Bring them back to Repentance? IMPOSSIBLE

This message in Hebrews 6:4 to 6, can be a warning to 3 people:

1. Those who ‘turned away from God”;
2. Those who have not ‘turned away from God and;
3. Those who know people who “turned from God”.

 It stands as a warning to us. 

Have we heard God’s voice and trembled? I don’t mean fear that keeps us from coming to God, but the kind of fear that is spoken in Proverbs as “the foundation of wisdom.”

We fondly pray that God would speak to us and hear His voice but do we really know what we are praying? It reminded me of the Israelites who were at the foot of Mount Sinai. When they heard God’s thunderous voice, they did not dare come nearer and asked Moses to speak in their behalf (Deuteronomy 5:23-27). To quote Francis Chan,

“When you pick up your Bible, you are actually holding something better than a voice coming out of a cloud on the top of a mountain.”

So this warning must really create a Holy fear in us that will keep us from turning away from God. It also gives emphasis on to whom it applies:

• Enlightened- Those who have been once blind but now can see. People which the veil have been removed from their spiritual mind and eyes (2 Corinthians 3:16)
• Experienced (the good things of heaven)- people who have also not just seen God in their lives but those who’ve seen also His goodness and experienced it firsthand the blessings.
• Shared (the Holy Spirit)- in other words, they have received the Holy Spirit and even manifested having received and shared in the Holy Spirit.
• Tasted (the goodness of the Word of God and power of the Age to come)- I like how the Amplified version puts it: “and have tasted and consciously experienced”. They were not fooled or blind, they were consciously ‘tasted’ or ‘savored’ God’s Word and His power.

“...and who then turned away from God.”

My heart breaks reading those words.

There were many commentaries that says this passage is difficult to interpret. If you read it in the Amplified version, here is the footnote in verse 6:

Why does the writer say ‘it’s impossible’? 

Doesn’t he seem too extreme? Really? 

No chance at all?

As the footnote says, there are 3 possible things going on in this bible verse:

- We might lose our salvation if we turn away;

- We can’t lose our salvation because its impossible experienced the 4 things in verse 5 or;

- We can’t lose something we’ve never had in the first place since the turning away means we were never born again in the first place.

So which is true from the 3?

As I studied the passages, I am leaning to arguments 2 and 3. I’ll explain both.

Impossibility of losing our Salvation

It’s Impossible to bring someone to repentance especially if you have really repented in the first place and experienced the 4 things. Just think about it. 

If you’re eyes and mind were really unveiled, you’d really see what your past and old life for what it is- empty and dead (1 Peter 1:18-20) and know that Christ's death ransomed you to give you an abundant life. 

Oh! If you knew you don’t have anything to return to in the old life, why and who on earth would leave their new life in Christ?

Another is the truth that once you experience something- here is a positive one- you carry that experience and the impact changes you that you are never the same again. Doubt would not creep anymore when you don’t just see the promises of God in your life but even experience it! So it’s impossible! It’s impossible to turn away from God!

How about having and sharing in the Holy Spirit?

According to the scriptures, the Holy Spirit gives us a foretaste of the future glory (Romans 8:23), and through that tasting and even sharing, God guarantees that He has identified us as His own and the Holy Spirit is our ‘first installment’ of everything that he has promised (2 Corinthians 1:22).

Yes, I know firsthand how difficult living for Christ with the toxicity in the world. Especially when our very human sinful nature is always hostile to God and will never obey God’s laws and it never will Romans 8:7). But remember that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave after 3 days is the same Spirit that lives on those who believed and received Him.

So why turn your back on that? Why leave when you have such an inheritance the world could never give?

Here is where my heartaches the more- because those who turned away from God made a deliberate, conscious and wide eye opened decision. They weren’t blind- they knew what they were doing. That’s why in the same verse 6, those who did that decision is like they themselves are nailing Jesus at the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.

The writer of Hebrews says that it’s impossible to bring them back to repentance because they knew what they were doing. You won’t be the one changing them- it’s going to be God and their decision to repent or change their mind.

Speaking of repentance, we go to the last argument.

You don’t lose what you never had

That seems like a situation in a relationship?

Actually it has a point. How can you lose your relationship with God when you were not in a relationship with Him in the first place? Same with our Salvation.

‘Repentance’ means a change of mind, heart, attitude, actions and words from a deep understanding that our sins is a direct offense towards God and accompanied with remorse or feeling of sorrow (Godly Sorrow, 2 Corinthians 7:9-10).

If we have really repented, turning away from God should never cross our mind because its already changed! Here is another footnote from the Amplified version of verses 4 to 6:

To drive a nail on this topic, 1 John 2:19 it confirms this;

“These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us."

For those who have not turned from God, make sure your conversion is geniune- make it as real as it can in Christ Jesus. Not 'superficial'. Not out of emotions and feelings that go up and down but out of revelation. Not something outwardly appearing as a Christian but as a life fully surrendered to God inside out. 

To those who have turned already, if Peter could come back after denying Jesus 3 times after being with Him for 3 years; Serving with Him, eating with Him and witnessing all those miracles signs and wonder? Why can't you repent and come back to Him? Is that sin so big that you fail to see that His love is greater still? Why be intimidated with people when you and I are just the same- broken, sinful and forgiven. 

Nothing is Impossible with God

I have so much faith in God that even it says in Hebrews that it’s impossible to bring them back to repentance; I believe that He alone can.