HEBREWS 6:4-8

THIS WEEK’S BLOG IS THE FINAL CONCLUSION OF MY 10-PART STUDY OF HEBREWS 6:4-8, ASSUREDLY THE MOST DIFFICULT PASSAGE IN THE BOOK OF HEBREWS…

^NAS  Hebrews 6:4-8 For 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, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ and 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. ⁷ For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; ⁸ but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

AS I HAVE BEEN DOING EACH WEEK IN PARTS 1-9, MAINLY DUE TO THE DIFFICULTY OF THE PASSAGE, I AM INCLUDING THIS PARAGRAPH FROM THE BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY, A SOLID. CONSISTENT, CONSERVATIVE SOURCE THAT I HAVE USED ALMOST DAILY FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS. MY ONLY DISCLAIMER IN REGARDS TO HEBREWS IS THE B.K.C. WRITERS BELIEVE THE PASSAGE WAS WRITTEN TO CHRISTIANS; I MOST RESPECTFULLY DO NOT. I BELIEVE IT WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN TO JEWS WHO WERE CLOSE TO BECOMING CHRISTIANS BUT WHO WERE IN GRAVE DANGER OF FALLING INTO APOSTASY. OF COURSE, CHRISTIANS CAN ALSO BENEFIT FROM THE WARNING THOUGH THEY ARE IN NO DANGER OF ACTUALLY LOSING THEIR SALVATION.

6:4–6. This passage has been interpreted in four ways: (1) that the danger of a Christian losing his salvation is described, a view rejected because of biblical assurances that salvation is a work of God which cannot be reversed; (2) that the warning is against mere profession of faith short of salvation, or tasting but not really partaking of salvation (The New Scofield Reference Bible, p. 1315); (3) that hypothetically if a Christian could lose his salvation, there is no provision for repentance (The Ryrie Study Bible, p. 1736); (4) that a warning is given of the danger of a Christian moving from a position of true faith and life to the extent of becoming disqualified for further service (1 Cor. 9:27) and for inheriting millennial glory. The latter is the interpretation adopted here. The entirety of these verses constitutes a single sentence in Greek as well as in the English of the NIV. The central assertion is: It is impossible for those who have … to be brought back to repentance. Following the words “those who” is a description of the persons whom the writer affirmed cannot possibly be brought back to a state of repentance. The description he gave shows that he had Christians in mind.

6:7–8. An illustration from nature now drives home the writer’s point. Whenever rain-soaked ground is properly productive, it receives the blessing of God. Here the writer compared the spiritual privileges he had just enumerated (vv. 4–5) to a heavenly rain descending on the life of a Christian. Their effect should be a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed—a reference perhaps to the way other Christians benefit from the lives of fruitful believers (cf. v. 10). Such productivity brings divine blessings on fruitful believers’ lives.

But suppose the land that has received this “rain” is unproductive? Though the NIV introduces the word land for a second time in verse 8, the original text seems to relate the statement directly to the “land” mentioned in verse 7. A clearer rendering would be: “But when (or, if) it produces thorns and thistles.…” The point is that when a plot of ground that has been rained on is productive, God blesses it. But if it only produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless (adokimos, “disapproved”; cf. 1 Cor. 9:27) and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. The metaphor recalls God’s original curse on the ground (Gen. 3:17–19) and suggests that an unproductive Christian life ultimately (“in the end”) falls under the severe condemnation of God and is subject to His blazing wrath and judgment (cf. Heb. 10:27).

Naturally the reference to “burned” has caused many to think of hell, but there is nothing in the text to suggest this. God’s anger against His failing people in the Old Testament is often likened to the burning of fire (cf., e.g., Isa. 9:18–19; 10:17). Even this writer could say, with intense metaphorical effect, “Our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). In fact, to think of hell here is to betray inattention to the imagery employed by the author. The burning of a field to destroy the rank growth it had produced was a practice known in ancient times. Its aim was not the destruction of the field itself (which, of course, the fire could not affect), but the destruction of the unwanted produce of the field. Thereafter the field might be serviceable for cultivation.

By choosing this kind of metaphor, the author showed that he did not totally despair of those who took the backward step he was warning against. To be sure, at least prior to severe divine judgment, all efforts to recall such people to Christian faith are futile (6:4–6), but it cannot be said that the impossibility applies in an absolute sense to God Himself. What the author probably meant is that nothing can deter apostates from the fiery retribution toward which they are headed, but once their “land” has been burned it is another matter. Paul believed that those who “have shipwrecked their faith” could profit by the retributive experiences to which they were exposed as a result (1 Tim. 1:19–20). But of course the writer of Hebrews was reticent about the issue of subsequent restoration. That some might not respond to the chastisement was perhaps in mind, but he was mainly concerned about warning against the course of action which leads to such calamitous divine judgment. Nevertheless his deft choice of this agricultural image serves to disclose that the “burning” is both temporary and essentially hopeful. – The Bible Knowledge Commentary

VERSES 7-8 BRING THE PASSAGE AND MY 10-PART STUDY OF VERSES 4-6 TO A CLOSE…                                                                                                                

SEVERAL TIMES IN THE PAST, TEACHING THROUGH THIS GREAT BOOK AT THE SEMINARY AND PREACHING THROUGH IT AT MY FORMER CHURCH, I WAS STRUCK, AS I’M SURE MANY OF YOU WERE, BY THE CLOSE SIMILARITY OF THIS PASSAGE TO THE WELL-KNOWN PARABLE OF THE SOWER (PROBABLY MORE ACCURATELY “THE PARABLE OF THE SOILS” IN MATTHEW 13…

^NAS  Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 On that day Jesus went out of the house, and was sitting by the sea. ² And great multitudes gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole multitude was standing on the beach. ³ And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴ and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ “And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶ “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ “And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸ “And others fell on the good soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. ⁹ “He who has ears, let him hear.”

¹⁸ “Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. ²⁰ “And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. ²² “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²³ “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

THE DIFFERENT SOILS COULD, I THINK OBVIOUSLY, BE COMPARED TO THE ORIGINAL READERS IN HEBREWS 6…

“THE PARABLE HAS THREE MAIN ELEMENTS: THE SOWER, THE SEED, AND THE SOILS. THE SOWER REPRESENTS THE LORD, THE SEED REPRESENTS THE WORD OF GOD, AND THE SOILS REPRESENT THE FOUR CATEGORIES OF HEARERS, EACH WITH A DIFFERENT RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD. 13:3 – In Jesus’ day, sowers would drape a bag of seed over their shoulder, and as they walked up and down the often-uncultivated furrows, they would throw handfuls of seed across the ground. Preaching the truth of God is like taking God’s seed – the Word of God – and scattering it everywhere. 13:4 – The wayside soil represents the calloused heart. In Palestine at this time, narrow ribbons of ground divided the fields. These ribbons were rights of ways, traveled so frequently that their surfaces were as hard as concrete and the seed could not penetrate the soil. 13:5, 6 – The stony ground depicts the casual heart. The stony ground describes not a field filled with rocks but an area of limestone covered by a thin layer of dirt. The seed would fall and immediately take root, but because their roots could not go deep enough to draw moisture from the ground, the plants would wither in the heat. In a similar way, some people appear to be converted and seem to experience explosive growth, but soon fall back into old ways of living. Jesus is not speaking of losing one’s salvation; He says instead that such people never had salvation to begin with. Instead they had only a shallow, emotional experience. 13:7 – The thorny ground represents the crowded heart. This soil has weeds that eventually choke out the seed. The soil has four kinds of weeds: the deceitfulness of riches, the cares of this world, the lust of other things, …

^NAS  Mark 4:19 and the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

and the pleasures of this life…

^NAS  Luke 8:14 “And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

The enemy is not internal but external. The hearts of the third set of hearers are divided. Their hearts are crowded.

13:8 – The good ground represents the converted heart, i.e., the person who hears the Word, allows its truth to sink in, and is genuinely saved. Just as there are three levels of not believing the Word of God (13:4-7), there are also three levels of productivity in the hearts of those who believe. Some fruit a hundredfold, some produce fruit sixtyfold, and some produce thirtyfold. But Jesus presents no category where a true believer produces fruit ‘zerofold,’” – David Jeremiah

LET ME INSERT A WORD HERE ABOUT THE BOOKS I AM USING IN MY HEBREWS BLOGS. I currently have in my personal library more than three dozen commentaries on the book of Hebrews, not including electronic sources. Most all of these are seminary-level books academically-recognized as first-rate exegetical accounts in their field. As you might easily imagine, when I write in the limited space and time of my weekly blogs, I can only quote from a small percentage of these expert authors at a time, even though I actually read each week from a number more. Consequently, I am regularly benefitting from men – and in some cases women – who have not yet been acknowledged by me. One such author and expert – certainly we would agree that a world-renowned, highly educated, paragon of faith who has been preaching and teaching the Bible for more than forty years qualifies as an expert – is DAVID JEREMIAH. Of course, Pastor Jeremiah needs no introduction to most all Christians, but I especially want to single his name out in this special paragraph of acknowledgement and appreciation, not only because of his almost unparalleled credentials as a man of God and source of validation for my blogs, but also because of reasons very personal to me. Excluding Merry’s and my four wonderful years with Pastor Matt here at Barabbas Rd., for all but the few early years of my Christian experience, David Jeremiah has been my Pastor. Even during the fifteen years I myself was privileged to be a pastor, I acknowledged David Jeremiah as my Pastor, listening or watching each week without fail to his sermons. As if that were not enough to warrant this special mention, Pastor Jeremiah was the one who ordained me as a minister of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

BACK TO HEBREWS 6:4-8 AND MY CONCLUSION OF THIS VERY IMPORTANT PASSAGE…

OUT OF ALL THE PARABLES IN THE BIBLE, I FIND IT INTERESTINGLY INSTRUCTIVE THAT THE WRITER TO THE HEBREWS CHOSE TO CONCLUDE HIS HARSH CONDEMNATION OF 6:4-8 WITH THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER. “Verses 7-8 tell us two things. Firstly, we see that the fault does not lie in the gospel ‘rain’ but in the nature of the ‘soil’ on which it falls. This, of course, is essentially the message of the ‘sower’ (though it is seed that falls, not rain). Gospel truth is always health-giving and capable of bearing fruit. But what happens depends on the hearts of those who hear it. In some cases, the heart is good ground, prepared by grace to receive the message of salvation. The result is blessing from God.

“In other cases the same rain falls upon soil that harbours seeds of thorns and briars, though this is not at first apparent. Only as the rain germinates the residual seed, do we see the unhappy result. This is a picture of apostasy, which is thus revealed as an inherent condition. The apostate was never going to bear fruit to eternal life, whatever initial profession he may have made. Rather…

^NAS  1 Peter 2:8 and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

To summarize, therefore, THE APOSTATE IS NOT A TRUE BELIEVER WHO HAS FOUND THE WAY TOO HARD, BUT A PERSON WHO WAS ALWAYS DESTINED TO FALL AWAY.

The second lesson to be learned is that apostates will be severely judged. The ground that yields only thorns and briars, says the Writer, is rejected, being fit only for burning. It is, in effect, cursed by God. So also is the apostate. THIS, ULTIMATELY, IS WHY REPENTANCE IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR SUCH PEOPLE. THE APOSTATE CAN KNOW NO REPENTANCE BECAUSE GOD HAS SIMPLY CLOSED THE DOOR. REPENTANCE IS GOD’S GIFT, BUT HE WILL NOT GIVE IT TO SUCH PEOPLE.” – Andrews

^NAS  Acts 11:18 And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”

IN CLOSING, THERE IS ONE RELEVANT MATTER OF INTERPRETATION I REGRET NOT COVERING IN MORE DETAIL IS THE QUESTION OF THE WORD “IF” IN VERSE 8. YOU WILL NOTE THE WORD “IF” IN YOUR ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS…

^NAS  Hebrews 6:8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

WITHOUT HAVING TO GET TOO TECHNICAL, ALLOW ME TO SAY THAT MOST SCHOLARS BELIEVE THE WORD “IF” IS WARRANTED EVEN THOUGH THE ACTUAL WORD DOES NOT APPEAR IN THE GREEK TEXT OF VERSE 8. BRIEFLY, THIS IS BECAUSE THE PARTICIPLE IN THIS VERSE CAN BE SEEN AS CONDITIONAL. HENCE, AS COCKERILL NOTES, “THE APOSTASY OF THOSE WHO GIVE EVERY EVIDENCE OF BEING FAITHFUL IS POSSIBLE.” IT MAY BE UNFAIR OF ME TO SAY WHAT I’M GOING TO SAY THIS IN SUCH A HIT-AND-RUN MANNER BUT I SEE THIS AS FURTHER SUPPORT FOR THE READERS BEING CLOSE-BUT-NOT-BELIEVING JEWS WHO WERE IN DANGER OF FALLING AWAY FROM THE GRACIOUS ENTICEMENTS THE LORD HAD GIVEN THEM (VV. 4-6).

FROM COCKERILL’S FINAL WORDS ON THE PASSAGE ANOTHER KEY POINT, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE JEWISHNESS OF THE READERS…

“MANY HAVE NOTICED THE ECHOES OF DEUTERONOMY 11:26-28 IN HEBREWS 6:7-8…

^NAS  Deuteronomy 11:26-28 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: ²⁷ the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today; ²⁸ and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.

“MOSES PROMISED THE PEOPLE THAT, IF THEY WOULD ‘HEAR’ GOD’S COMMANDS, THEY WOULD RECEIVE A ‘BLESSING’ (CF. HEB. 6:7). IF THEY REFUSED TO ‘HEAR,’ THEY WOULD RECEIVE A ‘CURSE’ (CF. HEB. 6:8). Remember the importance of ‘hearing’ in 3:1-4:1, and the pastor’s accusation at the beginning of this larger section that these receiving the sermon were ‘dull of hearing’…

^NAS  Hebrews 5:11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

“THE ‘THORNS AND THISTLES’ THAT EVOKE GOD’S CURSE IN HEB 6:8 ARE REMINISCENT OF THE ‘THORNS AND THISTLES’ GIVEN AS PART OF HIS CURSE IN GEN 3:17-18…

^NAS  Genesis 3:17-18 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. ¹⁸ “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you shall eat the plants of the field;

“IT IS LESS LIKELY, BUT POSSIBLE, THAT THE HEARERS REMEMBERED SODOM AND GOMORRAH, THOSE CITIES IN A WELL-WATERED PLAIN THAT WERE THE PREMIERE EXAMPLE OF GOD’S JUDGMENT BY FIRE…

^NAS  Genesis 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere– this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah– like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.

^NAS  Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven,

“THE IMPRECISION OF THESE ALLUSIONS SUGGESTS THAT THE PASTOR IS NOT EVOKING THE SPECIFIC CONTEXT OF ANY OF THESE PASSAGES. HOWEVER, THESES SCRIPTURAL ECHOES FILL THIS PARABLE IN HEBREWS 6 WITH LANGUAGE OF THE OLD COVENANT – THE LANGUAGE OF OBEDIENCE AND DISOBEDIENCE, BLESSING AND CURSING, LIFE AND DEATH. ALL OF THIS REINFORCES THE ETERNAL CONSEQUENCES OF APOSTASY, BECAUSE HEBREWS UNDERSTANDS THESE PROMISED BLESSINGS TO BE OF ETERNAL PROPORTIONS. THE MORE IMMERSED ONE IS IN THE LANGUAGE OF SCRIPTURE, THE MORE ONE WILL BE AROUSED TO ALARM AND CHALLENGED TO OBEDIENCE BY THE PASTOR’S WARNING AGAINST SQUANDERED GRACE.”                                                                                                                                        

WHAT A PASSAGE!                                                                                             

– Professor Thomas A. Rohm