Warning against Apostasy

“It is impossible for God to lie.” (6:18)

“It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (10:4)

“Without faith it is impossible to please God.” (11:6)

This particular passage focuses on the impossibility of restoring to repentance those who were once enlightened and partook of the goodness only God can offer. Who are these people who were “once enlightened” and “tasted the heavenly gift”?

The first option is that these people are genuine followers of Jesus Christ. They truly repented of their sin, were united with Christ, and were active in the body of believers. Then they fell away. If understood this way, the passage is a dire warning that many genuine Christians will fall away from the faith. Scripture, however, rules out this interpretation. The Bible repeatedly tells us that God keeps us (John 5:24; Rom 8:39; 11:29; 1 Cor 1:6-8; Phil 1:6; 2 Thess 3:3). In 1 John 2:19 and following, John describes apostates who had left the church. In leaving the faith, they showed they were not truly part of the faith in the first place.

When interpreting difficult texts, it is imperative that we look at other, clearer texts. Scripture is unified and does not contradict itself. Therefore this warning is not addressing Christians losing their faith because other passages say genuine faith cannot be lost. Rather, those who leave and apostatize never really had true faith.

The second option is to read the passage as a hypothetical warning (cf. Matt 24:24). This is a rhetorical technique used by the author to offer an ominous warning of something that cannot actually happen. Nevertheless, because of its grim consequences, it incites believers to cling to Christ and to grow in grace. The problem with this interpretation is that this passage is not talking about something hypothetical.

The third option, which is the most faithful way to interpret this text, is to read this passage as a real warning. However, it is not a warning for the truly regenerate. Rather, it is a caution for individuals who have tasted the things of Christ but have not become genuine Christians. The author describes the people here as “those who were once enlightened.” Many people hear and respond in a positive way to the gospel, but they do not truly believe it. They may know many things about the gospel, but they are not truly Christians. They have “tasted the heavenly gift.” That phrase is a very strong expression. Blessings come to Christians, and these people have received some of those same blessings. They may even have demonstrated some of the gifts of the Spirit.

The third descriptive phrase is that they “shared in the Holy Spirit.” This means they have demonstrated some of the new life attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit. They show signs of regeneration and even a commitment to identify with Christ and with his people. In other words, they look like believers. The last phrase, that they “tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age,” show that these people understand the gospel. Yet even in their understanding, they do not have true spiritual life; thus, they fall away.

How are we to understand this warning? First, we are told that they have fallen away. In falling away, they returned to their former state of Judaism. The question then becomes, Can a Jew who converts to Christianity and then repudiates Christ as they go back into Judaism come back to repentance again? The answer is no. At issue is more than just going back into Judaism. We have all known people who made public professions of faith in Christ, got involved in a church, showed signs of Christian growth and maturity, and yet ultimately fell away. They are not ignorant. They know who Christ is and what he offers, and they still reject him. In their departure, they were “recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt.” To fall away from Christ is to pour contempt on him, which is equivalent to crucifying him all over again.

The concluding agricultural illustration helps explain this passage. The word for marks that an explanation is coming. This illustration about agricultural land receiving rainfall was common in the Old Testament. For instance, Isaiah 5 uses the metaphor of rainfall causing crops in a field to grow. Isaiah makes clear that the field is Israel and the rain is the word of God. Isaiah 5 also warns that an unproductive field where rain has fallen is worthless. In Hebrews 6, the illustration begins positively. “For the ground that drinks the rain . . . produces vegetation.” That is its purpose. It produces “vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated.” This results in “a blessing from God.” However, the illustration continues. “If it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless.” The phrase “thorns and thistles” brings to mind the curse on Adam in Genesis 3. Because of man’s sin, the land no longer yields produce without cultivation and rigorous husbandry. Rather, the land naturally brings forth thorns and thistles. In Hebrews 6 a land that received rain but yielded weeds rather than a beneficial crop was to be burned.

Matthew 13 also informs our reading of this passage. There Jesus told a parable about a sower who scattered seed on four types of soil. These soil types represent four different patterns of response. The first represents hard-heartedness. The second represents the shallow heart. It produces immediate signs of life, but there is no root. When the afternoon sun comes, the plant withers and dies. The third soil represents the one who hears the word “but the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Matt 13:22). The second and third soil types are the people warned about in Hebrews 6. They receive the word of God but ultimately produce thorns and thistles.

Through the author’s choice to include this agricultural metaphor at the end of this warning, the Matthew 13 connection is apparent. More importantly, it reinforces the sobering warning Jesus gives in the parable of the Weeds. Under pressure, under persecution, or just when distracted by the allure of the world, many who once claimed Christ will go back to the world. Jesus is clear that these people never actually received salvation. John also affirms, “They went out from us, but they did not belong to us” (1 John 2:19). This is why Peter commands us “to confirm your calling and election” (2 Pet 1:10). Furthermore, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which is the final refusal of Christ, is a sin of which we cannot repent. Those who refuse the gospel will justly bear judgment for all eternity for their rejection of it.

For believers, Hebrews 6 is a humbling word that reminds us always to look to our own lives for the fruit of regeneration. Christ appeals to many for a time, but they reveal the true condition of their hearts when they go back into the world. As a pastor, the author of Hebrews is addressing this problem in his church. Sadly, it continues to be a common problem in the church today.

Happily, Hebrews does not end with this warning. The author assures believers that he had to write the warning for the unbelievers in the church needing to hear it. Pastorally, he is not seeking to put insecurity in the hearts of Christians. Believers who are faithfully following Christ’s commands can be confident in their salvation. If we seek assurance of our faith, we will find it by doing the things faithful Christians do. We will grow out of the elementary things and into maturity.