Hebrews 6:4-8

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
61,155
30,305
113
#42

Jeremiah17-14 ~ Jeremiah 5:30-31 ~ Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved, for You are my praise.
 

JohnDB

Well-known member
Jan 16, 2021
6,281
2,560
113
#45
I have heard several people, from John Piper, to Kenneth Hagin and a few others that it’s describing someone with much knowledge and experience but then I’ve heard others describe it that it’s for anyone who falls away even a baby Christian
BUT....
These are television preachers making shows that their audiences want to hear instead of what they need to hear. Even local pastors will do that. Being a pastor is a highly political job with lots of perks. A lot of people take it due to salary and community status but aren't really cut out for the role.

"Lead me not into temptation because the Preacher's kid taught me the shortcuts".

In the meantime...

What do you want?
Really?

One of my favorite lines out of a very silly movie "Cowboys Versus Aliens" has more truth than what that movie ever deserved...
And it was said in a very trite manner....but I loved the line and movie because of that one line.

"God don't care about who you were; He cares about who you are."

And that's the truth. YOU get to decide who you are. Every day you make the choice. You can choose to be a sinner or a Saint. Where even the best of us screw up...sometimes deliberately...we still try our best.

Someone once famous said, " The good I know I should do I don't but the evil I shouldn't do of course I end up doing that. Thank God for Jesus who forgives us and washes us from all uncleanness"

And that famous person was Paul who wrote at least a quarter of the New Testament if not a third.
 

Deuteronomy

Well-known member
Jun 11, 2018
3,344
3,720
113
68
#46
So if I fell away from the faith for so long and lived in sin what happened to the Holy Spirit?
Hello again Dawn, if you were truly saved back then (which, as we've already discussed, you may or may not have been), then the Holy Spirit was continuing to work in your life since then to bring you back into the fold (even though you may not have been aware that He was).

When we continually refuse to listen to Him/turn away from Him, I believe that one of the ways that He gets our attention again is by withdrawing His hand of protection, guidance and blessing from us, and by allowing us, thereby, to feel/experience some of the weight of our sinful choices. IOW, He allows us to have our way and then allows us to experience the consequences :oops: (the Apostle Paul spoke of doing the very same thing as a final act of church discipline for those who refused to repent of their sinful ways, just FYI .. see 1 Corinthians 5:5; 1 Timothy 1:20).:eek:

The good news is, whatever the Holy Spirit did during the last 30 years in your life worked (we know because you're back, yes?).:)

God bless you!!

~Deuteronomy (David)
p.s. - there's a 4-part teaching series by Dr. John MacArthur called
Spiritual Boot Camp that you may find helpful (I know I did, as I am still using some of what I learned from it over 35 years ago in my daily walk today). It takes a close look at four of our most important Christian spiritual disciplines, Bible Study, Prayer, Fellowship and Witnessing, by helping us understand them and how to apply them to our lives/our walk. They are free to listen to and/or read online here.
 
Jan 3, 2024
36
8
8
#47
BUT....
These are television preachers making shows that their audiences want to hear instead of what they need to hear. Even local pastors will do that. Being a pastor is a highly political job with lots of perks. A lot of people take it due to salary and community status but aren't really cut out for the role.

"Lead me not into temptation because the Preacher's kid taught me the shortcuts".

In the meantime...

What do you want?
Really?

One of my favorite lines out of a very silly movie "Cowboys Versus Aliens" has more truth than what that movie ever deserved...
And it was said in a very trite manner....but I loved the line and movie because of that one line.

"God don't care about who you were; He cares about who you are."

And that's the truth. YOU get to decide who you are. Every day you make the choice. You can choose to be a sinner or a Saint. Where even the best of us screw up...sometimes deliberately...we still try our best.

Someone once famous said, " The good I know I should do I don't but the evil I shouldn't do of course I end up doing that. Thank God for Jesus who forgives us and washes us from all uncleanness"

And that famous person was Paul who wrote at least a quarter of the New Testament if not a third.
I am a Christian and I try every day to live my life that way.
I do know a lot of these YouTube pastors are not all on the up and up but some are abd one of them said the only people in hell are those who rejected Jesus. My question is do we only get one chance to accept him. If I accepted him at 19 and eventually rejected him do I get another chance if I repent in godly sorrow or is it a one time opportunity??
 

JohnRH

Junior Member
Mar 5, 2018
683
330
63
#48
Hello and God Bless
I’m new here and I’m new to being a Christian. However after reading Hebrews 6:4 Im
Not sure I can be saved because I was saved at 19 but fell away into unbelief and false doctrines
I came back to the Lord 7 months ago but have struggled with these passages and believing that I am saved.
I wasn’t just back sliding I came to a place where I didn’t believe the Bible was true anymore and I wasn’t even sure Jesus really walked the earth. I was lead into such deception I’m beyond ashamed and saddened that I walked away from such a beautiful Godt from God.
Please anyone can you help me with this awful place I’m in and define these scriptures

4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen[a] 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
The passage isn't saying that you can't repent. It's saying that "we" (verses 1-3) can't renew you again to repentance by laying again the foundation.
It's something the writer of Hebrews can't do; not something you can't do.
 

Melach

Well-known member
Mar 28, 2019
2,057
1,526
113
#49
OK...
Hebrews is a much thicker book than what you would think. It was written to the Jews and references a library's worth of midrash, sifre, and talmud...
OR you can get a commentary by Westcott and Horte that will assist. Eadie helps as well.

But

In the meantime take EACH of the items listed between the conjunctions.

Have you had every last one of those things?
Do you even know what each of these things mean?

Stop jumping to the conclusion of the verse without carefully examining the requisite requirements for the outcome.

The word "and" is used....not "or". Meaning that ALL of these things listed are definite requirements.

I know what populist theology says....ignore it. Populist theology also missed the God/Man Jesus and Crucified Him....then harassed and beat and Martyred Jesus's followers.

So what I'm saying is simply admit your wrongs to Jesus...repent of them...and try again.
let us know what these things mean then
 

LenMcM

Active member
Mar 9, 2023
108
67
28
Perth, Western Australia
#50
Hello and God Bless
I’m new here and I’m new to being a Christian. However after reading Hebrews 6:4 Im
Not sure I can be saved because I was saved at 19 but fell away into unbelief and false doctrines
I came back to the Lord 7 months ago but have struggled with these passages and believing that I am saved.
I wasn’t just back sliding I came to a place where I didn’t believe the Bible was true anymore and I wasn’t even sure Jesus really walked the earth. I was lead into such deception I’m beyond ashamed and saddened that I walked away from such a beautiful Godt from God.
Please anyone can you help me with this awful place I’m in and define these scriptures

4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen[a] 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
Heb. 6:4 is referring to those who once enlightened then deliberately turn and reject God completely, consciously refusing His authority.
It is obvious though that you simply strayed and are in the same position as the Prodigal. God is happy to have you back in the fold, but you will need to study the Word and spend much time in prayer to regain spiritual strength and maturity. God Bless you, stay in the Fold.
 

notmyown

Senior Member
May 26, 2016
4,927
1,273
113
#51
My question is do we only get one chance to accept him. If I accepted him at 19 and eventually rejected him do I get another chance if I repent in godly sorrow or is it a one time opportunity??
my dear, i'm going to make a suggestion, and will leave it to you and my fellow forum members to judge.

never mind the past... what do you want right now? if you want to go to Christ, and know your sins are forgiven, know you are His and He is yours, please, don't hesitate. He will never reject anyone who comes to Him in repentance and faith.

may the Lord bless you, and comfort you. He will, you know. :)
 

JohnDB

Well-known member
Jan 16, 2021
6,281
2,560
113
#52
let us know what these things mean then
It's a LOT to express in a single post. You really need to consult Westcott and Horte to understand the references. Then Eadie and Lightfoot....
Westcott is the bulk of our understanding of Hebrews because he spent decades translating and explaining the literature which the Book of Hebrews is based upon. (Hort was the financier of the duo)
 

JohnDB

Well-known member
Jan 16, 2021
6,281
2,560
113
#53
I am a Christian and I try every day to live my life that way.
I do know a lot of these YouTube pastors are not all on the up and up but some are abd one of them said the only people in hell are those who rejected Jesus. My question is do we only get one chance to accept him. If I accepted him at 19 and eventually rejected him do I get another chance if I repent in godly sorrow or is it a one time opportunity??
"Continually work out your salvation with fear and trembling ".

Meaning none of us have made it....certainly not by our own righteousness.

"Train up a child in the way he/she should go and when he is old he will not depart "

Now this proverb doesn't say a thing about the middle years...and most have had a period of rebellion. EVERYONE has had a period of rebellion.

What that means is that people don't have to try to explain to you what sin looks like and is like(as some pastors would have you believe)...you know firsthand. Which means you get to do the real Gospel (good news) message in a personal way....the exact thing Jesus told us to do. Of how sin is pleasurable for only a season...and seasons always change.
In other words the grace afforded you gives you the opportunity for a stronger faith and resilience in the storms that life always bring. But it's your choice.

Always remember Sampson...he sinned by playing footsie with sin and played with women in his younger days and was faithful for 25 years before the woman who was his ultimate downfall got him. The first woman was in a border territory of the Phillistines and 25 years later she was deep in the Phillistine territory. Meaning he was going all through their territory despite how wicked they were to the Israelites.

So be on guard...

It's one of those things that you learn by ministering in retirement centers...many there never conquered their own fears and wants...and when they got there (as we all will one day) its obvious that those fears and wants completely control them.
 

Everlasting-Grace

Well-known member
Dec 18, 2021
6,066
1,948
113
#54
I did do all those things when I got saved at 19 but I didn’t speak in tongues. My life was transformed in that I wanted to tell everyone about Jesus and I stopped doing anything I thought was sinful … so I believe I was saved and was happy in the Lord so I don’t understand why I believed someone when they told me something which made me question things and just fall away …it’s clear at that time I did t have strong faith 😞
speaking in tongues is not required.

Falling away from God as a prodigal does not cause you to lose salvation. it causes you to lose fellowship. You are still your fathers daughter
 

Everlasting-Grace

Well-known member
Dec 18, 2021
6,066
1,948
113
#55
This is what several people have told me is this a fact ?
God gave you eternal life and the seal of the spirit if you were saved.

If you were saved, you never lost the seal or eternal life. You are still saved..
 

Everlasting-Grace

Well-known member
Dec 18, 2021
6,066
1,948
113
#56
So does it matter that I was saved at 19 but fell away into unbelief for 30 years? I can still come
Back to God ? So it wouldn’t be considered getting saved again right ?
Did you really stop believing?