When I used to go to eastern Europe to teach pastors, I found that many of them did not believe in the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer. They believed that a genuine believer could be saved and lost again. Their argument for holding this position was based largely on the conditional clauses which sometimes accompany statements about salvation, many of which are in the epistle to the Hebrews and one of which is in the passage we are studying in this article.
The subject of this passage is: “Denying Christ.” And the theological principle of the passage is that there is no repentance for those who had all the blessings of Christianity and the truth of the gospel but then reject Christ himself.
This statement is shocking, isn't it? It’s shocking to read a passage of Scripture that categorically states that someone cannot be saved. We’re used to hearing that God loves everyone and that whoever wishes to do so may come and receive salvation. In addition, this passage is shocking because, on first reading, it seems to indicate that perhaps you can be saved and lost again. While I strongly hold to the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer, nonetheless we do have to admit that there seems to be a tension sometimes (particularly in the “if” statements in the book of Hebrews) between the assurance of eternal security of the believer and the warnings about the consequences of turning away from Christ and the gospel. Consider these three examples…
Hebrews 2:3, “How will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”
Hebrews 3:14, “For we have become participants in Christ if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.”
Hebrews 10:26-27, “26 For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries.”
Hebrews 10:38-39: “But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back,
I have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.”
You may ask, why is the writer of this epistle issuing these dire warnings to the Hebrews? Well, as we will see later, the reason is that he is addressing a mixed audience (see 6:7-8), comprised of some who were persevering in their faith and others about whom he is not sure and who, he fears, may be in danger of turning away from the gospel, abandoning Christ. The Hebrews were evidently suffering in two ways: (1) Divine discipline (12:4-11); and (2) Persecution from fellow Jews for having left Judaism and turned to Christianity (10:32-34). And now some were considering giving up Christianity and returning to Judaism in order to escape that persecution. No doubt this is why the epistle emphasizes the superiority of Christ and his sacrifice over the temporary nature of the Old Testament sacrifices and rituals.
To understand this passage properly we must make a distinction between genuine faith, which is eternally secure, and superficial faith, which amounts to nothing. According to the book of Hebrews, a true believer is one who perseveres steadfastly in their faith to the end. This is known as the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.
As we examine this passage, first, notice…
I. The Rebuke To Baby Christians: “Grow Up!” (5:11-6:3)
These Hebrew believers had become “dull (sluggish) in hearing” (5:11). That was their spiritual condition that motivated the writing of this epistle They were stunted in their spiritual growth; they were immature, baby Christians. The writer points out that…
A. Baby Christians Are Stuck In Spiritual Infancy (5:12-13).
They are stuck intellectually as learners not teachers. “Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again” (5:12a). They had been Christians long enough that they should have advanced enough in Christian understanding and maturity to be able to teach others. But sadly, they needed someone to teach them “the basic principles of God’s revelation again.” They needed to go back to the beginning and learn all over again.
They were stuck experientially on spiritual milk not solid food. “12b You need milk, not solid food. 13 Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant” (5:12b-13). They still needed a liquid diet because they couldn’t digest solid spiritual food. They were “inexperienced with the message about righteousness,” the Holy Scriptures. They hadn't developed properly from spiritual infancy to adult maturity (see Ephesians 4:11-16). Their growth was stunted. They were stuck spiritually at an elementary school level!
First, then, baby Christians are struck in spiritual infancy. Second, the exhortation is that…
B. Baby Christians Need To Grow Up To Spiritual Maturity (5:14-6:3).
Mature Christians feed on solid spiritual food. “But solid food is for the mature…” (5:14a). When you grow up you can digest the meat of the Word, which in turn enables you to grow and be a strong Christian. Mature Christians know what they believe, can defend what they believe, and live out what they believe. Mature Christians feed on solid spiritual food. And...
Mature Christians exercise sound spiritual discernment. “... those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil” (5:14b). They display understanding and good judgement through the exercise of their spiritual senses. Their learning and experience over time enables them to discern between right and wrong, between good and evil.
So, the exhortation is: Let’s resolve to grow up! “1 Therefore, let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God, 2 teaching about ritual washings, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And we will do this if God permits” (6:1-3).
Let's “leave” Christian babyhood, the writer says. Let’s move on from the elementary level of Christian teaching, those “basic principles of God’s revelation” (5:12). Let’s advance beyond a basic understanding of the gospel. The writer is not saying that we should leave these elementary doctrines because they are of no value, or because there are other teachings of more value. Rather, he is saying that these foundational teachings do not need to be the constant or only focus of our study and learning. Instead these spiritually immature Christians needed to build on that foundation by progressing to the teaching and understanding of mature believers. So, the writer is urging them to press on to spiritual adulthood by “not laying again a foundation of” such teachings as…
a) “…repentance from dead works” and “faith in God.” Why would the writer urge them to move on from these teachings? Because these are examples of the teachings of Judaism in the Old Testament, which emphasize religious rituals which are now “dead” because they could never grant them forgiveness of sin, could never produce spiritual life, could never make them perfect (see 7:19), and which have now been rendered obsolete by the once-for-all sacrificial death of Christ.
Mature Christian faith involves a turning from such religious works that are nothing more than fleshly attempts to justify self (“dead works”), which have no redemptive value, and which, if pursued, lead to death. The writer is not saying that faith in God is unnecessary, but that for mature Christians such faith, properly understood, is rooted in faith in Christ, who is the only means of approach to God (John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5). He is, thus, urging these Hebrews to move beyond this elementary teaching about God to more mature Christian doctrines. As we grow in our Christian faith, we need to develop our understanding of who God is and what he has done in Christ, and to express our “faith in God” in visible, tangible, life-changing ways. This spiritual about-face requires a conscious change of the mind, desire of the heart, and obedience of the will.
b) “…teachings about ritual washings,” such as the Jewish purification rites (which some among the Hebrew Christians seem to have still been practicing) and “laying on of hands,” a practice that seems to have been an initiatory rite of new believers (perhaps following baptism). This symbolic act is usually associated with the communication of spiritual blessings and gifts both in the Old Testament (e.g. Genesis 48:14) and the New (e.g. Matthew 19:13; 1 Timothy 4:14; Acts 19:6).
c) “…the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement.” This statement reminds us that “just as it us appointed for people to die once, and then face judgement, so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27). While all people will eventually be raised from the dead, Christians exclusively face the glorious prospect of eternal bliss with Christ but unbelievers will face eternal judgement.
These are foundational truths of the gospel, from the beginning of the Christian life to its end, truths which are precious and which we love. But, the author says, let’s resolve to go on to deeper truths that God wants us to know, weightier issues that Scripture addresses. Let’s not be stuck at this level. This is what spiritual maturity requires and demands. This is what it means to “go on to maturity,” to go beyond basic foundational truths.
“And we will do this if God permits” (6:3). Identifying with his readers, the author expresses a collective (“we”) resolve to go on to deeper truths and spiritual maturity: “We're going to do this together. You can't stay as baby Christians forever.” Teachers don't teach kindergarten material every year. They leave those elementary lessons and go on to other subjects that challenge and develop their students. And when they do, the students aren't satisfied with kindergarten anymore. It's not good to be stuck at the level of simple first principles. You need to stretch your mind, develop your spiritual values, learn how to think and function as a Christian in the world.
The rebuke to baby Christians: “Grow up!”
II. The Warning To Unstable Christians: “Watch Out!” (6:4-8)
“4 For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who 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 re-crucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt” (6:4-6).
A. Notice The Shift In The People Being Addressed (6:4a).
It’s no longer “you” (5:12) who are being addressed, but “those who” (6:4a). This shift in addressee tells us that: (1) The author is addressing an unidentified but very real group of people (some of whom might have been among the Hebrews), who were in worse danger than the immature, baby Christians; (2) He is making a theological, absolute statement of principle, which applies to anyone who turns away from Christ, and which obviously applies to some among the Hebrews about whom he is very concerned.
So there's a shift in the people being addressed. And...
B. Notice The Shift In The Privileges Being Experienced (6:4b-5).
The author now addresses the shift in the privileges they once experienced, citing five descriptive phrases…
B1. They “were once enlightened” (6:4b). Through the gospel, God enlightens people in spiritual darkness, opening up their spiritual eyes to the truth (1 Peter 2:9), just as he did for the Israelites in the wilderness through his miraculous acts, divine guidance and protection, his covenant relationship with them, and the giving of the law.
“Once” indicates a point in the past when the people being described had had a one-time experience of spiritual enlightenment. This does not mean that they were “savingly” enlightened but that they had a certain understanding of Christ and the gospel. They had apparently understood the gospel but they had not necessarily believed it in faith.
B2. They had “tasted the heavenly gift” (6:4c). To taste something, in the sense that it is used here, means to experience it intellectually, emotionally, and even physically as in the case of Jesus, who “tasted death for everyone” (2:9). To “taste” something is to go beyond seeing it or knowing about it, to actually experiencing it.
What had they tasted? They “tasted the heavenly gift. While the text does not say what that specific gift was, it would seem that it is probably God’s gift of salvation in Christ, a gift that is definitely heavenly in its origin and final realization (e.g. Ephesians 2:4-9; Philippians 3:20-21). The people being described understood Christianity and to a degree had got a taste of God's gift of salvation. While this gift came with heavenly benefits and blessings, these people stood in danger of rejecting it.
B3. They had “shared in the Holy Spirit” (6:4d). As members of this new body of believers, they benefitted from the activity of the Holy Spirit. In some way they “shared in the Holy Spirit,” being associated with the work and the benefits of the Holy Spirit such as, perhaps, answered prayer, healings etc. But the question is: Did they experience saving faith? Did the taste of the heavenly gift generate in them new life in Christ? Were they indwelled by the Spirit? As to those who fall away, this would not be the case.
B4. They had “tasted the good word of God” (6:5a). They had been taught and nourished in the spiritual food of the word of God. They had evidently understood its value and found it to be morally good, even attractive. And…
B5. They had tasted “the powers of the age to come” (6:5b). The word of God and the powerful works of God go hand in hand. The invading of the “age to come” was experienced by them through the signs and wonders and miracles which accompanied and verified the initial proclamation of the gospel by the apostles (2 Corinthians 2:12).
So, we notice first the shift in the people being addressed, then the shift in the privileges they experienced. Then…
C. Notice The Shift In The Peril Being Threatened (6:4a, 6).
The author now explains the reason why they must go on to maturity. If they remained where they were in spiritual infancy, they stood in danger of the very real risk of being enticed away from and even rejecting entirely what they once knew to be true. That’s why it is imperative for believers to grow in their faith and relationship with God. “4a For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who (after all that they had known and experienced)… 6 have fallen away, because, to their own harm, they are re-crucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt” (6:4a, 6).
The peril being threatened now is not just their stunted spiritual growth, but their eternal destiny. This is a far more serious problem. This addresses the possibility that some may turn away from Christ completely, denying their previous spiritual experiences (6:4-5), and rejecting Christ and Christianity altogether. This would amount to apostasy.
Apostates are those who have understood the gospel, who have at one time professed faith in Christ, have been associated with the people of God, have benefitted from the ministry of the Holy Spirit, may have been baptized (perhaps even become members of the church) and yet, despite all they knew and at one time approved, they turn away and despise it. In other words, apostasy is the sin of those who reject Christ with their eyes wide open. Apostates are those who experience some spiritual enlightenment but then completely renounce it; those who adopt Christianity but then go back to their old religion or to paganism or to atheism; those who have the knowledge of Christ and who experience many of the benefits of Christianity but have no saving faith and who at some point completely deny Christ and actually oppose him.
Such persons cannot be saved! “It is impossible…” It is impossible is a phrase that is used three other times in the book of Hebrews (6:18; 10:4; 11:6). This is a statement of absolute, non-negotiable truth. “It is impossible…to renew (to bring back) to repentance those who…” (6:4a): (1) have once been enlightened, (2) have tasted the heavenly gift, (3) have shared in the Holy Spirit, (4) have tasted God’s good word, and (5) have tasted the powers of the age to come, and then have “fallen away.” These five experiences, which accompany a genuine saving faith and which true Christians enter into, enjoy, and benefit from throughout their Christian life, do not come to completion in the case of those who turn back. In them these experiences have no lasting effect because they consciously and willfully “turn away from the living God” (3:12); they do not persevere in faith (see 3:14). Those who have had this knowledge and experience, verified by supernatural powers and signs, and who then turn away are apostates who cannot be renewed again to repentance. There is no salvific remedial hope for them.
Notice (as I mentioned earlier), that the author pronounces this outcome not on “you” (5:12) but on “those who…” – i.e. those who had the privilege of knowing the truth of Christianity and who had claimed to believe it but who subsequently renounced it, rejecting Christ and the gospel; “those who…have fallen away” (6:6a). The purpose of the warning, therefore, is to prevent the Hebrews from doing the same. He is not saying that all of those to whom he was writing had actually fallen away from Christ and thus faced this judgement. No, quite the contrary (see comments on 6:9b below). But obviously the fact that he is addressing this matter at all indicates that there might be some among them who were in danger of moving in that direction, who were perilously close to turning away from Christianity and returning to Judaism, and about whose spiritual condition he is not sure. He is not trying to convince them to return to God and the truth they had once confessed, but rather he is warning them to not even consider turning away from it, to be steadfast in holding on to the truth of the gospel. This warning, therefore, in 6:4-6 is designed to prevent a potential reversal of what they initially believed. His warning to them is designed to motivate them to avoid this perilous danger. The one big motivator to avoid this danger is the warning that “it is impossible to renew to repentance those…who have fallen away.” They cannot be brought back. God refuses to restore to repentance an apostate, just as he refused to restore Esau even though he was remorseful (Hebrews 12:17).
Repentance is the experience of sorrow for sin, but not necessarily “godly sorrow” (2 Corinthians 7:10) - for example, Esau (Genesis 27:34, 41; Hebrews 12:17); Judas (Matthew 27:3), and false teachers (2 Peter 2:20-21) who were like the sow that returns to its mud and the dog to its vomit, in whom there was an initial outward change but their nature remained unchanged (2 Peter 2:22).
At some point these people being addressed in our passage have shown some repentance for sin, have been to some degree enlightened by the gospel, have enjoyed some of the benefits of the Christian life and the community of God's people, have experienced something of the work and power of the Holy Spirit, and have been blessed by the word of God. But here's the warning: If, after all that, they fall away it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. They were in danger of the sin against the Holy Spirit. This is the “unforgivable” sin about which Jesus spoke. This is the sin for which Jesus said there is no salvation: “Therefore, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven” (Matthew 12:31). This is the rejection of the testimony of the Holy Spirit about Jesus. This is the outright rejection of the gospel, and for that there is no repentance, no salvation.
So, how can this happen, you ask? It isn’t that they had new life in Christ but then lost it later. Scripture is clear that genuine salvation cannot be lost because of the saving power of Christ, the preserving power of the Holy Spirit, and the promises of God’s word (cf. John 3:16, 5:24, 6:37-40, 10:28-29; Romans 8:38-39; Philippians 1:6; Hebrews 10:14; 1 John 5:11-13). It isn’t that they didn’t understand the gospel. It isn’t that there was no response in them to the Word of God. It’s that the Word fell on infertile soil and, thus, did not produce genuine spiritual life at all (see comments below on 6:7-8), which explains why some of them were not advancing in their spirituality.
To turn away from what they knew to be true and from which they had benefited is bad enough. but to turn back to Judaism, it seems to me, is even worse, because that means they denied that Jesus was the Messiah, that they were looking for someone else (“not this man but Barrabas” [John 18:40]), that Jesus deserved what he got the first time as an impostor, a liar, a false king. You cannot be saved if you reject Christ as Messiah, because, by rejecting him, you would be saying that his crucifixion was worthless, that he isn’t who he claimed to be, that you are looking for someone else to save you. But the Bible says: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Why does God refuse to renew them again to repentance? (1) Because “to their own harm, they are re-crucifying the Son of God” and (2) because “they are holding him up to contempt” (6:6). By rejecting the one whom they had at one time acknowledged to be the Lord, the Messiah, would be tantamount to crucifying him all over again, putting him to an open shame again, ridiculing him all over again, taunting him all over again, putting Christ back on the cross all over again as a thief and a murder. That’s what Judaism did. In effect, they would be repeating the crucifixion and become “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18-19) just like those at the crucifixion,. In fact, it could probably be said that they would become more culpable than those at the crucifixion because they had already experienced Christianity in a powerful and personal way and yet, despite that experience, they now would be effectively “re-crucifying” Christ, completely rejecting him as the Son of God.
To turn away from Christ after all the spiritual blessings and benefits they had evidently enjoyed, would be to hold up Christ to public mockery all over again just as he was vilified on the cross. The hostility expressed against Christ at his trial and crucifixion (“we don’t want this man to rule over us” [Luke 19:14]) would be demonstrated by them all over again. Those who do this cannot repent again; God will not allow them to do so because of what they have done to his Son.
This isn't just a matter of unbelief but of outright hatred. This isn’t just a matter of turning away from Christ (bad as that is) but of purposefully and consciously turning against Christ. They would be imitating those who had originally crucified Jesus. They would be despising and rejecting his atoning death. They would be willfully rejecting all that they knew to be true and had been blessed by. They would be holding him up to public ridicule, shame, and disgrace all over again.
This seems harsh, doesn't it? This isn't language that we're used to. You are probably saying, “I thought anyone could be saved.” This seems in conflict with our understanding of the grace of God in salvation. But note this: God's grace does not set aside his justice. Anyone who commits such a gross sin will not be brought back to repentance by God. That is God's justice and that is God's love for his Son!
So, don't think that you can deny what you once professed to believe, live anyway you want. and then, when it suits, you turn back to Christ. You can't play those games with God! “Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap” (Galatian 6:7). Someone who claims to have seen the truth of God, experienced the blessings of Christianity and the Christian community, and professed to be a genuine believer in Jesus Christ and then turns back, renouncing it altogether and actually opposing Christ, cannot be brought back to repentance. To reject the truth you once understood and affirmed, to take up a lifestyle you once repented of, and to reject the Saviour you once claimed to know, is to have such “an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12) that you can never be saved. You knew the gospel to be true, you experienced the blessings of the church and yet in spite of it, you turned away. For such, there is no possibility of repentance. This isn't a matter if neglect or ignorance or temporary doubt, but a deliberate, willful rejection, after having experienced Christian truth and community, after having benefitted from it and been blessed by it, after having shared in the privileges of God's people.
This shows the extent to which someone can act like a Christian, talk like one, reap some of the benefits of being one, without being born again. Apparently some of the Hebrews were in danger of this, or at least were showing signs of this. They had been part of the fellowship of the church. They looked like Christians, had been considered to be Christians, but were in danger of turning away, of being lost and under the judgement of God forever.
So, we have noticed the shift: (A) in the people being addressed, (B) in the privileges being experienced, and (C) in the peril being threatened. And now, perhaps because this teaching is so shocking that we might be tempted to misinterpret it, the writer clarifies the principle he has been explaining by way of an illustration…
D. Notice This Principle Being Clarified (6:7-8).
“7 For the ground that drinks the rain that often falls on it and that produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned.”
This explanatory metaphor of the rain, the field, and the crop makes clear the purpose of the warning in this passage and the meaning and application of 6:4-6. In fact, this clarifying illustration echoes what Jesus taught in the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1-20), where the rocky ground and the thorny ground seem to have initial signs of life, but eventually the seed sown there came to nothing – no plants develop to maturity.
“The ground” represents all people upon whom “the rain” of the gospel falls. “The rain” represents the enlightenment from God, the heavenly gift, the powers of the age to come, the good the word of God. It falls on people in general without discrimination. Before the rain fell, you couldn't tell whether the land was good or bad. But after the rain fell, whatever grew up revealed the nature of the land. Just so, the spiritual state of those in 6:4-6 could not be determined until they were once enlightened and had tasted the heavenly gift and then have fallen away.
When the gospel falls on “cultivated” soil, God adds his blessing and a fruitful crop springs up - “vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated” (6:7). This productive, fruitful, beneficial, useful vegetation represents genuine believers. On the other hand, when the gospel falls on uncultivated soil, all it produces is “thorns and thistles” which are “worthless and about to be cursed” (6:8a). Thorns and thistles represent apostate unbelievers, those who fall away after having once received the life-giving truth of the gospel. The falling away indicates that the soil was uncultivated and the fruit was worthless; such persons were never saved. While they passively received teaching, blessing etc., you couldn't tell outwardly whether they were Christians or not. But when they fall away and hold Christ up to the contempt of open shame, they reveal that they were never saved in the first place.
The rain of the gospel is the same for everyone and falls on everyone; what is different is the condition of the soil. The same rain falls on both types of soil, but without good soil and cultivation all that the rain produces is naturally occurring weeds. The weeds are apostate unbelievers. They had the same rain as the good, fruitful vegetation but no spiritual life developed in them.
Just like rain in the physical sphere, the grace of God in the spiritual sphere falls on all people. And just like the different responses of the soil to the physical rain, so all people do not respond in the same way to the gospel. The difference is in the condition of the soil and the fruit it produces, not the rain. The crop is evidence of the condition of the soil and what lay below the surface. That's what determines the nature and value of the land. Spiritual fruit indicates that the soil is good and produces genuine believers, but the soil that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, “about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned” (6:8b) While the thorns and thistles indicate the condition of the soil, it's not the crop that is rejected but the land itself because it’s worthless. To be worthless means it doesn't stand scrutiny in the final judgement. That's the fate of those who fall away from Christ. Thus, the crop indicates their standing before God - a fruitful crop of genuine believers results in God's blessing; a worthless crop of unbelievers results in God's judgement.
The spiritual condition of one who refuses to remain faithful and true to Christ and to the gospel of God’s grace is like land that has never been cultivated, so that when the good, refreshing, life-giving rain from God falls on it, it only produces worthless weeds - no life, utterly barren. Fruitfulness for God is the only indication of spiritual reality in a person. If the grace of God falls on you and you initially show signs of new life but eventually you become spiritually barren (i.e. your life does not change, there is no fruit for God), not only were you never saved but you may be an apostate for whom there is no possibility of salvation - you are “about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned” in God's judgement.
III. The Exhortation To All: “Keep On Going” (6:9-12)
A. Notice The Exhortation In The Manner Of Address (6:9).
“Even though we are speaking this way, dearly loved friends, in your case we are confident of things that are better and that pertain to salvation” (6:9).
Notice the sudden and significant shift in the tone and persons addressed. The tone shifts now from warning and judgement to exhortation and confidence. The persons being addressed shifts from “those who” to “dearly loved friends.” The author is “confident” that despite the way he has been speaking to them, “in your case” (6:9a) what he has described in 6:4-6 is not true of them; he is confident that they will not face the fire of God's judgement (6:8), even though there were danger signs.
His expression of confidence is obviously designed to motivate them to persevere in hope and faith (6:11-12). This is the heart of a pastor warning his people against real and imminent danger while also encouraging them to stay the course. He thinks they are good, fertile “ground that drinks the rain that often falls on it and that produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated” (6:7a). He believes that the final assessment of them will be a fruitful crop that “receives a blessing from God” (6:7b). He does not anticipate their condemnation under God's judgement but their blessing under God's grace. In their case, he is “confident of things that are better and that pertain to salvation” (6:9), that their lives will bear good spiritual fruit in the final harvest, the consummation of God's blessings that have been showered on good, cultivated soil.
B. Notice The Exhortation In The Confidence Expressed (6:10-12).
B1. The confidence in them collectively (6:10). “For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints—and by continuing to serve them.” The basis of his assertion in 6:9 is God’s justice and their works. God knows the genuineness of their spirituality which is the basis of their works and their love which “you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints - and by continuing to serve them.” God is not unjust; he will not forget or overlook what they had done. He will not ignore the evidence of cultivated soil on which the rain of God's blessing had fallen and produced good fruit. The love they had shown was the love of God himself shining through them, love that was evident in their works, specifically “by serving the saints” which had been historically true of them in the past and was “continuing” to be true in the present. This shows that the rain of God’s grace in the gospel had fallen upon them and it had produced good vegetation to their credit.
B2. The confidence in them individually (6:11-12). “Now we desire each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end” (6:11). The objective basis of the author's confidence expressed in 6:9-10, is that he believed these Hebrews were genuine believers and that what they needed was encouragement. Now he expresses his pastoral heart for each one of them individually, that they will persevere to the end. His assessment of them is not that they will drift away from so great salvation (2:3), not that they will turn away from the living God (3:12), not that they will fall short of God's rest (4:1), not that they will perish through unbelief (3:19), but his encouragement to them and his confidence in them is that they will persevere “for the full assurance of [their] hope until the end,” that they will be diligent in maintaining and pursuing the full conviction of their hope without wavering, until they enter God's rest, the completion of their salvation.
This is what true salvation is. Not just the confession of faith at the beginning, but the completion of faith at the end, with the result that “you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance” (6:12). His desire for them is that they will not become lazy in their spiritual wellbeing, not dull of hearing or slow in their commitment or confession, but that they will “be imitators” of those examples of faith who have gone before them. His desire is that they will not imitate the example of unbelief as in those who died in the wilderness, but imitate the example of those who remained faithful to the end, like Abraham (cf. Heb. 11), “those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance” (6:12b).
Final Remarks
The structure then of this passage is as follows:
I. The Rebuke To Baby Christians: “Grow Up!” (5:11-6:3)
II. The Warning To Unstable Christians: “Watch Out!” (6:4-8)
III. The Exhortation To All: “Keep On Going” (6:9-12)
The writer is addressing the Hebrews in general as those who (1) were dull of hearing (5:11); (2) ought to be teachers (5:12a) but instead needed someone to teach them again the basic truths of the Word of God (5:12b); (3) needed milk not solid food (5:12c-13) because (a) they were unskilled in the word of righteousness; (b) spiritually they were still babies whereas solid food belongs to those who are spiritually mature (5:14). Nevertheless, despite these concerns, he is confident of better things of them, things that “pertain to salvation” (6:9).
The big question, of course, when we reflect on what we have studied is this: Is this passage teaching that you can be saved and lost again? We resoundingly reply: No! First, because the doctrine that you can be saved and lost again is inconsistent with other Scriptures (as I noted earlier), and second because the final clarification in 6:7-8 makes it clear that the “ground” that was unfruitful never did have spiritually life-giving, healthy vegetation. Those who received the benefit of God’s blessings (who tasted the work of the Holy Spirit and the word of God), and who then turn away and do not persevere in faith, are like the unfruitful land - they never had life to begin with, never were regenerate. But those who receive the benefit of God’s blessings and who persevere in faith and demonstrate the fruitfulness of “things that pertain to salvation” show by their lives that they are truly regenerate.
True believers cannot be or become apostates. So, what is the point of this warning? Perhaps there were two reasons for including this warning. First, though this is written to Christians, their spiritual condition was such that some appeared to be teetering on the edge of returning to Judaism, which put them in danger of apostasizing. Second, because of their low spiritual state, the thrust of this passage is to exhort them to persevere in the truth of the gospel to the end.
If you worry that you may be an apostate then you probably aren't, because apostates are rebels against Christ and have no conscience or concern about what they have done. If you worry that someone you know and love may be an apostate, that's something we do not know - only God knows. The most we can say is that they are not living like a believer and we should continue to pray for their restoration or their salvation. At one time they may have professed faith in Christ and even been baptized and become a member of the church. But if they are apostate, they are not now nor ever were a Christian, regardless of what they may have said or done before. By contrast, a genuine believer perseveres toward the goal with eyes fixed on Jesus (Philippians 2:12-13; 3:12-15; Hebrews 12:1-2). It’s not that genuine Christians never have doubts or backslide because they do, but if they do they do not remain in that condition.
The punishment of apostasy is not the loss of rewards or God's discipline but the ultimate and final curse of God, to be “burned.” The purpose of this warning is to jolt the readers to the reality of the danger they face if they turn back, so that they will not do so. Remember our thesis: There is no repentance for those who had all the blessings of Christianity and the truth of the gospel but then reject Christ himself.
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