The Warning against turning away from Christ

Open:

Today we resume our study of the book of Hebrews and our text for today is Hebrews 6:4-12. Even though the first three verses of chapter 6 were covered in a previous message, I will begin reading with verse 1 and read through verse 12.

READ the Text: Hebrews 6:1-12

The complexities of the Passage

The KJV Bible Commentary - For centuries Hebrews 6 has been a battleground. That fact alone ought to warn us to study carefully and to conclude slowly concerning the teaching of these verses. The crux of the issue is whether or not a born-again believer can lose his salvation

Hebrews 6:4-8 is one of the most debated passages in the NT. While there is a multitude of interpretations, they are generally summarized under 4 main categories.

Loss of Salvation: a true believer can lose his or her salvation

False Believers: those who fall away were never saved

Hypothetical view: these are genuine believers who will NOT fall away - the warnings are the means that God uses to keep them in the faith

Jewish Believers who were being tempted to return to the Old Covenant and abandon following Christ

A call to be charitable to believers with other views

a commentator named Klein gives a timely reminder in how we are to handle those with differing views:

Embracing one another in love is Jesus’ criterion of discipleship. As love covers a multitude of sins, it ought also to cover all our inadequacies of interpretation due to our preunderstandings, and the other failings to which we are prone as we do our interpretive work.” (quoted in Four Views on the Warning Passages in Hebrews, p.174)

Review the context - the prior message in Hebrews was March 15 (5 weeks ago)

The writer was identifying Jesus as being a superior High Priest when he interrupted his argument to scold them for being “dull of hearing” (Heb. 5:11). The writer was beginning to make his contrast of Jesus’ High priesthood of Melchizedek with the priesthood of the order of Aaron when he realized they weren’t spiritually mature enough to discuss the topic of Melchizedek.

The writer pointed out the need for the believers to grow in their faith, to move past the elementary teachings (Heb. 5:12) and to move toward the goal of being more conformed to the image of Jesus (Heb 6:1). His desire is for the listeners to advance from requiring “milk” to gaining the ability to handle the “meat” of the things of Christ.

It is in this context that the writer issues a very stern warning about the consequences for those who “fall away” from the faith. It is one thing to become aware of one’s status as a spiritual infant and receiving the challenge to grow and deepen one’s faith; it is an entirely different matter to reject the faith and walk away from it.

This is the critical issue that this warning passage deals with, and it is important for us to gain an understanding of what is being taught.

Step 1: Identify the status of those in verses 4 & 5

Explanation: Let us examine the descriptions given for this group:

They were once enlightened

They have tasted of the heavenly gift

They were made partaker of the Holy Spirit

They have tasted the good word of God

They have experienced the powers of the world to come

Argument: Is the writer referring to Genuine believers or is he describing those who are in the fellowship who consider themselves to be believers, but in reality remain outside of Christ? There are respected, conservative, Christ-honoring Bible teachers and pastors who fall into both camps.

Similar language is used in the NT and when it is encountered outside a difficult passage such as Hebrews 6:4-5 it is generally accepted to refer to believers. Consider the verb “tasted” in v.4 as it describes those who have tasted of the heavenly gift. Those who interpret this group as false Christians would say “they have just ‘tasted’ the gift but they have not fully received it. This is difficult when the writer of Hebrews uses the same verb to state that Jesus might taste death for everyone (Heb. 2:9). I don’t think anyone would want to interpret this as Jesus not fully experiencing death - which would pretty much destroy the foundations of Christianity!

The argument for the group to be considered as false believers is more developed than just the one verb. There is a language shift from verses 1-3 from ‘us” and ‘we’ to the 2nd person in verses 4-8 where the terms are ‘those’ and ‘them’ and ‘themselves.’ Following this harsh warning, the language reverts to the more personal ‘we’ and ‘you’ and ‘your’ (verses 9-12)

Jesus also described False believers in terms of those who receive the word with joy, and those who hear the word, but then explains that both of these soils are not productive - they don’t produce fruit because they aren’t rooted in Christ (Parable of the soils, Matt 13: 20-22)

The debate will not be resolved by me, but my understanding is that these verses are used of those who are In Christ - they are genuine believers.

Step 2: Define Apostasy (Verse 6a)

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Apostasy

Apostasy. Turning against God, as evidenced by abandonment and repudiation of former beliefs. The term generally refers to a deliberate renouncing of the faith by a once sincere believer rather than a state of ignorance or mistaken knowledge.

willful rejection of the things of Christ

A repudiation (a turning away) from beliefs that were once held

This is NOT what happened when Peter denied Christ three times during His trial

Apostate is a technical term for someone like a Josh Harris or Bart Ehrman

Consequences for Apostates (6b- 8)

For it is impossible to restore them again to repentance

There is no possibility for Apostates to be saved

They are willfully rejecting (despising) the means of grace

“But they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened . . . therefore God gave them up” (Romans 1:21b, 24a)

Sin of the High hand (Numbers 15:30-31)

2 Peter 2:20-22

1 Timothy 1:20

1 Timothy 4:1

1 John 2:18-19