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what does hebrews 6:4-6 mean

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Posted by: LEILANI

does this scripture say that if someone backslides they cant be saved?Im confused.....


Posted by: talena

WHEWWW...THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG ONE:

Hebrews 6:4-6 (NIV) "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 of the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age, 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 subject Him to public disgrace." I PREFER the KJV, but only have the NIV in front if me so I will reference that.

Some interprete it to mean that someone can be saved, choose a sinful life, and then can never recover their salvation. BUT if we read the scripture in it's context it makes it clear that what the author of Hebrews was saying has nothing to do with the impossibility of returning to God. This scripture deals with something else ... not salvation.

This passage, like most Scripture outside of the Gospels, goes beyond the issue of salvation. Most of the New Testament is about the fact that once they have become saved, different people have different levels of success in their walk with God. The New Testament consists mostly of letters written by Paul and others to Christians. For the most part, Paul’s letters aim to tell believers, "OK, now that you've begun this journey, here's how to live it." The whole thought process is how to grow as a Christian. Never is there any thought given to the idea of becoming a non-Christian.

Before Paul, of course, there was the Lord Jesus Himself, and many times He made it clear that our heavenly Father wants to take us back if we do stray. One of many examples is the story of the Prodigal Son. This illustrates the point well, because as JESUS tells the story, we see one very important thing: the son never ceases being his father's son. The fact that he is His son tells us that he symbolizes a Christian, a child of God.

The story of the Prodigal son should always be kept in mind when considering the meaning of Hebrews 6:4-6. If that passage truly means that one cannot leave, and then return, to a relationship with the Lord, then the story of the Prodigal son has no place in the Bible, because leaving and return to a relationship with our heavenly Father is exactly what that parable is about.

So what about the word impossible?
So, Why does this passage say that it is "impossible" to be brought back to God? The truth is, it doesn’t. The statement is that it is impossible to be brought back to repentance. While it is true that one must repent to become a new Christian, one need not be a new Christian to repent. The key phrase in the NIV is "brought back", but King James and NAS say it is impossible to renew them again. SEE WHY I PREFER THE KJV??

The question is, who's doing the renewing? It may be impossible for you or me to bring them back, but that doesn't mean that God cannot. This idea of what is "impossible" shows up in the Gospels, when Jesus is talking. Take for example the following verses, which are parallel: Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27 and Luke 18:27. The Luke verse tells us: "Jesus replied, 'What is impossible with men is possible with God.' " So don't let the word 'impossible' fool you into thinking that this passage in Hebrews means that there is no way a saved person can leave God and come back. It happens all the time, actually. (I’ve done it myself). It is God, working through His Holy Spirit, who brings His lost sheep back.

So if this passage isn’t about the loss of salvation, what is it about? The answer to that question is in the second half of verse 6, which says 'since they again crucify Jesus'. This is where the context is useful. If you read the end of Chapter 5 through the first two verses of Chapter 6. A modern paraphrase might be, "OK, enough talk about the simple issues of salvation; because we could go on and on and talk about resurrection, eternal judgment, the laying on of hands, etc. But there are deeper issues to discuss in order for you to see measurable growth in your Christian walk." It is important to keep in mind who he was writing to. The recipients of this letter were Hebrews (hence the title of the book), a group of folks who had a hard time getting rid of the concept of salvation by works, because it was something they grew up with. The writer is imploring the Hebrews: Jesus paid for your sins with His death, now accept it and move on. Bottom line: this passage is about performance-based Christianity, a line of thought we all need to be careful not to fall into as the Hebrews did.

Let’s look at a modern example: You and I are driving around on a hot summer day. We decide a cold treat of some sort is in order. We see a 7-11, and we go in and each get a Slurpee. I offer to pay for both.

If that episode happened as I just described it, you most likely would accept my offer as a gesture of friendship and thank me for it, and we would go on about our business. But if you were to accept my free gift and then turn around and try to pay the clerk anyway, even after I had paid, you would be defeating the purpose, nullifying my gift to you.

I would think to myself, "What an ***** I am! I just wasted a buck on this person. Well, I’m sure not paying for that Slurpee again. I already did it once, and it's paid for." This is what that part of verse 6 is saying when it says we are crucifying Jesus all over again. We don't need to get stuck on our works, or on performance, because Jesus has paid for our salvation. It's a done deal. It is finished. Quit trying to pay for it on your own. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, a sacrifice had to be made only one time.

The writer says in verse 1, "Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, . . . " In other words, let's stop going on about the fact that faith, not works, is what gets you salvation, let's talk about how to grow in Christ now that you have become a child of God.

The frustrating thing for the author of Hebrews is that once these people have accepted salvation as a free gift, some have fallen back into their old ways of thinking that works is what saves you, and that is the “falling away” mentioned in verse 6. The author is warning them (and us) that once someone gets the whole idea of salvation as a free gift, and then blows it off, then that person is going to have a hard time growing in Christ.

Verse 8 contains a word which would lead some to think the writer is talking about Hell. The word to which I refer is "burned." The fact is that not every Biblical reference to burning has to do with eternal damnation. I could give several examples, but the one that fits best here is found in 1 Corinthians Chapter 3:12-15:

"Now if any man build upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, as through fire."

point being that he is still saved. There are many passages, verses, and phrases about which Christians may disagree, but there is no other way to interpret that past phrase, "but he himself shall be saved . . ." except to say that he is still saved. Here is a clear case of burning being associated with someone who is still saved.

Actually, that set of verses in 1 Corinthians is life-altering when understood clearly.

SO, the burning in Hebrews 6:8 is not talking about a believer going to Hell because he fell away. It is, however, talking about a believer, which we can see by looking back at verse 5.

MY POINT AFTER THIS LONG DRAWN OUT LESSON! :
The point of the writer of this passage in Hebrews is that those of us who have tasted what the Lord offers should not let ourselves get caught up in the idea that our works are what saves us, because it is a slap in the face of the One who died for us. Rather, we should concentrate on maturing as believers so that we can reflect Him more.

Unfortunately, the whole idea of “Performance Christianity” is more prevalent among Christians than we think. It is true that almost all believers will say that they believe salvation is a free gift, most of us at one time or another still fall into the trap of believing we can get more of God’s love by performing, and that we risk the very existence of our relationship with Him based on our actions.

God doesn’t like our failures, but when we don’t fail, it is because of Him and the abilities that He has put into us that enable us to move forward in our Christian walk. Get out of the trap of worrying about the effect your actions might have on your salvation, thank God daily for His free gift, try to be more and more like Him, and tell others the good news!

HOPE THIS HELPS... I PRAY GOD GIVE YOU PEACE ON THIS MATTER!


Posted by: Ragamuffin

I think Talena just did an absolutely awesome job explaining this Scripture to me, but I am going to add to it...
Herbrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget or overlook your labor and the love which you have shown for His name's sake in ministering to the needs of the saints (His own consecrated people), as you still do.
11 But we do [strongly and earnestly] desire for each of you to show the same diligence and sincerity [all the way through] in realizing and enjoying the full assurance and development of [your] hope until the end.
For myself, I believe once saved, always saved, but it's the depth of our relationship with Christ that is most important and works go along with that because we choose to be more like Christ and because of such thinking, we have a servant's heart. It doesn't mean because we do these things we are going to heaven, but that would reference us "storing up our treasures in heaven." No little thing goes unnoticed, but the sinner that came to Christ the moment before He died will go to heaven (like the thief on the cross) just as Abraham and Elijah and Noah (to name just a few) who really showed their faith in actions, as well as David, who did the good, the bad and the ugly, but yet was still a man after God's own heart.
Grace is undeserved gift, God gives it to us because He wanted to - it's like being in a courthouse and knowing that you could be free, but you have to ask.
Hope this helps some?


Posted by: jedijeb

I totally agree with you Talena. Those verses can be hard for new Christians to understand and you did a great job explaining them! The part about salvation being a free gift is also hard for some people, in todays world we are taught that nothing is free, but salvation and God's love are free. I have something I wrote about this if you want to read it, it is here, http://webpages.charter.net/jedijeb/writeings1.html . It was something God laid upon my heart over 10 years ago, and I beieve every word, but sadly I didn't live it all the time in those years. I fell away quite badly for some time, but God is faithful and brought me back, Praise Jesus He loves us enough to go after us!!


Posted by: talena

James You Are Such A Blessing To Me. Allow God To Keep Using You! I Love You, You Have An Awesome Spirit!

Ragamuffin, Thank You So Much For Your Major Addition. Doing Things For The "recompense Of The Reward" As Moses Did Has Really Been On My Heart Lately. I Never Fully Understood The Importance Of Laying Up Our Treasures In Heaven. I Had This Attitude That I Will Do My Best And If I Dont Have Rewards Or A Lot Of Rewards Then...big Deal. Then I Read Where Paul Was Terrified Of The Thought Of Approaching God With Little Or No Rewards. Why? Because He Did Not Want To Stand Before The Lord Empty Handed. I Dont Either. I Want To Be Like Moses And Paul And "strive For Perfection" In My Actions For The "recompense Of The Reward". The Fact That I Love The Lord With All My Heart Is No Longer Good Enough, Now I Want As Many Crowns As Possible To Cast At His Feet When We Stand Before Him. I Want To Be Able To Participate In Worshipping Him On That Wonderful Day. Thank You For The Reminder.


Posted by: RLP773

I agree with you guys that salvation cannot be lost, then you wouldn't know what happened to it. I aslo believe Hebrews 6:4-6 is referring to christians who have been baptized with the Holy Ghost, experienced the power of God by the gifts of the Spirit, and WILLFULLY rejected Jesus, turning away from Him, with no remorse or remission of sins, and will spend eternity in hell. God is a God of choice, we either choose to serve Him, or reject Him. We can have eternal security if we want it, but we could reject Jesus (why, I have no idea) if we wanted to. This is a hard passage of scripture, but is necessary for a complete understanding of the word. Remember this, all who are seeking God daily will not reject Him, but to say once saved always saved takes away our right to choose Him or reject Him willfully. God bless all of us with wisdom, revelation knowledge, and understanding!!


Posted by: JG

Please go to Jerry's Lessons

and read

http://www.annointed.net/Community/...ead.php?t=10122

and

http://www.annointed.net/Community/...ead.php?t=11179

there are many scriptures on eternal security there