God gave us His Word long ago to provide us—TODAY—with answers to our questions, comfort in our grief, and hope for all our tomorrows. Paul wrote “Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.” (Romans 15:4 AMP)
And yet, there are born-again believers who live terrified. They love the LORD Jesus with all their heart and soul. They read and believe the Word of God as absolute TRUTH … but therein lies the rub. It’s actually a particular passage of Scripture that gives them nightmares. Their interpretation of the text blocks their peace and their joy, and it hides their hope of Heaven behind clouds of doubt—and they can’t seem to get around it. Which Scripture is it?
It is Hebrews 6:4-6: “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, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, (it is impossible) to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” (KJV)
Some read that text, look at themselves, and come to the following conclusion:
- FIRST: They KNOW that they WERE once saved, but they have sinned after receiving the Holy Ghost. They did it—they flat out backslid. Although they came back to the LORD afterward, they cannot erase their past.
- SECOND: They believe that the writer of Hebrews is saying in this text that, if a person commits willful sin AFTER they are saved, there’s no point in repenting because forgiveness has already been exhausted for them. They are haunted by a voice in their spirit, accusing them constantly: “You sinned. You should have known better. You DID know better. You knew it was sin, and you did it anyway. The Scripture is clear—no matter how much you repent, there’s no hope for you.”
- Then FINALLY, and here’s the kicker: Because it’s Scripture, they think that the voice of the accuser is the voice of GOD. They believe it’s the voice of Truth—the Holy Ghost, reminding them over and over and over … of what they’ve repented of over and over and over. They assume this one text (Hebrews 6:4-6) interprets all others in the New Testament about believers’ sins and forgiveness—instead of the other way around. It’s like the fine print often overlooked at the bottom of a contract—the clause that stipulates that, if any condition of the contract is ever violated, the whole thing becomes null and void. In fact, the Bible does say, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10 NIV)
But is that truly what THIS Scripture is saying?
Rather than micro-focus on this one text, we need to step back and ask the bigger question: What does the REST of Scripture say about repentance and forgiveness? If we first consider that, we can then more appropriately interpret this passage in its proper context. We know that:
- The New Testament is NOT a contract. It wasn’t a new contract that Jesus came to establish with His blood—but a new covenant.
- The Scriptures do not support the idea of “once saved, always saved, no matter what.” But neither does the WORD include the clause that states “be sure you live a sinless life after you’re saved—or ELSE.” That was never part of the new covenant—because it’s impossible. Our own righteousness will NEVER merit salvation. Ever. Hebrews 9:22 reminds us: “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.” Only by the saving blood of Jesus Christ are we saved, and there is certainly NO sin that we can EVER commit that is stronger than His blood. “Bless the LORD … Who forgiveth ALL thine iniquities …” (Psalm 103:2-3 KJV)
- The key that unlocks HIS forgiveness, at any point in our timeline, is confession. “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” (Psalms 32:5 KJV)
For the sake of argument, let’s just imagine that it WOULD be impossible to find forgiveness for sin committed AFTER we’re saved. If that were so, you’d think that Peter would’ve made that clear on the Day of Pentecost. He declared that day, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” However, notice that he did NOT add, “But … BEWARE! Before you jump in and give your lives to Christ, just know that the moment you receive the Holy Ghost … that’s the point of no return! After this day of salvation, future repentance is no longer an option for you, and NO further sin will be forgiven! EVER!”
God forbid.
Rather, what does Peter say, in his epistle? “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for ALL to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NASB) Remember, he wrote those words to THE CHURCH—to believers who were already born again.
So, what is Hebrews 6:4-6 talking about? Let’s look at that text more closely in our next study.
(Part 1 of 2)
