Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 6:5 tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, 6:6 and then have committed apostasy, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt.

This is, perhaps, the most challenging passage in Hebrews.  Much of the difficulty turns on the identity of the people being described.

(a) Some regard these as hypothetical cases (e.g. Barnes, Spurgeon, Loane, Spicq) – (turning on the use of the word ‘if’, v6).

Under this view, the sin entailed cannot actually be committed. So Spicq. So also Spurgeon, basing his argument on the word ‘if’. Barnes’ comments:

‘It is not an affirmation that any had actually fallen away, or that, in fact, they would do it; but the statement is, that on the supposition that they had fallen away, it would be impossible to renew them again.’

Demarest (The Cross and Salvation) cites Berkouwer, who

‘concluded that Hebrews 6 (and the other warning texts) “is an admonition, whose purpose is to lead [the readers] to a more secure walk in the way of salvation.” The writer of Hebrews “does not offer a view concerning the apostasy of the saints, but he comes with his earnest admonition to the endangered Church and calls her to keep the faith and to avoid all toying in her thoughts with possibilities to the right or to the left.”’

Schreiner and Caneday (cited by Marshall, New Testament Theology) also think that the author to the Hebrews writes this as a way of ensuring that his readers do in fact persevere.  The warnings are there

‘to secure the obedience of faith, not to imply possible failure of faith’.

This raises the question of why the writer would set up a warning based on straw men.  George Guthrie:

‘the problem with this position stems from the harshness and repetition of severe warnings in the book (e.g., Heb 2:1–4; 3:6, 14; 4:12–13; 10:26–31, 39; 12:25–29). The author appears to be concerned deeply that there are those associated with the community who indeed could fall away from God. His warnings to them speak of harsh, impending judgment for those who do not heed these exhortations, and the judgments are presented as real, not hypothetical.’

(b) Others think that these are real Christians.  This was the view of many Fathers of the early church, Luther, Arminius, Wesley, Marshall, Allen (NAC), Delitzsch, Hewitt, Ellingworth and Lane.

According to these interpreters, we must take this as a real warning of a real danger:

‘Apostasy is a continual danger to the church, and the NT contains repeated warnings against it. (cf. 1 Tim 4:1-3; 2 Thess 2:3; 2 Pet 3:17) Its nature is made clear: falling ‘from the faith’ (1 Tim 4:1) and ‘from the living God’. (Heb 3:12) It increases in times of special trial (Mt 24:9-10; Lk 8:13) and is encouraged by false teachers, (Mt 24:11; Gal 2:4) who seduce believers from the purity of the Word with ‘another gospel’ (Gal 1:6-8; cf. 2 Tim 4:3-4; 2 Pet 2:1-2; Jude 3-4). The impossibility of restoration after deliberate apostasy is solemnly urged.’ (Heb 6:4-6; 10:26) (NBD)

Marshall argues the New Testament does indeed stress God’s faithfulness towards his people, while at the same time warning them about the real danger of falling away from faith in him.  He suggests that

‘there is a paradox here akin to that of the relationship between divine empowering and human effort in achieving holiness.’

Allen argues forcibly and at length in favour of this view:

‘How can it be conceivable,’ he asks, ‘that such descriptive phrases as enlightenment, experience of the heavenly gift of salvation, full sharing in the Holy Spirit, sharing in the Word of God and the powers of the coming age, do not have believers as their referent?’

Allen asks:

‘If Heb 6:4–6 refers to mere professors who do not genuinely share in salvation, several questions come to mind. Why would such mere professors be warned of apostasy? One cannot apostatize from something never possessed in the first place.’

According to this view, then, the persons referred to are what might be called ‘backsliders’.  They are truly regenerate, but have lost their relationship with Christ and therefore cannot look forward with hope to their final salvation.  This is the view of Scott McKnight.

George Guthrie responds by suggesting (among other things) that this view fails to take account of the author’s lack of omniscience.  In other words, it assumes that the author knows that all of his readers are true Christians when, if fact, he does not know that.

(c) Still others think that people are true believers, but what they lose is not salvation, but reward.  This is the view of Kendall (Once Saved, Always Saved).  So also Yeager.  Of such a view George Guthrie says,

‘the warnings simply are too harsh and specific to tone them down to a loss of reward rather than a loss of salvation.’

(d) Finally, some think that they are temporary or counterfeit Christians.  This is the view of Calvin, Owen, Thomas Watson, Brown, Ryle, Grudem, George Guthrie and others.  No pronouncement is made on their salvation.  They are people who, in the words of our Lord, ‘believe for a while’.  They have the outward appearance of faith, but fall short of its saving reality.  They are of the same kind as those who ‘went out from us, but they did not really belong to us’ (1 Jn 2:19).

These people

‘may have been instructed in the basics of the faith (Heb 6:4), heard the Word of God and seen his power (Heb 6:5), experienced the convicting influence of the Holy Spirit (Heb 6:4), experienced the blessings associated with God’s salvific activity (Heb 6:4), and even repented publicly (Heb 6:6); but they have not borne fruit (Heb 6:7–8) and, therefore, do not manifest the “better things” associated with salvation (Heb 6:9–10).’

Our author does not know for sure who these people are within the community which he is addressing.  However, it is for him a sufficiently real danger that he more warn them all of their peril.

Calvin:

‘I cannot admit that [there] is any reason why [God] should not grant the reprobate some taste of his grace, why he should not irradiate their minds with some sparks of his light, why he should not give them some perception of his goodness, and in some sort engrave his word on their hearts.… There is therefore some knowledge even in the reprobate, which afterwards vanishes away, either because it did not strike roots sufficiently deep, or because it withers, being choked up.’

Owen:

‘The persons here described are persons who have to a certain degree understood and relished the revelation of mercy: like the stony-ground hearers, they have received the word with a transient joy.’

Brown:

‘The persons here referred to are not mere nominal professors – they have nothing to fall away from but an empty name; neither are they backsliding Christians. They are men who have really had their minds and affections to a very considerable degree exercised about, and interested in Christianity; but who, never having been “renewed in the spirit of their mind,” when exposed to temptation of a peculiar kind, make complete “shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience.”‘

Ryle:

‘The person here described as “falling away” has no characteristics which may not be discovered in unconverted men, while it is not said that he possesses saving faith, and charity, and is elect.’ (Old Paths, 495)

Grudem:

‘These are no doubt people who have been affiliated closely with the fellowship of the church. They have had some sorrow for sin (repentance). They have clearly understood the gospel (they have been enlightened). They have come to appreciate the attractiveness of the Christian life and the change that comes about in people’s lives because of becoming a Christian, and they have probably had answers to prayer in their own lives and felt the power of the Holy Spirit at work, perhaps even using some spiritual gifts in the manner of the unbelievers in Matthew 7:22 (they have become “associated with” the work of the Holy Spirit or have become “partakers” of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the heavenly gift and the powers of the age of come). They have been exposed to the true preaching of the Word and have appreciated much of its teachings (they have tasted the goodness of the Word of God).’ But, despite all these benefits and blessings, in the end the decisively turn away from them.  Despite all appearances, they were never truly converted.  The plea of the author to the Hebrews is that such people embrace new life in Christ before they reach the point of no return.  (Systematic Theology, p799)

John Murray:

‘It staggers us to think of the terms of this description as applicable to those who may fall away. They advise us, however, of forces that are operative in the kingdom of God and of the influence these forces may exert upon those who finally demonstrate that they had not been radically and savingly affected by them…The Scripture itself…leads us to the conclusion that it is possible to have very uplifting, ennobling, reforming, and exhilarating experience of the power and truth of the gospel, to come into such close contact with the supernatural forces which are operative in God’s kingdom of grace that these forces produce effects in us which to human observation are hardly distinguishable from those produced by God’s regenerating and sanctifying grace and yet be not partakers of Christ and heirs of eternal life.’

(Redemption: Accomplished and Applied, 153)

Geoffrey Wilson:

‘This very severe warning is intended to arouse the readers to a lively sense of the awful danger which faced them, for what they calmly considered to be a return to the faith of their fathers is shown as an act of apostasy from which no recovery is possible. The author hopes to recall them from the brink of disaster by an alarming description of those who totally fall away from the profession of the Christian faith, v9. This class of persons once appeared to be truly regenerate but their subsequent course sadly proved that they had “neither part nor lot in this matter”.’ (Ac 8:21)

Hughes:

‘The sin of apostasy…is a grim (and more than a merely hypothetical) possibility for persons who through identification with the people of God have been brought within the sphere of the divine blessing. They may be baptised, as Simon Magus was, occupied in Christian labours, as Demas was, endowed with charismatic gifts, preachers even, healers of the sick and casters our of demons, and privileged to belong to an inner circle of disciples, as Judas was, Mk 6:12-13; Mt 10:5 ff and yet their heart may be far from the one they profess to serve.’

Donald McLeod refers to this passage as a ‘notorious crux’, and asserts that here, as elsewhere, systematic theology helps us to avoid faulty exegesis:

‘Prima facie this passage suggests that true believers can commit apostasy. Dogmatics alerts us, however, to the fact that such an interpretation is untenable, and closer examination of the passage itself confirms that it is pointing in the direction of another doctrine altogether – the doctrine of temporary faith.’

Thomas Watson recognises that this passage is used by Arminians against the doctrine of the saints’ perseverance. But, he replies,

The apostle here speaks of hypocrites; he shows how far they may go, and yet fall away.

(1.) They who were once enlightened. Men may have great illuminations, yet fall away. Was not Judas enlightened?

(2.) They have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost; the common gifts of the Spirit, not the special grace.

(3.) They have tasted the good word of God. Tasting here is opposed to eating:the hypocrite may have a kind of taste of the sweetness of religion, but his taste does not nourish. There is a great deal of difference between one that takes a gargle and a cordial:the gargle only washes his mouth – he tastes it, and puts it out again; but a cordial is drunk down, which nourishes and cherishes the spirits. The hypocrite, who has only some smack or taste of religion, as one tastes a gargle, may fall away.

(4.) And have felt the powers of the world to come; that is, they may have such apprehensions of the glory of heaven as to be affected with it, and seem to have some joy in the thoughts of it, yet fall away; as in the parable of the stony ground. Mt 13:20. All this is spoken of the hypocrite; but it does not therefore prove that the true believer, who is effectually wrought upon, can fall away. Though comets fall, it does not follow that true stars fall. That this Scripture speaks not of sound believers, is clear from ver 9: ‘But we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation.

Archer (Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties) notes that all four privileges had been experienced by Judas Iscariot, and yet he could not be described as ever having been truly converted:

‘He had been enlightened and had tasted of the heavenly gift and the goodness of the Word of God as he had sat for three years under the personal teaching of the Lord Jesus. Insofar as he had participated in gospel preaching and the expulsion of demons, he also had been a sharer in the Holy Spirit.’  Moreover, Judas had even ‘tasted of the powers of the coming age…when he came back with the other eleven, exuberantly exulting that in the course of their two-by-two evangelistic campaigns even the demons were subject to them as they preached the Lord Jesus (Luke 10:17).’

Despite the difficulties attached to this interpretation, it would seem to be the one which is most faithful to the text.