Saved Again?

Heb 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.

A great debate rages over eternal security. Baptists are accused of believing and teaching that "damnable doctrine of eternal security." But is it a damnable doctrine or a blessed truth of the Word of God?

It is overwhelmingly obvious from many passages and the teachings of Jesus and Paul that one who becomes a child of God can never be lost!

However, there are some difficult passages which, on the surface, may seem to indicate that it is possible to lose one's salvation. Scripture must be compared with Scripture. We cannot pull a verse or two out of context to support a false doctrine.

Only when all the pieces of a puzzle are put in place can a beautiful picture materialize. Let’s find out where this piece of the puzzle fits.

Hebrews 6:4-6 is one of those puzzling puzzle pieces that gives fits to many.

We question, are these people saved? They had been enlightened, had tasted of the heavenly gift, were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and had tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the world to come.

Some would argue that these folks are the ones who knock on heaven's door but never quite enter in. They teach that they actually come to the very cusp of salvation and then turn and walk away.

I can't see it that way. If one is ever made a partaker of the Holy Ghost, that means they have actually participated in and with Him. This IS a saved person. In my mind, there is no other way of viewing that statement.

The writer tells us that there is an impossibility in play here, and that is what we have to focus on, what is impossible?

If this passage refers to saved people, which I am convinced, it does, then it is impossible for them to fall away or lose their salvation and subsequently get saved again, or be renewed by repentance.

For that impossibility to happen, Christ would once again have to go to the cross, and that isn't happening. God sent His only begotten Son once to die for our sins. That substitutionary work of Jesus on Calvary was so complete that once sins are forgiven, His work was done. He ascended to the Father, and is set down on His right hand, signifying that salvation's work is forever finished. There is no more to do or can be done.

In a nutshell, Jesus died and rose again. All those who put their faith and trust in what He did for them are saved and eternally secure. If it were possible for them to be lost again, there would be no way they could ever get saved again, Christ would have to die once more.

Hence, this passage, that is so difficult for many, is a tremendous blessing in that it proves once again, that believers are eternally secure in Christ.

PS, my Facebook friend, Burl Faulk, disagrees with me on this passage. I'd like to share his thoughts on it:
I agree with the end conclusion. I do not however agree with the way he reached it. One mistake that so many people make concerning the Bible is that they don't realize that it is mostly a compilation of letters written to a particular person or group of people. We need therefore to keep the situation that that person or group was in at the time of the writing in mind, because the writer was addressing them in that situation and helping them to understand GOD's will as they faced those problems. The book of Hebrews was written to the Jewish people that had been raised under the law and were then faced with the news that JESUS is the Messiah. Once they realize that fact, having been led to that truth by the HOLY SPIRIT, if they then turn back to the law, GOD will no longer accept their sacrifices under the law. One of the key words in that passage is the word "tasted". You can taste without consuming. Read the passage with these things in mind and see if it doesn't make sense.

And...I do not believe these people were saved. They did indeed partake of the HOLY GHOST, but we all must do that before we are saved, because HE is the one that leads us to JESUS. Without HIS working in our hearts we would have no desire to come to CHRIST. Second, as I mentioned above, they have tasted, not indulged, of the sweet truth of salvation without the rigors of the law. Thirdly if you keep in mind the fact of their Jewish law upbringing and that they were being faced/confronted with the fact that JESUS is MESSIAH for the first time (that they understood it) then the rest of the book of Hebrews is very clear indeed.

Thanks Burl (and Dave)