JeremiahD84

I saw Bo make a post in a nother topic and one of his replies had to do with the below verse. Hebrews 6:4-6.
After reading it, i'm kinda concerned. What does it really mean?
If I become a christian but then I fall away... it's impossible for me to come back to Jesus is that what this is saying?
Can somebody please help me understand this?


Heb 6:4 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,
Heb 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6 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.

J. Damascene

I think it's saying that those who OPENLY AND PUBLICLY reject Christ have little or no chance of repentance- not saying that they can't potentially repent and be saved, but that they probably won't. If you know just what Christ did to save you, and how much he loves you, and you could bring yourself to turn away from Him- with that all you know about Him- that is one of the worst (if not the worst) insult we can give to Jesus Christ.

Not tht someone who leaves Christianity can't repent, but that they won't.

That's my take on it, anyway.

Who am I

There is a man named Thurman Scrivner who has some good teachings. On the page the link takes you to, about half way down, there is a teaching you can download called, “Can You Lose Your Salvation”. You’ll have to download each segment separately. Notice the earlier dates start on the right. He starts out talking about these verses and it makes a lot of sense to me.

Thurman Scrivner

__________________
Blessings to all

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD,
thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

epistemaniac

I think you are making a great observation Jeremiah.... as a person who believes that no true believer can ever fall away, I ask Arminians (those that do believe a believer can finally and totally fall away, not all Arminians believe this) by appealing to this passage... because if they do, then this passage proves more than what I think they really want to prove.... that if this is what this passage is teaching, then if a person does fall away, then thats it for them... they are done. This really causes problems for these folks because they are often those who are constantly urging people who have fallen away to walk down the aisle in church again and again, rededicating their lives to Christ, and meaning it in the sense that they are essentially getting saved, falling away, and then getting saved again and again, over and over, there is nothing wrong with a redetermining to serve Christ more whole-heartedly, that is not the issue. I am thinking here strictly of those who believe that salvation can be lost and then regained innumerable times. This also would raise the question of how much sin means that someone has lost their salvation, since all Christians still sin each and every day. It quickly becomes a thorny issue to be sure.

blessings

SweetSurrender

I had this explained to me once. If you had received all the gifts and understanding of scripture and you have been given the great gift of the Holy Spirit, and than you decide to throw it all away for worldly pleasure, than it as if you crucify Christ all over again, and God says it is almost impossible for you to even ever want to go back to walking with God. You lose all you have gained and wallow in the dirt again. What an insult to the God who saved you from so much in the first place. And then you just stepped on his grace.

__________________

Banarenth

You know, when I first read that, I thought I must be misreading it. But no, I wasn't. I was misunderstanding it. It is not simply talking about salvation and backsliding, but being filled with the Holy Spirit. Some may argue that there is no difference, but I would argue that those are the same people who haven't experienced it. Either they both happened at once, or it ended with salvation and did not progress any further for them. But I DO know, that until you REALLY experience it, you will never be able to understand it.

This is a major misconception within my church, but I don't know how many other churches really have this particular issue. For years, because of this belief, I really did think that every time I committed a sin of any kind, that I would have to pray again for salvation. It just became an endless, inescapable cycle for me. But, I studied harder and asked the right questions.

Because salvation is only the beginning of a Christian's life. Christ's story didn't end in Bethlehem, nor at the river when he was baptized. Neither does ours end at the altar. There is a big difference between the Holy Spirit ministering to your Spirit, and the Holy Spirit filling you completely.

The problem really, is that a lot of my own understanding of this is heavily based in doctrine, and I'm REALLY trying hard to not quote doctrine. And I firmly believe that doctrine (in this particular case) is really only a means of understanding a real truth. So while I "visualize" it based on my church's doctrine, I believe that many other denoms and nondenoms visualize the SAME THING, just in a different way. Whichever understanding speaks to you, follow it.

__________________

Boanerges

I do not believe that scripture to be addressing stumbling or struggling. I believe this person fits this catagory:
Mat 13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
Mat 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

And this:

1Jn 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

__________________
Anything that dims my vision for Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps me in my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult, is wrong for me; and I must, as a Christian turn away from it. – J. Wilbur Chapman