“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” (Hebrews 6:4-6 ESV).
We can begin our discussion of these verses with a look at the various ways this passage has been interpreted over the years.
- First, there are some who believe this portion of Scripture describes a genuine Christian who renounces faith in Christ and subsequently loses his or her salvation.
- There are others who understand this passage as a reference to those who once professed to believe in Jesus, but later fell away. Much like the shallow plant in Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, this view describes a person who makes a nominal profession of faith in Christ and then forsakes it. Those who hold this position believe that such individuals were never really Christians from the beginning.
- Then there are those who view this portion of Scripture from a hypothetical perspective. A person who holds this position sees this passage as a theoretical argument that identifies what would happen if it were possible for a genuine believer in Christ to abandon the faith.
- Finally, there is another interpretation that associates this passage with spiritual growth and maturity. This approach uses the context of Hebrews 5:12-6:3 as a frame of reference to illustrate the potential danger facing those who “fall away” from growth and development in Christ. A person who fits this category might face disqualification from God’s service in a manner that echoes Paul the Apostle’s statement from 1 Corinthians 9:27: “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified” (NLT).
While this portion of Scripture may be open to interpretation, it is important to understand that each of these views addresses the proper way to apply this passage, not the Scripture itself. As one commentator reminds us…
“In any event, there is no problem here with the inspiration of Scripture. It is simply an intramural question of interpretation of Scripture among Christians who share in common the belief that the Bible is the inspired Word of God in whatever it affirms.” (1)
(1) Norman L. Geisler and Thomas A. Howe, When Critics Ask : A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992), [Hebrews 6:4-6].