FALLING AWAY

FALLING AWAY
Heb 6:4-8
"It is impossible…if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance…." (vv. 4,6).

OF ALL THE WARNING PASSAGES IN Hebrews, this is the most severe. It is also the most problematic, as commentators struggle to interpret it. Some have argued that we have here conclusive biblical evidence that believers can lose their salvation.

Others have disagreed by saying that the believers mentioned here are only professing ones (not genuine), or that the situation described is only a hypothetical one (not real). In examining this passage, we must be careful not to merely give academic answers to such questions, and miss the whole point of the author's intention altogether.

The people the author speaks about are not necessarily his readers because he expects better things of them (v.9). He is speaking about "those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age" (vv.4-5). We need to identify such people from the contexts: the immediate context of 5.11-6.3, and the wider context of 3.7-10.39.

From the immediate context, we see that they may be the immature Christians who began something but got stuck in their immaturity (5.12). From the wider context, they may be the rebellious Israelites who began something but never completed it because of unbelief (3.7-11). The whole epistle of Hebrews is a warning against turning back, falling away, giving up. Perhaps, it is the fear of persecution, or the lure of the former Jewish faith, or just plain complacency, but whatever, to turn back is to commit apostasy.

The severity of the warning is sounded in the word "impossible": it is impossible, if they fall away, to reclaim them (v.4). F.F. Bruce comments, "We know, of course, that nothing of this sort is ultimately impossible for the grace of God, but as a matter of human experience the reclamation of such people, practically speaking, is impossible." The question of whether a believer can fall beyond reclamation or not is academic. The important question is, How can I ensure that I do not fall away? The thrust of our author's warning is not to shake our faith in God's keeping power. It is to tell us not to take God's grace for granted.

The message of Hebrews is two-pronged. We have a high priest, Jesus, who is able to see us through to the end, so we need not worry. But let us beware lest we take for granted the grace of God and fall away, so let us keep watch. As long as we do both, we are safe.

Am I doubting God's grace? Am I taking it for granted?