"For it is impossible to renew to repentance those… who have fallen away. This is because to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt." (Hebrews 6:4,6 CSB)
I have shared a bit of where I was prior to being born again. It is no coincidence that this book, the epistle to the Hebrews, is the book I was reading for the 3 days prior to (and including) the day of my conversion. The day before, I had spent some time with this passage as upon reading it I had wondered if God was saying that due to my being raised in church, having made a profession of faith, and then falling away I had forever excluded myself from eternal life. I'll tip my hand a bit and say Jesus mentions the unpardonable sin, and this isn't it. (Matthew 12:31-32 for further reading please read the article linked here ). But what does this extremely strong warning mean?
Before I get into it, let me remind us all of the obvious - this is written as a warning. It is in an epistle that was written to a group of professing believers. Even though we are told in verse 9 that the author believes better things are in store for these believers, he still provides this warning. As a warning, it should accomplish the work of a warning. When my family travels to my wife's parent's for the holidays, we drive through some windy, mountainous roads. We can look off to the side and see erosion chains on the side of the mountain as well as warning signs depicting images of falling rocks. At no point do I obsess over these signs, taking them as future predictions of my inevitable state. I don't assume that my trip is hopeless and I am certain to not reach my destination due to the images I just saw. I take it as a warning, as something to watch out for in order to avoid being a statistic. This, in Hebrews, is a warning, and should be taken very seriously as such - we should be watchful.
Oh, one more thing so we don't miss the road due to obsessing over the warning signs - the author is not intending to address whether the previous state of the apostate was genuine or not. There are other passages of Scripture that address the perseverance of the child of God, this is not one of them. Don't try to take a "watch for falling rocks" warning and make it a "deer crossing" sign. Let it be what it is.
So what is impossible for the apostate is a renewal to repentance; but there is an explanation of WHY this is impossible. The Scripture tells us that these people are crucifying again the Son of God and holding Him up to contempt. Both of these Greek verbs interpreted as "crucifying again" (ἀνασταυροῦντας) and "holding Him up to contempt" (παραδειγματίζοντας) are in the present tense. The idea conveyed by this tense is a linear action - one that has occurred and continues to occur. It is the same tense of the verb used in I John 3:6 "Everyone who remains in him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen him or known him." Here we have "sin" (ἁμαρτάνει) and "sins" (ἁμαρτάνων), both are present tense. We have the same tense used in 1 John 5:8 when John says, "We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin"; "sin" (ἁμαρτάνει). The meaning is to sin and continue to sin, to practice as a way of life. In regards to John we have indication this is precisely what is meant as in chapter 5:15-17 he addresses how to handle a believer who sins making it clear he isn't teaching sinless perfection. But this is about Hebrews, not 1 John so let's get back to the passage at hand. The reason it is impossible to renew an apostate to repentance while he is actively holding Christ up to contempt. While the apostate is in this state, repentance is not an option.
The other point of consolation to anyone who may consider themselves to be, or have been, an apostate is this - God grants repentance. We see all throughout the old testament, God brings back erring Israel, causing revival to flow through the nation of once idolatrous people. Those who were apostates are among those who tear down the asherah poles and turn to the living God. If God has granted you repentance, then clearly you are not part of those who continue in their apostasy. The apostate this passage is speaking of is one who lives out the remainder of his/her earthly days in a state of unrepentant apostasy. Scripture is replete with promises that whoever repents and comes to Jesus will be accepted. Apostasy is not the unforgivable sin, so if your once apostate heart has been changed to a repentant heart of flesh, thank the merciful God for your redemption!
As a final balance to this, I would caution any who might be disposed to take the comfort just offered to those ex-apostates who have repented and believed on The LORD Jesus as an excuse to be slack in your own self-examination. The same author says in Hebrews 3:13 "Encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin's deception." Just as the fact that there are those who make a profession of faith and fall away does not necessitate that you will inevitably apostatize; neither does the truth that God's choosing to grant repentance to some apostates mean He will do the same for you if you fall away. Sin is deceitful. It may promise the ability to turn from it whenever your heart desires, and this is a half truth. What it doesn't disclose is that it infects the heart and manipulates the heart's desires. I once had an addict wisely tell me that he could quit his addiction whenever he wanted to, he just didn't want to. It is this deceiving sin warned of in verse 13 that is the cause of the unbelieving heart of verse 12.
The Savior's promise recorded for us in John 6:37 is true, "The one who comes to Me I will never cast out."
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