Sometimes you find impostors in churches.  They appear to be Christians, but, actually, they’re not.  Sometimes they themselves are deceived: they genuinely think they are Christians.  But as time goes by, it turns out that they are not converted at all.  That’s what we’re going to see in this morning’s passage, Hebrews 6:4-12.

v4-6 have filled many Christians with great anxiety over the years.  They seem to be saying that someone who is really a Christian, someone who is truly converted, might fall so far that he loses his salvation and ends up in hell.  We’ll be looking at these three verses at some length, therefore, this morning.

i Hopeless

v4-6 are talking about apostasy.  That’s when someone appears to be a Christian.  She makes some sort of commitment to the Lord.  But it’s just a temporary, bogus faith.  Apostasy is when someone who looks like a Christian turns her back on the Lord.  And the reason is that she was never truly a Christian at all.  She was an impostor, even if she didn’t realise it.  We’ve already seen this sort of thing in the Israelites of Moses’ generation in Hebrews 3:7-19.  We also see it in the rocky ground “converts” of the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4:1-20.

The point the writer is making is that when such people fall away, there is no hope of them ever coming back.  They’re hopeless.  These are solemn words.  But they are not words which should frighten any true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.  You might backslide.  But if you are a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot commit apostasy.

v4-6 teach that people can have experiences which are incredibly close to genuine Christianity and yet still not truly be saved.  There are four statements here which teach this truth.

Firstly, people can be “enlightened”.  All Christians have been enlightened: they have “seen the light” in that they have realised that Jesus is the only Saviour and certain other fundamental truths.  But conversion is more than mere enlightenment.  It is only a step towards becoming a Christian.  It’s what I do with that enlightenment that matters.  It’s if I trust in Christ as a result of it that I’m converted.  That saves my life.  Someone can be enlightened but not really saved.

Secondly, people can “have tasted the heavenly gift”.  It’s debated what the writer means when he speaks of the “heavenly gift” here, but probably he means Christ and every blessing we have because of Him.  Christians have certainly tasted the heavenly gift.  We’ve experienced Christ.  But there is a difference between tasting and digesting.  It is possible to have a genuine encounter with Christ and yet not be saved.  That was true of the rich ruler in Luke 18:18-30.  He “tasted” Christ in that he met him and talked with him and experienced him.  Yet at the end of their meeting, he went away sad, unsaved, not trusting in Christ.  He had tasted the heavenly gift.  And he’d gone away unsaved.

Thirdly, people can “have shared in the Holy Spirit”.  Every true Christian shares in the Holy Spirit: he has him living within his body.  But there’s a sense in which non-Christians can also be sharers in the Holy Spirit.  It was true of King Saul in I Samuel 10:10.  It was true of Judas.  Non-Christians can know him working in them.  But in the end, unless they truly trust in Jesus Christ, they will end up resisting him and falling away.  They will turn out to be apostate.  They will commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (see Mark 3:29). 

Fourthly, people can “have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age”.  Christians have done that.  But equally someone who is not truly saved can taste that the word of God is good and see that the powers of heaven are good.  Sadly, he might not go further and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

v6 gives the devastating consequences for those who are “nearly” Christians and who then fall away.  Such a person is lost for ever.  It is impossible for her to be brought back to repentance.  It is as though she is publicly saying, “If I’d been there when Jesus died, I’d have been shouting out, ‘Crucify! Crucify!’ along with the rest of the crowd!”  She marches boldly, self-confidently, and brazenly into hell itself.  She’s hopeless.  And that could be true of some who attend Carey.

If it’s true of you, come now to Jesus with all you are and all you have.  Cry out to God to forgive you for what you’ve done wrong.  Trust in Jesus, the one who died and rose to save sinners.  Start to live your life entirely for Him.  And then you will be saved. 

ii Hopeful

v7-8 are a kind of bridge between v4-6 and v9-12.  The writer uses a farming illustration.  There’s a field in v7.  The rain falls on it.  And it produces a crop.  It’s blessed.  There’s also a field in v8.  The rain falls on it.  But it doesn’t produce a crop.  All it yields is thorns and thistles.  It’s cursed and in the end it’s burned.  v7 represents a true Christian, producing a crop of spiritual fruit.  v8 represents someone who will turn out to be apostate, someone who ultimately produces a life which is nothing like Christianity.  The question is: which are you? 

Thankfully, the Hebrews are like the v7 man.  v9-10 shows that.  They are doing works which accompany salvation.  They have been working for and helping God’s people, and by doing that, they have been showing forth a genuine love for God.  Christian, when you show love for a fellow-believer, you are actually showing love for God himself!

What are the Hebrews – and us – to do, then?  v11-12 teach us.  We’re to persevere!  Each and every one of us is to persevere.  And that has a great result.  It makes our hope sure.  Diligently serving the Lord to the end leads to the full assurance of hope.  It makes us more hopeful.

Assurance is something which many Christians struggle with.  But as you look around at Christians, you tend to find that those who have the deepest sense of assurance are those who are actively involved in His service.  Or to put it round the other way, Christians who are not diligent tend not to enjoy their Christianity.  I’m not saying that all Christians who lack assurance are not diligent; there could be any number of different reasons.  But it is generally true to say that those who have the deepest sense of assurance are those who are actively involved in God’s service.  If you struggle here, could it be because you’re not diligent enough?  If so, don’t be lazy.  Be diligent!