Hebrews 6:4-6 – ‘It Is Impossible!’ :: By Mark A. Becker

[Andy C]

A common question I have encountered from the body of Christ is that of Hebrews 6:4-6 and whether this passage suggests that Christians can lose their salvation.

The truth is, Eternal Security – “Once Saved, Always Saved” – is a Biblical doctrine and a blessing to those who truly believe in the finished work of Messiah Yeshua on the cross and accept Him as their Lord and Savior by grace through faith.

Here is our study passage.

“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

My short answer to those who have wondered if this passage is implying that Christians can lose their salvation, is usually as follows: Actually, this passage confirms the doctrine of Eternal Security. We need to take note of the word “impossible” at the beginning of the passage and understand that the thoughts behind the entire passage is, quite frankly, impossible for the twice-born, Spirit-filled believer in Jesus Christ.

I thought it would be beneficial for us to examine and scrutinize this passage together in more detail to help us understand what the writer of Hebrews was relaying to his readers in his own unique way.

We will start by dissecting the first half of this passage.

“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…”

Our priority observation is the word “if” in our passage.

The Text Analysis of this portion of our passage reads as follows:

[It is] impossible for to those once having been enlightened, having tasted then of the gift [definite article] heavenly, and partakers having become of [the] Spirit Holy, and [the] goodness having tasted of God’s word, [the] power also [of the] coming age – and then having fallen away…

Hebrews 6:4-6 – ‘It Is Impossible!’ :: By Mark A. Becker

A common question I have encountered from the body of Christ is that of Hebrews 6:4-6 and whether this passage suggests that Christians can lose their

www.raptureready.com

 

[Hol]

Great article Andy,

From the article: "This entire hypothetical proclamation can never happen – ‘It Is Impossible!’

Our Eternal Security is sealed by the “Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory” upon our individual conversions!

“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ."

 

[Goodboy]

While I totally agree that we cannot lose our salvation and love all the scripture that claims that in the article, I have a different perspective as to what Hebrews is saying. While I agree there is a misunderstanding of the words that are used, for me it is different words than what the the article mentions.

So let's us look at what is stated in the Bible.
Hebrews 6:3 And this will we do, if God permit.
Hebrews 6:4 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,
Hebrews 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Hebrews 6:6 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.

Most Christians think Hebrews 6:6 is actually saying as follows.
If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto salvation; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Wait, is does not say salvation it says repentance. Why do we think that repentance is the same as salvation? Yes, we must repent to get saved, but that is just changing your thinking and agreeing with God regarding sin. Once we repent, we then accept Jesus Christ as our Savior which saves us.

So what I believe Hebrews is saying is that a Christian that stops believing in Jesus while they remain saved, cannot not be convinced to believe in Jesus again. I have met those like that, one of which is my brother. He became a believer for a few years and then stopped believing. At that point I could not convince him to believe again. Just to be clear, I know of many Christians who got wrapped up in sin and stopped acting like a Christian and then came back. However, the ones I knew never stopped believing in Jesus, just stopped practicing Christianity.

Another point I should make is that we should consider what is stated in Hebrews 6:3 (And this will we do, if God permit.). I believe that statement is saying what we should do while most, many, or some of us have not fallen away. You see the statement "For" in Hebrews 6:4 is like saying "Because" meaning it is connected to Hebrews 6:3. Just to be clear, if the word "For" was left out, then it would not be connected to Hebrews 6:3.

So let us put the Hebrews 6:3 and Hebrews 6:4 passages together which is how they should be read.
"And this will we do if God permit, 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."

So again the point being that we may lose some of the Christians that are now with us helping to spread the Gospel and if so we cannot get them back. They are still saved, just no longer participating which no one has to do as works are not required and salvation is a one time event.

My two cents...

 

[Goodboy]

Here is another example of the incorrect understanding of the use of a word in the Bible.
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

A lot of Christians think that James is saying.
Even so salvation, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

You see how the meaning of words can imply something they are not meant to. While some faith is required for salvation faith and salvation are not the same thing. Yes the proof of faith is shown by your works. Nothing wrong with that statement.

 

[Everlasting Life]

Something that's helped me with these passages is the context of who this letter is written to, Hebrew Christians.

The general warning is: don't go back to old symbols, which pointed to and were fullfilled by Jesus. Jewish ceremonial law was not needed anymore because Jesus, the Messiah has come. And neither will ceremonial law save, only faith in Jesus.

There was great temptation and pressure (by their Jewish conterparts) for these saved believers to go back to what they'd known before Christ, Jewish ceremonial law.

So, Hebrews goes into great detail of why they shouldn't and instead look forward to how Jesus fulfills all ceremonial symbolism, pointing to Him as their Messiah and great High Priest.

 

[Everlasting Life]

I think this section of Hebrews sums up the main point really well:

By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.

This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.

Christ Is the Perfect Sacrifice​

So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

Hebrews 9:8-12