Why does this verse specifically point out godly people when it applies to all?

[OwenHeidenreich]

[h=3]Hebrews 6:4-6[/h]King James Version (KJV)

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.

What does fall away mean?

Because apparently if any believer "falls away" they won't be forgiven. even if this believer wasnt enlightened, and if they didnt taste the heavenly gift and taste the good word of god and the powers of the world to come.

So why does God specifcally mention very Godly people, but he doesn't define "Falls away"



Would that verse apply to every person?

 

[loveme1]

Hebrews 10 is insightful.. keep reading through the book my friend.
Wilfull sin after the knowledge of Truth.

 

[ForthAngel]

It talks about putting Jesus to open shame. To me this would mean a public renouncement of faith or open blasphemy after knowing the truth God has revealed. I've heard that this isn't possible for a true believer, but I'm not so sure that's true. I think the parable of the sower goes along with these verses you posted. An example would be a pastor that has heard the truth, understood it, but then warped it openly for greedy purposes, or things along those lines IMO. But I'm not sure.It could be anyone who publicly puts Jesus to shame.

Matthew 13
[SUP]18 [/SUP]Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
[SUP]19 [/SUP]When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
[SUP]20 [/SUP]But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
[SUP]21 [/SUP]Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
[SUP]22 [/SUP]He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
[SUP]23 [/SUP]But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

If a Christian was being faced with a choice - be tortured and then killed for proclaiming Christ or be set free for denouncing him - and they chose to openly denounce Jesus, they might possibly have just lost their salvation. I'm not for sure how these verses are supposed to be interpreted, but this is how I see it.

 

[nathan3]

What does fall away mean?

Because apparently if any believer "falls away" they won't be forgiven. even if this believer wasnt enlightened, and if they didnt taste the heavenly gift and taste the good word of god and the powers of the world to come.

So why does God specifcally mention very Godly people, but he doesn't define "Falls away"



Would that verse apply to every person?



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Hebrews 6:6 "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."

Do you understand what was said here? If all you teach is salvation and baptism and the entire group that you are teaching has already accepted Christ and tasted of the Word and has been saved once, then you are putting our Lord's sacrifice to shame. Then when you have some man of God get up before that group and all he teaches is salvation and baptism; that is blasphemy. If there is one person unsaved in the room then it is okay, but not when it is known that every individual has been saved, and been baptized.

Why? Christ does the saving, and after one is saved, all it takes is repentance. Man will always slip in his flesh life, and he will also need repent to the Father in Jesus name after he has sinned, for we will all fall short. The freedom that we have in Christ is to be able to repent as our sins come to our attention, and not be tied to the guilt of those sins.

II Thessalonians 3:10 "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat."

Though many direct this only to the flesh body, it also applies also to the spiritual part of man. If you do not work in the Word to study and gain understanding, the spiritual insight of the Word will not come to you.

There is a saying that many Christians like to say, "once saved, always saved"; but there is another side to this coin. That salvation is always there, steadfast and true, however we don't always hold to that salvation, and this is when repentance and forgiveness comes in. If you have faith you will see your sin when you fall short of God commandment, and because of your belief you will repent immediately, however that is not being saved all over again, but repentance.

So Paul is saying that once you have accept Christ and been baptized, move on in the Word and make yourself knowledgeable enough to produce fruit [souls saved] for the kingdom of God. The just of the matter is that it isn't Christ that fell short, when you mess up, it is you. So don't put Christ at shame and back on the cross because of your sinning, causing Christ to repay a price, but it becomes a matter of your fessing up to your sin and repenting. Which is to feel sorry for what you have done, and have a change of heart to want to get back to serving Him.

 

[phil36]

It could also be an exhortation, or could be talking about those who are fooled in thinking they are Christian..

 

[Least]

This ties to Hebrews Ch. 4, 5 and 6. It carries through.

Read all three carefully. In ch 6, read the entire chapter.

 

[OwenHeidenreich]

I have done something like this where i openly denounced Jesus Christ, but that is becuase i didn't really know if he existed, i just feared hell.

but a year later i became a christian, then a few months after i became a christian i denounced JEsus in my own heart because Satan decieved me in the doctrine of hell, therefore i wasn't afraid to denounce Jesus because I believed that there was no hell.

Then I once again came back to repentance.

I knew Jesus existed when I fell away, but I didnt taste the heavenly gifts and i wasnt enlightened.

 

[4enlightment]

Hebrews 6:4-6

King James Version (KJV)

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.

What does fall away mean?

Because apparently if any believer "falls away" they won't be forgiven. even if this believer wasnt enlightened, and if they didnt taste the heavenly gift and taste the good word of god and the powers of the world to come.

So why does God specifcally mention very Godly people, but he doesn't define "Falls away"



Would that verse apply to every person?

Matthew 18:12“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?

Matthew 13:15For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

Matthew 24:10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,

Mark 4:12so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”

Luke 22:32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Matthew 18:22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Matthew 12:49Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.

Matthew 12:7If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Luke 6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Matthew 12:37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

John 3:17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.


mer·cy (mûr

s

)n. pl. mer·cies1. Compassionate treatment, especially of those under one's power; clemency.
2. A disposition to be kind and forgiving: a heart full of mercy.
3. Something for which to be thankful; a blessing: It was a mercy that no one was hurt.
4. Alleviation of distress; relief: Taking in the refugees was an act of mercy.

unconditional [ˌʌnkənˈdɪʃən[SUP]ə[/SUP]l]adj1. without conditions or limitations; total unconditional surrender
2. (Mathematics) Maths (of an equality) true for all values of the variable


Revelation 6:10They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”

Romans 12 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.


There's only one day for judgement, but right now as long as a person has breath, they can change or repent.

 

[Least]

Matthew 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Try not to jump to conclusions about what something means. Pray for clarity from God, and talk with your parents and/or your preacher.

The fact that you have a heart for God is a great indication that you haven't sinned at that level.

Keep pressing on!

 

[ForthAngel]

There is also these verses:

Matthew 10

32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

 

[Starcrash]

It could also be an exhortation, or could be talking about those who are fooled in thinking they are Christian..

It's interesting how this could happen. Are you aware of anyone who thought they "believed in the Lord Jesus Christ" but it turned out that they didn't believe what they thought they believed? I don't even know how such a thing is possible.

To the original topic:

It seems the verses are saying that a Christian who becomes a non-believer (by ceasing to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ) cannot become a Christian again. As a former Christian myself, I am familiar with more than one person who lost their faith but gained it again, so either the bible is untrue here or my anecdotal evidence is untrue. Verse 6:8 seems to make it clear that "fallen away" means what you think it does ("whose end is to be burned") and "renew unto repentance" seems to mean that it's talking about becoming saved, so I would guess that the bible here just isn't literally true... or you could simply doubt that I know people who stopped believing in God but had their faith renewed. But isn't that a common experience? Am I the only person here who has known such people?