Hebrews 6:1-8

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 toward 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.  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.  But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

This is one of the most difficult passages of Scripture to interpret as a casual reading of it seems to teach that a person can lose their salvation.  However, there are so many other passages of Scripture that clearly teach that this is not possible.  Therefore, since Scripture cannot contradict itself, it is important to understand this passage in light of the rest of Hebrews and the rest of Scripture.  This leaves us with only two viable interpretations.  One would be that the person in question is a true believer who falls away from the faith and can never be restored to effectiveness but remains saved.  The other would be that the person in question appears to be saved and a member of the church and has even benefited from this proximation to the Gospel but was never truly saved.  My understanding would be more in line with the later.  However, this passage is really about the Gospel and we will look at it from that perspective.

THE GOSPEL IS FOUNDATIONAL: The author of Hebrews is wanting to move forward from the foundational aspects of the Gospel: repentance, faith, resurrection, and the return of Christ.  These things are basic to the Christian life, but they are not the sum total of the Christian life.  Certainly, the Gospel is foundational for everything that comes after salvation, but foundations are meant to be built upon.  This is no way should be understood as a criticism of the Gospel or the preaching of the Gospel.  Much to the contrary, the Gospel is the only means by which salvation can occur and the only hope for humanity.  There is no maturity apart from the Gospel, but there are important doctrines and disciplines that are essential to maturity that must be studied.  Instead, there seems to be a constant debate between religious rituals and faith in Christ.  The author is saying that we need to get beyond the debates about works and religion.  Nothing is more important than the Gospel but life in Christ is more than just believing the Gospel.

THE GOSPEL IS FUNCTIONAL: Anything that is valuable is always at risk of being counterfeit.  There is nothing more valuable than the Gospel, so Satan is very busy espousing false gospels and is striving to fill our churches with fake believers.  The person being described here experiences a certain enlightenment as to the facts of the Gospel, tastes of the benefits of the Gospel, and even shares in some of the power of the Holy Spirit.  They may be convinced of the truth of the Gospel but are not converted from their sin by the Gospel.  These are people who, for a time, participate in the fellowship of the church and look like all the other believers.  Much like tares look just like wheat to borrow an illustration from Jesus.  What is the difference?  These fall away.  This does not mean some momentary lapse in judgment, or even falling into some serious sin.  It means apostacy.  True believers struggle and sin.  However, they don’t deny the deity of Christ or the existence of God.  My understanding of this passage is that those who befriend the Gospel without actually believing the Gospel, and then become apostates will have a hardened heart.  When someone truly believes the Gospel, it will perform a function of transformation in the person’s life thar will prevent apostacy and that person will persevere in the faith.  Those who use this passage to teach the possibility of losing salvation must also accept the teaching of it being impossible to be “resaved.”  The true Gospel will bring about a true transformation in those who truly believe.

THE GOSPEL IS FRUITFUL: The Gospel will always produce fruit in the lives of those who believe.  The author uses the illustration of land that receives rain and as a result produces a crop as was intended by those who cultivated the field.  This is the expected result of farming.  Good soil that is planted with good seed and receives adequate rain will produce a good crop.  However, the reality of farming is that some soils are infested with weeds that prevent the production of any crop.  The only solution is to just burn off the weeds.  This is similar to the teachings of Jesus about knowing a tree by its fruit.  True believers will produce fruit for the glory of God because that is what the Gospel does.

APPLICATION: Believe the Gospel with all our hearts and then grow in the Gospel and our knowledge of the Word so that we can become mature in Christ.  Recognize that there can be unbelievers in the midst of the church who, for a time, look much like true believers.  Examine the fruit of our faith and be assured that we will persevere in producing fruit for the glory of our Lord.