Hebrews 6:4

Hebrews 6:4

It's impossible?

We come now to a very challenging passage in this Epistle. Verses 4-6 seem to contests the genuine nature of some people’s faith and also question what happens if a believer falls away! As might be expected, numerous interpretations have been offered as to their meaning and the implications for those who turn their back on the Lord. At the heart of this is the age-old question, “Can a true believer lose their faith?” The usual answer to this is that it seems so but there must be genuine questions about the authenticity of those who have professed to follow Christ, and who then reject Him. Notice that this verse 4 gives us three indications as to the nature of genuine faith: -

1.     It is the result of spiritual enlightenment

2.     It is for those who have tasted the heavenly gift

3.     It embraces all who have shared in the Holy Spirit

Verse 5 gives us two more evidences for true lasting faith, we will obviously come to these next! However, these statements have to be read in the framework of the Book of Hebrews as a whole, which contains 5 warnings and we need to list them to get the context. Remember that this epistle was written to Jewish believers who were considering returning to their old religious practices and thus denying the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Here is a summary of the warnings: -

1.     Hebrews 2:1-4            How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

2.     Hebrews 3:7 – 4:13     Unbelief can keep us from the Land of God’s Rest.

3.     Hebrews 6:4-8            We cannot crucify Christ all over again

4.     Hebrews 10:26-31      Continuous, deliberate sinning has consequences

5.     Hebrews 12:25-29      We should not refuse our God who is a consuming fire

Back to chapter 6:4, it seems to me that salvation and faith are not the result of human intellect and reasoning, they are not just concepts that can be taught or explained, all the education and study in the world cannot deliver what this verse promises, for genuine faith is a heavenly gift delivered by the Holy Spirit. We cannot open our own eyes to the truth, it is God who takes the initiative, it is He who by His Spirit turns the Word into a living, life-changing encounter between heaven and earth. What the author is saying is, that once we have experienced this, it is impossible to go back. This is not just about losing faith, because we don’t have any choice in the matter. Once the Lord God has chosen us and reached out to us, there is no return! The Jews who were being addressed here needed to ask themselves if they were genuine, and so do we.  If we are, then these questions will never arise. It’s impossible! God says so in His Word. Hallelujah!

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