By Shane Kastler
In the Christian world there is often confusion as to whether or not a genuine believer in Christ can lose their salvation. The Bible teaches that those who are truly “born again” are eternally secure in Christ and will ultimately persevere in their faith to the end of their life. This truth is theologically referred to in numerous different ways. Sometimes it's called “eternal security” which is an accurate phrase, as long as it's not separated from another phrase commonly called the “perseverance of the saints.” Both are equally true and go “hand-in-hand” doctrinally speaking. The believer is “secure” because their salvation is a work of God from beginning to end. They were chosen before the foundation of the world (election – Eph. 1:4), they were paid for by Christ upon the cross (atonement – Matt. 26:26), they were born again by the Spirit at a particular time in their life (regeneration – John 3:3), and they will continue on in their faithfulness (perseverance – John 10:27). The security is rooted in the work of God. In truth, what you believe about the nature of salvation (does it come about by God's sovereignty or man's freewill?) will determine what you believe about the possibility of losing salvation. If you believe that salvation is ultimately an act of man, whereby he “chooses” of his so-called free will to come to Christ; then it would make perfectly logical sense that at some point he might change his mind and thus lose his salvation. However, if you believe that man comes to Christ as a sovereign work of God, who grants life and keeps the believer secure then you will hold to the impossibility of salvation lost.
One such passage used by those who would claim the possibility of losing your salvation is found in Hebrews 6: “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, 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. 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; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.” (Hebrews 6:4-8)
Right off the bat, the inconsistency of the freewill, Arminian position can be seen. If the passage truly is teaching that one can attain salvation by his freewill, then turn around and lose it. What happens after that? If salvation is of the freewill of man, then he would be able to change his mind a third time and re-attain it. Yet this is exactly what the passage says is “impossible.” Why would such a thing be impossible if salvation is according to man's freewill? So while the passage is frequently used to defend the doctrine of insecurity from a freewill perspective, the Arminian ultimately “shoots himself in the foot” by using the passage. The sovereignty of God is clearly thundered from the conclusion.
So what do we make of these people described in Hebrews 6? Are they believers who lost salvation, or are they false converts who never truly had it? An examination of the passage in context, along with other passages will prove the latter to be true. Those described are simply not true believers. They are described as having “once been enlightened.” The Greek word translated “enlightened” is “phōtisthentas” which simply means to be exposed to “light.” Clearly the word does not imply regeneration, or salvation in any sense; but rather some sort of association with the light of truth. An unregenerate person hearing a gospel message could be described as being “enlightened” (exposed to the light) in this way; even if they reject the message and refuse to believe. Man by his sinful nature always refuses the light of the gospel. This is seen, for example in the gospel of John where we read: “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:20 NASB) They are “enlightened” in the sense of being exposed to light. But they are not “born again” by the Spirit who would give them a love for the light.
Next, the passage in Hebrews speaks of them having “tasted of the Heavenly gift” but once again the Greek word does not imply any sort of lasting change. One can “taste” in such a way that they ingest something, or they can “taste” in such a way that they sample and then reject. One clear example of this can be seen in Jesus' suffering when he was offered sour wine which he tasted and then spit out in rejection. (Matt. 27:33-34) Obviously what is described in Hebrews 6 is used in an analogous kind of way, and to “taste” of the heavenly gift is far from describing true conversion which involves a “tasting” that continues.
Perhaps the most controversial phrase in the passage is that these people in Hebrews 6 are described as having become “partakers of the Holy Spirit.” Here, the freewill Arminian says, is conclusive proof of those who possessed salvation, then subsequently lost it. Perhaps this might be the conclusion made at first glance, but several considerations must be made. First of all, how do we reconcile this passage with others that speak of eternal security? For example, Jesus was adamant in John 10 that the believer receives “eternal” life and that they are secure in his hand where they cannot possibly be lost. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” John 10:27-29 NASB)
First of all, it should be noted that if you receive something “eternal” then it would be impossible to turn around and lose it at a future time. If you can lose it then it is not eternal and to re-define eternal in any other way is to strip the word of it's meaning. If “eternal” really means “temporary” then why does Jesus use the word “eternal”?
Secondly, the believer is described as residing the hand of God where none can “snatch them away.” This secure position is further solidified when we consider Jesus' teaching that the salvation they possess was a work of God to begin with. Throughout John's gospel Jesus has declared that “all the Father gives Me will come to Me and the one who comes I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37); and “none can come to me unless the Father draws them” (John 6:44) and “none can come unless it be granted by the Father” (John 6:65) and “the wind blows wherever it wishes and so are those who are born of the Spirit” (John 3:8) and “remember you did not choose Me but I chose you” (John 15:16) and “I do not pray for the world but the ones you have given Me out of the world” (John 17:3). Indeed it would be virtually impossible to begin reading John's gospel in sincerity and not come out on the other side with a firm foundation of God's sovereignty over salvation. Far from teaching a “freewill” decision-ism; Jesus declares with crystal clarity that the Triune God reigns supreme over salvation; and that those who possess it have been given a gift from above that cannot be lost. So how do we reconcile these things with Hebrews 6? Or to be more specific, what is meant by becoming “partakers of the Holy Spirit” in Hebrews 6?
The Greek word translated “partakers” can mean anything from a deep and abiding commitment to a loose knowledge of someone or something. Theologian Wayne Grudem writes: “The Greek word “metochos” allows for a range of influence from fairly weak to fairly strong, for it only means “one who participates with or shares with or accompanies in some activity.” This was apparently what had happened to these people spoken of in Heb. 6, who had been associated with the church and as such associated with the work of the Holy Spirit, and no doubt had been influenced by him in some ways in their lives.” (Systematic Theology, pg. 798)
Clearly the word translated “partaker” is not always used in a way that describes intimate or saving knowledge and should not be taken that way in this passage. The context simply will not allow it. One need only to keep reading in the same passage to see the author of Hebrews elaborate on what he means with an agricultural metaphor: “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; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.” (Hebrews 6:7-8 NASB) The author of Hebrews tells us that some absorb the water of the gospel and bring forth vegetation (a.k.a. “fruit”), while others absorb the gospel and bring forththorns and thistles (a.k.a. “no fruit”). Is this not exactly what Jesus teaches in other places regarding the difference between the believer and the unbeliever? In the famous parable of the sower, it is the one who “bears fruit with perseverance” that is described as the one true believer in the group (see Luke 8:4-15), while others show outward temporal signs of conversion only to fall away at a later time. This is precisely the same things being taught in Hebrews 6. There certainly is no discrepancy with the teaching of Christ in his gospels, nor is there a description of a believer who is saved then loses theirsalvation. The unmistakable conclusion drawn from Hebrews 6, when examined in context and in the origianl Greek, in accordance with other passages, is that we see here a description of a false convert who has been exposed to the light of the gospel, has tasted and ultimately rejected the “heavenly gift” and has had some sort of loose association with the Holy Spirit and His work within the church. Though never being “born again” and never being indwelt by the Spirit. The word “partaker” simply cannot be pushed to mean “possessor” without making a mockery of the passage and the Bible as a whole which would differentiate between those who claim salvation and those who genuinely have it.
The reader can believe as they like regarding salvation and eternal security; but the clear teaching of scripture is that salvation is a work of God, not man; and as such cannot be lost once attained. “It is God who justifies, who then is there to condemn?” (Rom. 8:33-34) Hebrews 6 does not teach that a believer, once truly born again, can lose their salvation. What it does teach is that there are some (Jesus would even say “many” - Matt. 7), who exhibit outward manifestations of a commitment to Christ yet do not truly know Him. Such a person might experience “light” and “taste” and even “partake” in some sort of temporal, non-saving way. But they simply are not born again, the proof of this being found in the very fact that they ultimately “fall away.” What a sad tragedy it is that such things happen! And yet Scripture warns us of this reality.
So do not misinterpret Hebrews 6 to mean the true believer can and may fall away and lose salvation. But heed the Scripture's warning and “examine yourself to see if you are in the faith.” (2 Cor. 13:5). Make your “calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10) and if the Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you truly are a child of God (Rom. 8:16), then rest in that reality. All the while being watchful and mindful that the Spirit produces a life of holiness in a true believer. And that the Lord promises to never “leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) If salvation is your work, then you have every reason to worry. But if salvation is the Lord's work then rest and rejoice in this grace that did not have to save you, but yet freely chose, of His own sovereign will, to do so.