Hebrews 6:4-6 Part 3
5 July 2026
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.
(Hebrews 6:4-6)
Please turn with me in the Book of Hebrews to chapter 6. If you're using one of our church Bibles, that can be found on page 1003. We're going to be dealing with Hebrews 6:4-6 for the final time. And we're going to read from verse 1 of Hebrews chapter 6. And we'll read down to verse 6. This is the Word of God.
“Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith towards God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. 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”. Amen.
Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, as we come now to your Word, we pray may you minister to our souls, challenge, convict and quicken us that we would be stirred with a growing affection, a desire for Christ, for His honour and glory. May you minister through what is proclaimed here this evening. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
So, as we have been dealing with for many weeks in this section in Hebrews 5 and 6, this is very much a needed pastoral pause that the author of to the Hebrews takes as he has so far been dealing with a series of arguments compelling arguments regarding the supremacy, the all-encompassing power of Jesus Christ compared to the angels, compared to the Old Testament figures like Moses and Joshua. And here even we've considered the rich doctrine of why Christ is so significant in the context in chapter 5 of being the fulfillment of the priesthood. So, these have been some of the key themes that have been unpacked in significant depth. But then from verse 11 of chapter 5, we stop. And throughout this book so far, there have been these odd moments where exhortations, where warnings have been given regarding the spiritual state of the Hebrew Christians. And it's here from verse 11 of chapter 5 that we go into greater detail. Think back to verse 11 of chapter 5 when the author says there's so much to say and yet they have become dull of hearing. So, the issue is like being in a setting such as we are here this evening and the Word of God is being proclaimed and there is a dullness. You're hearing the words but it's not something you're engaging with, something that you're not really too bothered about even. And this is the pressing concern. And it's why to the end of chapter 5 and into chapter 6, there is the focus primarily of first you need the basics, the spiritual milk, the unadulterated gospel, the saving power, the message by which you have life. You need to hear this, behold this, uphold this, proclaim this, magnify this. That's what they need. But also, there is the hope and prayer that there would be a pressing on to maturity, going from spiritual milk to solid food. Because what's the danger of these Hebrew Christians? Well, as we've seen, they are tempted by going back to the system of Judaism. They think that this priesthood system is actually what they need. This priesthood system is something that they can rely upon. And as we've seen already in chapter 5 and we'll see further in chapter 7, the priesthood is fulfilled by Christ. And that's why in chapter 6, the author begins, let's leave the elementary doctrine of Christ, namely those teachings in the Old Testament, which point forward to their typological, their types and shadows of Christ, who is the fulfillment. So, it is leave that elementary doctrine, go to maturity. The foundation which you now have which is Christ Himself. And this is why in verse 3, crucially, the author writes, this we will do if God permits.
Now this is where we get to the real serious pastoral exhortation of the entire Book of Hebrews in the text that we're dealing with in verses 4 to 6. Because there is a category which is being addressed from within the walls of the church so to speak where we see that this dullness of hearing is revealed to be nothing more than apostasy, an absolute abandoning of the Christian faith a verse 6 falling away to the point where you can no longer be restored to repentance. That's the category that we're dealing with. And it's very important, as we've already established in this section, to clarify that this is what is meant here. Because as we've considered, this is a passage that has been proof-texted to argue that a true Christian can lose his or her salvation. But as we have noted already, the salvation of a born-again believer is wrought by the Spirit of God by the saving work of Christ alone. So, by Christ's saving blood, that secures your salvation. Now we need to note this, put it in bold letters, underline it, and emphatically declare it. Christ secures your salvation. That is the non-negotiable and absolutely emphatic hope that we have. And so, when we read of warning passages like the one, we're dealing with this evening for the true Christian, this should bring you where? To Christ. Because you read passages like this, you see the warnings, the dangers that there are, and you read this and it brings you to Christ. That's the point. And that's where we have the distinction of these categories, even in the midst of the gathered professing church.
Because the very sad and alarming reality that we are being presented with here is that there's a category of person within the church who isn't simply just pretending and really, we can see from a mile off, oh, that person's never a Christian in a million years. No, we're dealing with a category of person, let's remember, who in verse 4 has been enlightened, who has tasted the heavenly gift shared in the Holy Spirit, tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the age to come. And we dealt with that last time. They've experienced; they've tasted all of these things. A category of person who we would have thought and certainly for a while it seemed very clear is a Christian and yet is fallen away. And that's where we come here in verse 6 specifically to that category of person. So, this is like that man in the iron cage in Pilgrim's Progress. First time referencing Pilgrim's Progress in a sermon so momentous that I've had to do it twice. This is the soul in despair, a soul which is in despair, having seen the truth and yet has apostatized. And you're in a cage and you're trapped. That's the condition that we're dealing with here in verse 6. You've seen something, you've tasted it, you've proclaimed it, and then you've just abandoned it. You've let it go and wilfully sow. That's what we're dealing with here in this verse. And the question we may ask is, well, how can this happen? How can somebody taste, experience all of this, profess faith, and then be in this fallen condition to a point where they cannot return?
Well as we deal with this, we're going to cover three categories, three key headings in this. First of all, we're going to deal with what it means to fall away, beginning of verse 6. Then think about what it means to be restored to repentance? And then finally, we'll consider that this apostasy means, what it means rather, before the cross of Christ?
So, let's come first to this category of falling away. So, beginning of verse 6, all that this category of persons experience, it says, and then have fallen away. Now first thing to clarify here, this is the only time in the New Testament where this Greek word which is translated fallen away is used in this manner. So, that's quite striking. It's a tragic word in a unique category because we're very much dealing with a falling where you will not be restored. Now normally we would imagine, you fall, you stumble and you can pick yourself up or you can get picked up. That's the normal picture of fall and up you get. And we have examples of that type of falling in the Bible. Take the New Testament, obvious one would be Peter, he falls, he denies his Lord three times and the Lord Jesus himself after rising from the dead restores him.
Think an example in the Old Testament, King David. He falls and he is restored. And it is true at the heart of the gospel that there are sins that you and I we can commit, we can fall into sin, and by the grace of God, we are restored. Ezekiel 18:21 - But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
So, we know that people can fall, be picked up, they can be restored. But here, we're dealing with something different. We're dealing with a falling away where you cannot be restored. So, this is something we need to be very precise and distinct about. Now we do see this sort of category being referred to in relation to Israel in Romans 11:11, which states - So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now in this verse, Paul makes reference to Israel having stumbled over the Messiah and the preaching of Christ crucified. Think 1 Corinthians 1:23, it says it is a stumbling block to the Jews, but in Romans 11:11, it says they stumbled, but not that they might fall. Because if they fall, same category as Hebrews 6:6, that is something permanent and irreversible. And that's the challenge.
What does it therefore mean to fall away in verse 6 of this chapter? Well, the definition, the meaning of this is that it is a sustained and committed rejection. So, note these words, it is a sustained and a committed rejection and a departure from Christ and the Christian community. So that's the category that we're dealing with. It is in the heart of this person who falls away, a wilful turning away, a deliberate, decisive abandoning of the gospel.
Now please be clear here brothers and sisters, this is different from a backsliding Christian, one who is maybe truly born again but they're struggling in their faith. If you're a backsliding Christian listening to a passage like this, a sermon like this, then Hebrews 6 would be an important warning to you, but a backsliding Christian can be restored. Because we'd be dealing with appeals to the heart of flesh with the gospel for one to turn to his first love.
But here, this is something that an unregenerated professing believer cannot do. Because this is open apostasy. It's a denial of the faith. And the apostle Paul, he warns of this in 1 Timothy 1:19, when it says - holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, by rejecting this faith, some have made shipwreck of their faith. Now note what Paul's saying in such a verse, that some have rejected the faith that they professed, or more literally, they have put it away. So, this is active and wilful. This faith in Jesus that I proclaimed, I'm now putting it away, I'm abandoning it, I'm rejecting it. It's a cold-hearted rebellion and rejection of the truths that were once held onto. And that's where this picture of making shipwreck comes in. Because a shipwreck is irreparable damage which ends up going to the very bottom of the ocean into the dark, deep, despondent despair. Like the man in the iron cage. That is the condition that is being laid out here.
And this is a warning, brothers and sisters, a warning that is being given of something that very much can and has happened. One such example of someone who not only professed faith in Christ, but was very influential in conservative Christian circles just a decade ago, Joshua Harris, who wrote “I kissed dating goodbye”. He was the leading figure in Christian dating counsel and books that he wrote. And eventually, he divorced his wife. But more than that, he abandoned his faith altogether. A quote from him - The information that was left out of our announcement is that I have undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus. The popular phrase for this is deconstruction. The biblical phrase is falling away. By all the measurements that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian. Many people tell me that there's a different way to practice faith and I want to remain open to this, but I'm not there now.
Now for the Christian sitting here listening to these words, this is deeply sad and distressing to read. And what do we conclude about such a man? Well, it was that he was never a believer. He tasted much, he wrote and he advocated for much, but in the end, he is in this fallen away state, where he declares openly, defiantly, with a coldness in his heart, I am not a Christian. And that's the very definition and example of what apostasy is. Something we see of individual professing Christians and even sometimes of churches and denominations, where we talk of the apostasy of a church that once many years perhaps ago upheld the gospel and biblical doctrine. Then they turn on it, they turn from it, and then they pick and mix from it. They then start to abandon the core tenets of the Christian faith, doctrines like substitutionary atonement, which they then blatantly deny and reject and attack. And what do we find? They have apostatized.
When faith is professed, something is experienced, but in the mind and heart, it is rejected. That is what it means to be fallen away. And that's what's being written of here in this verse. And that's the first point. Then we come secondly to the being restored again to repentance. Now the first word that's not found in verse 6, and we need to very quickly go back to verse 4, is the word impossible. Because verse 4, the beginning of this lengthy sentence says - for it is impossible, in the case of, and all these experiences you've had, and then to fall away, to restore them again to repentance. So, the sentence begins, for it is impossible, and it's really dealing with this section here, to restore them again to repentance. That's what's being argued. It's impossible for these people who've fallen away, to be restored again to repentance.
Now the word impossible is emphatic. Now sometimes we can use it and it’s hyperbole. We can say, oh it's impossible for you to win that, but really there's a good chance. Here we're dealing with there is no possibility. There's not a category in which this can happen. But then we might stop and say, is not God, Almighty God, the God of the impossible (Luke 1:37)? Well, that is true and we also know that God is not bound or restricted by what man decides or does. So, we're not dealing with the reason something's impossible to God is because we have decided to do something and God is impotent before that. No, when the word impossible is being used it is with regards to God's own nature and His decree, the secret counsel of His own will. And so, what we can understand is that God cannot do anything out with what He wills or decrees because He decides it so.
So, for example, it would have been impossible for Saul to turn back and be restored when the Lord had rejected him in 1 Samuel 15:26. Think also, Jacob I loved, Esau I hated, Romans chapter 9. So, what God decrees for the souls of man, what God appoints according to his purpose, this is therefore impossible for something out with God's decree to take place. This is the linchpin foundation of who our God is. His sovereign purpose is absolute and anything outside of that we deal with the realm of the word impossible. And that's how it's used here. It's impossible for this category who have fallen away to be restored to repentance.
And we look at this with the heaviness that this text is. And then a key question we would likely ask, well, was the earlier repentance, was the profession of faith that such a person made merely something outward? So, if you're with this Joshua Harris or someone else who's apostatized and one time, they were the leading figure in the church and if you were thinking well there's somebody who I can be sure they're a Christian and then years later they're gone and we wonder was it all just superficial? Well, the answer to that is yes and no.
Ultimately, we have warnings like Hebrews 3:12, which we dealt with many months ago. It says - Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. So, warnings like that are given to professing Christians to reveal any for whom there isn't saving faith, and crucially, to exhort the believer to turn to Christ. But it also is important to identify that as we've seen in verses 4 to 5, such people have experienced, they have tasted, and then they give it up. They've tasted something, they see and they know that it is good, but it's not something that they've devoured. It's not something that has ultimately, truly transformed who they are. And this is why it's striking the language used in this verse when it talks of being restored again to repentance. Now the word restore or another translation renew is about getting you back to something that you were in, or someplace you were before. So, to restore, to renew, let's get you back to that place. Well, here the verse is saying they cannot get back to that time and place. That's the finality of the declaration here. So that time when this person, this category of person heard the gospel, when there was that initial excitement at what they saw and what they tasted, that's not going to come back. There's a hardness like the generation that fall in the wilderness of Hebrews chapter 3.
Now as we sit here tonight and as you've heard the gospel, as you've maybe tasted it, it's fresh, it's exciting, something you think that you believe in. Do you just sit on that? We've had people who've come, they've tasted, they've liked it, they've embraced it, they've asked about membership, they've publicly repented, they've prepared themselves for writing testimonies, even come into membership, and then what happens? They stop coming. Why?
The appetite has gone. And what do we find? They didn't have the Spirit of God truly in them. They were not truly saved. And then we may wonder, well, could that be me? Well, it can if you're not truly a believer and this is why Paul exhorts us in Philippians 2:12 - Therefore my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
And so, when we consider that fear and trembling, and perhaps you're thinking to yourself, well that warning of being dull of hearing, that sometimes is me. Whether it be on a Sunday service, maybe I'm weighing up, whether I can be bothered to go to the prayer meeting, will I read my Bible in the morning? Maybe my Bible's beginning to collect dust? I'm becoming more apathetic towards family devotion. I'm becoming more lukewarm with regards to my Christian faith. As you think and as you reflect on these things, what does that produce in you?
Because the apostate moves further into that. I'm becoming more apathetic because, yeah, I don't believe this. That saviour I once professed, I no longer have regard or love for him. So, if even as you're thinking, I really am not dedicated as I once was, well this is what we're reminded of. It is Christ's completed work that saves you first and foremost. And so, you're reminded of this, you're comforted by this, and you rejoice in this. When you think, my Bible reading has become so stone cold, and yet I know in my heart that Jesus loves me, that He's laid down His life for me, and I want to worship Him. Lord, my faith is so small, it's so weak, it's so feeble, but I trust you and I cling to you all the more. Is that the cry? Because that is the heart of the Christian. Though we may be lukewarm, though we may be apathetic, though we may be in a black slidden state, this is where when we come to warnings like this, we pray, Spirit of God, may you quicken me, may there be an urgency for the things of God. That's what the true Christian is driven to, it's driven towards, and that can be contrasted in stark terms to the cold-hearted, blatant wilful rejection of Christ.
Such a one will not be restored to repentance because such a one has willingly gone into that cage and said, I don't believe. I don't believe this. My Bible's gathering dust, I don't want it in the house anymore.
If you think right now, knowing in your heart, this is the word of God. Yes, so often I prioritize frivolous activities on social media. Football sometimes is like my god. My furniture, my hobbies, all of these things. Yes, we know that there's spiritual lukewarm and apathetic issues that we struggle and battle with. But we know Christ is who it's about. Christ is who I am for. Because that exhortation to work out our salvation with fear and trembling is followed by in Philippians 2:13 - for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. And that's your comfort, Christian. Because if it gets to the point where, well, what if I don't do enough? What if I am continuously lukewarm? Then you know this, that's not what gets you to heaven Christ does, Christ is all and everything. That's your hope.
But for the apostate, as we come to this third and final point, we see the one who is in this fallen state, who cannot be restored again to repentance, what is he charged with doing? We see - since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding Him up to contempt. Now the authorized version is even more accurate when it reads - seeing they crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh.
Now that could not be more blatant and stark. Think of the picture. The apostate who once has been enlightened and presented with the message of the gospel. Now what is that message? That message is that for the believer, the fallen sinner, Jesus came to this world. He came to this world clothed in human flesh, lived a sinless life, He was ridiculed, rejected, abandoned, treated like a common criminal. He was forced to carry a cross and he was nailed to that cross. He was nailed to that cross bearing the sins of his people. He suffered, he bled and he died for sinners and for such a category of person they have heard that message. They have heard about the nails being pierced into the hands. They have heard about the blood which has been shed and they've professed faith in that Christ, professed faith in that Saviour. And then what happens? That Saviour in whom they have professed faith, knowing, seeing, declaring, Jesus died for me, the nails were for me. And then they get to a stage where no more. I don't believe this anymore. I don't want this anymore. I don't want to hear this gospel anymore. What are they charged with doing?
The very nails that were pierced that once moved such a person to profess faith in Christ, they are now guilty of nailing Christ to that cross once more. Can you consider how serious this category is? And that's exactly what is being warned of here in this verse. What a perilous damning condition this is. And that's the charge.
Hebrews 10:29 states - How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? This is not an enviable position to be in. Yes, the apostate, like the Joshua Harris's of this world, they can go on their spiritual journey and discover all these magical things, but they're in the cage. They're trapped and they're condemned. Because they stand and they will stand before the righteous judge guilty of their sin and of their apostasy. They will stand in the presence of the Saviour who has been nailed to that cross. They have come and been enlightened by and tasted that. And then they have wilfully, willingly rejected that. And they will stand before the nail-pierced hands of the Saviour, knowing that they are guilty of once more having crucified the Son of God to their own harm, holding Him up to contempt. Because that's it. You get to this stage, you are making a mockery of the Saviour of the world, the Saviour of sinners, Jesus Christ.
And this is the warning that we see and behold as we close. Because we can be reminded and overjoyed of the truth of Scripture. In 1 Timothy 1:13, the apostle Paul writes that he was a former blasphemer. So, he was once one who was guilty of crucifying the Lord in his words, his actions, his deed. And yet, in verse 15 of 1st Timothy 1, it says - Christ came to save sinners. He has received mercy (verse 16), for all who believe will be saved. It was true of Paul, a blasphemer, a reviler of the faith, and for the one who is truly born again. It is true of you. And that salvation is steadfast, certain, secure, and it will not be lost. It will not be lost.
As we read verses, passages like this, and we heed the warning, and we consider the perilous condition of the apostate, it may at times move us to tears. And think, I knew such a one as this, and this is where he now is. It's horrifying. It's horrifying. And yet, we know that in the midst of the terror of rejecting and reviling the Son of God and this glorious God who we come to worship, the terror of our sin which cuts us off has been dealt with. Christ is triumphant. And we know this and we believe this though we may be up and down on our spiritual walk and sometimes we feel as though we're really maturing, other times we feel apathetic or indifferent. Day after day, night after night, we come back to that same gospel, that same Saviour, and it is unchanging, it is unwavering, because those who are saved, born again, you are a new creation in Christ Jesus. Note the language of Scripture. Born again, new creation. You are Christ's. You belong to Christ. He is alive in you. That's what salvation means. That doesn't mean that he's going to go away and leave if you're not good enough. No, you belong to the family of the living God. You are citizens of heaven. You are adopted sons and daughters of the King. And Christ is the Lord and the King in whom we trust. So, with that warning and with the sobering nature of this text, we are also reminded all the more of the desperate need of the great and glorious joy that we have, because it is a joy that we have Christ and its salvation, which is in Christ. Because though there is the warning of a category of person amongst the Hebrew Christians, the author is writing to. Those who he knows has faith in Christ and that's something we'll see as we go further into the chapter whilst also knowing that there is the danger of such apostasy. Apostasy is something that we know can be real in the hearts of those who experience much but are not truly saved. But for those who are truly saved, we are Christ's and in Him we trust and rejoice. Let's pray together.
Father, as we come to you in prayer, we thank you for what we have studied in this section in Hebrews over these three sermons and in this very important exhortation that is being given in this section in the book. Help us to understand the weighty truths that are contained throughout the Book of Hebrews. Enable us to have a deepening, maturing understanding of the Word of God that would shape us to be more like Christ, that we may glorify and magnify our Lord and our King. Build us up, we pray, as your people. Bring us closer together because of this life-saving message of the Gospel. May we be ready to proclaim it. May we seek to stand upon it. Forgive us, O God, when we are apathetic or indifferent. And may these warnings bring us all the more close to you, to our knees in prayer, to the Word, in study, and in faith. May it build us up for the sake of our King, Jesus Christ. For it's in His name that we pray. Amen.