6:4-6 Is this teaching directed to believers or to those who have been exposed to the gospel but rejected it as some teach?
6:4-6 Is this teaching directed to believers or to those who have been exposed to the gospel but rejected it as some teach?
While this is a warning to the Hebrews of that era against reverting to their previous Old Testament ways and losing their salvation after having been made partakers of God's saving grace, this is for our admonition also. It is a solemn warning to every believer in every age against apostatising, or departing from the faith and going back into deliberate and wilful sin (CP Eze 18:24 - 26; 33:12-13, 17-18; He 10:26-31; 2Pe 2:20-22).
Apostatising is not to be confused with backsliding. Apostates have blasphemed the Holy Spirit and can never be renewed unto repentance, but backsliders can. (CP Mk 3:28-29; 1Jn 5:16 with Hos 14:4). As long as a backslider retains his faith in Christ and His atonement he can be renewed to repentance, but apostates cannot, because they no longer believe in Christ and the atonement. In rejecting this truth apostates are treating Christ with contempt and in effect are crucifying Him afresh and exposing Him to public disgrace. As far as they are concerned Christ was worthy of death.
They have rendered their hearts so hard toward Him that they are impervious to the ministry of the Holy Spirit and are irrevocably lost. And just as ground that only bears briars and thorns after soaking up the rain that falls upon it is burned, so too apostates who have been recipients of God's saving grace and rejected it will be cast into the eternal fire of hell (CP He 6:7-8 with Mt 3:10; 7:19; Jn 15:1-6).
There are many in the church who contend that once saved believers can never lose their salvation, and therefore He 6:4-6 is not directed to believers, but to those who have been exposed to the gospel and rejected it. That is not correct however, because only believers have tasted the things of heaven and been part of the work of the Holy Spirit. And only believers have experienced the goodness of God's word and received a foretaste of eternal life.
And finally, only those who had faith in the first place can depart from it (CP He 3:1, 14; 10:32). Believers choose for themselves if they want to stay saved (CP Josh 22:15-18; 1Sam 15:11; 1Ki 9:6-9; 2Chr 24:2, 17-22; Mt 24:10-12; 1Ti 4:1-5; 2Ti 4:1-4; He 2:2-3; 3:12 - 4:1; 10:26-27, 29, 38; 12:25). See also comments on He 3:7-11, 4:11-12, 10:26-31; 2Pe 2:20-22.
It is interesting to note that the Greek word translated "fall away" in He 6:4-6 is parapipto, not apostasia as in 2Th 2:3 (CP 2Th 2:3). It is hard to understand why apostasia which means "depart" has been translated here to mean falling away from the faith, when the whole context in which it is used is not about apostasy at all like He 6:4-6, but the coming again of Christ to take all the saints of God back to heaven with Him at the first resurrection - when the church will also depart from the earth (CP 1Th 4:13 - 5:11; 2Th 2:1-8).
Surely, if God had meant 2Th 2:3 to refer to a falling away from the faith He would have used parapipto, not apostasia, to avoid confusion. Apostasia should have been translated "departure", referring to the "catching away" or "rapture" of the church, not a falling away from the faith or apostasy, as it has been translated (see also comments on 2Th 2:1-3).