Does Hebrews 6:4-6 mean we can lose our salvation?

Privileges. — We have called this border-ground. On it the Apostle declined to dilate. He would carry on his readers to that which could establish them in the true Christian faith. And he gives here a reason for that: "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 [or, and have fallen away], to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame" (6:4-6). A terrible passage some have thought this. A very solemn one it certainly is. But what does it teach? That a real Christian may after all fall away, and be lost for ever? Not a thought of that is there in it. To the Hebrews, to whom he was writing, he was careful to say he did not apply it (9). No real Christian therefore among the Hebrews was to quail under it. To any mere professors, if such there were in their company, it was a solemn warning indeed. For the illustration of the ground (7) was plain in its application. Enjoying the rain from heaven, and thus it might be said to partake of a heavenly gift, if fruitful it received blessing from God. If, however, after being watered by the rain it produced thorns and thistles, it would be rejected, and be nigh to a curse, whose end was to be burned. It had enjoyed every advantage, but did not respond to them. It is not the question of a poor crop, or only of a moderate crop, but of no crop at all — nothing but thorns and thistles. It was evidently a useless piece of ground, on which the rain had descended in vain.

When once we have understood that this passage is a comparison of the power of the spiritual system with Judaism, and that it speaks of giving up the former, after having known it, its difficulty disappears. The possession of life is not supposed, nor is that question touched. The passage speaks, not of life, but of the Holy Ghost as a power present in Christianity. To "taste the good word" is to have understood how precious that word is; and not the having been quickened by its means. Hence in speaking to the Jewish Christians he hopes better things, and things which accompany salvation, so that all these things could be there and yet no salvation. Fruit there could not be; that supposes life.

He goes on now to show the terrible condition of those who went back to this Jewish system, out of the light and blessing of Christianity. It was vain for them to think that they could replace themselves where the saints of old had been. Judaism had passed away for God; and those who went back there would find that they had left the only ground of peace and salvation. It would be even impossible to renew again to repentance those who, once enlightened, had tasted of the heavenly gift, been made partakers of the Holy Ghost, tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, and turned away from it all. In the Israelitish cities of refuge those who had slain another without intending murder might take refuge from the avenger of blood; and Christ Himself was the true city of refuge for those who had been partakers in the common guilt of the nation. For such He Himself had pleaded at the cross, "Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do;" and Peter, by the Holy Ghost had, in view of that ignorance, preached repentance to them. But those who now went back open-eyed, among His rejectors, could no longer plead this. They were crucifying for themselves the Son of God afresh, and there was no city of refuge to open its doors to such.

The warning here has been a sore perplexity to many who are as far as possible from the condition which is here contemplated. The description of these apostates, solemn as it is, does not speak of them as children of God, as justified by faith, or in any way which would imply such things as these. And the apostle after describing them, immediately adds as to those whom he is addressing, "But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, even things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak." This is the most distinct assurance that he had no thought of one who had known salvation incurring the doom of an apostate. What he says of them is, first of all, that they had been enlightened that they could plead ignorance no longer. Secondly, they had "tasted" — but one may taste and, after all, refuse. Thirdly, they had been made "partakers" — and the word does not mean necessarily more than external participation; it is the word "companions" which we have had before — "partakers, companions of the Holy Ghost." They had been brought into that in which the Spirit of God bore witness to Christ and the fruit of His work. The "powers of the age to come" are miracles, the mighty works by which the consequences of sin and the destructive power of Satan will be banished from the earth in the millennial reign.

Wonderful as all this is, these advantages enjoyed by man without life, they are but the natural result of a risen Christ, whose power and coming glory were witnessed to, and if we may so say "sampled," in those early days, and their significance apprehended at least in measure by mere man, who by intellect could distinguish between the grace and glory of the gospel, and the dry hard commands of the law; but all apart from living faith. Having no life, when the testing moment came — as come it will to every professor — all without faith fall away. Therefore Heb. 6:4-6 shows us a profession which might be renounced, not a life which can be lost. The enjoyment of privilege, the possession of gift, is distinct from eternal life.

It is observable that we read here of enlightenment, not of new birth or eternal life. Undoubtedly the heavenly gift comes before us; and so it is not earthly like the associations of the Messiah, but "heavenly" because of contrast with Canaan hopes. How great a boon that God is now revealing heavenly grace! Further, it is not the old and essential truth of the Holy Spirit quickening a soul by the word, still less of now sealing the believer and for ever dwelling in him. We must not forget that He was sent down also to constitute the assembly God's habitation; so that all introduced therein were in a general way partakers of the Spirit. Whoever bowed to the gospel tasted God's word as good, and received it with joy as of far different savour from that law which was a ministration of death and condemnation. Then the powers exercised in casting out demons, healing, and the like, were samples of the age to come when they will be fully displayed, under the reign of the Son of man.

Now the substance of Christian privileges remains, and must as long as the church lives on earth and the gospel of Christ's glory is preached. There is real light of God shining on souls, not the dark or the dimness which could not but be before the gospel. It is still a heavenly calling, not an earthly one. Again, it is not of God to put forward His law when His Spirit is here still more fully to demonstrate sin, righteousness, and judgment to the world. And His word showing (not law nor promise only, but) accomplishment in Christ is surely "good"; as it is for all the baptised at least to taste that it is good, even if there be no longer the powers of the coming age, as we see them notably absent from the seven churches of the Revelation. But to give up all this, after having once profited by its wondrous excellence in the name of the glorified Jesus, is fatal. For what more can grace do or give to act on souls? If the Jews rejected the Messiah on earth, the Holy Spirit could and did meet them with a call to repentance and remission in His name exalted by and at God's right hand. But after having confessed Him on high and shared these privileges and powers, as members of the heavenly firm (which the baptised are, in privilege and responsibility), to fall away is to forfeit all. Yea too, there is no more resource in the treasures of grace. God has no fresh and higher way of presenting Christ to act on such for recovery. Therefore is it added for those that "fell away" that it is "impossible to renew such again unto repentance, crucifying for themselves as they do and putting to shame the Son of God." There had been Christ here in humiliation; there is Christ in glory above: what more, deeper, higher, has God to win the heart by?

(Vv. 4-6). Having sought to meet the difficulties occasioned by their dull spiritual condition, the Apostle passes on to warn these believers of the serious danger to which they were exposed. The fact that they were clinging to the forms and ceremonies of Judaism might indicate that some who were enlightened by the truths of Christianity, and had tasted its privileges, had given up their profession and had returned to Judaism. For such there would be no recovery. This “falling away”, of which the Apostle speaks, is not the backsliding of a true believer, but the apostasy of a mere professor.

Hebrews 6:4-8) describes the first class. Every Jew who had embraced Christianity had thereby found an entrance into a most privileged circle, and became a partaker of many striking benefits, irrespective of whether at the bottom he was really converted or not. It was possible that under stress of persecution and trouble some might wish to shake off allegiance to Christ and return to their Judaism, and in these verses the Spirit of God warns such of the consequences. In order to be properly reinstated amongst their former Jewish associates they would have to "crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame."

This is to "fall away" indeed! To fall from the profession of Christianity right away until the depth of apostasy is reached. This is backsliding in its most aggravated form, so aggravated as to be possible only to an unconverted person and to be worthy of the most tremendous and unsparing judgment. It is IMPOSSIBLE to renew such to repentance. Their doom is irrevocably fixed.

No true child of God ever apostatizes, though not a few professors of the Christian religion have done so. If an Hebrew threw up his Christian profession and wished to get reinstated in the synagogue and amongst his own people, what would happen? He would find that as the price of re-admission he would have to call down a curse upon Jesus as an impostor. He would have in effect to crucify to himself "the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame." Now to go to such lengths as that is to bring oneself under the governmental judgment of God, just as Pharaoh did in the days of old when God hardened his heart, so that it is impossible to be renewed to repentance.

You will notice that the word here, is "impossible" and not "improbable." This one word is quite sufficient to show that there is no support in this scripture for the idea of a true believer falling away and being lost for ever. ALL those who "fall away" in the sense spoken of in this passage are for ever lost. It is not that they may be, but that they must be; and there would not be a single ray of hope for any back-slider, did it refer to such.

Carefully notice how the scripture before us guards us from confounding light and power with life. Not a word implies that those that fell away were ever quickened in the Christ, or sealed with the Spirit, or baptised in His energy into the one body. It is simply the case of disciples walking no more with Christ, stumbling at the truth or its consequences. So it was when He was here; so it followed when He sat on high with aggravation of guilt, as is here shown, for those that since fell away. Light shone, goodness was tasted, evidence abundant and undeniable; yet they fell away, through (not ignorance but) selfwill which could not bear God's will. They undoubtedly and fatally shrank from the tribulation through which we must enter the kingdom.