The Hebrews writer is highly concerned that we don’t fall away! This has been a huge theme throughout the previous chapters. In 3:7-10 he described the Israelites in the wilderness. They heard His voice. They provoked God’s anger. They went astray from God in their hearts. They fell away. They were thus not able to receive God’s promises or enter His rest. In 3:12-13 he charged brethren with a DAILY responsibility to assist other brethren in not being deceived and hardened by sin and, by it, falling away from the living God.
This is of grave concern. The message is “falling is easy! Hold on tight! And help each other hold on!“ Now we learn why this has been such a huge concern:
HEB 6:4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
I think it’s clear, given their qualifications, that the people described here are believers – “Christians” as we would call them today. God had illuminated them. They knew and believed God’s word, had experienced God’s power in their lives, had been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, had submitted to God’s grace, and had received God’s promise of salvation for themselves. I’d like to take a brief look at each of these qualifications:
- Enlightened: Paul prayed for the Ephesians that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18). These people described in Hebrews were likewise enlightened. They knew the hope God provides. They knew the riches of salvation promised to Jesus’ brothers and sisters.
- They had tasted the heavenly gift, which could be many things, but it probably means “faith” here as in Ephesians 2:8. [See Footnote 1]
- They had partaken of the Holy Spirit (which means “become partners with” Him). [See Footnote 2]
- They had tasted God’s Word (remember the milk/meat discussion of 5:12?).
- They had even tasted the power of the age to come. The writer said back in Hebrews 2:5 that he was writing about the world to come – which he has made clear is the age when all of Christ’s brothers and sisters will have their inheritance.
Yet after all of this, they fell away. And remember in 3:12-13 how he gave responsibility to each of us to help each other keep holding on? Now he says that if they fall you won’t be able to renew them to repentance.
VERB TENSE AND VOICE ARE CRITICAL HERE! Please bear with me and read carefully as I unpack v.6. Ignoring verb tense will result in a terrible misinterpretation with huge consequences.
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It is impossible TO RENEW them.” That is an active infinitive verb. In short, that means that someone other than the subject is “doing the verb.” Given the context of 3:12-13, it means that one Christian is trying to renew a fallen Christian to repentance.
You encouraged him daily to keep on hanging on and yet he fell. Now you want to be helping him repent and be renewed. That may be a noble desire, but it is futile. You cannot do it!
Why? Because “they ARE” – not they did or would be – “crucifying the Son of God to themselves and putting Him to open shame again.”
At this moment, when they are in a fallen state, you cannot do anything to renew them. This is because right now they are in rebellious sin. They have severed themselves from Christ and His grace and turned their backs to it. Through that sin they are driving the nails into Jesus’ cross and exposing him to the shame of Calvary.
You were there once, weren’t you? You were separated from God, driving the nails into the cross with your sin and rebellion.
And how were you renewed? Was it through the work of a Christian? Was it a human being who convicted you of your sin and your need for a savior? No. It was the work of the Holy Spirit. John 16:7-8: “If I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”
Putting this all together while remaining faithful to the verb tenses makes the message of Hebrews 6:4-6 clearer: If a believer falls away and is now again in his sin apart from grace, you can’t renew him or cause him to repent any more than you could have done that the first time he submitted. Renewal is the work of the Holy Spirit alone.
HEB 6:7 For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
Don’t be that person who falls away! If God is tilling and watering your garden, produce vegetation that is useful to Him (righteousness)! Don’t risk being burned by producing thorns and thistles (sin and bringing shame upon him)!
HEB 6:9a But, beloved,
Those are some rather hard, frightening words he’s just written. So he begins the next section with “I love you!”
In modern American culture, too many people believe that if you love someone you will always say positive, uplifting words. You would never want to risk making him or her upset or feel badly. But that is a terrible distortion of love. If you love me, tell me how I am bringing harm upon myself. Tell me how I’m dishonoring God. There’s nothing more selflessly loving you could do than to not worry about what my reaction might be.
HEB 6:9b we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. 10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.
For these readers, the writer is convinced that they will not fall. Why?
Because salvation is accompanied by good works, as James famously wrote in James 2:18-26. It is also accompanied by a love for God which results in ministry to the saints. These readers had shown all three of those qualities.
What’s interesting to me is that by using the phrase “God is not unjust,” the writer says, in effect, God’s JUSTICE looks at your good works and is pleased. Yes, justice hates that which is sinful and punishes it. But justice also loves that which is righteous and good and remembers it.
HEB 6:11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
There were probably different degrees of good works, love, and ministry among the readers. And so his desire was that they all show such diligence. In fact, he tells believers to imitate the faith and patience of those whose lives are marked by these qualities. If they will do this, they too will realize full assurance that they will not fall away. They will be able to firmly hold onto the hope of salvation all the way until the end and, in that end, inherit the promises.
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FOOTNOTES
1What is the heavenly gift? Peace? Assurance? The Holy Spirit? Everything good? Jesus? Here are some supporting verses to explore how this or similar phrases are used in the New Testament: (Luke 11:13;
John 3:27; John 4:10; John 6:32; Acts 8:18-20; Ephesians 2:8; James 1:17.
2In modern English we don’t really use the word “partake” outside of religious contexts. The Greek word for “partakers” in 6:4 is
metochos (μέτοχος). It derives from a word that means “share in common,” as roommates might share the same kitchen. It can also go deeper to mean something similar to joint ownership. “Partners” is probably the closest English word.
