A Warning Against Apostasy

Apostasy= an abandonment of the faith. A turning away from truth.

This is one of the most debated texts in all of the Bible. Regardless of one’s interpretation of it, it stands as one of the most sobering of sections in the Bible. I’m going to share with you the three main interpretations of the text and then we will break down the verses.

1) These verses teach you can lose your salvation.

Problems:

Other Scriptures teach that God will keep those He saves until the end.

If these verses teach you can lose your salvation they also teach you cannot get it back once you do (6:4) “for it is impossible”

2) This is a hypothetical situation. The problem I have with this view is twofold:

A) The warning is repeated in 10:26-31. I don’t think the writer would spend so much time on a hypothetical situation.

B) If it is a hypothetical situation it is not a warning at all. If it can’t happen why mention it?

3) These verses describe persons who are professing but not actual Christians.

I hold to the third view.

The truth is the writer does not know anyone’s heart. He doesn’t know who is truly saved anymore than you and I do. He is concerned for the Hebrew Christians. He is concerned that some of them are going to turn back to Judaism. He hopes for the best as we will see in 6:9-12. Some are not progressing in the faith and that is probably what causes the alarm that inspires this warning (6:1). This warning is for those in the church who may be tempted to turn their back on the Christian faith.

v. 4 “Impossible” This is why I can’t hold to the first view. If this is teaching you can lose salvation it is teaching you can only lose it once. Most people who believe you can lose your salvation believe that you can lose it and gain it many times throughout your life.

“Enlightened” A very general word that means to become aware of. It doesn’t necessarily mean the person who was enlightened was convinced. The knowledge was simply brought to their attention.

We could think of the people who witnessed Jesus when He walked on this earth. Many heard Him preach. We could think of people who have heard the gospel very plainly in our age. These are people who have had the gospel made very plain to them. The information has been given to them.

“tasted the heavenly gift” I don’t think the gift mentioned here is the Holy Spirit because He is mentioned next.

I think the heavenly gift is the gift of salvation. Two possibilities here:

1) They claim to have been saved. These are people who say they have tasted the gift of salvation.

2) “Taste” here does not mean consumed. In Scripture salvation is described as consuming.

Woman at the well- Whosoever shall drink of this water… (John 4:14).

“If any man shall eat of this bread he shall live forever 9John 6:51).

One may become aware of the benefits of salvation without being saved. We may get a taste of salvation by hearing sermons or reading Scripture. The testimony of a faithful brother or sister may give us a taste of the benefits of being saved. It is our responsibility to consume not simply taste. Tasting might be likened to standing at the door of salvation but not entering in.

“Shared in the Holy Spirit” The Greek word “shared” means “to be associated with”. There are people who are unsaved and have been present when the Holy Spirit was at work. In Jesus day some of His enemies saw the power of the Holy Spirit and said it was the power of Satan (Matthew 12:24). Think of all the unsaved people who saw Jesus do miracles but never were saved.

An unsaved person may sit in a church service for years while the Holy Spirit is at work. The Spirit may be working n the lives of people all around him/her. They may witness the power of the Spirit:

Empowering

Comforting

Healing

Encouraging

Yet they may continue to reject the salvation the Spirit offers.

v. 5 “Tasted the goodness of the Word of God”. They heard the Word preached and taught. Some of them may have even enjoyed preaching. There will be people who miss heaven but heard many sermons about it.

“The powers of the age to come” This is the power of heaven. The power of God. Again, think of the people in Jesus’ day who saw Him raise the dead. In the first century church the Apostles accomplished great miracles as well. In our age there are people who have witnessed God answer prayer in a miraculous way. There are people who will miss heaven but experienced answered prayer. Think of that. There are people who have been on prayer lists in churches and have been healed yet they remain unsaved.

v. 6 Now comes the warning. It’s directed to people who have:

Been enlightened

Tasted of the heavenly gift

Shared in the Holy Spirit

Tasted the goodness of the Word of God

Tasted the powers of heaven

And then fall away.

What does “fallen away” mean? It means to turn away from the faith. To abandon the gospel. 1 John 2:19 describes such people.

It is impossible, the writer says, “to restore them again to repentance”.

That’s interesting. It doesn’t say bring them back to salvation. It says bring them back to repentance. These people will not repent. You cannot be forgiven if you will not repent. Those who will not repent should not think they are saved. The Hebrews addressed had been given every opportunity to repent of their sin and come to faith in Christ.

“Since they are crucifying once again the Son of God” Their actions are an insult to Christ.

Look at what it says they are doing:

“Holding Christ up to contempt” They are like the people at the foot of the cross who hurled insults at Jesus. They are like the crowd who shouted “Crucify him!”

I can’t help but think of Judas when I read these passages. They describe him perfectly. He wasn’t there when Jesus was crucified but he was as guilty as Pilate, the chief priest, and the crowd. He had no reason not to give his life to Christ. He was the great pretender. He was as guilty as those who hammered the spikes into Jesus.

We are to stand for Christ. We are to live for Him. We are to speak for Him. If we refuse, we do so to our own harm. I other words, we can expect judgment.

v. 7-8 The writer uses a common illustration to prove his point. When a piece of land is cultivated and planted and God send the rains upon it, it will bring forth fruit. The blessing of God will be upon it.

If the ground produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless. The field is to be burned. These are the people who reject the grace of God. The soil of their heart is hardened. They bear no lasting fruit.

The soil is the Christian’s heart, the seed is the word of God, the rain is the saving grace of God, the fruit is the good works of the Christian. If the soil does not produce lasting fruit it is void of the saving grace of God and in danger of judgment.

It's clear that the writer believed apostasy was possible. Even though he hopes for the best, as we will see in verse 9, he is sure to give the warning.

Matthew 7:21-23 is an example of what the writer is talking about. Jesus spoke of a day that He would judge people who were convinced they knew Him. These people argued they had experienced Jesus and His power but the truth is they did not know Him at all.

As we close, I would like to give a few warning signs of apostasy:

1. You have come to church for some time but have still not given your life to Jesus.

2. You continually put off salvation.

3. You are presently feeling conviction but refuse to give your life to the Lord.

4. You are engaged in church activities but do not have a love for Christ, righteousness, His Word and His work.

5. You accept as true ideologies that contradict the Word of God.