Will the people mentioned in Hebrews 6:4-8 perish?
Hebrews 6:1 through 8 says, “Therefore leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be brought on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith in God, of the teaching of baptisms and of the laying on of hands, of the resurrection of the dead and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible for those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and yet have fallen away, to renew themselves again unto repentance, crucifying again for themselves the Son of God and putting Him to open shame. For the earth, which drinks the rain which often comes upon it and brings forth vegetation suitable to those for whose sake also it is cultivated, partakes of blessing from God. But if it brings forth thorns and thistles, it is disapproved and near a curse, whose end is to be burned.” Some, after reading verses 6 and 8, assume that the kind of people mentioned in these verses cannot be saved. As mentioned in verses 4 and 5, they are “those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come.” These verses mention four facts: (1) they were once enlightened; (2) they tasted of the heavenly gift; (3) they became partakers of the Holy Spirit; and (4) they tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. If a person has already experienced the four items mentioned above and falls away, he will be “disapproved and near a curse, whose end is to be burned” (v. 8). Based upon this verse, some speculate that their end is perdition. If this is the case, then this means that although one has been saved and has gained eternal life, there is a possibility for him to lose it. How do we explain this?
We must be clear what the book of Hebrews is speaking of. Hebrews speaks about “pressing on,” and this progress has two areas. First, Christians should progress; second, the one who teaches should also progress. In their living, Christians should increase in their knowledge of the Lord and should advance. The one who teaches should likewise teach the truth in a progressive way; he should not dwell on the topic of salvation all year round but go on to teach the deeper truths.
The climax of this progress in the book of Hebrews is in chapters five and six. In chapter five the writer speaks of Melchisedec: “Concerning whom we have much to say that is also difficult to interpret since you have become dull of hearing” (v. 11). They should have been fully grown; yet, unfortunately, they were old children. They should have been able to take in solid food and learn the word of righteousness; yet, unfortunately, they were still those who needed milk. Chapter six speaks to those who teach others. They should also make some progress. They should not just speak about six doctrines: repentance from dead works, faith in God, the teaching of baptisms, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and the eternal judgment. Rather, they should press on to teach other matters. Thus we can see that Hebrews 6:1-8 is not speaking of the matter of salvation but of spiritual progress. The goal of the book of Hebrews is progression, not salvation. We cannot proceed to speak clearly about this book if we are misled about its subject.
Some Christians do not pay any attention to the truth of the church and of the kingdom. Their eyes are fixed only on salvation. It seems that salvation alone is adequate for them. But the Bible does not speak only of salvation; it also has many other things to tell us.
We must grasp the theme of the book of Hebrews before we can go on to Hebrews 6:1-8. These few verses can be divided into three sections: (1) verses 1 through 3 form a section with the title “Need Not”; (2) verses 4 through 6 form the next section with the title “Cannot”; and (3) verses 7 through 8 form the third section with the title “Should Not.”
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