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6 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
The Certainty of God’s Promise
For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
(ESV)
Hebrews 6 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Here we go.
You want to start a heated debate among your Christian friends? Look no further than Hebrews 6. It all centers around the question of whether or not someone can lose their Salvation… or does it? Unfortunately, many people have used these verses out of context to defend all kinds of bizarre theological ideas.
For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy Spirit, 5 tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, 6 and who have fallen away, because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding Him up to contempt.
Hebrews 6:4-6 HCSB
It is critical to understand how the author of Hebrews sets up this passage. The entire section (v. 1-12) deals with maturity. The first three verses are encouraging Jewish believers not to backslide into their Jewish rituals as the source of their Salvation. Since Christianity was birthed from Judaism, it was tempting for Jewish Christians to go back to their old rules and rituals.
So, in my opinion, the context here does not apply to someone losing their Salvation. In fact, someone who uses this passage to justify that belief would then have to also admit that it could never again be obtained since the author writes “it is impossible…”
“This difficult passage is best understood in the context of Heb 6:1-2. The writer to the Hebrews means that if they do retreat back to Judaism, all the religious “repentance” in the world will do them no good. Their forsaking of Jesus is tantamount to crucifying Him all over again, especially if they were to express their repentance in traditional Jewish forms: especially animal sacrifice, which denies the total work of Jesus for them on the cross.”
David Guzik
So, for the Jewish believers who retreated back to their Judaism, it is impossible for them to experience true repentence through such an act. Repentance is only found in Jesus. And ultimately, this comes back to spiritual maturity.
“Most likely, the passage concerns true believers in Jesus, who are Jewish, and under persecution are tempted to mesh in with the Jewish religion and its rituals from which they had been freed in Christ. Rather than speaking of a loss of justification, it refers to failure to grow further into maturity. The believer who is tempted in “falling to the side,” as the Greek better translates, after making much progress in the Christian walk as evidenced by the characteristics of Christian growth found in verses Heb 6:4 and Heb 6:5 and have subsequently fallen (not from Christ but in the Christian race) place themselves in danger of being stagnated in Christian growth.”
Nelson’s Commentary
Even though this is referencing Jewish believers, it is still a strong word for us today. When we look to church rituals in order to save us, we will become stagnant. Church attendance will not save us. Good deeds will not save us. Belief in God will not save us. Think about it. If all of us just stopped at “I believe in God and that’s enough,” how would we ever grow?
Paul referred to this as “the unsearchable riches of Christ” in Ephesians 3. There are so many people today who say they are “spiritual” and say they “believe” but the true test always comes back to Jesus Christ. To share in His sufferings is the supreme act of obedience and maturity. This is part of how we begin to know Him and share in His resurrection power. It is through His love that we find the strength to persevere.