Fall Away?

There are certain passages of scripture on which theological battles have been fought for hundreds of years. Perhaps the chief battle ground on which the issue of the eternal security of the believer has been fought is Hebrews 6:4-6.

(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.

Is it possible for a member of the Body of Christ to “fall away” and lose salvation? There are many Bible teachers out there who persistently claim that this is the correct interpretation of this and other passages of scripture. The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12). When it is handled correctly it is the most beneficial thing there is. However, when it is handled wrongly it can be used to cause much damage and destruction. The Bible is also compared to fire (Jer. 20:9). A fire can be used for something good, like warming a house. But it can also be used for something bad, like burning the house down. The apostle Paul said that he was not guilty of “handling the word of God deceitfully” (2 Cor. 4:2) but sadly many others are. Satan had the audacity to misquote scripture to Christ as he sought to tempt Him! In Matthew 4:5-7 the Devil quoted Psalm 91:11-12 but purposely omitted the words, “to keep thee in all thy ways”. The promise of Psalm 91:11-12 was not given for the purpose Satan was trying to get Christ to use it for. Paul warned us that Satan has “false apostles, deceitful workers” and “ministers” who appear as “ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:13-15). Our only safeguard against deception is Holy Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16) and that “rightly divided” (2 Tim. 2:15).

As we rightly divide this passage it is very clear that it is not teaching that members of the Body of Christ can lose salvation. First of all, the passage is found in a book that was written to HEBREWS. There are no Hebrews in the Body of Christ (Gal. 3:26-28) for it is one new spiritual man (Eph. 2:15). We are not sure who wrote the book, but we are confident that it was not Paul. Apparently, false teachers wrote a letter to the church at Thessalonica and signed Paul’s name to it (2 Thess. 2:2). Therefore Paul gave an evidence of the letters he wrote to help the church determine the authenticity of his letters. Paul usually used someone else to actually pen the words that he spoke by inspiration but he personally wrote the salutation with his own hand in every letter. He cites this as a “token” to identify letters sent from him (2 Thess. 3:17). Every epistle in the Bible that was written by Paul starts with the same word – “Paul”. The book of Hebrews does not have this token salutation. The doctrinal material for this present dispensation is found in the letters of Paul (1 Cor. 3:10; 4:16-17; 11:1; Phil. 3:17; 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:7) and his teaching on the eternal security of the believer is very clear. We are “sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30) by the Spirit. Because we have been justified, we are confident that nobody can lay “anything to the charge of God’s elect” (Rom. 8:33) and therefore we know that nothing shall be able to separate us from “the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39). Jesus told His Jewish disciples that they were in the hand of God (John 10:27-30). That’s a safe position but not as safe as being the hand of God! Believers in this present dispensation of grace are members of the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 5:25-32). This standing is not based on our works but solely on the person and work of Christ (Phil.3:7-9). If we are ever lost, than that means Christ failed and His body has been mutilated! This can never happen. Men that teach we can lose salvation based on Hebrews 6 deny the clear teaching of the apostle to the Gentiles in favor of scripture that was written to Hebrews.

The Book of Hebrews was written to show Jews how much better the new covenant is as compared with the old covenant. Although both covenants affect Gentiles, they are actually made with “the house of Israel” (Heb. 8:6-13). It is primarily written to Jews in the tribulation period, exhorting them to ENDURE and be faithful in order to obtain salvation. The Bible is a complete revelation. Where is the scripture for the multitudes of tribulation saints? We believe that Hebrews through Revelation was written for them (of course there applications in these epistles for us too). For example, Hebrews 3:14 teaches that people in the Tribulation period are not “partakers of Christ” unless they remain “stedfast unto the end”. The “end” refers to the Second Coming of Christ to the earth at which point Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26). This matches the teaching of Christ concerning the condition for salvation in the tribulation period (Matt. 24:13). Today, believers are INSTANTLY in the Body of Christ upon salvation. 

In Hebrews 3-4 the provocation of God at Kadesh-barnea is mentioned. This was the great crisis in the history of Israel as they were ready to go into the Land of Promise. In Numbers 14 we learn that Israel had been enlightened, they had tasted of the fruits of the land, they had experienced miraculous powers, and they had the good word of God. But they turned back in unbelief because of the giants in the land. That generation missed their opportunity to enter the land and died in the wilderness over the next 40 years. When judgment was pronounced by God, they had a change of heart and presumed to go in. God was not with them so they were defeated in battle and could not enter the land. They fell away and could not be renewed unto repentance. In the same manner Israel at Pentecost had been enlightened by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, they had tasted of the heavenly gift, they tasted the good word of God that was preached to them, and they experienced the signs and wonders of the coming kingdom age (“world to come” Heb. 6:5b). They were on the threshold of the kingdom (Acts 3:19-21) yet they, like their fathers, turned back in unbelief. The kingdom was postponed in Acts 7 and God ushered in a new dispensation that He had kept secret since the world began. The risen and glorified Christ from Heaven revealed the mystery of this present age to the apostle Paul. After this age closes with the mystery of the rapture Israel will have a final opportunity to repent and receive her King and His kingdom. There will be a godly remnant of Israel that receives the King and His kingdom and will enter their land fully and finally redeemed by the blood of the new covenant. 

No one today could duplicate the experience of Hebrews 6:4-6 any more than they could Numbers 14. National Israel committed the "unpardonable sin" (Matt. 12:31-32) of rejecting the Holy Spirit’s testimony to the risen Messiah after Pentecost and they are now blinded in part until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in (Rom. 11:25). No one today is tasting of “the powers of the world to come” and so since the conditions laid down in Hebrews 6 are not being met today, neither are the consequences.