Eternal Security Hebrews 6:4-6

Now those that believe that you can lose your salvation will appeal to Hebrews 6:4-6. They will simply say that this proves that one can lose their salvation but be sure to ask them what sin in this passage causes you to lose your salvation because they do not have a clue. To understand Hebrews 6 is to understand the Old Testament as well.

Please note when looking at Hebrews 6 that salvation is nowhere mentioned in the context so how can it be teaching the dangers of losing ones salvation? It just amazes that we have clear cut verses that say, "Believe on Him and thou shalt be saved" but you cannot find one verse that says, "Do this and thou shalt lose thy salvation." If one is to argue that Hebrews 6:4-6 teaches that one can lose their salvation then it also teaches that you can never regain it. Those that believe that you can lose your salvation will mock such an argument but cannot provide any argument to refute the fact that the passage says, "it is impossible." The word "impossible" is the same word used that says "it is impossible for God to lie." I had a Lutheran pastor that got cocky with me when I said that if one can lose their salvation from this passage then it is clear that he can never regain it. I never received an argument to prove it otherwise but only a "Yeah..." and that was it.

The author at the very beginning of the chapter says that they should "go on to perfection" and that is what is in mind here in chapter six. Perfection simply means "maturity" or "full age" that deals with our Christian growth as this was the authors concern here. Hebrews 5:14 speaks that "solid food" is for those that are "full age" or "mature." Since the author told them to press on to maturity is the indication that these Jews here are still babes not able to handle the meat of the word. They have been instructed to leave some things behind as condition to grow on to perfection. Nothing about salvation and being saved in the context.

The apostle clearly identifies these people as believers. They were "enlightened" as well as have "tasted of the heavenly gift" and even have been made "partakers of the Holy Spirit." If anyone tells you that these people were not saved and attempt using the argument that these people merely "tasted" but never fully experienced salvation are deceiving themselves. The word "tasted" means to experience because in Hebrews 2:9, Jesus was said to have "tasted" death for every man.

These Jews have tasted the "good word of God and the powers of the AGE to come" (verse 5). The powers of the age to come deal with the millennial age. One day God will:

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:26-28).

Those that tell you that the verse found in Ezekiel merely means that God will place His desires in you is misquoting this verse. God one day will CAUSE you to walk in his statutes and not a mere desire. This also is dealing with a nation as these Jews will dwell in the land that He gave to their fathers. Anyone telling you that this refers to us today does not understand God's future role with Israel and clearly is misinterpreting this passage according to their theological position.

Then the KJV conditional warning in verse 6 that says, "If they fall away" is not stated as a condition in the Greek. The Greek doesn't speak a condition here and would be better translated "and having fallen away." Remember, maturity or growth toward "full age" is what they would be falling away from as that is what is in the context. The previous chapters lead up to this. In Hebrews 3 and 4, the apostle is dealing with Israel's provocation of God at Kadesh-barnea. Israel then was ready to enter the Promised Land but because of their unbelief God refused them entrance into that land. If one says that means the loss of salvation then be sure to point out that Moses was refused as well for his unbelief, but we read about him in the Mount of Transfiguration in the New Testament. Context and not what we think is logical is what matter. Stick to the context and you will be safe. For these Jews to turn their back on God was to be refused entrance into that promised LAND (not heaven) in the Old Testament. Their willful sin of unbelief did this to them.

Even in the Old Testament, those Jews confessed their sin but God still refused them entrance into that land. God made it impossible for them back then to enter the land even though they repented. In Numbers 14:45, God made sure that they did not enter.

The sin of Hebrews 6 is a willful sin and not a slip up. These Jews were looking to return to Judaism. To identify with Judaism is to identify with those that crucified our Savior. It would be as though they were saying that the Jews were right for condemning that innocent man. A judgment was to fall upon this nation and to identify with that nation would put you under that judgment of destruction (I will be sharing more when I post Hebrews 10:26,27). To come to a saving knowledge of Christ and then return to the religion that hated Him and crucified Him was to "crucify AGAIN for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame" (verse 6). Such people would never progress on to perfection but would remain immature. Such people are now useless.

Verses 7 and 8 says:

"For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:

But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned."

Verses 7 and 8, people see the word "burned" and say that it is hell when hell fire is nowhere stated nor is salvation either. This is merely a picture of two fields where one is blessed and the other is not. Both receive the SAME rain but in the one field it produces herbs and other useful things, but in the other field it only produces thorns and briers. Does God's rain here fall upon those in heaven and in hell???? No! This is why those that believe that you can lose your salvation yank words out of its context and come up with foolish arguments.

The thorns and briers were to be "rejected" which is the Greek word "adokimos" that means "disapproved" but not damned. Paul used that word to describe himself in 1st Corinthians 9:24-27 that he might be a "reprobate" meaning "disapproved or disqualified" from the race. I will deal with that verse another time. To be disapproved has to do with rewards and not salvation as in 1st Corinthians 9:24-27. Here in Hebrews, such people were now useless.

Some try to argue that the two lands were the saved and the unsaved but that is not what is being taught at all in this passage. It is believers in the context and the crop that they are producing. Those that go on to maturity will produce the herbs and other useful things and those that do not will produce thorns and briers. Both are drinking the same water here and this is a continuation of the previous verses.

The words "whose end is to be burned" must be understood from what was just being said in the context. To say that it means hell is taking it from its context. The context is speaking about agriculture. The rain does the one field good as THAT FIELD produces fruit and THAT OTHER field produces thorns and briers. The field is to be burned. Now this is language that we are not very familiar with. However, farmers burn their fields so that the next time, the field will be ready to produce fruit. They use fire to burn the dead stuff and to create growth. Jesus in John 15 spoke about us abiding in Him and failure to do so would be that MEN (not Him) would gather these useless sticks and burn them and in John 15 hell is not in the context but people will simply read those words into it wickedly.

If people want to make the burning being the afterlife then fine. You will find in 1st Corinthians 3:15 that speaks about our dead works or useless deeds that are burned but yet we are saved as by fire. By fire simply means that one has just barely escaped with his life and had no possessions. He basically ran out of his house empty handed but his life only was spared.

Verse 9 says this:

"But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak."

The phrase "things that ACCOMPANY salvation" and not salvation itself should have caught your eye. Better things in comparison to those that have fallen away. They didn't lose their salvation but will not have those things that accompany salvation. The word "better" is pointing to our rewards and not salvation. There is absolutely no mention of hell here and even verse 12 speaks of encouragement to these Jews to not become sluggish in the faith.

So, anyone here feeling like leaving his present faith in Christ to go back to a Levitical system of belief? That is what the chapter was talking about. Do you want to go to the temple that had been destroyed around 70ad to offer animal sacrifices? I doubt it very much as it is virtually impossible so don't think this passage applies to you. I do believe that Christians can get to the point where "repentance" (change of mind) can become impossible. Even after reading this and are still not convinced but worry that maybe you committed this sin here then the fact that you do worry is a good indication that you are OK. However, salvation is not in the context but spiritual growth is. Let's not get to that place where we are now useless where we remain immature unable to press on to full maturity where the only fruit we make are thorns and briers where our land needs to be burned in order for it to be productive.