Can Christians Lose their Salvation? (Hebrews 6:4–6)

Hebrews 6:4–6 seems to imply that Christians can lose their salvation. It is certainly true that the people described in this passage were unsaved (v. 9). However, they did not lose their salvation.

It is often assumed that these people were once saved, since they had experienced the things listed in verses 4–5:

1. They were once enlightened;
2. They tasted the heavenly gift;
3. They shared in the Holy Spirit;
4. They tasted the goodness of God’s word; and
5. They tasted the powers of the coming age.

However, verses 7–8 clarify that these people were never really saved:

For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. ₈ But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. (ESV)

On a blank piece of land, people cannot see what kind of plants are in the land, since the plants are still seeds and seedlings under the ground. After some time of rain, the plants will eventually grow out of the ground. Then, people will be able to see the plants on the piece of land. Yet, those plants were planted in the land from the beginning.

Likewise, when a person falls away, he does not lose his salvation. Rather, it shows that he was never saved from the beginning because he never truly believed in Jesus Christ for salvation. A person is not saved just because he has enjoyed some experiences—even though those experiences came from the Holy Spirit! Rather, the real indication that a person is saved is that he continues believing in Jesus until the end (vv. 11–12).

In the case of these people, it is “impossible” for them to be renewed unto repentance—in the sense that there is nothing more that we can do to persuade these people to come back to faith in Jesus, since they have already experienced all these things, and yet they still fell away. Only God can change their hearts and turn them back to Jesus.