Hebrews 6:4-6 (NASB) 4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
One source says it is the most debated scripture in the Bible. Another says if it is not #1 it is a nose length from it. In any case there is much disagreement that swirls around this passage of scripture. I have read, I don't know how many interpretations of this passage looking for one that would satisfy my inquiring mind. Like the passage on the Unpardonable Sin,it was fruitless until a few years back one finally made sense to me. My dilemma for years was this, if Jesus forgave all our sin, then why was there one that He didn't forgive? If we had eternal life, then how could we lose it? Well, a few years ago I found one that made sense to me. I have read and heard many since, but this is the only one that makes any sense to me,everything considered. All others, when placed under the scrutiny of context and intent, fall short. There is disagreement in the first two verses as to whom the author is writing about.The majority opinion, which is rock solid from where I stand, is that these are believers.There is an opinion that states that the subjects here are people who have been introduced to Jesus but did not accept Him. But, the word "tasted " among others dispels that notion. That word is the same word used to describe Jesus' tasting of death for all sinners. The argument is that this word is describing "a nibbling around the edges" type of experience that these folks had partaken of. A professing Christian if there is such a thing. But the scripture itself uses words that denote a deep and valid experience. Enlightened, tasted, partaken all point to someone who has a true relationship with the Lord Jesus. Also, note the past tense is used here, especially in the phrase,"have been made partakers." I believe that we will be safe in assuming that these are true believers being described here. O. K. if that is settled let's move on to vs. 6.
To understand the emphasis of vs.6 you must go back to the last part of Chapter 5. Look at this.
Hebrews 5:11-12 (NASB) 11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
Now to Chapter 6.
Hebrews 6:1-2 (NASB) 1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
2 of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.
"...repentance from dead works..of faith toward God..." are phrases that speak to the author's intent. The first exhorting believers to turn from the Levitical system, the second being the result of turning to the Messiah. Notice that the writer describes these doctrines as "elementary" further supporting the stance that the primary focus of the entire book is one of growing in maturity.
The author here is exhorting this community to move on into spiritual maturity, but is frustrated with them because they have become "dull of hearing." Now here is where it gets a little tricky. Vs.4-6 is one sentence and all those phrases have a modifying adverb that reads "once for all" such as ".....those who have once for all been enlightened...." It is shortened for English readers, but it extends to all the characteristics. In Chapter 10:32 the same idea about enlightening is used speaking to salvation. That adverb means that once something is genuinely possessed it remains as a permanent possession. This is a community of Jewish believers who are saved once for all, they have become spiritually dull, and because of this, they are about to make a life changing mistake.However, it doesn't have anything to do with losing one's salvation. If we look at vs. 6 we see those words "fall away." Some translations including mine, add a "if they" or "then have" to the text. That is a translation addition to make better sense to English readers. It isn't in the original. Because of this, some say that the author is presenting a hypothetical situation to ease the interpretation problems. But, that simply isn't the case. This is a real sin that this community is on the brink of committing with disastrous consequences. This "once for all" falling away presents problems for teaching that salvation can be lost. The scripture goes on to say that once committed there is no turning back. Repentance is impossible. If that is the case then once salvation is rejected, it is unreliable.If we for whatever reason have rejected salvation, no available repentance is possible. That doesn't mesh with human experience nor is it in harmony with this chapter and book. In addition it flies in the face of Jesus's completed work on Calvary. Again trying to make sense to English readers, most translations put the word "impossible" in the second clause of vs.6, while in the original it is at the beginning of the long sentence up in vs.4. This has resulted in an incorrect reading that sounds like it is impossible to renew someone to salvation repentance. What the author is trying to convey is that once this particular sin, this" falling away" is committed there will be no turning back. No chance to repent or change their mind to avoid the consequences. Like the Wilderness Generation once God judged their lack of faith at Kadesh-Barnea they could not repent. They tried. Remember what they did when they realized their mistake? They went out the next morning to conquer the land and were soundly defeated at Ai. Judgment had been set and they wondered the wilderness until that generation over the age of twenty died out. What is the common element here? Well, if we take the warning passages that talk about drifting away(chap.2) from trust in Jesus, if we look at the rebellion of doubt and lack of faith in their ancestors generation(chap.3-4), if we take into account that the WHOLE book of Hebrews is trying to prove that Jesus is superior in every way to angels, Moses, the Leviticus Priesthood, the animal sacrifices, we come to this conclusion that the warnings passages are warning against the failure to walk in faith. Now a failure to walk in faith can come packaged in many ways and produce differing results. In our world it might mean the loss of a blessing or a rebuke from God. In the accounts in Hebrews it took the form of willful disobedience and was immediately judged with loss of blessing and physical life; but, in no case was a loss of salvation and eternal life in view. If this Jewish community, in an attempt to escape persecution, turns away from Jesus and back to the Mosaic Law they will be stuck with their plight.Their fate on this earth is sealed. The "falling away" is an irrevocable and decisive sin that once committed, while it can be forgiven, it cannot be undone. While unknown to these readers, national Israel at the time of this writing,(Hebrews) has already come under judgment. They do not know it yet, but when the leadership in Jerusalem rejected the Messiah by committing the unpardonable sin, judgment was set on that generation.
Matthew 23:35-36 (NASB) 35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36 "Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Because the Jews willfully failed to accept their Messiah, all righteous blood from the beginning to their day fell to them. Remember at the trial they said to let Jesus blood be on their heads. And so it was. That was the unpardonable sin and that sin had to be and was judged. It was decisive and irrevocable.It was the same at Kadesh-Barnea and it will be the same for this particular community of believers in Hebrews. It is not unforgivable, no,no they won't lose their salvation. As mentioned before, did Moses lose his salvation,Or Aaron and Miriam? They were judged in he wilderness and died there but in no way did they miss heaven. Did individuals or the nation of Israel lose their spiritual life after the rejection of their Messiah? Nope. Any individual who believed made heaven their home;and, National Israel is and will be a major player in God's plan for the Kingdom Age. BUT, that generation was judged. How? Just a few short years after Jesus left us and while the ink was barely dry on the Book of Hebrews, a Jewish rebellion broke out in Jerusalem against Rome. In 70A.D. Rome invaded Jerusalem and the rest is history. The falling away talked about was a failure to walk in the faith and revealed knowledge of God. While any and every sin has been forgiven through the finished work of the Lord Jesus, some sins produce irrevocable consequences, even unto physical death. Remember what I said a couple weeks back...we don't have a sin problem anymore, we have a belief problem. I'll end with this side note. In 70A.D. or actually before a community of Jews living in Jerusalem, left Jerusalem and resettled in what is now Jordan or Transjordan, to a community called Pella. This is a documented historical fact attested to in many ancient writings. No one knows if it was the "Hebrews" but it makes a lot of sense doesn't it? At Pella they sat out the total destruction of Jerusalem while 1.1 million of their brethren suffered annihilation at the hands of the Romans. Very shortly afterward, the Jewish nation of Israel ceased to exist and what was left of the Jewish people were dispersed all over the world for some 1900 years. Meanwhile the Jewish community that obeyed God,didn't turn back to the Levitical System and stay in Jerusalem lived out their lives in relative peace.
Folks the Lord Jesus did not offer Himself on Calvary only to leave His brothers and sisters, you and me, hanging in the wind and responsible for our spiritual well being. Conditional security promotes this. It imagines that the Cross isn't enough to secure our complete salvation. More dangerously it appeals to our flesh by introducing human merit into the equation. By teaching that we must do something,or believe a certain way, we are saying to God that we have our own righteousness before Him. If we insist upon requiring ANY merit before God, whether it concerns obtaining salvation or maintaining salvation, then we have introduced works of the flesh and God clearly states that NO FLESH will glory in His Presence. This study has only scratched the surface of the wealth of information that is out there readily available for anyone that is interested. See you next week.
Psalm 29:1 (NASB) 1
God Bless
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