Graduate School Teaching

Hebrews 6:4-8

The author warned his readers that he was going to leave the elementary teaching and he certainly did! The author lists characteristics of those who have participated in Christian community: enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, tasted the goodness of the word of God. This certainly seems like a description of someone who has been saved. The challenge is that the author says that it is impossible for someone who has experienced everything listed and has fallen away to be brought back to repentance. This passage seems to be teaching that it is possible for a person to lose his salvation. This does not really line up with my understanding of other Scripture passages so either my understanding of other Scripture is wrong or my understanding of this passage is wrong.
Even for those who believe that it is possible to lose your salvation, this passage causes major problems because it teaches that if you lose your salvation (fall away) it is impossible to be brought back to repentance. Most who believe it is possible to lose your salvation also believe that it is possible to regain it upon repentance.
It is possible that the list of characteristics could apply to someone who has entered fully into Christian community or the Christian sub-culture but has never surrendered her life to Christ - therefore, the person was never truly a Christian. In my opinion some major interpreting of the characteristics in the author's list is needed to support this view. However, it is not impossible to support.
The metaphor at the end of the passage actually helps: those who fall away are like land that has experienced much rain - in this case all the blessings of being a part of Christian community - but only produce thorns a thistles. The warning for me is that I must continually evaluate whether I am more in love with Christ or more in love with the blessings I receive from Christian community. This is a hard evaluation because Christ and his gifts are so connected. However, I must ask the Holy Spirit for help because it is of the utmost importance that my heart is more enraptured with Christ than it is with his blessings - my eternal destination is at stake. I must also be very careful to point people more to Christ than to his gifts. While the blessings of Christian community may draw people to Christ, I must make sure to help people see beyond the gifts to the Giver. Their eternal destiny depends on it!