Hebrews 6:1-8
1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this will we do, if God permit.
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
The Grace New Testament Commentary - Hebrews 6:4-8
6:4 Verses 4-6 are a complete unit of thought. In the Greek text the emphatic word impossible is placed up front in v 4, while the complement "to renew them again to repentance" follows in v 6. In between is a series of five participles describing those who cannot be renewed to repentance (all governed by one definite article in the Greek). These verses describe a genuine Christian for at least three reasons: (1) the author had expressed concern about his readers earlier (Hebrews 3:12) though calling them "brethren"; (2) 6:4-6 cannot be divorced from what he has said about them at the beginning of the literary unit in Hebrews 5:11-14, namely, that they are spiritual babies who have not matured; and (3) the terminology in Hebrews 6:4-5 is most naturally descriptive of Christian experience.
The author's first description of them is that they were once enlightened. He uses this expression elsewhere in Hebrews 10:32, pointing out how they had suffered for their faith after being enlightened. This surely points to their regenerate state, for it is hardly imaginable that first-century Jews would suffer persecution for Christ had they not truly come to know Him. Second, they had tasted the heavenly gift. The word tasted (geusamenous) does not imply a mere sampling (short of regeneration). The same word is used in 2:9 to refer to Christ having "tasted death for everyone" (i.e., He fully experienced it). The readers had truly experienced the heavenly gift of eternal life in Christ (cf. John 4:10; Rom 6:23). Third, they had become partakers of the Holy Spirit, having received the Spirit at the moment of saving faith (cf. Eph 1:13-14).
6:5 Fourth, they had tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. They had embraced the Christian message, which in turn was accompanied by miraculous confirmations (cf. Hebrews 2:3-4).
6:6 The final participle fall away indicates that it is possible for a regenerate Christian who has experienced everything described in vv 4-5 to meet with spiritual disaster. The Greek term for fall away (parapiptō) is not used elsewhere in the NT (in the LXX it frequently means "to transgress" against the Lord, as in Ezek 20:27). The earlier use of the related cognate form piptō in Heb 4:11 is insightful. The readers might "fall" through following the same example of disobedience, in contrast to those who were diligent to enter God's rest. There is also a very close connection with the words "departing from" in Hebrews 3:12 (with the Kadesh Barnea incident in mind). Though a lexically different word, it is conceptually related to parapiptō in Hebrews 6:6. Thus "falling away" in v 6 is to transgress against the Lord in a way that parallels what happened at Kadesh Barnea when the Hebrews hardened their hearts and rebelled against the Lord in unbelief. In light of the author's exhortation in Hebrews 4:14 (and again in Hebrews 10:23), he is probably thinking of a rebellion involving an abandonment of one's confession of faith in Christ, and returning to the old, familiar way of doing things.
The author is telling them that there is a point beyond which it is impossible to restore such a rebel to a state of repentance, because this would be tantamount to recrucifying the Savior and publicly humiliating Him. The severity of such an action will be pointedly made later in Heb 10:26-31.
6:7-8 The author follows this somber warning with an apt illustration. In these verses the author is not describing two different grounds, but rather two possible outcomes for the same ground (as is true for every Christian). Regardless of the outcome, the ground has received the rain, which probably speaks of God's divine care and provision for spiritual growth in the life of a believer. The contrast in vv 7-8 is most likely between a faithful believer who is fruitful and an unfaithful believer who should have produced but did not (consistent with Hebrews 5:11-14).
Hebrews 6:8 is a deliberate allusion to Gen 3:17-18 (note the use of thorns and briers, as well as being cursed). The first man Adam received a curse for his disobedience, and the allusion to this brings to mind the temporal judgment that fell on the first man's disobedience. Elsewhere in the OT the word "curse" signified God's temporal discipline on His people for their disobedience to the covenant (cf. Deuteronomy 28-29). To be rejected ("worthless," NASB) need not imply loss of eternal life. The Apostle Paul used the Greek term (adokimos) of himself in 1 Cor 9:27 in the sense of being "disqualified" from his reward as a result of not disciplining himself. Thus the unfruitful ground of Heb 6:8 is "rejected," implying that the offender has not gained God's approval and is considered unfit. He may be in store for God's discipline and eventual loss of reward.
When the author says whose end is to be burned, he is not thinking of burning in hell. Though the metaphor of fire could be used in that sense, it is also used to speak of God's scrutinizing judgment of regenerate Christians, as in 1 Cor 3:12-15. In such a case fire is used for revealing the quality of a believer's works, as a prelude to dispensing rewards. Two things in the following context suggest that the author has the works of believers in mind: (1) he specifically mentions their work in Heb 6:10; and (2) rewards are in view in v 12 (some inherit the promises because of their faith and patience).
Charles Bing - Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship - If They Fall Away, Hebrews 6:1-10
(Salvation) Interpretation: Those who depart from the Christian faith either lose their salvation or prove they were never really saved and go to hell.
(Discipleship) Interpretation: Those who depart from the Christian faith have no other plea before God and will be disciplined severely.
We have already asserted that those addressed in the warning passages are believers. The careful description of these readers in the immediate context demands this conclusion (vv. 4-5). Some would argue for a (Salvation) interpretation of this passage, but their arguments vary. Some claim that falling away only proves that the apostates were never saved to begin with, but that is untenable in view of the descriptions in Hebrews 6:4-5. Others say that this passage speaks of believers who lose their salvation. Believers cannot lose their salvation, but if that is being taught here, then verses 4 and 6 also teach that they can never be saved again. Neither is the author speaking hypothetically about the possibility of believers falling away from the faith, as some claim. In verse 6, the conditional statement is not treated as hypothetical in the original language. A similar word for falling away is seen in Hebrews 4:11, which refers to the example of the sin of rebellion against the Lord that happened at Kadesh Barnea (cf. Hebrews 3:12; Num. 14). Surely a comparison is intended.
What concerns the author of this warning is the spiritual progress of the readers, which he addresses in the passages that bracket the warning (Hebrews 5:12-14; 6:11-12). If they fall away from their faith in Christ, they will not advance in maturity or inherit the promises of rest and blessing in the present and future. Moreover, if they fall away from Christ by going back to the Mosaic Law, they have no other appeal before the Lord. They already repented of the "dead works" of the Mosaic system (Hebrews 6:1; cf. Hebrews 9:14) and cannot do it again, because now they know better. In the past, they had rejected the Jewish sacrifices and accepted the eternal sacrifice of Jesus Christ. To go back and identify with Judaism is to publicly deny the benefits of Christ's sacrifice and even show implicit agreement that Christ deserved to die, thus, the statement in Hebrews 6:6: "since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame." With such an attitude, it is impossible to bring them back to repentance. These believing readers could make a pivotal decision not to press forward but to deny the provision of Christ's sacrifice and thus forfeit the benefits of professing and growing in Christ. If they do, they cannot claim ignorance and start over. Again, this alludes to the pivotal incident at Kadesh Barnea mentioned in Hebrews 3:7-19 in which those Israelites who decided to turn back were not allowed to enter the Promised Land, though they tried (cf. Num. 14). The author later uses Esau as an example of one who could not have another chance though he "sought it diligently with tears" (Hebrews 12:15-17).
The consequence for falling away is a negative judgment described in Hebrews 6:7-8. If God cuts off the opportunity to press on (Hebrews 6:3), the believer will suffer severe consequences. A believer who turns back would be like scorched earth. The imagery of fire unnecessarily leads some to interpret this as hell, but we have already shown that fire is often used to picture God's judgment on His people. The believer is compared to the earth, which can bear either useful fruit or useless thorns; if useless thorns, the earth is "rejected" because of its uselessness (so the NKJV; but adokimos is better translated as "not standing the test" and thus "unqualified, worthless"). It is also "near to being cursed," but is not actually cursed. According to common agricultural practice, earth that bears useless thorns is set on fire to burn the thorns so that the earth might become productive in the future. It is important to note that in the original language there is only one earth, not two, and it (the believer) is not burned, but the thorns (what the believer produces).
This (Discipleship) interpretation yields a good exhortation and warning to Christians today. God wants us to faithfully press forward in our Christian faith. Though our eternal salvation is secure, there are severe consequences if we intentionally turn away from Him and do not go on to maturity. We will not only forfeit the progress we could have made, but face God's fiery chastisement intended to make us more useful in the future.