are born into the royal family of God at the point of salvation and we are also spiritually adopted into the family of God (John 1:12; Gal. 3:26; Rom. 8:14-17)
V. The “body” approach – Christ is the head of the body which is join together in unity through his magnanimous gift on Calvary (1 Cor. 12:21; Col. 1:18)
VI. Exegetical approach which examines the Greek tense of the word “pisteuo” which in the aorist tense means to believe once, for all time; the perfect tense of “sozo in Eph. 2:8-9 means you are saved in the past with the result of you going on to be saved forever.
VII. The inheritance approach – We have an inheritance which is incorruptible and unchanging waiting for us in heaven (Eph. 1:11; 1 Pet. 1:4-5)
VIII. The Sovereignty approach – God’s decision to keep us (2 Pet. 3-9; Jude 24)
IX. The sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit – A guarantee that the name of every believer remains in the Book of Life forever (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30; 2 Tim. 2:19; cf., Rev. 20:13)
These are just examples of passages, approaches and doctrines that must be considered with viewing Hebrews 6:4-6 for soteriological perspective. So let use a categorical and historical perspective to examine what the writer of Hebrews is addressing here.
The writer pointed out the consequences of not pressing on to maturity to motivate his
readers to pursue spiritual growth diligently (cf. 2 Pet. 1:5; 3:8).
Christians have interpreted this passage in many different ways. Some believe that those
who fall away (v. 6) are believers who lose their salvation. Others hold that those who
fall away are people who have professed to be believers but really are not.181 Still others
take the whole situation as hypothetical. They believe that if a Christian could lose his
salvation, which he cannot, it would be impossible for him to be saved again.182 Another
view is that only Hebrew Christians living before the destruction of the temple could
commit this sin, whatever it is. The view that I believe harmonizes best with the writer's
emphasis is that those who fall away are believers who turn away from God's truth and
embrace error (i.e., apostates). The vast majority of scholars view these people as genuine
believers.
"The transition from the first person (vv. 1-3) to the third person suggests
that the author does not wish explicitly to identify the people described
with the readers of the epistle. This may be partly out of tact; it is certainly
(cf. v. 9) in part because he believes that his readers can still avoid
apostasy."
6:4 The writer could describe Christians fairly as those who were once
"enlightened" (cf. 10:32; 2 Cor. 4:3-6). The "heavenly gift" of which they
have "tasted" (cf. 2:9) at conversion seems to refer to salvation (cf. John
4:10; Rom. 6:23; James 1:17-18). Any attempt to interpret tasting as only
partial appropriation (i.e., the idea that they tasted it but did not swallow
it) is not credible.
"This is not to explain Scripture, [but] to explain it away in
favour of some preconceived doctrine."
Elsewhere the same Greek word refers to complete appropriation (e.g.,
Jesus Christ tasted death for everyone, 2:9; cf. 1 Pet. 2:1-3). This is an Old
Testament usage as well (cf. Ps. 34:8). Christians become "partakers"
(cf. 1:9, "companions"; and 3:1, 14, "partakers") of the Holy Spirit through
Spirit baptism.
6:5 Every true Christian has tasted the Word of God and found it to be good to
some extent. The original readers had also tasted the powers (lit. miracles)
of the coming messianic age. They had observed the apostles perform
miracles (cf. 2:4). The five events listed in verses 4 and 5 view salvation
from different aspects and manifestations; they do not present a succession
of salvific events.
"Together, the clauses describe vividly the reality of the
experience of personal salvation enjoyed by the Christians
addressed."
"The warnings are clearly not addressed to nominal
Christians, but to those who have shared, as fully as it is
possible to share in the present time, in the blessings which
accompany and follow entry into the Christian life
(6:4f.)."
6:6 Earlier in this letter the writer warned his Christian readers about drifting
away from the truth through negligence (2:1-4). He also warned them
about failing to continue trusting God and walking by faith (3:7-19). Now
he referred to the same apostasy as "falling away."
"The aorist tense indicates a decisive moment of
commitment to apostasy. In the LXX, the term parapiptein
has reference to the expression of a total attitude reflecting
deliberate and calculated renunciation of God (Ezek 20:27;
22:4; Wis 6:9; 12:2; cf. Michaelis, TDNT 6:171 . . .) In
Hebrews it is equivalent to the expression apostenai apo
theou zontos, 'to fall away from the living God,' in 3:12.
Apostasy entailed a decisive rejection of God's gifts,
similar to the rejection of the divine promise by the Exodus generation at Kadesh (3:7—4:2 . . .).
. . . What is visualized
by the expressions in v 6 is every form of departure from
faith in the crucified Son of God. This could entail a return
to Jewish convictions and practices as well as the public
denial of faith in Christ under pressure from a magistrate or
a hostile crowd, simply for personal advantage (cf. Mark
8:34-38 . . ."
Falling away from the truth is no hypothetical possibility but a tragic
reality in too many cases among believers (cf. Num. 14:27-32; Gen.
25:29-34; Heb. 3:7-19; 10:23-25, 35-39).193 Christians departed from the
faith in the first century (e.g., 2 Tim. 2:17-18) and they do so today (cf. 1
Tim. 4:1).
"The author repeatedly urges his readers to maintain their
Christian profession and confidence (cf. 3:6, 12-15; 6:11,
12; 10:23-25). The man who falls away is evidently the one
who casts that confidence, and its attendant reward, aside
(10:25)."
To what is it impossible for an apostate to be renewed? The writer said it
is repentance, not forgiveness or salvation. Immediately the question
arises whether this explanation is realistic since some believers who have
departed from the truth have repented and returned to the fold of the
faithful. I believe the writer meant that in the case of apostates, the really
hard cases who are persistently hostile to Christ, it is impossible to restore
such people to repentance (cf. vv. 1, 3, 7-8). The word "apostate" refers to
extreme cases of departure from the truth. We usually refer to less serious
departure as backsliding. This inability to repent is the result of sin's
hardening effect about which the writer had sounded a warning earlier
(3:13). It is also the result of divine judgment (cf. Pharaoh, Exod. 9:12;
10:20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17).
This writer also wrote about three other impossible things. It is impossible
for God to lie (v. 18), for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins
(10:4), and for someone to please God without faith (11:6).
"God has pledged Himself to pardon all who truly repent,
but Scripture and experience alike suggest that it is possible
for human beings to arrive at a state of heart and life where
they can no longer repent.
"That certain persons could not repent of their sins was,
e.g., an idea admitted in rabbinic Judaism."196
Even God cannot renew these apostates to repentance because He has
chosen not to do so.
". . . the author does recognize the possibility that one may
have regressed so far that it is impossible to again make
progress toward maturity. He therefore states in verses 4-6
that it may be impossible to renew certain believers so that
they can progress toward maturity."
Would it not glorify God more for apostates to repent? Evidently by
making it impossible for them to repent God will bring greater glory to
Himself than if they did repent. Consider the glory that came to God
because the Pharaoh of the Exodus did not repent. One might ask the same
question in regard to everyone being saved? Would it not glorify God
more for everyone to be saved than for some to perish eternally?
God allows this hard condition because by repudiating Jesus Christ these
apostates dishonor Him. The writer spoke of this dishonor as taking the
side of Jesus' enemies who crucified Him and publicly humiliated Him.
The apostates in view crucify Him in the sense of passing judgment
against Him again, by repudiating Him and His work, as those who
literally crucified Jesus did. Evidently these "hard cases" are not those
who turn away from just any aspect of God's will but specifically the
doctrine of Jesus Christ.
"The meaning of the vivid phrase ["they again crucify to
themselves the Son of God"] is that they put Jesus out of
their life, they break off all connection [sic] with him; he is
dead to them."
"Anyone who turned back from Christianity to Judaism
would be identifying himself not only with Jewish unbelief,
but with that malice which led to the crucifixion of
Jesus."
". . . once Christ and his sacrifice have been rejected, there
is nowhere else to turn. . . . The 'impossibility' of a second
repentance is thus not psychological or more generally
related to the human condition; it is in the strict sense
theological, related to God's saving action in Christ "
Just as the Hebrew spies who returned from their
expedition carrying visible tokens of the good land of
Canaan nevertheless failed to enter the land because of
their unbelief, so those who had come to know the
blessings of the new covenant might nevertheless in a
spiritual sense turn back in heart to Egypt and so forfeit the
saints' everlasting rest."
Not only did the 10 spies fail to enter the Promised Land through unbelief,
but so did the whole adult generation of Israelites who left Egypt with
Moses (Num. 14). It was impossible for them to repent in the sense that,
even though they confessed their sin of unbelief (Num. 14:40), God would
not permit them to enter the land (Num. 14:41-45). Two New Testament
examples of these "hard cases" may be Hymenaeus and Alexander. Paul
said he had turned them over to Satan that they might learn not to
blaspheme because they had apostatized (1 Tim. 1:18-20).
This is, without question a powerful verse of scripture, but it must not be used out of context. This passage does not refer to salvation, but repentance. The two are distinctly different in the roles they play in the life of the believer. The legalist will probably read this and declare that it refers to loss of salvation; the liberlist will attempt to explain away its impact on apastasy and sin, while the one who truly years truth will have weigh it against all that the bible says on the matter. There is so much more to present on the matter, but I believe I have already over did it.
Side note: The authorship of the book of Hebrews is still in question and will probably never be answered in this age. There are numerous suggestions, including Paul, Luke Barnabas, Stephen, Clement and even Mary (the mother of Jesus), although certain masculine inflections would rule out a female author. The literary style and vocabulary here is extremely unique to any other book on the New Testament. If the dating on it is accurate, it would have actually been written shortly after the death of the Apostle Paul. Nevertheless, the book’s power is unquestionable.
I hope this sort of helps.
We must be careful not to take scripture out of context. We are called to accurately dissect and analyze the Word of God. This scripture does not address salvation directly. A closer look at this passage reveals the turning away or falling away from the faith and the way it impacts repentance. This is one of the most hotly debated passages of scripture among bible scholars. There are a number of postulation and hypothetical suggestions applied to this scripture, but when attempting to apply the scripture to actually salvation and the possibility of losing one’s salvation it must be view in light of the Bible’s complete teaching on the topic – meaning that it cannot stand on its own. I know this is a lot, but is a reminder of the monumental endeavor of attempting to apprehend scripture. Scripture does not contradict scripture, so where there seems to be contradiction, you must be willing to shift your perspective to reconcile all the the Word of God has to say on the matter.
I am a firm believer that sin has consequences and that a believer’s walk should be reflective of the faith they claim; however, I cannot misapply scripture to make my point. If I wanted to view this passage in the light of soteriology (the study of salvation) I would also have to consider verses of scripture to present the doctrine of eternal security (cf John 6:39, 40; 10:27-29; Rom. 8:28-30) You would also have to consider the theological arguments for eternal security, such as:
I. The Positional Approach – Every believer is in union with Christ from the point of salvation (Rom. 8:1; Eph. 1:3-6; Jude 1)
II. The Logical Approach – If God did the most for us when we were His enemies, the a fortiori logic (greater than reasoning) follows the point the He will do much more for us as member of His royal family (Rom. 5:9-10, 15, 17, 20; 8:32)
III. The anthropomorphic approach – The believer is held in the hand of God and He will never let go (Ps. 37:24; John 10:28)
IV. The family approach – We are born into the royal family of God at the point of salvation and we are also spiritually adopted into the family of God (John 1:12; Gal. 3:26; Rom. 8:14-17)
V. The “body” approach – Christ is the head of the body which is join together in unity through his magnanimous gift on Calvary (1 Cor. 12:21; Col. 1:18)
VI. Exegetical approach which examines the Greek tense of the word “pisteuo” which in the aorist tense means to believe once, for all time; the perfect tense of “sozo in Eph. 2:8-9 means you are saved in the past with the result of you going on to be saved forever.
VII. The inheritance approach – We have an inheritance which is incorruptible and unchanging waiting for us in heaven (Eph. 1:11; 1 Pet. 1:4-5)
VIII. The Sovereignty approach – God’s decision to keep us (2 Pet. 3-9; Jude 24)
IX. The sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit – A guarantee that the name of every believer remains in the Book of Life forever (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30; 2 Tim. 2:19; cf., Rev. 20:13)
These are just examples of passages, approaches and doctrines that must be considered with viewing Hebrews 6:4-6 for soteriological perspective. So let use a categorical and historical perspective to examine what the writer of Hebrews is addressing here.
The writer pointed out the consequences of not pressing on to maturity to motivate his
readers to pursue spiritual growth diligently (cf. 2 Pet. 1:5; 3:8).
Christians have interpreted this passage in many different ways. Some believe that those
who fall away (v. 6) are believers who lose their salvation. Others hold that those who
fall away are people who have professed to be believers but really are not.181 Still others
take the whole situation as hypothetical. They believe that if a Christian could lose his
salvation, which he cannot, it would be impossible for him to be saved again.182 Another
view is that only Hebrew Christians living before the destruction of the temple could
commit this sin, whatever it is. The view that I believe harmonizes best with the writer's
emphasis is that those who fall away are believers who turn away from God's truth and
embrace error (i.e., apostates). The vast majority of scholars view these people as genuine
believers.
"The transition from the first person (vv. 1-3) to the third person suggests
that the author does not wish explicitly to identify the people described
with the readers of the epistle. This may be partly out of tact; it is certainly
(cf. v. 9) in part because he believes that his readers can still avoid
apostasy."
6:4 The writer could describe Christians fairly as those who were once
"enlightened" (cf. 10:32; 2 Cor. 4:3-6). The "heavenly gift" of which they
have "tasted" (cf. 2:9) at conversion seems to refer to salvation (cf. John
4:10; Rom. 6:23; James 1:17-18). Any attempt to interpret tasting as only
partial appropriation (i.e., the idea that they tasted it but did not swallow
it) is not credible.
"This is not to explain Scripture, [but] to explain it away in
favour of some preconceived doctrine."
Elsewhere the same Greek word refers to complete appropriation (e.g.,
Jesus Christ tasted death for everyone, 2:9; cf. 1 Pet. 2:1-3). This is an Old
Testament usage as well (cf. Ps. 34:8). Christians become "partakers"
(cf. 1:9, "companions"; and 3:1, 14, "partakers") of the Holy Spirit through
Spirit baptism.
6:5 Every true Christian has tasted the Word of God and found it to be good to
some extent. The original readers had also tasted the powers (lit. miracles)
of the coming messianic age. They had observed the apostles perform
miracles (cf. 2:4). The five events listed in verses 4 and 5 view salvation
from different aspects and manifestations; they do not present a succession
of salvific events.
"Together, the clauses describe vividly the reality of the
experience of personal salvation enjoyed by the Christians
addressed."
"The warnings are clearly not addressed to nominal
Christians, but to those who have shared, as fully as it is
possible to share in the present time, in the blessings which
accompany and follow entry into the Christian life
(6:4f.)."
6:6 Earlier in this letter the writer warned his Christian readers about drifting
away from the truth through negligence (2:1-4). He also warned them
about failing to continue trusting God and walking by faith (3:7-19). Now
he referred to the same apostasy as "falling away."
"The aorist tense indicates a decisive moment of
commitment to apostasy. In the LXX, the term parapiptein
has reference to the expression of a total attitude reflecting
deliberate and calculated renunciation of God (Ezek 20:27;
22:4; Wis 6:9; 12:2; cf. Michaelis, TDNT 6:171 . . .) In
Hebrews it is equivalent to the expression apostenai apo
theou zontos, 'to fall away from the living God,' in 3:12.
Apostasy entailed a decisive rejection of God's gifts,
similar to the rejection of the divine promise by the Exodus generation at Kadesh (3:7—4:2 . . .).
. . . What is visualized
by the expressions in v 6 is every form of departure from
faith in the crucified Son of God. This could entail a return
to Jewish convictions and practices as well as the public
denial of faith in Christ under pressure from a magistrate or
a hostile crowd, simply for personal advantage (cf. Mark
8:34-38 . . ."
Falling away from the truth is no hypothetical possibility but a tragic
reality in too many cases among believers (cf. Num. 14:27-32; Gen.
25:29-34; Heb. 3:7-19; 10:23-25, 35-39).193 Christians departed from the
faith in the first century (e.g., 2 Tim. 2:17-18) and they do so today (cf. 1
Tim. 4:1).
"The author repeatedly urges his readers to maintain their
Christian profession and confidence (cf. 3:6, 12-15; 6:11,
12; 10:23-25). The man who falls away is evidently the one
who casts that confidence, and its attendant reward, aside
(10:25)."
To what is it impossible for an apostate to be renewed? The writer said it
is repentance, not forgiveness or salvation. Immediately the question
arises whether this explanation is realistic since some believers who have
departed from the truth have repented and returned to the fold of the
faithful. I believe the writer meant that in the case of apostates, the really
hard cases who are persistently hostile to Christ, it is impossible to restore
such people to repentance (cf. vv. 1, 3, 7-8). The word "apostate" refers to
extreme cases of departure from the truth. We usually refer to less serious
departure as backsliding. This inability to repent is the result of sin's
hardening effect about which the writer had sounded a warning earlier
(3:13). It is also the result of divine judgment (cf. Pharaoh, Exod. 9:12;
10:20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17).
This writer also wrote about three other impossible things. It is impossible
for God to lie (v. 18), for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins
(10:4), and for someone to please God without faith (11:6).
"God has pledged Himself to pardon all who truly repent,
but Scripture and experience alike suggest that it is possible
for human beings to arrive at a state of heart and life where
they can no longer repent.
"That certain persons could not repent of their sins was,
e.g., an idea admitted in rabbinic Judaism."196
Even God cannot renew these apostates to repentance because He has
chosen not to do so.
". . . the author does recognize the possibility that one may
have regressed so far that it is impossible to again make
progress toward maturity. He therefore states in verses 4-6
that it may be impossible to renew certain believers so that
they can progress toward maturity."
Would it not glorify God more for apostates to repent? Evidently by
making it impossible for them to repent God will bring greater glory to
Himself than if they did repent. Consider the glory that came to God
because the Pharaoh of the Exodus did not repent. One might ask the same
question in regard to everyone being saved? Would it not glorify God
more for everyone to be saved than for some to perish eternally?
God allows this hard condition because by repudiating Jesus Christ these
apostates dishonor Him. The writer spoke of this dishonor as taking the
side of Jesus' enemies who crucified Him and publicly humiliated Him.
The apostates in view crucify Him in the sense of passing judgment
against Him again, by repudiating Him and His work, as those who
literally crucified Jesus did. Evidently these "hard cases" are not those
who turn away from just any aspect of God's will but specifically the
doctrine of Jesus Christ.
"The meaning of the vivid phrase ["they again crucify to
themselves the Son of God"] is that they put Jesus out of
their life, they break off all connection [sic] with him; he is
dead to them."
"Anyone who turned back from Christianity to Judaism
would be identifying himself not only with Jewish unbelief,
but with that malice which led to the crucifixion of
Jesus."
". . . once Christ and his sacrifice have been rejected, there
is nowhere else to turn. . . . The 'impossibility' of a second
repentance is thus not psychological or more generally
related to the human condition; it is in the strict sense
theological, related to God's saving action in Christ "
Just as the Hebrew spies who returned from their
expedition carrying visible tokens of the good land of
Canaan nevertheless failed to enter the land because of
their unbelief, so those who had come to know the
blessings of the new covenant might nevertheless in a
spiritual sense turn back in heart to Egypt and so forfeit the
saints' everlasting rest."
Not only did the 10 spies fail to enter the Promised Land through unbelief,
but so did the whole adult generation of Israelites who left Egypt with
Moses (Num. 14). It was impossible for them to repent in the sense that,
even though they confessed their sin of unbelief (Num. 14:40), God would
not permit them to enter the land (Num. 14:41-45). Two New Testament
examples of these "hard cases" may be Hymenaeus and Alexander. Paul
said he had turned them over to Satan that they might learn not to
blaspheme because they had apostatized (1 Tim. 1:18-20).
This is, without question a powerful verse of scripture, but it must not be used out of context. This passage does not refer to salvation, but repentance. The two are distinctly different in the roles they play in the life of the believer. The legalist will probably read this and declare that it refers to loss of salvation; the liberlist will attempt to explain away its impact on apastasy and sin, while the one who truly years truth will have weigh it against all that the bible says on the matter. There is so much more to present on the matter, but I believe I have already over did it.
Side note: The authorship of the book of Hebrews is still in question and will probably never be answered in this age. There are numerous suggestions, including Paul, Luke Barnabas, Stephen, Clement and even Mary (the mother of Jesus), although certain masculine inflections would rule out a female author. The literary style and vocabulary here is extremely unique to any other book on the New Testament. If the dating on it is accurate, it would have actually been written shortly after the death of the Apostle Paul. Nevertheless, the book’s power is unquestionable.
I hope this sort of helps.
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