http://www.monopedilos.com

Falling From the Arms of Grace: Apostasy and the Covenant in Hebrews 6

Falling From the Arms of Grace: Apostasy and the Covenant in Hebrews 6

Christopher H. Meredith

21 November 2003

The issue of apostasy is perhaps one of the greatest pastoral concerns within the church. It is of great consequence to the believer to be assured of his salvation, since he is very aware of the consequences of lacking it. Compounding the problem are passages of Scripture such as Hebrew 6:4-6 which have been a source of concern for more than a few Christians. In the pages that follow, we shall examine these verses of Hebrews 6 and their context to see what it is they say about the issue of apostasy. Before we begin, let us review the verses in question:

Hebrews 6
⁴For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

The cause for concern is immediately evident. If someone like that can fall away, can I? There are several factors which must be considered if we are to understand what the author of Hebrews means by this passage. We shall begin by investigating whom Hebrews is talking about in this passage.

Arminians

Arminian interpreters have historically understood the descriptions in verses 4-5 to apply to genuinely converted, born-again Christians. In his famous commentary on the Bible, the noted Wesleyan commentator Adam Clarke makes three assertions about the identity of the persons described in these verses:

1. They are not mere professors of faith.

2. They are not “backsliders of any kind.”

3. Rather, they are “apostates from Christianity.”¹

Clarke affirms that the men in question are (or were at one time) genuine Christians who are now “apostates,” which he defines as ones who “reject the whole Christian system and its author, the Lord Jesus.”²

Since the purpose of this essay is not to engage the Arminian position, it must suffice here to bypass the entire discussion and note some strengths and weaknesses of the argument in general. First, its faults:

While Clarke's comments above quoted do not necessarily demand the conclusion that regenerated Christians can finally fall from grace, in comments on later verses, Clarke will affirm that Hebrews' description of these apostates shows that they had “witnessed the full effects of the Christian religion,” and that the Spirit of God had come upon them, “assuring them of God's mercy towards them and of the efficacy of the atonement through which they had received such blessings.”³ It is clear from this that Clarke had in mind the final and total apostasy of an individual atoned for by the death and resurrection of Christ.⁴ Understanding the passage this way is unacceptable because of its direct contradiction with the clear teaching of Scripture on the nature of the Atonement.

But the Arminian position does make key points that must be addressed. Firstly, it is rightly noted that the language used in verses 4-5 is indeed too strong to properly apply to mere professors of faith. Secondly, as Clarke writes,

there is a fearful possibility of falling away from the grace of God; and if this scripture did not say so, there are many that do say so.⁵

In other words, the warning of falling away is a real warning against a real possibility.

Calvinists

Calvinists have traditionally entertained two major theories regarding the identity of the men described in Hebrews 6:4-5. The first view, sometimes called the “hypothetical view,” states that these men are in fact genuine, converted Christians, but that Hebrews is not saying they actually can fall away, rather that it is merely a hypothetical possibility but could never actually happen.⁶ This position would paraphrase verse 6 thus: if a genuine Christian who exhibits all these graces were to fall away from faith, it would require Jesus to be crucified for them again, and this is impossible. So it is not actually possible for such a believer to fall away.

The second and more commonly accepted Calvinist interpretation states that the warning is a real warning about an actually possible event, but not one that genuinely converted Christians could ever commit. Verses 4-5, therefore, describe no such Christian but instead, men who are Christians in profession only, who were never connected to Christ to begin with, which fact is proved by their apostasy.

Like their Arminian counterparts, the Calvinistic arguments have their strong and weak points. The hypothetical view fails on one major point: what is the purpose in warning against something that cannot happen? If a tennis ball were to bite you on the rear end, that would mean that it would have to grow legs and a mouth with sharp teeth. That's impossible! But be careful... you might get bitten. This is absurd.

The more common view which contends that those described in verses 4-5 are mere professors also has some textual problems. For instance, it fails to address Adam Clarke's objection that the language employed by Hebrews is too strong to apply to mere professors. One struggles to understand the strong, almost urgent warnings against such apostasy if mere profession is the only thing being abandoned. But we shall return to this point later.

The Calvinist position, despite certain hiccups, does lay down a biblical framework for our discussion. We shall therefore continue our discussion within that context.

Let us turn now to a brief look at the five descriptors Hebrews uses in chapter 6, verses 4-5. The issue of what these descriptions encompass is the subject of much greater (read: longer) volumes. The purpose of this essay does not require us to rehearse the previous discussions on the matter, only to show that Hebrews has something more in mind than a mere profession of faith. To that end, let us say a thing or two about each of these phrases.

Once Been Enlightened

Matthew Poole echos earlier exegetes who considered this phrase to be a reference to baptism.⁷ However, this language most probably refers to an intellectual awakening, but not mere assent to propositional statements. The author seems to have something more profound in mind. Later in the book, Hebrews writes, “But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings...” (Heb. 10:32). Here , “enlightened” is used to describe the beginnings of the Christian life. Perhaps the author had Paul's words in mind, since the apostle wrote, “For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).” Regardless, it seems clear that the word “enlightened” is being employed to denote more than intellectual agreement; it implies a true understanding and acceptance.⁸

Tasted of the Heavenly Gift

Jesus described Himself as “the gift of God” (Jn. 4:10). Commentators like Matthew Henry see this as a reference to the efficacious operation of the Spirit.⁹ Whatever might be the identity of the heavenly gift, it must be argued that by its very definition, it is a grace and that the word “tasted” requires that the taster enjoy a sensory experience of it.¹⁰

Made Partakers of the Holy Spirit

It has been noted that participation in the Spirit may be in view in this passage in general. Here it is stated. We are not concerned here with the nature of this partaking or participation, only that such partaking has occurred. And not once or twice. Rather, the men here described have been made partakers.

Tasted the Good Word of God

We are not required to understand the phrase “Word of God” to be a reference to Christ, as some might suggest. Rather than the Johannine phrase λόγος τόυ θεόυ, Hebrews uses θεόυ ῥήμα to denote the written or spoken words of God. Thus we may understand this as a reference to the reception of the Scriptures as written and as preached. The force of the language as well as the surrounding context discourage us from the temptation to assume that this is mere hearing with no inward application by the Spirit. We have already seen that these men do have fellowship with the Spirit and that their enlightenment may include right and proper understanding of the Word.

The Powers of the Age to Come

Hebrews was written in the Apostolic age and was therefore originally addressed to Christians who may well have witnessed first hand the extraordinary miracles modern Christians can only read about. The apostles had a history of demon banishments, spectacular visual signs, and even resurrections. Such powers pointed to the coming age, both the immediate apostolic age as well as the heavenly. But we do not have to limit ourselves to these miracles as the referant of the phrase in question. Paul also describes in 1 Corinthians 11 (as well as elsewhere) the various spiritual gifts that the Spirit dispenses to members of the body whose head is Christ (1 Cor. 11:4ff). These powerful gifts also heralded the new age and the one to come. But wrangling over the precise sort of powers in view is not our purpose. Rather, we simply note here that the men of verses 4-5 experienced powers.

Apostasy From What?

In light of all this, we may confidently establish that Hebrews has in mind something far more than a simple profession of faith when he speaks of falling away. We have alluded to the fact that such an apostasy from profession does not strike one as very grievous. So then, in the case of those who do fall away, from what are they falling?

Before answering the question, it is necessary to broach the subject of the covenant. The temptation exists to open a large can of worms, but we must resist the temptation. It is far outside the scope of this essay to exhaustively cover the subject. But we must establish a few points before we continue:

1. God has designed the covenant in such a way that the regenerate, elect Bride of Christ contains unregenerate, non-elect members (cf. Eph. 5:27, Rom. 11:20).¹¹

2. God deals corporately with His chosen people. This does not diminish the importance of His work in individual lives, but it bears mentioning here that when God deals with his people, he deals with them as a people. God didn't let the faithful Israelites stay in Judah while the unfaithful ones were carted away to Assyria and Babylon.

3. God lavishly blesses His faithful covenant people and terribly curses the unfaithful. Although we may not like to think of God cursing His people, it is precisely because they are His people that He does (Amos 3:2).

4. Covenant relationship with God is a real, substantial relationship. It is a grand and glorious relationship founded on grand and glorious promises (Heb. 8:6).

5. As wonderful and elevated a relationship as it is, covenant membership is not one and the same as individual election. Although God normally restricts His saving activity to within the covenant, membership itself does not guarantee salvation (cf. Rom. 11).¹²

6. Covenant members, as such, are connected to Christ (Jn. 15:5). When an apostate is cut away from the vine, it is precisely that connection to Christ that necessitates his cutting away in the first place.

So back to the question at hand. In the case of those who do fall away, from what are they falling? The simple answer is that they fall from what they previously had. One of the reasons we touched on the specifics of verses 4-5 was to show, in part, what it is that an apostate falls away from. Paul is more explicit. In addressing different people regarding a similar problem, Paul writes to the Galatians that the one who turns from Christ and seeks instead to be justified by works of the law has been “severed from Christ” and has “fallen from grace (Gal. 5:4).” So we are not left to our own inferences. The apostate falls from grace. His former connection to Christ, the Vine, has been severed.

A common approach to explaining the apostasy in Hebrews 6 is to speak of the passage in terms of what are essentially two sets of graces: common grace and saving grace. It is said that apostates received only these sub-regenerational common graces while the elect received the grand prize of saving grace. While we do not deny that such a logical distinction exists, the passage under discussion does not draw a distinction between types of graces. To show this, we turn now to the next verses in the chapter. Having described the sin of apostasy, Hebrews goes on:

⁷For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; ⁸but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. ⁹But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.

We are given a metaphor to illumine the doctrinal statements just received. In light of the immediately preceding verses, we may understand the metaphorical rain to be the grace of God. Notice that this grace falls, undifferentiated, on all the earth which soaks it up. John Owen describes this well:

The common subject is “the earth,” of the nature whereof both branches are equally participant. Originally and naturally, they differ not, they are both the earth. On this common subject, in both branches of it, the rain equally falls; not upon one more and the other less, not upon one sooner and the other later. It is equally dressed, tilled, or manured, by or for the use of some; one part doth not lie neglected whilst the other is cared for.¹³

In other words, while one branch may produce fruit and the other thistle, this is not due to the amount or type of grace received. In light of the covenant nature of Hebrews (and indeed, of the Bible as a whole), we may understand the earth to represent the covenant people of God¹⁴ and among them, the comparison of good works to good fruit is not new to the author of Hebrews (cf. Matt. 13:1-9 and parallels). This adds a new dimension to our understanding of apostasy. Seen in this light, we can consider apostasy to simply be the failure to persevere. Rather than responding to God's grace with love, faith, and works (useful vegetation), the apostate responds with evil (thorns).

We noted earlier that a common approach to those described in verses 4-5 is to consider them necessarily sub-regenerate. In other words, the graces received in these verses are merely common graces, not saving grace. Yet this is based on the assumption that all these will apostatize. If we want to hold that the grace herein described is merely common grace, we invite some problems since the text does not indicate that all these will certainly apostatize. The same rain nourished other patches of earth to the production of a rich and blessed harvest. In fact, this is what Hebrews is expecting from his audience. He says in verse 9 that “we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.” Better things than what? Speaking in what way? Since this comes immediately after the metaphor, we have our answer there: we are confident of better things [than producing thorns and thistles] concerning you, and things [like useful vegetation] that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way [of apostasy and final judgment]. In other words, Hebrews is confident that his audience will be the fruit-bearing ground.

But why is this important? What does it have to do with the topic? Since Hebrews is talking about the undifferentiated grace of God and since he sees apostasy and perseverance both as possible responses to it, we cannot conclude that the grace(s) described in Hebrews 6:4-5 must be either common grace or saving grace. Otherwise, we must be prepared to explain how someone exposed only to common grace could persevere or how someone who received saving grace could fall away.¹⁵

Instead, consider the parable of Christ alluded to above. When Jesus relates the story of the sower, the seeds, and the soils, the key factor that determined the level of growth of the seed was the status of the soil, not the seed nor the rain. In other words, if the soil is not prepared, the seeds will not bear fruit. And who but God can prepare the heart?

Final Considerations

We have looked at many things regarding this passage and it is now time to cut the fat off the meat, as it were. We have seen that from the Arminian and Calvinist approaches to this passage we may glean several affirmative observations. The language of Hebrews is definitely too strong to be applied to a person connected to Christ solely by name. We may also say that we have a real warning of a real sin in view. This is no hypothetical possibility.

In discussing the actual descriptions Hebrews gives, we have seen that at the very least, the persons in view have an understanding and acceptance of the truths of the gospel; they have at one point been made continual partakers a gift from on high, whether that be the Son Himself or of some efficacious operation of the Spirit; they have indeed enjoyed participation of some degree in the Holy Spirit; they have sat under the preaching of the Word and may well have been granted right understanding of it; and they have been gifted (whether by witness of or participation in) with powers manifesting the power of God in the apostolic age and beyond. Indeed, these can be no mere professors.

We then turned to examine the way God's grace is treated in this passage. We found that, while we may logically distinguish God's grace that saves and God's grace that does not, this distinction is not in view in this passage. Rather, Hebrews describes a group of people richly blessed by God who may or may not actually fall away. Indeed, Hebrews expects that they will persevere.

At this point, let us assume a cosmic vantage point. From an eternal perspective, we can easily see the outworking of God's decree of election. Though there may be many in the covenant, some are elect, some are not. All who are not will eventually fall away and all who are cannot ever fall away. We know that God regenerates, justifies, and saves the elect and we know that He does not so treat the non-elect. We also know that the grace of God is not merely the privilege of the elect, that many speak of common grace and the common operations of the Spirit.

Yet we do not live at a cosmic vantage point for that is the sole privilege of God Himself. Rather, from our human perspective, it is very difficult to see these distinctions between persons elect and not. Thankfully, this is not a task God has given us. This is good because, as we have seen, there is often very little that separates an elect covenant member from a non-elect, pre-apostate one. In his commentary on this passage, John Calvin illustrates this point. In discussion the clause, tasting of the powers of the world to come, Calvin writes that this describes:

that we are admitted by faith as it were into the kingdom of heaven, so that we see in spirit that blessed immortality which is hid from our senses.

Yet soon after, he writes:

there is therefore some knowledge even in the reprobate, which afterwards vanishes away, either because it did not strike roots sufficiently deep, or because it withers, being choked up.¹⁶

In other words, Calvin admits that even his lofty description of entrance into the kingdom of heaven can apply to the reprobate who will eventually fall away.

Apostasy is real and is a grievous offense against the Lord God since it is a open and public disgrace of the Son, committed by a person in a heretofore privileged position of grace.¹⁷ To have a true, covenantal connection with Christ and then to renounce Him and the grace of God as being defiled¹⁸ is a horrific sin which Peter tells is makes the apostate worse than an unbeliever (2 Pet. 2:20).

And this is why Hebrews writes these words of warning. Yet they are not pronouncements of doom but rather exhortations to encouragement. As wicked a sin as apostasy is, God is faithful. Observe Hebrews' next words to his bretheren:

⁹But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. ¹⁰For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. ¹¹And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹²so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

God's promises are ever before us, inherited by faith. And God is faithful to finish the work He began in us.

Appendix - Assurance

In his book on the covenant, Doug Wilson places his chapter on assurance before his chapter on apostasy. He also titled his chapter “Blessed Assurance,” so I must settle for this. But the issues of placement and title are not at issue here. Any discussion of apostasy that overlooks the importance of assurance of salvation is an incomplete work. Therefore we will now turn, in conclusion, to the substance and grounds of a Christian's assurance of salvation.

In the preceding discussion, we looked at Hebrews 6 from ground level, as it were. The basic tenets of the Reformed faith are well known and very well documented. Because of the way they are generally approached, some of these tenets may seem incompatible with what we have concluded about Hebrews 6, particularly with respect to the way in which God's grace works. One may object that the issue of apostasy is in fact a matter of which type of grace one has received. While we affirm this to be true, it must be pointed out that grace can only really be observed by its effects; Recall Jesus' words regarding trees and fruit.

You may have saving grace whereas I am only granted common grace. But as God has not seen fit to bundle these classes of grace with nametags, we must rather look to the crops produced by the rain God has sent upon us as evidence of the preparation of the ground of our hearts. Consider the Westminster Confession's take on assurance:

Although hypocrites and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favor of God, and estate of salvation (which hope of theirs shall perish): yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love Him in sincerity, endeavouring to walk in all good conscience before Him, may, in this life, be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace,and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope shall never make them ashamed.¹⁹

While the pagan may delude himself into thinking he is heaven-bound, his self-confidence will eventually perish, as will his body and his soul. The child of God, on the other hand, may be confident of his salvation. But on what grounds?

This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon a fallible hope; but an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidence of those graces unto which these promises are made, the testimony of the Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God, which Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption.²⁰

It is not by mere wishful thinking or other such human nonsense on which our hope is grounded, but on several things:

1. God's promise: First to note here is that salvation is one of the promises of the covenant. This theme is one of the major ideas in the Old Testament and it is by no means absent in the New. God established a covenant of salvation with His Bride.

2. Inward evidence: This is the point made above. The internal evidences of God's grace, given in accordance with His promises, are manifest in the fruits of our hearts. In this respect, we are much better judges of ourselves than are others, for we are in the best position to see the internal evidences.

3. The testimony of the Spirit: This phrase comes right out of Romans 8:15-16: “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God (KJV).”

Assurance, therefore, is based on the objective promise of God and applied to us by the Spirit, through God's grace, and confirmed to us by the Spirit Himself and the fruits of God's grace within us. Therefore, self-examination is a right and godly activity. Yet this is often misunderstood. I cannot say it better than Doug Wilson, so I will let him say it:

The Scriptures require self-examination. But as we should have also learned, the Word prohibits morbid introspection. What is the difference? Self-examination holds up the mirror of the Word and asks honest questions. Morbid introspection holds up the mirror of self and spews forth doubts.”²¹

Consider the apostle James:

^1:23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. ²⁵But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

So we see that the Word is intended to be used as a mirror. We look into God's Word. James tells us that it reflects what sort of person we are. This is godly behavior. What Wilson calls “morbid introspection” is characterized by self-imposed standards of one sort of law or another. Put another way, godly self-examination is directed outward, away from ourselves, looking to God. Morbid introspection is retreating inward, searching for salvation within our hearts. Wilson concludes:

Objective assurance is found in real faith responding to an objective gospel. Objective assurance is never found through trying to peer into the secret counsels of God, or into the murky recesses of one's own heart. The gospel is preached, the water was applied, the Table is now set. Do you believe? The question is a simple one.²²

Yet even the righteous suffer shaken assurance. Westminster concludes:

True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted; as, by negligence in preserving of it, by falling into some special sin which wounds the conscience and grieves the Spirit; by some sudden or vehement temptation, by God's withdrawing the light of His countenance, and suffering even such as fear Him to walk in darkness and to have no light: yet are they never so utterly destitute of that seed of God, and life of faith, that love of Christ and the brethren, that sincerity of heart, and conscience of duty, out of which, by the operation of the Spirit, this assurance may, in due time, be revived; and by the which, in the mean time, they are supported from utter despair.²³

Notice the two parts to this paragraph. The first speaks of the ways in which one's assurance may be lost and the second affirms that it is never ultimately lost, but rather temporarily incapacitated.

Look at the three things Westminster gives as agents precipitating this temporary loss of assurance:

1. Falling into some special sin

2. Some sudden or vehement temptation

3. God's withdrawing the light of His countenance

All of these are perseverance issues. For the non-elect, any of these three pitfalls can be permanent, from which there is no recovery. Yet the elect will necessarily persevere unto the end, and as Westminster states, for the elect, these conditions are temporary and the believer will experience spiritual resuscitation. But although his salvation was never lost, his assurance was. So while an objective promise of God to us, His people exists, our perseverance is essential, not only to our salvation, but to our assurance. What Christian, in the midst of aggravated sin against God, feels confident in hope of salvation? Even David, a man after God's own heart, lost the joy of his salvation (Ps. 51:12).

In the end, we must fix our eyes on Christ. Though the warning against apostasy is a real one, one of the greatest statements of assurance is contained in the same chapter. Hebrews 6:17-20 encourages us:

¹⁷In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, ¹⁸so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. ¹⁹This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, ²⁰where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

May all God's children rest in the promises of their Father, persevering in the faith they have been given, which faith has its Champion in Christ Jesus.

Amen.

Works Cited

Calvin, John. Vol. 22 of Calvin's Commentaries. Edited and Translated by John Owen. Evansville, IN: Baker Book House, 1979.

Clarke, Adam. Romans – Revelation. Vol. 6 of Clarke's Commentary. New York: Abingdon Press, n.d.

Douglas Wilson, A Short Credo on Justification, <http://www.christkirk.com/DiscussionWithRPCUS/rpcus%20A%20Short%20Credo.html> (15 November 2003).

Henry, Matthew. Acts to Revelation. Vol. 6 of Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, n.d.

Kendall, R. T. Once Saved, Always Saved. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1983.

Owen, John. Vol. 3 of An Exposition of Hebrews. Evansville, IN: Sovereign Grace Publishers, 1960.

Pink, A. W. Vol. 1 of An Exposition of Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1963.

Poole, Matthew. Matthew – Revelation. Vol. 3 of Commentary on the Whole Bible. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1985.

Session of Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church, The, Summary Statement of AAPC's Position on the Covenant, Baptism, and Salvation, September 26, 2002, <http://www.auburnavenue.org/Events_Announcements/Position%20Paper.htm> (15 November 2003).

Wilson, Douglas. “Reformed” is Not Enough. Moscow: Canon Press, 2002.

Last Updated Wednesday, February 07 2007 @ 12:16 PST; 2,356 Hits