PART TWO
PART TWO
Until Christ returns, there will always be some in the church who seem to be true believers but are not. Jesus warns us about this in Matthew 7:22: “On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me.’” There will be people who think they are Christians but later prove not to be.
These are some of the most difficult verses in the entire book of Hebrews: the most controversial and most debated. We could spend five chapters on this one section, going through all the different options and views! But let me whittle it down as simply as I can.
Those Who Seem Like True Believers
First, it is often said that the portrayal of the person in Hebrews 6:4-5 sounds like that of a true Christian. But of course it sounds like that! That’s the whole point of the passage: namely, that there can be people who look a lot like Christians but then later prove not to be. Before someone apostatizes, they look like a true believer. As we noted above, it was not obvious to the other disciples that Judas would betray Jesus. They never saw it coming.
Each of the phrases in these verses comes very close to describing a Christian, but when we examine them, we find that they are not evidence of someone who really has a regenerate new heart and is saved by Christ.
We should remember that there were people like this in Old Testament Israel: many were part of God’s chosen nation, but they were not part of the true Israel. They weren’t really saved. Think of the exodus story, which we explored in Hebrews 3 and 4. Despite being delivered from Egypt, many Israelites never made it into the promised land but died in the desert due to their unbelief. In fact, I’m convinced that in this passage, the story of Israel in the desert is still on the author’s mind.
Think of all the experiences that the average Israelite had during the time of the exodus. The parting of the Red Sea; a column of fire leading them by night and a cloud by day; water coming from a rock at Moses’ command; manna appearing each morning. There is the moment when Moses comes down from the mountain with his face shining so brightly that the people cannot look at it. There is the thunder they can hear from the mountain. There are the Ten Commandments.
All these things are impressive evidence for God. Yet there were those who saw all that and experienced all that, and still fell away. This is what an apostate is: someone who has experienced that many blessings yet still says, “No, thank you. I don’t believe it.”
So, let us turn our attention now to the four blessings or privileges which our author mentions to describe someone who seems to be a believer but really isn’t.
This word “enlightened” is also used later in the book of Hebrews to refer to those who have received the knowledge of God’s truth (10:32, 26). That’s true of an apostate—initially. Think of the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23). Some of the seeds fall on rocky ground and the plants sprout up quickly; some of the seeds fall among thorns and grow there too. But they never bear fruit; they get scorched or choked and die. What this means is that it is possible to initially receive God’s truth and understand it—to be “enlightened”—but later to fall away.
It’s a little unclear what exactly “the heavenly gift” is. The blessings of God’s covenant community, perhaps. The word “heavenly” may be an echo of the manna from heaven that the Israelites enjoyed. Or the word “tasted” may be a reference to the Lord’s Supper. Regardless of all the options here, this is yet another example of someone who’s been blessed in some way in God’s community and has participated in God’s church.
You can share in what the Spirit is doing in a congregation, even if you are not yourself saved and indwelt by the Spirit. You can see and benefit from the blessings of the Spirit as he brings spiritual gifts into those around you in the congregation; or as the Spirit displays powerful signs and wonders (“powers of the age to come”).
There’s also a sense in which non-Christians can exhibit certain kinds of spiritual giftedness, as mysterious as that may be. A good example of this is King Saul. He was one who was given great spiritual privileges by God—not only leading his people but also prophesying (1 Samuel 10:11)—yet he ended up rejecting God’s ways. Judas is another good example. He was one of the twelve whom Jesus sent out to perform miracles and to cast out demons (Matthew 10:1-4), and we are not told that he failed to do so. Strange as it sounds, there is a sense in which a person can share in some sort of spiritual activity even as an unbeliever.
Week after week, apostates sit under the teaching of the word and hear the blessings of preaching. God speaks his truth to them every week. That is a great privilege in itself. Yet they still wake up one day and say, “That’s all rubbish.” That is what makes an apostate so culpable.
Restoration Is Impossible
The flow of Hebrews 6:4-6 is as follows: “For it is impossible, in the case of those [who seemed like Christians] and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance.”
There’s a lot of debate about what this means. Is it really impossible for an apostate to come back again? Some commentators say that it is only impossible for men but not for God. Others say that it is impossible as long as the apostate refuses to repent. But many scholars simply state that it’s genuinely impossible for a true apostate to come back.
What do we mean by that? There is a certain kind of rejection of God which leads to God giving a person over to their sin. This is a very scary idea, described in Romans 1:28. “Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind” (see also verses 24 and 26). People are so bent on their sin that God allows them to have their own way.
These verses are difficult and even frightening. However, there is hope. When we see someone leaving the covenant community, we don’t know for certain that they are an apostate. Some people have periods of rebellion and resistance, and church discipline can bring them back in. We should always hope that that could happen when someone seems to be leaving the faith. It’s the person who perseveres in their apostasy that proves they are a true apostate.
Our author goes on to say that apostates—those who persist in rejecting God and all the blessings he has given them—are basically crucifying Christ again. This is seen in the second half of Hebrews 6:6: “They are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”
Of course, they are not literally crucifying Christ again. Christ only died once. But they are doing the same thing to Jesus as the people who crucified him. They are mocking him, rejecting him, and trying to humiliate him.
Apostates do this in the full knowledge of who Christ is. That is why they are subject to more severe judgment. It is not that if you’ve never heard the gospel, you’re off the hook—no, all unbelievers will be accountable for their sin—but it is different to have received the gospel, heard good preaching, seen the Spirit at work, and then said no.
For example, imagine if you heard a news story about a young man killing an older couple in their eighties. You would no doubt think it was tragic. But if you found out that that young man was their son, whom they had lovingly raised, it would seem even more terrible. Murder is murder, of course; but when someone who has received blessing and love from another person rejects them and even takes their life, it is far worse. That is what apostasy is like.
Our author explains it with the analogy of land soaking up rain (v 7-8). When rain falls on land, it is supposed to produce crops. What if a piece of land soaks up a lot of rain but produces thistles instead of good crops? Is that land worth anything? No. In this analogy, the rain represents all the spiritual privileges and blessings described in verses 4-5. Don’t be the land that responds to all that rain with thistles.
The implication to draw from all this is that spiritual privileges can’t save. Someone might think that because they are a member of their church, they must be a true Christian. They may think that because they have been baptized, they are saved. They may think that enjoying worship on a Sunday morning is a sure sign of being saved. Some people trust in the fact that they grew up in a Christian home. But this warning is a reminder to each of us to make sure that we own our faith for ourselves and that we are not resting on any spiritual privileges as the basis for our salvation. We are saved through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Signs of Salvation
Yet in verse 9 the author gains a sense of optimism. “Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.”
Despite being worried about their immaturity, the author does see some things that make him think that falling away will not be the fate of his readers. This is another reason why I think the prior passage is not describing true believers: because he goes on and says, I don’t think that’s going to be you. I think that you really are saved.
What is our author looking at that gives him optimism? There are three areas of fruitfulness that he mentions in verse 10: their labors in ministry (“your work”), their affection for God (“the love that you have shown for his name”), and their love for God’s people (“serving the saints”). We can treat these three things as a litmus test for whether we are really saved, because together they express what it means to be Christ-like; and any Christian, no matter how long they have been a Christian, can participate in them at some level.
Where are you seeing fruit in your life right now? That question should both encourage you and challenge you—encourage you about the good fruit and challenge you about the areas where you need to grow. Every true believer produces fruit. There may not be all the fruit you want there to be, but there is fruit—some willingness to labor for God, some affection for his name, and some love for his people.
Finally, the author tells his readers that he wants them to press ahead in the future. Look at verses 11-12: “We desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
This is forward-looking. He is giving them—and us—a little push, a little nudge down the right path.
First, be serious about faith—“show the same earnestness.” I don’t mean being serious in the sense of walking about with a scowl on your face. I mean taking your faith seriously: being earnest in it, being energetic about it, spending time over it.
Second, be hardworking, not “sluggish.” Don’t be lazy. We cannot work our way to heaven, but the Christian life is still labor. It’s like the training of an athlete or a soldier. There is energy and hard work involved in it.
Third, have “patience.” Someday, we are going to inherit the promises that the book of Hebrews talks about; but it will not happen overnight. It’s a long haul. We need to have faith and patience.
In 2018 I watched the men’s 15km cross-country skiing in the Winter Olympics. It is one of the most grueling, painful events of the whole games. The last man over the line was from Mexico—not a country that is big in skiing. Was he disappointed to come last? Not at all. He was elated just to finish the race. He carried a flag over the line while the crowds cheered. Some of the other competitors lifted him up on their shoulders to celebrate.
That is the vision in the Christian life. Personally, I’m not thinking about being the winner of the race. I just want to finish. That’s the perseverance we are being called to. If apostasy is giving up altogether, then the opposite of apostasy is not getting a gold medal; it’s finishing. Someday let us say with Paul, “I have finished the race” (2 Timothy 4:7).