𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗪𝗦 𝟲:𝟰–𝟲 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗬

UNDERSTANDING HEBREWS 6:4–6 THROUGH AN ANALOGY

Imagine a man who was trapped inside a burning building. The fire service arrived, rescued him, brought him outside and gave him the opportunity to live.

He experienced the rescue. He saw the danger he had escaped and understood that the people who rescued him had saved his life.

However, after some time, he became dissatisfied with certain things. He complained, made mistakes and sometimes behaved as though he had forgotten the seriousness of what had happened to him.

Would his mistakes mean that he had never been rescued? Would his moments of frustration cancel the fact that he had experienced the rescue?

Certainly not.

But imagine something different.

After understanding what had happened, the man deliberately declared that the rescue was worthless, rejected the people who rescued him, and insisted that he wanted nothing to do with them or their rescue.

We are no longer talking about someone who is struggling to understand his new life. We are talking about a deliberate rejection of what he has already experienced and acknowledged.

This analogy helps us appreciate the seriousness of the warning in Hebrews 6:4–6.

The passage speaks about people who were once enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, became partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then fell away.

Notice that the writer is not simply describing people who have made mistakes, struggled with their faith, or experienced moments of weakness.

The warning concerns falling away after experiencing these spiritual realities.

Verse 6 says that they cannot be renewed again to repentance, seeing that they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put Him to an open shame.

We must therefore distinguish between a believer who is struggling in their understanding and someone who deliberately repudiates Christ.

Making a mistake is not the same as rejecting Christ.

Struggling in faith is not the same as abandoning the faith.

Falling into sin is not automatically the same as deliberately repudiating the finished work of Christ.

The passage must be understood in its context, especially the warning against turning away from Christ after having experienced the spiritual realities described in the passage.

Our confidence is not in our ability to maintain salvation through human effort. Our confidence is in what Jesus Christ has accomplished.

Hebrews 10:14 says:

"For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

The finished work of Christ must never be confused with permission to reject Him, nor should the warning in Hebrews 6 be used to make believers afraid every time they stumble.

The issue is not a believer who is struggling to walk in the truth; the warning is about turning away from the very Christ whose finished work has been revealed.

WHY HEBREWS 6:9 MATTERS

Although the writer gives this serious warning, he does not leave his readers in fear.

Hebrews 6:9 says:

"But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak."

Notice that after giving the warning, the writer expresses confidence in better things concerning his readers, things that accompany salvation.

This reminds us that the purpose of the warning is not to make believers live in constant fear of losing their salvation, but to encourage them to continue in the faith and not turn away from Christ.

AN OBSERVATION ATTRIBUTED TO KENNETH E. HAGIN

There is something worth considering from the ministry of Kenneth E. Hagin.

Hagin is reported to have stated in one of his books that, throughout all the years he spent in Christian ministry, he had encountered only two people whom he believed had reached the condition described in Hebrews 6:4–6. He also reportedly attributed this understanding to a revelation the Lord gave him.

Although this is an observation attributed to Hagin and not a numerical statement found in Scripture, it is worth considering.

It reminds us not to interpret Hebrews 6:4–6 carelessly or use it to frighten Christians who are still growing in their understanding of the Gospel.

A believer who is struggling with spiritual growth, making mistakes or trying to understand the finished work of Christ should not automatically conclude that he has fallen away in the sense described in this passage.

We must distinguish between spiritual immaturity, moments of weakness and a deliberate repudiation of Christ after experiencing the spiritual realities described in Hebrews 6.

Our responsibility as teachers of the Gospel is not to make believers afraid of their salvation but to help them understand Christ, His finished work and the seriousness of rejecting Him.

Amos Iguma
Salvation Ground Ministry Int'l