What about Hebrews 6:4-6 and 10:26-29?

What about Hebrews 6:4-6 and 10:26-29? Why are these verses important?

This is the "final installment" in a series of posts that looks at several of the primary biblical texts used to support Arminian conclusions about scripture. Hebrews 6:4-6 and 10:26-29 are often quoted to give support to the conclusion that after a person is saved, he can later lose (or at least reject) his salvation.

Hebrews 6:4-6 says, "For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt." (ESV)

Hebrews 10:26-29 tells us, "For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?" (ESV)

Let's quickly look at the context here. We are not certain who wrote the epistle to the Hebrews, but both Paul and Luke seem to have impacted it. My best guess is that Paul preached a series of messages, and Luke wrote them down.

More important than that, however, is who the messages (and letter) are addressed to. Based on the content, it seems that Hebrews was primarily directed at Jewish listeners, some of whom were saved and some of whom were not. This would explain both why there are so many references to Old Testament scriptures, and why it seems that at some times the discussion is directed to those who are saved and at other times to those who are not saved.

The primary thrust of this letter is, "Jesus is better than..." For example, we are told that Christ is better than the angels, better than Melchizedek, and better than Moses.

So, what do we make of 6:4-6 and 10:26-29? Let's begin with 6:4-6. Again we are told, "For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt."

The main question is this: does this text say that a person can lose his salvation? We can only answer this by taking a close look at the wording. The key to understanding these verses is that we must correctly determine who the writer is addressing at this point. So, is the writer talking about saved people? The answer is no.

The people talked about here are described as "enlightened," "tasted the heavenly gift" "shared in the Holy Spirit," and "tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come." These descriptions are obviously all positive things, but they do not indicate either way whether or not the people being described are saved. These words could refer to either saved or unsaved people.

So now what do we do? Let's look at the rest of what is going on. First of all, if this is referring to saved people, as most Arminians would say, then the text also makes it clear that if a person loses his salvation, then he cannot ever get it back. The text says, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened...to renew them again to repentance." However, most Arminians would say that if a person loses his salvation, then he can get it back. We have to be consistent in how we interpret scripture.

Another key point is this: in 6:9, the writer says, "But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you..." Why would the writer do this? He does this because he is changing audiences. In 6:4-6, he was writing about people who are interested intellectually in the gospel, but who are unsaved. In verse 9, he transitions to people who are saved. This is why he writes "but" and "beloved."

Maybe the most important point is what the writer does not say. Terms that are normally used only for Christians such as "holy," "born again," "righteous," or "saints" are not used to describe those in 6:4-6 (MacArthur Study Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers). This is an argument from silence, but it is still significant. After all, if the writer was making such an important point (that people can lose their salvation), he would certainly make it absolutely clear that he was talking about saved people. He does not do this.

So what is going on in 6:4-6? The writer of Hebrews is warning Jewish readers who are intellectually interested in Christ, but have not committed to Him. They are being warned that if they reject salvation offered by Christ, then there is no other means of salvation.

Let's move on to 10:26-29. This text says, "For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?"

This is much the same situation as in 6:4-6. The key is the word "knowledge." Again, the writer nowhere says he is talking about saved people here. Just because a person has received "knowledge of the truth," that does not mean the person is saved. Much like in 6:4-6, the writer is warning those who are not saved that if they reject the truth they have heard and keep living sinful lives, then there is no other way for them to be saved. Christ's sacrifice is the only means of salvation.

To summarize, these two passages do not refer to saved people losing their salvation. Rather, the writer of Hebrews is focusing on Jewish people who have heard about Christianity and may be interested in it, but have not committed to Christ. He is warning them that if they reject Christ, there is no other path of salvation.