Hebrews 6

I was raised Southern Baptist and was taught once saved always saved. I understand that nothing can take you from God's hand, however can you leave of your own volition? Hebrews 6:4-6 posted below seem to say that it is possible to leave the faith and that once you do it's not possible to return. Am I reading this wrong?


“4. For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5. and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6. and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame" (Heb 6:4-6, NASB)

Shared using AndBible: Bible Study. (https://andbible.github.io)

To me it seems like this passage means that if a true believer abandons Christ and their faith in Him it's impossible for any human being to restore them to repentance. God, working through the Holy Spirit, is the only one who can restore such a person. I have an opinion on eternal security but It's not something I care to debate.

“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, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭6:4-6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

It’s teaching us the same things the lord always has about sin if we don’t stop we’re going to be judged

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:19-24, 26-27‬ ‭


What’s being said here is the same thing here in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians same warning dofferent terminology

“But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:3-7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

And to the Galatians

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:19-21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Paul's always saying “ you have to repent Gods grace is there so you can repent and be saved “

“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds:”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭2:4-6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

if we will repent and stop serving satans will of sin and death were saved if we will just repent and turn to the lord he is merciful and gracious and loves us he knows our flaws he knows what we’ve done and said and still he’s saying the same thing “ stop sinning and follow
Me instead I have a new creation and want you there “

But if we don’t stop sinning even though Jesus does for us he also told us what will happen since the beginning of time if we don’t stop serving the devils Will of sin

“What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey,

his servants ye are to whom ye obey;


( option one )whether of sin unto death,

( option 2) or of obedience unto righteousness?


But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, ( part tense )

but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”( present tense )
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:15-18‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Oaulmos trying to convince us we aren’t who we used to be we can obey God now and don’t have to keep following sin the warnings are part of that we need to conclude “ I can’t keep sinning or I’ll die “ so the Bible continually teaches us about the contrary nature of good and evil life and death sin and righteousness right and wrong and how if we don’t repent and we keep sinning we aren’t going to be inheriting everlasting life because we’ll just go there and keep sinning and ruin it again like th is world

.
● Luke 1:37 . . For nothing is impossible with God.

FAQ: If true that nothing is impossible with God, then how is it not possible
to renew certain folks to repentance per Heb 6:4-6?

REPLY: The impossibility is due to God's stubborn refusal to cooperate.

For example 1Kings 22:20-23 where God recruited a dishonest spirit to
convince Ahab to believe he'd be victorious; with the intent that the king be
slain.

Another example is 2Thess 2:11-12 where God plans to take steps to ensure
that certain folks are given no choice but to make the wrong choice and
thus end up in Hell.

In other words: there are times when God's patience reaches its reasonable
limits, and He purposely, willfully, and deliberately makes sure that certain
people are given no more space to change their minds. For example the
Flood. Once the door of Noah's ark was sealed, the die was cast.

● Rev 3:7 . .These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the
key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can
open.
_

Onice saved always saved is a false doctrine as this text clearly teaches.

This was written to newly converted (saved) Jews (Hebrews) and cautions them to not return to their old beliefs by abandoning the Lord, no longer believing in him being the Christ, as in so doing, it becomes impossible to again renew them unto repentance as they in essence would be re-crucifying Christ again openly by rejecting him, falling away. Same would hold true today for any Christian that denounces Christ.

once saved always saved is totally true here it is: 1st John 5:13- "these things have i written unto that believe on the name of the son of God, THAT YOU MAY KNOW YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFE & that you may believe on the name of the son of God"!!!! saved people can backslide, a drawing away from God, but their heart, mind, soul, conscious & spirit are totally still in union with God. example: a parents young child passes & they become angry with God but they still believe in the trinity. i think people can experience a "taste" of what you said above but not be born again.

Then it's contrary to the Hebrews 6 scripture as well as others such as Acts 8 and Simon the sorcerer who was saved. Scripture does NOT contradict itself. The doctrine is clearly false.

what is false?

Know the intended audience and then you will know to whom the doctrine applies. The book of Hebrews is written to.....drum roll....the Hebrew people scattered abroad during Jacob's trouble. A whole new dispensation after the church age.

Once saved always saved is a false doctrine

it’s sad to watch someone in a bi le discussion forum constantly go from discussion to discussion explaining why people shouldn’t accept the words in the Bible and then offer things that are not in scripture as a substitute makes me wonder if this place is a benefit or snare

[Heb 6:9 KJV] 9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

Not the Bible, but your interpretation of it.

Rightly Divided:

Humble Christ, on the earth, To Israel, 12 apostles, Under The Law/covenants
/Prophecy:

1) Repent (change mind about sin/agree With God "it is Wrong!") or perish
(Luk 13:3,5 Mar 1:4 Luk_3:3, 24:47}
+
2) believe the gospel of the kingdom (Mat 4:23, 9:35, 24:14; Mar 1:14,15)
+
3) be baptized "For the remission of sin" (Mar 1:4 Luk 3:3, 7:29:30, 24:47;
Act 2:38)
+
4) "show works meet for repentance" (Mat 3:8), because,
+
5) "to the twelve tribes of Israel," "faith Without works is dead"
(Jam 1:1, 2:17,26)
+
6) "keep the commandments" to "enter life" (Mat 19:17)
+
7) "one thing thou lackest...sell ALL/take up cross/follow Jesus"
(Mar 10:17-23)

8) Hebrews belongs here: "faith PLUS works!":

earthly prophecy/LAW/covenants ( Previous / Future dispensations of God... )

Rightly Divided (2 Timothy 2:15) From “Things That Differ” (online)

Glorified Christ, From Heaven, To ONE apostle and His 'ONE Body,' Under Grace /
Mystery ( Current Dispensation of God ):

1) Repent (change mind about sin/agree With God "it is Wrong!"):

"Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, ↑ repentance toward God,
and ↓ faith toward our LORD Jesus Christ." (Acts 20:21)

2) believe (with ALL the heart, trust, place 100% faith in) The Gospel Of The
Grace Of God:


3) "By Grace Are ye Saved Through faith..." Apart from All works!!:

Plus Nothing!:

Plus Nothing, Confirmed!:


Plus Nothing, Further Confirmed!:

+
12-Dozen Plain and Clear Passages, For the Body Of Christ, Under Grace:

God's OPERATION On all HIS New-born babes In Christ!

God's Eternal Assurance!

God's Eternal Life Insurance!

Amen.

The premise of having eternal life now (or God giving eternal life to His sheep) should be conjoined with eternal life being a personal noun
1 John 5
20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

John 11
25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.

If Jesus is eternal life, which He is, then Eternal life was in the Virgin Mary at one point, in a sense, then left her body, yet continued to be eternal life. Therefore eternal life leaving someone's body in itself does not stop it from being eternal life, no?

Also note that Peter had received the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:4, yet

Galatians 2
11When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood to be condemned. 12For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group.

It seems to me therefore there are two choices, to take heed, or to resist, pretend it is not obvious what that means, and do backflips trying to make that fit your interpretation of certain scriptures







But further, the Galatians Paul was talking to obviously had the Holy Spirit. One merely has to note the difference between this scripture:
Galatians 3
3Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh?

And this non-scripture:
Are you so foolish? After not starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh?

There are other places as well (Galatians 3:5, Galatians 4:6), yet, believing they had the Holy Spirit, Paul gave this warning which imo answers the OP most clearly

Galatians 5
2Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

Here's the Greek
https://biblehub.com/text/galatians/5-2.htm
https://biblehub.com/text/galatians/5-3.htm
https://biblehub.com/text/galatians/5-4.htm








Also, I encourage you to read Romans 1:1 to Romans 3, or all of Romans for that matter, and determine for yourself that this verse was speaking indiscriminately about everyone who does these things, and not just those under the law
Romans 2
6God “will repay each one according to his deeds.” 7To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.

Cross reference
John 5
28Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice 29and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Again, Peter could have continued to discriminate. The Galatians could have gotten circumcised, and were also warned to not practice these things

Galatians 5
19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; 20idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

God’s grace is sufficient.

1 John 5:11-13 + John 6:47

A good reply.

Someone read the verse in context.

This is rare sometimes, on various threads, the contextual reading of the scripture.

Ok. Looks like it's time for the Bi-Annual list of 101 Reasons proving Eternal Security. The "you can lose your salvation, and become unborn again crowd need to refute each and every one of these!

1. The believer has everlasting or eternal life.


John 5:24: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”


John 10:28: “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”


2. The believer is born of God.


John 1:12-13: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”


3. Christ will raise every believer up at the last day.


John 6:44-47: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”


4. The believer has already passed from death unto life.


John 5:24: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”


5. The believer is not the object of God’s wrath.


John 3:36: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”


6. Believer are God’s sheep.


John 10:2-4: “But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.”


7. The believer will not listen to nor follow a stranger, but will flee from him.


John 10:5: “And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” (The stranger here is Satan and his false teachers.)


8. The believer is known of God.


John 10:14: “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.”


9. The believer listens to the voice of the shepherd.


John 10:27: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”


10. The believer is in Christ’s hand and cannot be plucked out.


John 10:28: “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”


11. The believer is in the Father’s hand and cannot be plucked out.


John 10:29: “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”


12. The shepherd is charged with the responsibility of keeping the sheep.


John 10:11-14: “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.”


13. The believer is not condemned.


John 3:18: “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”


14. The believer shall never thirst.


John 4:14: “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”


15. The believer will keep Christ’s commandments.


John 14:23: “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”


16. The believer is secure because of Christ’s prayer.


John 17:9-12: “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee, Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.”


17. The believer shall never die.



John 11:26: “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”


18. The believer to be kept from the evil.


John 17:15: “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”


Jesus prays that the believer may be kept from the Devil. Was this prayer answered?


19. The believer to be with Christ in glory.


John 17:24: “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.”


20. The believer shall never hunger.


John 6:35: “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”


21. The believer will in no wise be cast out (Not under any circumstance).


John 6:37: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”


22. Christ will not lose a single believer.


John 6:39: “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”


23. Christ will raise up the believer at the last day.


John 6:38-40: “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”


24. Whosoever eats the bread of life shall never die.


John 6:51: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”


25. Because the Holy Spirit abides in the believer forever.


John 14:16-17: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”


26. Because it is the Father’s will that Christ should lose nothing.


John 6:39: “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”


27. Because one cannot be unborn.


John 3:5: “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”


28. The believer will follow Christ.


John 10:27: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Following Christ, can one be lost? Have we any right to add to God’s Word by inserting if” to the passage?


29. The believers continue with God.


1 John 2:19: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”


30. Because it is the believer’s faith that overcomes the world.


1 John 5:4: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”