The Danger of Falling Away ...

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 Hebrews 6:4-6 

 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 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.

 This passage raises one of the most difficult questions of any bible passage.  The question is whether this person described in this passage was ever truly a Christian or not.  If they were a Christian and fell away and could not be brought back to repentance, the assumption would be one could lose their faith and their salvation.  To get around this possibility some have said that this person was never really a Christian in the first place.  If they were never a Christian then it might be plausible that they could never be brought to repentance.

 To interpret this difficult question we need to remember the context of this letter written to the Hebrews  It was meant to encourage the Hebrew Christians who were being tempted to fall back into the rituals of their Jewish faith. 

 "The message to these Christians who felt like giving up was clear: if you don’t continue on with Jesus, don’t suppose you will find salvation by just going on with the ideas and experience that Christianity and Judaism share. If you aren’t saved in Jesus, you aren’t saved at all. There is no salvation in a safe “common ground” that is not distinctively Christian." - Guzik

 I think what the writer is doing is warning the Jewish Christians.  He is warning them of how dangerous it is go back to trusting anything other than Jesus.  Once we have become a Christian to go back to any other means of salvation is to fall away from the faith.  The writer says in a sense it is like crucifying Jesus all over again.  To think one can find a better way to salvation than what Jesus did for us on the cross is to diminish the great gift of grace Jesus offered to us.  It is as if to say, "Thanks Jesus but I have found a better way!"  

 Whether or not the writer is intending to say someone can lose their salvation is not entirely clear. Other passages indicate once was is truly saved they are always saved.  But what this passage does clearly teach is that those who are saved need to grow in their faith and move to maturity in their faith bearing fruit that is a blessing to all who receive it.  Going back to one's old ways and trusting in things other than Christ will never lead to God purpose in their lives.

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