Hebrews 6 is teaching by hyperbole. The statement if I could un-ring the bell does not mean that a bell can be un-rung. It only implies that if I un-ring the bell I never rang it in the first place.
That is a classic difference between meat and milk.
For the cause of Christ
Roger
In the Greek text, there is NO conditional (if) included in Heb 6 verses 4-6!
Verses 4-6 set forth a hypothetical scenario which is labeled with a blanket statement of impossibility!
I'll save y'all a big headache. Here's the simple truth:
Hebrews 6:4-6 isn’t presenting a possibility, but an IMPOSSIBILITY!
The writer is making a point that they were misunderstanding Jesus Christ. The writer is NOT saying that enlightened ones can fall away, but instead was describing their confusion. He is showing how their return to trying to make atonements and giving sacrifices for their sins is basically saying sacrifices are again demanded. In other words, they think it’s possible to fall away and need to be renewed again. WHICH IS IMPOSSIBLE for those who are born again!
Why is it impossible?
Because what Jesus said in John 10:27-29: “I gave them eternal life and they shall never perish. My Father gave them Me. No man (that means YOU!) is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”
Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible- Commentary
1. (
6:4-5)
Warning— Believers: the believer's great privileges. It is difficult to see how these five experiences could be said about a person unless he was a true believer. Being as honest and objective as possible, we would have to strain the meaning to make them apply to anyone else. The Greek Scripture definitely uses the aorist tense which means that the person had a
once-for-all experience, an experience that was once-for-all completed, fulfilled, and finished. How could this apply to anyone else other than a believer? Note how each of these read in the aorist tense: the person...
•
was once-for-all enlightened
•
had once-for-all tasted of the heavenly gift
•
was once-for-all made a partaker of the Holy Spirit
•
had once-for-all tasted of the good Word of God
•
had once-for-all tasted of the power of the world to come.
The word "tasted" (
geusamenous[SUP]PWS: 3896[/SUP]) means to partake of, to take in, to experience, to come to know. The Greek scholar Marvin Vincent says that it means to "have consciously partaken of" (
Word Studies In The New Testament, Vol. 4, p.445). The very same word is used of Christ when it said that He "tasted death" for us (
Hebrews 2:9). And one thing is sure: Christ tasted, that is,
consciously experienced, death for us. Therefore, this passage must mean that this person
fully tasted and fully experienced salvation. As stated, it seems that we have to twist Scripture to make it say any less than a conscious and full experience. Note the glorious experiences and privileges these persons received in Christ.
1. They were once-for-all enlightened. Enlightened means the light of the gospel and of salvation; the light of Christ, that is, seeing Christ as the Savior and Lord of men; the light of salvation that breaks through the darkness of sin and death. Note: receiving the light happened once-for-all. It was an actual experience of the people, a once-for-all experience. That is, it really happened and it was fulfilled and completed in the people's lives. They received the light of Christ, of His gospel and salvation once-for-all.
2. They had tasted of the heavenly gift. The "heavenly gift" refers to Christ and His salvation which God
gave to the world. Scripture proclaims time and again that Jesus Christ and His salvation are God's gifts.
⇒ Christ is God's "unspeakable gift" (
2 Cor. 9:15).
⇒ Christ is God's gift to a lost world (
John 3:16).
⇒ Salvation is "the gift of God" (
Ephes. 2:8-9).
⇒ Christ is the One who came down out of heaven as the gift of God to a lost world (
John 3:13;
John 3:16;
John 3:31-32;
John 6:32-33, and a host of other verses. See notes—[SUP]•[/SUP]
John 3:32-34;
Deeper Study #3—John 3:34 for more references and discussion.)
Note that this is again a once-for-all experience. They had experienced Christ and His salvation once-for-all.
3. They were once-for-all made a partaker of the Holy Spirit. The word "partaker" (
metochous) means to share as partners. W.E. Vine says that it means "the
fact of sharing" (
Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1966, p.162). The Greek scholar A.T Robertson says, "These are all given as actual spiritual experiences" (
Word Pictures In The New Testament, Vol. 5, p.375). These people were sharers in the Holy Spirit. It is very difficult to see how they can be made to be a false profession without straining the Scripture.
4. They had once-for-all tasted God's good Word. This is the gospel of Christ, of His glorious salvation. The Greek scholar Marvin Vincent says that this means that they received...
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD]
• life (Acts 5:20)
• the Holy Spirit (John 3:34; Acts 5:32; Acts 10:44; Ephes. 6:17; Hebrews 2:4)[/TD]
[TD="width: 165"]
• cleansing (Ephes. 5:26).
• spirit and life (John 6:63)
• salvation (Acts 11:14)[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
(
Word Studies In The New Testament, Vol. 4, p.445.)
5. They had once-for-all tasted the powers of the world to come. They had experienced some of heaven upon earth. They had actually experienced the presence and power of Christ in their lives...
• the power of Christ in conquering the trials and temptations and sufferings of this world.
• the healing power of Christ in touching both their bodies and spirits.
"And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us" (1 John 3:24).
"Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit" (1 John 4:13).
Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible – Hebrew, James.
It's plain as the nose on your face where the confusion is. It seems the only thing you can agree on is that it's not literal, which it is.