Heb.6:4 “For i t 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 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”

For several weeks we have been examining the problems connected with interpreting this text and the historical and literary contexts. Among those who believe that God does preserve His people to eternal life according to His promise, the sealing of the Spirit, and the sacrifice and intercession of Christ, there are some explanations given which are plausible and entirely consistent both with the text and with the gospel generally.

The old explanation is that these people are not truly saved at all. They have come under covenant in that they have heard the word, tasted the blessings of Christian grace and the Spirit and all the wonderful things that God promises. They have been exposed to them through a Christian family, Christian friends, attending church, or reading Scripture, but they have never truly put their faith in Christ. They are professing Christians perhaps, but not actually saved. Thus in time they fall away, and after their experimentation with Christianity, they will never return to it.

However, others argue that the description really is of a saved person. Unregenerate people are not enlightened, do not taste the gift of grace at all, do not share in the Holy Spirit, have not really tasted the goodness of God’s word or the powers of the coming age. Rather they say this is an argument ad hominem, a hypothetical example designed to make people think. If one could fall away after God’s grace in Christ was applied to his soul, there would be nothing else. As Charles Spurgeon put it, if grace fails, then there is nothing else to avail for salvation, certainly not the ceremonies of the law with which they had been flirting. Sure damnation would await such a soul. This would then be a contrary-to-fact argument intended to make the reader appreciate his salvation.

Both of these explanations have merit and validity. Of the two, because it would seem that a true Christian is being described, I incline toward the second and would invite our readers to download Spurgeon’s eloquent sermon on this topic entitled “Final Perseverance.” Let’s see next time if this explanation fits and makes sense.