How Do Some Say Hebrews 6 Doesn’t Teach Loss of Salvation?

Hebrews 3:1-4 says: “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.”

Besides seeing a Biblical proof here that Jesus is God, we also see that the Book of Hebrews is written to Christians who had a conversion to Christ which the writer didn’t doubt the authenticity of. The new birth of these Hebrews and the good beginning in their Christian race were not in question. Those who try to claim that the warnings about falling away in Hebrews are directed towards those who were never really born-again in Christ to begin with disregard these things. The writer of Hebrews then proceeds to warn these holy believers in Jesus of how they will cease to be partakers of His heavenly calling if they are hardened in sin through disobeying Him.

Hebrews 3:5-15: “And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.”

The proper Christian hope is in Christ returning to assume His rightful reign over all things. This will involve the condemnation of His enemies and the full redemption of His faithful people who will rule and reign with Him then. We see from Hebrews 3:6 that for one to hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of hope in Christ firm until the end is an “if” rather than a certainty. It is also notable that holding fast a confidence and rejoicing of hope that was never valid to begin with would be a very bad thing. This is very important to take note of with the exhortations throughout Hebrews.

A true confidence and rejoicing of hope in Christ must involve being in subjection to His authority. The exhortation to the Hebrews not to harden their hearts to God’s voice like the Israelites who fell in the wilderness aligns with this understanding. The generation of Israelites who failed to enter the Promised Land would not believe the Lord by doing what He told them to do. That is how they provoked Him and failed to hold their confidence and rejoicing of hope firm unto the end. As a result, they did not actually enter into the Promised Land. Their failure happened in spite of the realities that they really were delivered out of Egypt and they really were on track to reach the Promised Land. It is seen in Numbers chapter 14 how that first generation of Israelites which came out of Egypt, with only a few exceptions, did not enter in and rather died in the wilderness because they did not act in accordance with what God told them to do.

Hebrews 3:16-19: “For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

Some say “well, you can’t exactly compare the Israelites who came out of Egypt failing to reach the Promised Land to a real Christian falling away and failing to inherit salvation.” Oh yes you can. The writer of Hebrews is doing so right here. Hebrews chapter 4 will go on to elaborate on this comparison. The same direct comparison is also made in 1 Corinthians 10:1-12. Some who teach that no one can fall away from Christ say things like “A salvation that can fail is not great.” They are out of line with the Bible’s counsel and justifying the Israelites who perished in the wilderness.

In Hebrews chapter 5 the writer of Hebrews begins to show the similarities between the New Covenant High Priesthood of Christ in heaven and the Levitical Priesthood on earth under the Old Covenant. He will eventually go on to explain the key differences between these covenants (which don’t include a different morality by the way). We also see in the chapter’s later verses how the writer of Hebrews lamented that the Hebrews had regressed and needed to be taught things which they should have been able to teach others by this point.

Hebrews 5:7-14: “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect (i.e. obeying to the end in His humanity), he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

We are seeing here a refutation of the types of things which those who believe in a real Christian’s guaranteed perseverance in the faith will say. They might cite John 6:39: “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” Yes, and it is also seen in 1 Timothy chapter 2:4 that it is God’s will that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. That obviously doesn’t happen. People can, and do, oppose God’s good intentions for them. That is their fault; not His. This is so regarding those who fall away from Christ after a real conversion as well as those who never really ever come to Him so that they are born-again to begin with. To say, like many do, that “a true believer in Jesus Christ falling away and ending up in hell would prove God is unfaithful” is to essentially blame Him for man’s failure to fulfill the obligations which God has placed upon man. That is not right. It is not God’s job to do things for people which He has commanded for them to do. This is stated in principle frequently throughout the Book of Hebrews.

It was the Hebrew Christians’ own fault that they had regressed so that they had need of milk and not of strong meat. The writer of this letter to the Hebrews is going to eventually challenge them with strong meat. Before that happens, he is going to warn them of the consequences of not walking according to the Biblical exhortations which they had heard and which they were about to hear.

Hebrews 6:1-6: “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit. 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, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 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.”

Does this sound like it is talking about real Christians falling away from Christ so that they do not inherit salvation in the end? Yes, because that is indeed what it is talking about. The writer of Hebrews didn’t speak to the Hebrews as if they were never in Christ. Totally the opposite. He also did not speak to them as if they had fallen away already. The gymnastics which people use to try to twist these verses to say otherwise don’t hold up with the rest of the Bible nor with the context of the Book of Hebrews itself. These verses are describing people who really had believed in Christ. We’re about to see how such can fall away.

And by the way: If someone could be so much like a real Christian as Hebrews 6:4-5 describes, and not really be one, then no one could ever know for sure that they are one anyways.

We then read in Hebrews 6:7-8: “For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.”

This goes back to what was seen already in Hebrews chapter 3.

Some will say that the following things said to the Hebrews in verses 9 and 10 prove that the warnings which were just given didn’t really apply to them nor apply to any real Christian. Yet that is delusional. Warning people about falling away from a dead faith and invalid profession of Christ would be a pointless and silly warning.

Hebrews 6:9-10: “But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”

Rather than telling the Hebrews that they couldn’t fall away from Christ unless they were never really true believers in Him at all, the writer is expressing his hope that they will respond as they ought to the exhortations he is giving. He is not persuaded of better things regarding them because they were not in danger of falling away and going to hell, but rather because they had already done so excellently and gone such a great distance in serving the Lord. Many who are born-again don’t begin as excellently as the Hebrews had or endure as long as the Hebrews had already endured. The Hebrews had to return again to their first love and be diligent in going forward in the manner which they had begun. The possibility of doing otherwise has not been negated by what is said in verses 9 and 10.

Hebrews 6:11-12: “And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

This is driving home the point that there is free will after conversion to Christ. One can be slothful when it comes to hearing God’s Word and doing it though they had been previously diligent. Faith and patience in Christ are equated to being diligent in doing the will of God and bringing forth a righteous product- one which corresponds to the exhortations from His Word which one has heard (as Hebrews 6:7–8 speaks of). The Hebrews had obviously been fruitful yet they were regressing (as the closing verses of Hebrews 5 show). They had to repent of this. Along the same lines, they were later told the following.

Hebrews 12:7-17: “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons (my note- this doesn’t mean that they were never sons; it means that one can cease to be God’s child through refusal to be corrected by His chastening- keep reading). Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”

The rest of Hebrews chapter 6 elaborates on verses 11 and 12. From Hebrews chapter 7 to a little beyond the middle of Hebrews chapter 10 there is an interlude. In this interlude the writer of Hebrews proceeds to explain the key differences between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant- especially the finished work of Christ’s atonement and the excellency of Christ’s High Priesthood compared to the Levitical Priesthood. Hebrews 10:19 continues where Hebrews 6 had left off. We see there the warnings of Hebrews 6 echoed. And corresponding to Hebrews 6:11-12, these warnings are given right as the writer of Hebrews emphasizes the Lord’s utter reliability to keep those who are diligent to hear and obey His Word. Without contradicting that at all, the real possibility of those who have begun well not enduring to the end is also made very clear.

Hebrews 10:19-31: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Falling into the hands of the living God is not only a fearful thing for those who never got right with Him, it is also a fearful thing for those who turn away from Him after getting right with Him. Those who say otherwise might as well take scissors to their Bible and cut up the things they won’t consent to. They might even be among those who were once in Christ which have fallen away already.

Zephaniah 1:4-6: “I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests; And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham; And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor enquired for him.”

No one possesses ultimate salvation in a mortal body. Even the term “losing salvation” is not a valid Biblical term then- unless you qualify that statement to equate possessing salvation now to being in God’s grace and on track to be saved. With that said, one who possesses a deposit of eternal life and is on track to be saved through a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ can fail to endure to the end in the faith whereby they had been justified and instead end up in hell. The passages which we have been looking at from Hebrews themselves explain how this happens. It is a shame and a great deceit when people twist these passages to try to claim that they don’t mean what they say. Many assume that one who is a partaker of Christ cannot fall away- and then work hard to try to get these passages to line up with their faulty assumption.

1 Peter 5:8-9: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

The Bible specifically warns Christians not to think that they are immune from utter spiritual destruction. Only a derelict pastor would teach that this could not happen. It plays into the devil’s hands when they think this cannot happen.

A faith that never placed a person in God’s grace and on track for salvation is something that it would not be right to tell a person to return to or to not drift away from. Read Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Note how the exhortations from the Risen Jesus to those straying would be horrible counsel if the people whom they were immediately directed to had never really been right with Him to begin with. There are a lot of lazy pastors who just tell anyone and everyone who is having major spiritual problems that they need to be born-again. Sometimes the people who are told this have been born-again already.

The counsel of the Charles Stanley-types who just blatantly tell people that they are saved even if they are living like the devil are deceivers. Their counsel is not the answer either. There is free will after a real conversion to Christ as well as beforehand. The Holy Spirit teaches and trains those whom He indwells. He empowers those who cooperate to walk in righteousness. He doesn’t force compliance. The born-again Christian must choose to cooperate and to suffer for righteousness’ sake. The Christian’s race is even called an”agon” in Hebrews 12:1. “Agon” is the Greek origin of the English word “agony.”

Fullness of eternal life is only obtained at the end of the race. It is not a fixed race. Those who teach that a real Christian cannot fall away imply that it is a fixed race by their doctrine. Overcoming is difficult and there are many complications involved in navigating the narrow way which the “you just need to really be born-again” pastors don’t account for. Hebrews repeatedly emphasizes to real Christians that there is indeed a line that they ought to fear crossing. Crossing the threshold of that line will result in their damnation. The possibility of salvation being lost doesn’t make God unfaithful nor minimize the excellence of salvation in Christ. It is rather a logical possibility since there is a narrow way to eternal life and the true God is a consuming fire. The instructions in Hebrews even lead to the following exhortation.

Hebrews 12:25-29: “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spoke on earth (i.e. God speaking to Israel through Moses), much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.”

As 1 Timothy chapter 6 warns, the pursuit of riches is often how people turn from the Lord or are set up to turn from Him (perhaps through taking a job that is not inherently wrong, but which is a drain on one’s spiritual life). Ungodly decisions in relation to marriage are another key way. Perhaps the number one way, especially since it can be a factor in either of the previously stated ways, is people-pleasing. People-pleasing is often expressed by refusing to separate from a church or Bible teacher which one knows (or should know) is not faithful to the Lord. Ungodly street preachers, especially those with a presence online, often seduce the righteous by pulling them into their railing and vile talk which they speak under the guise of reproving sin. Many true believers get seduced into the Prosperity Gospel and by countless isms. They had better recognize the lie which they are following and repent. Refusal to obey in one area also opens one up to darkness in many other ways.