Page 52 - Hebrews- Student Textbook

3. It refers to true apostasy (Jewish believers about to return to OT hopes and procedures
instead of continuing faith in Jesus as the Messiah)
4. It refers to the first-century situation only (which understands the historical setting as a
synagogue setting of believing and unbelieving Jews)
5. It refers to OT examples of unbelief, not current believers

C. The warnings of 6:1-12 must be related to the previous warnings to
1. Beware of being carried past the safe anchorage, 2:1
2. Beware of willful unbelief (as OT Israelites), 3:12-19
3. Beware of remaining immature believers, 5:11-14

D. The current debate in the church over "once saved always saved"; "saved, lost, and then resaved" and
"once out always out" revolves around:
1. The use of isolated texts (proof-texting)
2. The use of logical deduction (priority of reason over Scripture)
3. The use of systematic theological grids (Calvinism, Arminianism, Dispensationalism, etc.)

Analysis of Words and Phrases

6:1-2 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a
foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about
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washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

"repentance. . .faith" These are the old and new covenant obligations, one negative and one positive.
Repentance is a difficult topic because of the confusion over its meaning. The Hebrew term reflects a
change of action while the Greek term reflects a change of mind. Repentance is the turning from a self-
centered, self-directed life to a God-centered, God-directed life.
1. Jesus connected lack of repentance with perishing (cf. Luke 13:3,5 and 2 Pet. 3:9)
2. Repentance is linked as the companion obligation to faith (cf. Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38, 41; 3:16; 19;
20:21)
3. God is even affirmed as being the source of repentance (cf. Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:25)

6:4-6a For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the
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heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God
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and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance,
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since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to
contempt.

"have once been. . .have tasted. . .have been made. . .have tasted. . .falling away" All of these
PARTICIPLES are AORISTS, while v. 6b begins a series of PRESENT TENSE VERBS. These are such strong
statements. The meaning seems to be clear: they knew God on some level, but they rejected full faith in
Christ. However, two contextual issues need to be examined:

1. the presence of three groups ("us" [vv. 1-3], "those" [vv. 4-8], "you" [vv. 9-12])
2. The Jewish nature of the doctrines in 6:1-2.

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