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by Katie Erickson

“It is impossible for 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 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.” -Hebrews 6:4-8

In the last few sections of the letter, the author of Hebrews has been talking about maturing in the Christian faith – moving from “milk” to “solid food,” keeping the foundations of the elementary teachings and building on them rather than staying stagnant or backsliding in our faith. Here in this passage, he continues this idea and shows how serious it is to not make progress in our faith.

What does verse 4 mean when it says “those who have once been enlightened”? In the second century, the Church would use this same verb to refer to baptism. But that usage is not seen in the first century when Hebrews likely would have been written. Instead, a better interpretation is to simply mean coming to faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus is called “the light of the world” in passages such as John 8:12 and 2 Corinthians 4:6. Being enlightened is to believe that Jesus truly is the light of the world and our Savior.

What is “the heavenly gift” in the next phrase? This does not have a clear meaning in Scripture. It could refer to Holy Communion based on the verb “tasted” used with it, but that verb can also be used in a figurative sense as in Psalm 34:8. This phrase does clearly mean some good gift that comes from God, so this could refer to God’s grace or the gift of salvation that we can receive. It could even mean receiving the gift of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, especially with the phrase “who have shared in the Holy Spirit” following it.

Verse 5 continues to describe those who have been enlightened. They have “tasted the goodness of the word of God.” They are the ones who have heard the gospel message and received it into their lives. The word of God can also refer to the entire Bible, as all words that we receive from God are good. It can also refer to Jesus – these people have experienced the goodness of Jesus in their lives, whether in person for those in the early Church or through faith in His salvation.

Finally, these people have also experienced “the powers of the coming age.” Again, this is a phrase that is not clearly defined. It may refer to how the people of Israel looked forward to the time period when the Messiah would come and the power that He would bring, but this was written after Jesus’ death and resurrection so that age would no longer be “coming.” But perhaps the power referred to is that of the Holy Spirit, which they may have believed was not yet fully realized in their lives.

In verse 6, the author talks about those “who have fallen away.” The verb here is only found in this location in the New Testament, but its meaning is clear: those who were among the followers of Jesus but are no longer following Him. The writer is saying that it is impossible for these people to repent, that is to turn back completely to following Jesus. He doesn’t say that they can’t be forgiven but that they are no longer able to fully embrace and live the Christian life once they have experienced it then turned away from it. When people do this, it is like they’re crucifying Jesus all over again; they once regarded Him as their savior but then they put that idea to death in their own hearts.

There has been much discussion regarding this passage among scholars. Some believe it refers to genuine believers who then fall away, that they may never come back; but this doesn’t agree with other New Testament passages that say that no one can take Jesus’ followers away from Him (see John 6:37 and John 10:27-29). Others believe this passage is a hypothetical situation that may not have actually happened. Or, perhaps these believers who fell away were not genuine believers in the first place. But the point is that when we profess faith in Jesus Christ, that is not something we should turn from lightly!

Verses 7-8 turn to an agricultural metaphor for this. The land can’t produce a crop by itself; it needs the rain to do so. We as humans cannot come to faith on our own, but we need the Holy Spirit in our lives. The land that produces good crop is a believer who is genuine in his or her faith, whereas the land that produces thorns and thistles is a person who does not have faith in Jesus. Those who do not show evidence of a genuine faith in Christ are more likely to be those who are simply going through the motions, and they are not truly followers of Jesus.

Where is your faith? Have you been enlightened by the word of God? Have you tasted God’s goodness in your life? Have you experienced repentance? If so, do not fall away from that! Keep moving forward and growing and maturing in your faith. Continue to dig into God’s Word and help your field to produce good crops; do not give up that practice and fall away from this true faith that you have received. If you have not yet experienced this enlightenment to faith, contact a Christian friend, a pastor, or us here at Worldview Warriors and we’ll help you get on the right path to tasting the goodness of God in your life!

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