“those who have once been enlightened…and then have fallen away”
There are today many Christians who believe with great certainty that it is possible for a true, Born Again Believer to lose their salvation. Although they cite several passages of scripture, one of their most prominent arguments come from Hebrews 6:4-6. Let’s look at the text…
4 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, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 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.
The argument, they say, is that the author is clearly describing a person who has a genuine saving faith, but then has fallen away. The term “fallen away”, which the author of Hebrews has used before, means to completely disengage and go in the other direction.
I have to admit, at first glance they seem to have a compelling argument. However, the author of Hebrews chose his words carefully and I believe that if we dig in we can discover exactly what he intended to communicate when he put pen to parchment. In Chapter 5 of the letter, the author chastised the people for being so spiritually underdeveloped that they could only drink the milk of the word, they were not mature enough to eat meat. Let’s not be like that, let’s eat some meat…
There are four words that the author used to describe the people who fall away. They have been enlightened, they have tasted, they have shared and they were, before falling away, in a state of repentance.
ENLIGHTENED
The Greek word for “enlightened” is photizo, which means to have come to an “understanding” of a subject, in this case an understanding of the gospel, of what salvation is, of what the Chruch is like and how it functions. We frequently use this word in a similar fashion, for example if a person is an an expert in certain subject of which you do not know much about you may say “enlighten me”. I asked this very question recently during a conversation with a surgeon, a profession which I personally think is a fascinating. He explained to me some details of his continuing education as well as what it is like to prepare for and perform surgery. I left that conversation knowing exponentially more about being a surgeon, yet I would never claim to be an expert, and certainly wouldn’t suggest I learned enough to give it a try myself.
Even though they are described as being enlightened, that does not mean they have responded to this gospel. There are certainly people who know the whole gospel story, yet are not saved. I personally know several people who are downright experts in their understanding of the gospel yet still reject it.
To say someone has been “enlightened” means that they have come into the Church and learned what it is we are about.
TASTED
The Greek word for “tasted” is geuomai, which is pretty simple, it means to taste. It is used of Jesus when on the cross when “they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.” (Matthew 27:34). This word reminds me of a familiar scene in a crime drama where a dead body is found next to a drink. One of the characters puts his finger in the drink and brings a drop to his tongue, then immediately spits it out and exclaims “Poison!” To taste does not mean that one feasts. It does not even mean that someone has enjoyed what he tasted, only that in a very real way they have tasted what something is like.
SHARED
The Greek word for “shared” is metochos and it has a wide range of meanings, from implying a very close participation and attachment to having a loose, casual association. The author uses this word in Heb 3:14, and there it absolutely means a saving relationship with Christ, “For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” However it is also used to describe a simple association, such as when the disciples caught so many fish their nets were breaking they called to their partners for help.
If the author was intended to describe a deeper shared connection with the Holy Spirit, there is another Greek word that he could have used; koinonos. He uses that word in Hebrews 10:33 “sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.” The reason I draw attention to this is that there were strong words in the Greek that he used when he wanted to, but evidently he didn’t want to us those strong words here. Does it necessarily mean these people were attached to the Holy Spirit? Or does he simply intend to communicate that they were there when He was at work?
REPENTANCE
The word metanioa does not necessarily refer to an inward heart repentance unto salvation, but can simply mean a change of mind. Luke used it when he wrote “and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (Luke 17:3-4).
It is not uncommon at all for unsaved people to feel sorry for what they do and change their ways.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
At this point I believe only one thing has been proven. After examining these four words the author is not necessarily describing the true loss of salvation. In his commentary on Hebrews, Pink wrote “Taking the passage as a whole, it needs to be remembered that all who had professed to receive the Gospel were not born of God: the parable of the Sower shows that.”
So we’ve come to a place where we are not entirely certain what the author’s intentions were. Fortunately if we keep on reading, I’m convinced we will know beyond a doubt.
HEBREWS 6:7-8
7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
This agricultural analogy is a very interesting key to unlocking the intentions of the author. It is important to see that the people who fall away are not compared to a land the once bore good fruit then stopped, they are a land that has never born good fruit.
HEBREWS 6:9 BETTER THINGS FOR THOSE WHO ARE SAVED
Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things – things that belong to salvation.
Examining the author’s argument in its entirety we see that is a contrast between two very different groups of people. Again, Pink writes “it is of first importance to note that the apostle does not say, ‘us who were once enlightened’, nor even ‘you’, instead, he says ‘those’.
Not only is he contrasting two groups of people, but he is contrasting the things associated with each. For those who are beloved these things are:
– “things that belong to salvation” (ESV)
– “things that have to do with salvation” (NIV)
– “the better things connected with salvation” (HCSB)
The experiences associated with “those who have…fallen away” are not salvation experiences. Throughout the New Testament things associated with salvation are: Faith, Love, Fellowship, Perseverance, Fruit, Elect, Called, Justified, Forgiven, Redeemed, etc. The list goes on and on.
Lastly, when we read the letter in its entirety, we begin to understand what the author purpose and passion is all about. He is trying to prevent a Jewish person who comes into the Church, experiences the things that happen in the Body, then rejects it all and turns to back to embrace Judaism as the way to be righteous in God’s sight. There were not at this time in history a group of people more hostile towards Jesus than the Jews. That’s what he means in vs. 6 when he wrote “they are crucifying once again the Son of God, and holding him up to contempt.” After all they have learned about Jesus and all they have experienced here in the church, they abandon what they have come to know and join with the people who killed him. The author is saying “Don’t be that person!” Tenaciously cling to Jesus, don’t let go, don’t fall away back into Judaism and the Law, because if you do there’s no coming back from that.
– Kyle Restoule