“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. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace” (Hebrews 6:4-6 NIV).
The Scriptures provide us with a few examples of those who might fit the description given to us here in Hebrews 6:4-6. Some of those examples include…
Hymenaeus and Philetus (2 Timothy 2:17-18). In 1 Timothy 1:20, Paul the Apostle related his experience with a man named Hymenaeus and explained how he had to “…deliver him unto Satan in order that he may learn not to blaspheme.” Unfortunately, it seems that Paul’s corrective action did not achieve his desired effect, since Hymenaeus’ destructive influence apparently spread to another individual named Philetus.
One commentator explains the probable issue with these men: “These troublemakers… were probably teaching that the doctrine of the resurrection had only an allegorical or spiritual meaning. Gnostic teaching conceived of resurrection allegorically, as referring to acquaintance with truth and as occurring at baptism.” (1)
This passage thus serves to remind us of the potential impact of one’s beliefs. Like a disease-carrying agent, the heretical teachings brought by Hymenaeus and Philetus “…spread like cancer” (2 Timothy 2:17) and brought spiritual affliction upon others as a result.
Demas (2 Timothy 4:9-10) Demas is mentioned once in Paul’s epistle to the church at Colossae and again in his Biblical letter to Philemon. Since Paul offered greetings from Demas in those letters (and even identified him as “a fellow laborer“), he must have been a relatively close companion. Unfortunately, it also appears that Demas was someone who deserted Paul in favor of the attractions offered by the world of his day. Apparently, the lure of such things was more important to Demas than the God-honoring lifestyle modeled by Paul the Apostle.
So while “A credible profession of faith must be accepted as genuine, but ultimately it is only the Lord who knows those who are His,” (2) another commentator points us toward a difficult conclusion…
“While [the author of Hebrews] knew that true believers would not repudiate their Savior, the writer recognized the possibility that some among his readers might not be genuine Christians after all. Therefore, he shows that people may become a part of the visible body of Christ, participating in all of God’s wonderful benefits that are provided for the life of the church, but eventually turn their backs on everything they have experienced. There is no way to renew such people to a genuine profession of faith, he says, because there is only one true message—the very one they have rejected.” (3)
(1) Ryrie, Charles Caldwell, Ryrie Study Notes [2 Timothy 2:17] © 1986, 1995 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. Database © 2004 WORDsearch Corp
(2) The New International Commentary On The New Testament – The Epistle To The Hebrews, F. F. Bruce, General Editor © Copyright 1964, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, Michigan [pg. 122]
(3) Parsons, Burk, John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology © 2008 by Burk Parsons pg. 185-186