1:1–4). (A’) Having tasted the goodness of the word of God 8:31–39) and that no one can pluck us out of His hand (John 10:28–29). The ESV’s “and then have fallen away” rightly renders the final participle in the series of participles we looked at in the comment on 6:4–5. There is a difference between tasting and eating. Desire to resolve doctrinal strain is understandable, but it distracts us from receiving Hebrews 6 for what it is: a sincere and urgent warning lest the world lure us to join its repudiation of Christ, making him a spectacle of shame and leading to intractable unrepentance. God has promised to keep us, assuring us that nothing can separate us from His love (Rom. To alleviate the strain, some say the warning presents a possibility that genuine believers may reject Christ and be cast away forever. It’s a warning God employs as a means of enabling his people to endure. … First, it’s important to remember that salvation is by God’s grace, not our works (Ephesians 2:8, 9). Before the doctrinal question of apostasy can be answered, it’s critical first to address this warning passage’s function. It does not announce faith’s possible failure. the purpose of proclaiming the gospel through publishing They stress gospel admonitions with abridgment of gospel promises. Previously: Who hasn’t been perplexed by the warning in Hebrews 6:4–8? Then we read: We want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (2 Thessalonians 2). This is often seen as evidence that implies the genuineness of one’s faith. 3:1–4:13; cf. . When we come to worship and we hear Christ Himself say, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, I will give you … Is it possible for a Christian to lose his or her salvation? Why Did God Command Hosea to Marry a Prostitute? Heb 6:5-6) seem difficult to understand. The 11 Beliefs You Should Know about Jehovah’s Witnesses When They Knock at the Door. He is co-author of The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance (IVP Academic, 2001), co-editor of Four Views on the Historical Adam (Zondervan, 2014), and a regular contributor to Credo. The farmland analogy of verses 7–8 illustrates the distinction between externally experienced blessings and internal heart responses. Your gift allows TGC to continue offering gospel-centered resources and hope for the searching. The word dynameis (plural), translated “miracles” in 2:4, reappears here as “powers,” and in both texts these miracles/powers are connected to the Holy Spirit (cf. You don’t simply “lose” your salvation, as if it was as easy as that. Can you lose your salvation? Dennis and his wife, Jane, live in Escondido and have four children and sixteen grandchildren. Although “the heavenly gift” could refer to the whole salvation that God bestows by grace, the repetition of “tasted” suggests that the gift coming down from heaven is specifically “the goodness of the word of God.” In Hebrews 12:25, God’s voice speaking to Israel on earth (at Sinai) will be contrasted to his addressing the new covenant church now from heaven. Is it possible for a Christian to lose his or her salvation? Additionally, Hebrews 6 is a big stumbling block for people about the kinds of spiritual experiences a person can have and still be lost. No! For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. This passage confuses us because it relates to how we process the relationship between the gospel’s promises and its admonitions. By implication, it also indicates the sacred relationship between persevering faithfulness and our inheritance of salvation. We are not saved because of anything good in us. Advocates of this view unintentionally alter the function of the passage by converting the warning against falling away into a declaration that it’s possible to fall away. But the danger of willful apostasy, from which repentance is impossible, is real. Simply kneel down right where you are, or bow your head, and tell Jesus you … Many believe that you cannot lose your salvation, no matter how many bad things you may end up doing in this life. Hebrews must be rightly divided from Paul’s epistles to … 6:1), for there is no means of salvation other than Jesus (Heb. (B) Having become partners/partakers of the Holy Spirit 1:10; Rev. . This means we believers should wholeheartedly affirm: “If I, who look to Christ alone for salvation, forsake him, I will find myself incapable of repenting such that I’ll most assuredly perish forever.” We must resist adjusting this with diversionary questions. Does Hebrews 6:4 teach we can lose our salvation? This article is adapted from ESV Expository Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation: Volume 12 edited by Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr, and Jay Sklar. The preacher assures his readers that when God made his promise to Abraham, he swore an oath to show the heirs of promise the “unchangeable character of his purpose” (6:17). Six experienced Bible teachers walk through some of the richest but more challenging books of the New Testament, helping Bible readers understand what they say about Christians’ hope for the future. Some, as I once did, resolve the tension by explaining the passage as a retrospective (backward-looking) assessment of one’s faith in Christ. Yet the privileges once enjoyed by apostates, the horrific evil of their fall away from trust in the Son of God, and their irremediable ruin are not irrelevant to the original audience in their immaturity, nor to anyone who needs stimulus to persevere to the end. You mentioned that "careful study can lead to conclusions … To get the full context of what the writer was saying, you should start reading at Hebrews 5:8 where the author digresses from speaking about Jesus becoming a high priest in the order of Melchizedek 6 … Their view seems to be summarized this way: A passage like Hebrews 6:4–8 is sincere and urgent only if God’s promise can fail. What is God teaching us about his faithfulness in the story of Hosea and Gomer? The Broader Context of Hebrews … Intense as this warning is, however, it doesn’t nullify or contradict equally strong admonition to bold assurance. “Impossible” arrests our attention, abruptly opening a Greek sentence that runs for three verses. Can we lose our salvation? (Admittedly, it’s doubtful those who hold this view would … The Bible makes it clear that you can’t lose your salvation because it’s all from God. 1:18; 3:9; 2 Tim. So the good word of God is a gift that now comes from heaven through Christ’s messengers. Answer: “For if we are willfully sinning after receiving the full knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice concerning sins.” Hebrews … They accentuate gospel promises with adjustments to gospel admonitions. The Bible says that we are “sealed” with the Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation with the Lord and that nothing can break this seal, no matter how many bad and evil sins a person may commit after getting saved. May we heed the sincere, urgent, and inviolable warning of Hebrews 6:4–8, so that we may be saved by divine grace on the last day. Our author, like pastors today, does not claim to look into others’ hearts but rather addresses his hearers in terms of their observable profession and behavior, recognizing that appearances may prove, in the end, to be deceiving. As the preacher does throughout Hebrews, chapter 6 blends admonitions to bold confidence with warnings against eternal perishing. If you are far from God right now, stop listening to those who tell you you can lose your salvation, and consider yourself FOUND right now. To contend Hebrews 6:4–8 addresses falling away that exposes one’s faith as false is to advocate what Tom Schreiner and I call the “tests of genuineness” explanation. The preacher’s purpose is to warn, to caution, even to alarm, lest we fall away and find ourselves incapable of repenting. 18:1; 21:23; 22:5). And in a cursory reading, it does seem that this … In fact, doctrinal strain between warning and promise prompts many to remove the tension altogether, since they regard it as uncomfortable if not contradictory. The text itself must govern the questions we ask. The Greek construction translated “have shared in the Holy Spirit” is literally “have become metochoi [companions] of the Holy Spirit.” The apostates had become the Holy Spirit’s companions, like the Messiah’s “companions” in Hebrews 1:9 and 3:14, as members of the Christian community, in which the Spirit attested the gospel through miracles. (Admittedly, it’s doubtful those who hold this view would agree with this characterization.). We don’t earn salvation by our obedience; rather, when we accept Him, Jesus gives us His righteousness (Romans 3:22-25). Answer: Hebrews 6:4–6 states, “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance… Question: "Does Hebrews 10:26 mean that a believer can lose salvation?" 2. They believe the passage teaches believers can fail to persevere in faith and fall under God’s indicting wrath. Some English versions read “if they fall away,” allowing for the interpretation that for people who had experienced the previous blessings, a fall into apostasy might be purely hypothetical, never actual. 27:39–44). Crossway is a not-for-profit Christian ministry that exists solely for There are sincere Christians on both sides of this debate; however, what’s most important is what the Bible says. This is the question many Christians have asked after reading the verses of Hebrews 6:4–6. 10/19/11. God, who sovereignly grants repentance to rebels (Acts 3:26; 11:18), will not intervene (as he could) to turn around those who have willfully walked away. (1 Timothy 2). (B’) and the powers/miracles of the age to come. (6:11–12). The man of lawlessness seeks to make himself the central person of worship, beyond any other religious objects or personages in his day. A truly 'Saved' person can never ever lose their Salvation. (Revelation 13). The Gospel Coalition supports the church by providing resources that are trusted and timely, winsome and wise, and centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Perhaps they themselves performed such deeds of power despite their hearts’ alienation from God, as even Judas did (Matt. 4For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,5and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,6and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. And that is why some are telling others they can lose their salvation … 6:1-8). B. “Although the author addresses the community as a whole as believers, he hints at his own lack of omniscience—some may not be true believers even through by association they appear to be (3:6, 14; 4:1–2; 6:11). Even though advocates of this interpretation claim their explanation prompts believers to remain loyal to Christ, it pushes us to be retrospective and introspective. Who Is the Man of Lawlessness? His dignity underscores the horrific evil of renouncing allegiance to him and siding with his enemies. The pairing of the apostolic word and the Spirit’s confirmatory testimony is repeated twice, first in generalities and then more specifically: (A) Having tasted the heavenly gift And it could seemingly be interpreted as losing your salvation. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word … Acts 8:13, 18–24; 2 Pet. The other participial constructions focus on the primary means of grace, the apostolic word, and the Holy Spirit’s miraculous deeds that confirmed the apostles’ testimony. Advocates of this interpretation are convinced the passage is truthful and sincere—not a deceitful charade or false exaggeration—only if the believers addressed can fail to persevere in loyalty to Christ (see Scot McKnight, “Warning Passages Ahead: Brief Response”). ... Give Us An Example Hebrews 6:4-6 … Those who say that it's certainly possible point readily to the warning in Hebrews 6 as Bible proof. ​Ardel Caneday is professor of New Testament and Greek at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, Minnesota. Accompanying the apostles’ witness in words was God’s confirming testimony “by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit” (2:4). But Hebrews 3:14, I think, is an absolute key verse in that book: “We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” The author doesn’t say, “If you … What about Hebrews 6? Learn more or donate today at, ESV Expository Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation: Volume 12. Dennis E. Johnson (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is professor of practical theology at Westminster Seminary California and associate pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church in Escondido, California. Acts 2:17–19; 4:29–31; 10:38). The author then builds suspense by withholding the detail of what, precisely, is “impossible” until the middle of verse 6: it is impossible, he finally says, “to restore . God regularly uses warnings and consolations or threats and promises together to secure us in the way of salvation. He switches from first- and second-person pronouns of interpersonal conversation (“we” and “you”; 5:11, 12; 6:1, 3) to descriptive third-person pronouns (“those who,” “they”) because he is not accusing his hearers of having passed the spiritual point of no return into curse and condemnation (6:8). Segment 3 (16:46) – Hebrews chapter 6 – proving that you cannot loose your salvation. If you cannot lose your salvation, you will hold fast until the end. The letter to the Hebrews was written to persuade them to go on to maturity in Christ (Heb. You can taste the goodness of the … You can't accidentally or easily "lose" your salvation, but I believe there is evidence that you can reject it by continuously ignoring God or refusing to obey Him. If I’m to feel the passage’s proper effect, the argument goes, I must entertain the possibility that my faith in Christ may be fraudulent. Hebrews is where people go to lose their present possession of salvation and reject the dispensation of the grace of God for today. And as a warning, it directs us to be prospective and extrospective so that we might persevere in faith. According to Roman Catholic doctrine no man can know if he is saved. What’s the preacher’s purpose or intent? There are plenty of reasons to dislike wearing face masks, but there are biblical reasons why we still should. In order to understand Hebrews 6:4-6, we must first determine whether someone who is saved can lose his or her salvation. (Hosea 1 & 3). The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians since it begins by referring to "the … “Quietly” does not mean that women are never to utter a word when the church gathers for worship. After warning his hearers against falling away, he notes there are grounds to believe they haven’t taken that fatal step of departing from Christ—for God doesn’t abandon his people (6:9–10). Editors’ note: This series analyzes perplexing passages of the Bible. Hebrews 6 is a popular chapter in which those who believe a Christian can lose their salvation use for their support, but Hebrews 6 in reality the context teaches the very opposite in which … Such an apostate has identified himself with those who crucified the Son of God and treated him with contempt (Heb. Rather, those who are “enlightened” seem to be those who are exposed to God’s saving light through hearing the gospel proclaimed. But the passage is a future-oriented warning. Be sure to click 'Like' and share this with your … Click below to watch a short clip of this powerful message. What Is the Mark of the Beast? Tackling Hebrews chapter 6 verses 4 through 8. Acts 16 t… This article is part of the Tough Passages series. Please make sure all fields are filled out. gospel-centered, Bible-centered content. Holding fast, then, becomes an identifier or distinguishing trait of those that are truly saved. Read the Passage. In the work of Justin Martyr and later Fathers, “enlightenment” became a metaphor for baptism; but none of the uses of phōtizō in the NT refer explicitly to baptism (Luke 11:36; John 1:9; 1 Cor.