For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Hebrews 6:4–6 is among the most-often-misunderstood passages in the entire New Testament. Without a clear grasp of context, these verses seem to directly counter the doctrine of eternal security. References in verses 5 and 6 to falling away, and a lack of restoration, are easily misconstrued to imply a lack of salvation. And yet, the Bible is not meant to be read like a stack of fortune cookies or horoscopes. Each word, every verse, and every phrase needs to be considered as part of a whole. Looking at these words, from that perspective, greatly changes how they are interpreted. First, we need to maintain the entire context of the Bible. According to Scripture, our salvation is eternally secure (John 10:28–30). Just as salvation is not earned by works (Romans 3:20; 11:6), it cannot be lost by works (Colossians 2:15). So once a person is legitimately saved, they are saved forever. Those who "have tasted the heavenly gift" (Ephesians 2:8) and who "share in the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:13–14; Galatians 3:2) cannot be any other than true believers. Rather than a loss of salvation, verses 4 through 6 describe the possible consequences of immature, stunted faith. Such a condition leaves us vulnerable to the same doubt-driven disobedience which Israel experienced in the wilderness (Numbers 13—14). This was discussed in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 (Hebrews 3:12–19; 4:11). Christians who lose their trust in God, and doubt fundamental doctrines, are implicitly siding with a view that Christ should have been crucified, and that what He said was not true (Hebrews 6:6). Once a person reaches that state, there is nothing to be done—by any man—in order to bring them back to a living, active faith. This is similar to the dire state described in places such as Proverbs 29:1 and 1 John 5:16–17. God, however, is neither a man, nor is He limited as men are (Luke 18:27). God's method of reaching such a Christian is given symbolically later in this chapter (Hebrews 6:7–8). Fields which fail to produce are treated with fire—often a symbol of God's judgment (Hebrews 10:26–27). The field is not destroyed, but it is treated harshly. This, again, is the same pattern seen in Exodus when Israel was forced to wander for forty years. Doubt led to disobedience, leading to judgment, producing change, and eventually resulting in obedience and restoration.
Another interpretation was that those people really committed the unpadorable sin, see Mark 3:22-30. If they were made partakes of the Holy Spirit, that would mean they got a chance to experience the miracles of Christ. The name of the Epistle isn't pointless, it is written to the Nation of Israel. The Jews saw the miracles of Christ, but they thought he had an unclean spirit. So they were once enlightened, have tasted the heavenly gift, were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted of the age to come and then fell away. Consider this...
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:30-31)
Jesus is very clear that those people will not repent because they have hardened their heart too much against the truth and keep disregarding the truth, so it would be pointless for Jesus to die for them, see the second half of Hebrews 6:6: seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
We can see this here:
Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. (John 19:11)
No, don't worry, the unpadorable sin cannot be committed today, Christ paid for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). But still it can apply to people to day in some ways, that would be people who think they are saved but are not. They might have religion, but the reason why they think they are saved is because they prayed a prayer, feel saved, are being a good person etc. They haven't been regenerated, they are not a new creature. We see this here again...
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17)
Those people think they have everything, but they do not know Jesus. They try to get it right with God their own way, they profess to love Jesus, but their heart is far away from him.
God bless you
Hebrews 6:4–6 is among the most-often-misunderstood passages in the entire New Testament. Without a clear grasp of context, these verses seem to directly counter the doctrine of eternal security. References in verses 5 and 6 to falling away, and a lack of restoration, are easily misconstrued to imply a lack of salvation. And yet, the Bible is not meant to be read like a stack of fortune cookies or horoscopes. Each word, every verse, and every phrase needs to be considered as part of a whole. Looking at these words, from that perspective, greatly changes how they are interpreted. First, we need to maintain the entire context of the Bible. According to Scripture, our salvation is eternally secure (John 10:28–30). Just as salvation is not earned by works (Romans 3:20; 11:6), it cannot be lost by works (Colossians 2:15). So once a person is legitimately saved, they are saved forever. Those who "have tasted the heavenly gift" (Ephesians 2:8) and who "share in the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:13–14; Galatians 3:2) cannot be any other than true believers. Rather than a loss of salvation, verses 4 through 6 describe the possible consequences of immature, stunted faith. Such a condition leaves us vulnerable to the same doubt-driven disobedience which Israel experienced in the wilderness (Numbers 13—14). This was discussed in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 (Hebrews 3:12–19; 4:11). Christians who lose their trust in God, and doubt fundamental doctrines, are implicitly siding with a view that Christ should have been crucified, and that what He said was not true (Hebrews 6:6). Once a person reaches that state, there is nothing to be done—by any man—in order to bring them back to a living, active faith. This is similar to the dire state described in places such as Proverbs 29:1 and 1 John 5:16–17. God, however, is neither a man, nor is He limited as men are (Luke 18:27). God's method of reaching such a Christian is given symbolically later in this chapter (Hebrews 6:7–8). Fields which fail to produce are treated with fire—often a symbol of God's judgment (Hebrews 10:26–27). The field is not destroyed, but it is treated harshly. This, again, is the same pattern seen in Exodus when Israel was forced to wander for forty years. Doubt led to disobedience, leading to judgment, producing change, and eventually resulting in obedience and restoration.
Another interpretation was that those people really committed the unpadorable sin, see Mark 3:22-30. If they were made partakes of the Holy Spirit, that would mean they got a chance to experience the miracles of Christ. The name of the Epistle isn't pointless, it is written to the Nation of Israel. The Jews saw the miracles of Christ, but they thought he had an unclean spirit. So they were once enlightened, have tasted the heavenly gift, were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted of the age to come and then fell away. Consider this...
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:30-31)
Jesus is very clear that those people will not repent because they have hardened their heart too much against the truth and keep disregarding the truth, so it would be pointless for Jesus to die for them, see the second half of Hebrews 6:6: seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
We can see this here:
Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. (John 19:11)
No, don't worry, the unpadorable sin cannot be committed today, Christ paid for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). But still it can apply to people to day in some ways, that would be people who think they are saved but are not. They might have religion, but the reason why they think they are saved is because they prayed a prayer, feel saved, are being a good person etc. They haven't been regenerated, they are not a new creature. We see this here again...
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17)
Those people think they have everything, but they do not know Jesus. They try to get it right with God their own way, they profess to love Jesus, but their heart is far away from him.
God bless you
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