Hebrews 6:1-8

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. 

4It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

7Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.  (NIV) 


   This segment is considered to be one of the most popular controversial passage in the New Testament.  The controversy is created by two different understandings of salvation: the teaching of eternal security or 'once saved always saved' and the other called 'Arminianism'. Both camps will interpret the passage to accommodate their personal belief concerning eternal security. 

The problem with those who adhere to the 'once saved always saved' is the fact that they will assume that those who are described in verses 4-5 are not really saved.  Or else they will say that this warning is only hypothetical and will not really happen to anyone who is really saved.

On the other hand, those who believe that a person can loose his salvation will have to struggle with the fact that verses 4-5 mentions the impossibility of bringing the "backslider" back to repentance.

So what does this passage really means to us today?  Here are some facts to help you understand its message.

Background:  The book of Hebrews was originally written to Christian Jews that were in the middle of a difficult trial.  These Jewish Christians were tempted to leave Christianity and go back to Judaism.  The letter to the Hebrews was trying to show to them that the New Covenant in Jesus Christ is superior than the one they had in the Old Testament or Judaism.  The author included several warnings about falling away and going back.  Our current passage of Hebrews 6:1-8 is one of them.

Although they are varying opinions to what the passage is teaching, there are things that most of us will agree.

Let's interpret the passage: 

(Verse 1-3) "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so." 

Back in 5:11-14, the author doubted their ability to understand deeper Christian teachings.  The author implies that the Hebrews are still "slow to learn" or "infants."  So here in verses 6:1-3, the author encourages them to "go on" in learning deeper teachings rather than staying with the "elementary" or basic foundations of their doctrine.

(Verse 4-5)  "4It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."

In this passage the author inserted a warning of what might happen to those who are still " immature" or "infant" when faced with difficult trials; it is the danger of apostasy.  Because of pressure they will deliberately and intellectually decide to renounce the Christian faith publicly. Here the author is not saying that God cannot rescue or God cannot forgive them.  The author is saying it is "impossible" to turn those people back again.  The impossibility is not on what God can do, but it is impossible to bring back those who have deliberately and intelligently made their decision to renounce Christ publicly.  The author is speaking from experience.  How can you convert those that had already been converted?  How can you convince those who were convinced already?  How can you wake up a person that is not really sleeping? The answer is, "it is impossible."  To make it clear, when the author mentioned "crucifying the Son of God all over again," the purpose is to identify those who commit apostasy just like the people who rejected Jesus Christ and asked him to be crucified the first time.  They rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah after all the evidence and proof that Christ perform in their midst. 

(Verse 7-8) "7Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned."

This example gave us one more evidence with what the author is thinking.  A Christian who experienced what was mentioned in verses 4-5 and then commits apostasy is like a piece of land that receives all the blessings but instead of producing crops, it produces thorns and thistles. In other words, their end is destruction.

This is just a simple interpretation.  Please study more on your own.  Also, do not hesitate to send your comments or questions whether you agree or disagree.

Your comments are always welcome.  

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