It is impossible to renew them again to repentance - or is it?

Hebrews 6 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, ² of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. ³ And this we will do, if God permits. 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. ⁷ For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; ⁸ but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

⁹ But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. ¹⁰ For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. ¹¹ And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹² so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

¹³ For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, ¹⁴ saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.” ¹⁵ And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. ¹⁶ For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. ¹⁷ In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, ¹⁸ so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. ¹⁹ This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, ²⁰ where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Today’s text says:  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, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 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.  Once again today, I don’t want to get into the debate of whether a person can lose their salvation or if they are saved, they remain saved. In regard to what today’s text says, I think it is necessary for us to differentiate between falling and falling away. We all will stumble and fall occasionally with temptation and sin. That doesn’t mean that we have fallen away.  First, temptation is not sin. Jesus was tempted.   James 1:14-15 says:  Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.  Look though at what Jesus sets forth as a standard of forgiveness. In Matthew 18:21-22 it says:  Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”   Surely if Jesus expects that we should forgive others to that extent, God’s own forgiveness to us is at least as much.  How would we know then if a person has reached the point where they are beyond repentance? My supposition would be not until they no longer feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit. In John 6:44 Jesus says:  “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”  As long as the Father is drawing, I would say come. I heard an interesting teaching that said the only time in our lives that is free from sin is tomorrow. God calls us to walk from sin into our sinless tomorrow.  The one who no longer feels conviction, but only condemnation is not hearing the voice of God, but rather the voice of the devil.

The text says:  Ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.  As long as we respond to God’s love and grace by bringing forth good fruit we are blessed. If we reject His love and yield thorns and thistles, we are close to being cursed. Ephesians 2:8-10 says:   By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  It is not our works that save us, but in response to God’s gift, we should do His good works. In John 15:5-8 Jesus says:  “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”   In Matthew 7:16-20 Jesus says:  “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

If we will be known by our fruits, then Galatians 5:16-26 tells us how we should live.   Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self- control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.  In these times of division and uncertainty, we who are in Christ can walk confidently in the Spirit, knowing that in Him we have an inheritance in the kingdom of God.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, thank You that You have not only given us the gift of salvation, but that You also enable and empower us to walk in the gift of Your grace by the power of the Spirit.  Amen.