Click here for the Hebrews 6:4-6 PODCAST
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. ~ Hebrews 6:4-6
We return today to our study of Hebrews which is structured around five warnings to the believer in Christ who is not growing in His faith in the God of the Bible. As we have seen for over five chapters now, Hebrews was written to those who were in danger of prolonged spiritual immaturity. And, as we come to Hebrews 6:4-6, we must interpret it through our understanding of the truth found in Hebrews 6:3 which reads, "And God permitting, we will do so."
In v.4-6 of today's text we read, "4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."
It is very clear that this book of Hebrews was written to Hebrew Christians who were struggling in their faith in the God of the Bible. There is no indication that the writer of Hebrews switches at any point in this epistle to address unbelievers. More importantly, the immediate context is obviously addressing Christians. In Hebrews 5:12 we learn the writer of this book was convinced his readers should be teachers but were not. And, according to Hebrews 6:1-3, we learn they should have matured in their faith in the Lord but they had not.
According to v.6 of today's passage, the concern of the writer of Hebrews was these recipients of this letter might "fall away" which is interpreted by some as apostasy from Christian beliefs or a total denial of the Christian faith. In fact, in v.4-5 we are given several consequences of this potential falling away.
At the beginning of v.4 we read, "It is impossible." Everything written in this chapter is predicated on those three words of this verse, "It is impossible." So, it is clear, the writer of Hebrews is writing about a hypothetical situation. Those who try to use this passage to assert the believer could lose his salvation does not take this foundational truth into account. For, if they did, they would have recognized no one can do anything to earn God's acceptance.
In the rest of v.4 we read, "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit."
To be "enlightened" means, to have our eyes opened to our own desperate personal need for a Savior. To "have tasted the heavenly gift" means to have come into a personal relationship with Christ. And, to "share in the Holy Spirit" means to have been "born again."
In v.5 of today's text we read, "who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age."
Clearly, the writer of Hebrews has described the believer in Christ who has "tasted the goodness of the word of God." This means this person experienced some measure of growth in his faith in the Lord Jesus. And then, to write, "tasted the powers of the coming age" reveals this person was connected beyond this fallen world to the very power of God that changes us from the inside out.
In v.6 we read, "and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."
Having been "born again" makes it impossible for the believer in Christ to completely fall away from God and to crucify the Son of God all over again. The fact that we have been made alive to God means we will never see Him differently than we do now: as our Savior and Lord. This does not mean we will not struggle while our faith in the God of the Bible is being tested. This does mean that our faith in Him will perpetuate primarily due to the fact that He lives in our born again spirit.
Today's passage does not teach that we can lose our salvation. This passage was addressed to young Hebrew Christians who lacked spiritual maturity. They didn't fully understand the secret behind their spiritual success. Again, Hebrews 6:3 reveals that our ability to grow spiritually and to experience a certain measure of spiritual maturity is the product of Gods working in and through our yielded lives. The key is that we are yielding our lives to Him.
And, God wants all believers to faithfully progress forward in our vulnerability to and intimacy with Him. Though our eternal salvation is secure, there are severe consequences if we intentionally turn away from Him and do not go on to maturity. We will not only lose precious trust and intimacy that we have experienced, but we will face God's discipline intended to make us more useful in the future.
