For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
These verses are a part of a passage in Hebrews 6 that holds the distinct status of most-argued passage in all of the New Testament.* The reason for this debate is the lack of definitions.* The author of Hebrews uses words such as “enlightened,” “tasted,” and “shared.” While these words have meaning in the original Greek, the author’s failure to define them allow them to be taken literally or metaphorically depending upon the views that one already holds.* Furthermore, these words are used in differing ways in different part of Scripture, so leveraging the interpretive strategy of looking elsewhere in Scripture for meaning proves complicated.*
Each of us, when we read Scripture, bring our own experiences and bias to the Bible whether we realize it or not.* The heaviness of the words of the author of Hebrews makes the correct interpretation of this passage all the more important.* So what does this passage mean? Can a believer fall away from Christ and never return?
Of the many explanations of this passage, this much is certain: to reject Christ is to reject the only opportunity humanity has for salvation.* Meaning, rejecting Christ (whether “tasting” and “sharing” refer to initial, superficial experiences or full experiences or not) places the individual in a position of impossibility: It is impossible to be saved apart from Christ.*
I mentioned in one step: Hebrews 6.1 that I pursued a professional soccer career for much of my life. What I didn’t mention is that I had received a prophetic word as an eleven year-old that set me on that path. When twenty-eight year-old Benjamin stared at his unfulfilled dream, questions of the validity of faith, God, and His Word flooded his soul. I stood face-to-face with the possibility that God isn’t real or that His words are not true. It was a crossroads.
I cannot say what my path would have been or the status of my salvation had I walked away from God that day. I can say that the vague language of Hebrews 6:4-8 makes that unclear. Other passage of Scripture make it clear that I would not have lost my salvation and that I could be restored. This much is certain however: a rejection of Christ leaves no where else to go for salvation.
That day I decided that I could not allow my perception of my situation to determine truth, but I had to allow truth to determine my perception of my situation. I knew that if I could not trust God, who else could I trust? No one. If God was not there for me, what else was there? Nothing. I decided that even if I could not see the faithfulness and goodness of God in my situation, the goodness and faithfulness of God was present. I just could not see it; I needed perspective.
Since that fateful day, I have seen miracles, felt God’s presence, been further transformed and renewed into the image of Christ, and I have been granted perspective on my life that allows me to be grateful for my journey and for the words spoken to that eleven-year-old boy.
I cannot imagine a life apart from Christ. He is my salvation.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to remember that only Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Perhaps the hurt that you have about your story isn’t something to make you fall away from God, but is something worth running to Him about. Maybe today God would have you help someone close to you to deal with the realities of life through the reality of Christ.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 6:4–8). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 309–321). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
France, R. T. (2006). Hebrews. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 81–85). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 216–221, 223–231). Zondervan Publishing House.