Are Some Unable To Be Renewed To Repentance?

[Paul Christensen]

"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, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 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" (Hebrews 6:4-6).

I want to give my take on this Scripture to make a bit clearer exactly who this Scripture refers to.

Right at the outset I want to say that it does not refer to genuine believers who fall into sin while yet retaining their general faith in Christ. I know they need to repent, and the opportunity for repentance is always open to them without restriction of any kind. We need to not only confess our sins but to keep our bodies under subjection by doing what we can to forsake any sinful habit patterns we might have. We need the strength of the Holy Spirit to accomplish it in most cases. That is a given.

The Scripture also doesn't apply to atheists, agnostics and cult members who have never known the truth of the gospel, have never received Christ or partaken of the Holy Spirit. The door to repentance is always open to them.

But there is a class of people where the Scripture does apply and that the door to repentance is firmly closed to them. These are the ones who previously received Christ, got filled with the Holy Spirit, and enjoyed the Christian life for a period of time. Then, knowing full well what they were doing, they decided, or some reason, to reject Christ totally and go back to a sinful, atheistic world-view. According to the Scripture I have quoted, there is no way they can be restored to repentance and faith in Christ again. The door is firmly closed against them. Now some may not be able to accept that because the God they believe in has to accept everyone who desires repentance back into the fold, even though the Scripture says differently.

We see the example of Esau, when he lost his birthright and blessing, sought it earnestly with tears, but to no avail. Because he sold his birthright to Jacob, he had lost it forever. He had it and rejected it. This is the same as a person who receives Christ, and then afterward totally rejects Him and declares himself as an atheist. He fits right into the person described in the Scripture as totally unable to be restored to repentance because he has trodden the blood of Christ underfoot and crucified Christ afresh.

Now, this is the reason why some atheists on Christianforums.com and possibly on this forum, who were once born-again Christians, but for some reason, have rejected Christ and departed the faith altogether and declared that they are atheists, in spite of every attempts to persuade them to see reason and re-affirm faith in Christ, they remain totally adamant in their atheism, to the point of viciously attacking those believers who try to help them see and understand the gospel.

The fact is, they fully understand the gospel, they have already experienced what it is to be a born-again believer filled with the Holy Spirit, but with that full knowledge, they have rejected Christ, trodden His blood underfoot and crucified Him afresh, and so there is no way they can repent; and so they can do no other but argue vehemently against any attempt to persuade them back to faith in Christ.

Even if they do decide to attempt to come back to Christ, and seek Him with remorse and many tears, their hearts cannot be changed, because the door to repentance is firmly closed against them. This is because a person can repent only through the work of the Holy Spirit, and if the Holy Spirit doesn't do it, there is no way they can repent. So although they might desire to undo their tragic rejection of Christ, they can only wait in fear for the judgement time where they will have to face the Lord and give an account for their rejection.

An example of one such atheist is the one who said in a post that they were once a born-again Christian, filled with the Holy Spirit, but because of an incident in their church, they decided to abandon the faith and become an atheist. Another person, who happened to be the Principal of a school I taught at, told me that he was a Spirit-filled Christian once, but because of all the "hypocrites" in the church, he decided to leave it and become and atheist. He told me that he wanted to go to hell, because his wife was also atheist and he wanted to go to where she is going so he wouldn't be separated from her. How very, very sad for him and her! So, according to the Hebrews 6 Scripture, there is little possibility that they will ever be restored to repentance.

 

[Hisman]

Short answer. No.
Long answer - Nooooooo.

 

[Paul Christensen]

Short answer. No.
Long answer - Nooooooo.

I can't decide if you are saying "no, they can't be restored", or "no, I don't agree with you". :-)

 

[Hisman]

I can't decide if you are saying "no, they can't be restored", or "no, I don't agree with you". :)

My personal belief is that I believe no one is past repentance.

I have seen souls destroyed by that verse in Hebrews .
They died tormented by it.

God be praised. H

 

[CharismaticLady]

Short answer. No.
Long answer - Nooooooo.

Can the unpardonable sin be repented of and forgiven?

 

[Paul Christensen]

My personal belief is that I believe no one is past repentance.

I have seen souls destroyed by that verse in Hebrews .
They died tormented by it.

God be praised. H

As much as it is unpleasant to read, that reference in Hebrews is there, is plain and simple, and won't go away; showing that there are some who will never be restored to repentance even if they seek it with tears and pleading.

I know that the mis-application of the reference has caused great harm to many, and that is very sad. I have tried to draw a distinction between a genuine believer falling into sin through the weakness of the flesh (which is the bane of all our lives),while retaining faith in Christ. A Christian believer can succumb to temptation and fall into grievous sin, but because he has not totally rejected Christ he can be restored. The example is the guy in the Corinthian church who committed incest with his mother-in-law (he must have been desperate, because who would want to have sex with their mother-in-law??? :-) ). Although Paul advises the leaders of the church to put the guy out of the church, he indicates that this is so that he will come to his senses, realises what he is doing, and repents so he can be readmitted back into fellowship. Even though the guy is committing incest of a very horrible nature, he is not rejecting Christ so the door is always open for him to repent.

I strongly oppose anyone who says that a person who falls into sin is rejecting Christ. That is absolute nonsense!!! A person rejects Christ when he declares that he is now an atheist and no longer a Christian believer.

So the Hebrews Scripture refers solely to a former Spirit-filled Christian believer who departs from the faith and declares himself an atheist. While a person retains his Christian profession, the Hebrews Scripture definitely does not apply to him at all!!!!!

 

[Paul Christensen]

Can the unpardonable sin be repented of and forgiven?

It is possible that upon coming back to Christ and pleading for mercy, the person could be pardoned and be saved as of by fire, because Jesus promised that those who came to Him, He would not cast out. But they would never be able to be restored to full repentance and regain what they had before.

 

[Seasoned by Grace]

My personal belief is ....................

Hisman my brother in Christ:)

Why do you speak an opinion in God's place, when you can let God speak for HIMSELF??

NLT - Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is LIVING and POWERFUL. It is sharper than any 2 edges sword, cutting between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.."

Our words have no power brother HISMAN, but God's words have all power and are in harmony with ALL of HIS WORD.

2nd Chronicles 7:14, "If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways (REPENT), then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Acts 3:19, "Acts 3:19, "REPENT, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come to you."

1John 1:9, "if we confess (REPENT) our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

God bless you my brother HISMAN :).

 

[Paul Christensen]

That reminds me of a recording I heard of Peter Sellers doing an impression of a British politician. He said, "Like all good members of my party, I just want to say this.........

 

[Waiting on him]

"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, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 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" (Hebrews 6:4-6).

I want to give my take on this Scripture to make a bit clearer exactly who this Scripture refers to.

Right at the outset I want to say that it does not refer to genuine believers who fall into sin while yet retaining their general faith in Christ. I know they need to repent, and the opportunity for repentance is always open to them without restriction of any kind. We need to not only confess our sins but to keep our bodies under subjection by doing what we can to forsake any sinful habit patterns we might have. We need the strength of the Holy Spirit to accomplish it in most cases. That is a given.

The Scripture also doesn't apply to atheists, agnostics and cult members who have never known the truth of the gospel, have never received Christ or partaken of the Holy Spirit. The door to repentance is always open to them.

But there is a class of people where the Scripture does apply and that the door to repentance is firmly closed to them. These are the ones who previously received Christ, got filled with the Holy Spirit, and enjoyed the Christian life for a period of time. Then, knowing full well what they were doing, they decided, or some reason, to reject Christ totally and go back to a sinful, atheistic world-view. According to the Scripture I have quoted, there is no way they can be restored to repentance and faith in Christ again. The door is firmly closed against them. Now some may not be able to accept that because the God they believe in has to accept everyone who desires repentance back into the fold, even though the Scripture says differently.

We see the example of Esau, when he lost his birthright and blessing, sought it earnestly with tears, but to no avail. Because he sold his birthright to Jacob, he had lost it forever. He had it and rejected it. This is the same as a person who receives Christ, and then afterward totally rejects Him and declares himself as an atheist. He fits right into the person described in the Scripture as totally unable to be restored to repentance because he has trodden the blood of Christ underfoot and crucified Christ afresh.

Now, this is the reason why some atheists on Christianforums.com and possibly on this forum, who were once born-again Christians, but for some reason, have rejected Christ and departed the faith altogether and declared that they are atheists, in spite of every attempts to persuade them to see reason and re-affirm faith in Christ, they remain totally adamant in their atheism, to the point of viciously attacking those believers who try to help them see and understand the gospel.

The fact is, they fully understand the gospel, they have already experienced what it is to be a born-again believer filled with the Holy Spirit, but with that full knowledge, they have rejected Christ, trodden His blood underfoot and crucified Him afresh, and so there is no way they can repent; and so they can do no other but argue vehemently against any attempt to persuade them back to faith in Christ.

Even if they do decide to attempt to come back to Christ, and seek Him with remorse and many tears, their hearts cannot be changed, because the door to repentance is firmly closed against them. This is because a person can repent only through the work of the Holy Spirit, and if the Holy Spirit doesn't do it, there is no way they can repent. So although they might desire to undo their tragic rejection of Christ, they can only wait in fear for the judgement time where they will have to face the Lord and give an account for their rejection.

An example of one such atheist is the one who said in a post that they were once a born-again Christian, filled with the Holy Spirit, but because of an incident in their church, they decided to abandon the faith and become an atheist. Another person, who happened to be the Principal of a school I taught at, told me that he was a Spirit-filled Christian once, but because of all the "hypocrites" in the church, he decided to leave it and become and atheist. He told me that he wanted to go to hell, because his wife was also atheist and he wanted to go to where she is going so he wouldn't be separated from her. How very, very sad for him and her! So, according to the Hebrews 6 Scripture, there is little possibility that they will ever be restored to repentance.

Hebrews 6:1 KJV
[1] Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,


Tecarta Bible

 

[Waiting on him]

The scripture posted is not pertaining to loss of salvation.

 

[Waiting on him]

Can the unpardonable sin be repented of and forgiven?

Yes, because there is no unpardonable sin.

 

[Paul Christensen]

The scripture posted is not pertaining to loss of salvation.

Which one...yours or mine?

 

[Paul Christensen]

Yes, because there is no unpardonable sin.

So Hebrews 6:5-6 is not correct then? Therefore if a person who was converted to Christ and filled with the Spirit then totally rejects Christ and embraces atheism, they can be restored to repentance?

 

[Hisman]

Hisman my brother in Christ:)

Why do you speak an opinion in God's place, when you can let God speak for HIMSELF??

.

Brother, because so many people on this forum have an opinion.

And , as in another thread, to save arguments , it is wiser to say IMHO, than ‘light a fire’ and declare “this is what God says” For in truth that is boasting that the said person is declaring that they have a clearer interpretation of what a scripture is saying than the other person does.

Just my opinion :)

 

[Hisman]

So Hebrews 6:5-6 is not correct then? Therefore if a person who was converted to Christ and filled with the Spirit then totally rejects Christ and embraces atheism, they can be restored to repentance?

Hello brother

Have you ever visited many mental institutions ?
They are half full of Christians which have driven themselves over the top crazy, by believing that the verse refers to them . We have counselled so many , but it’s next to impossible to change their mind.
Whatever they did, they have convinced themselves that they are doomed.

(One reason that I do not believe that Christian suicide is unpardonable )

Please be careful with that verse,
Just my opinion.

 

[Paul Christensen]

Hello brother

Have you ever visited many mental institutions ?
They are half full of Christians which have driven themselves over the top crazy, by believing that the verse refers to them . We have counselled so many , but it’s next to impossible to change their mind.
Whatever they did, they have convinced themselves that they are doomed.

(One reason that I do not believe that Christian suicide is unpardonable )

Please be careful with that verse,
Just my opinion.

That is the result of inaccurate interpretation and application of the passage and resultant false teaching of it. But the Apostle to the Hebrews wrote exactly what he meant - that an atheist who was once a converted Christian who subsequently totally rejected Christ cannot be restored to repentance. One doesn't have to be an expert in hermeneutics to know that. All he has to do is employ compehension 101 that a school teacher could teach to 10 year olds.

Some who tend to leave their brains at home when they go to church, interpret the passage to say that atheists who totally reject Christ after being genuinely born again and filled with the Spirit can be restored to repentance, when the clear statement is that they cannot. So they interpret the meaning of the word "impossible" and "cannot" as "possible" and "can".

It is the same as someone seeing the word "black" and interpreting it as "white".

 

[FHII]

1978 or 1979.… I was 8 or 9 years old. A childhood friend of mine and I went to a community center to hang out, play some games and have fun. We ended up wandering into an evangelist's teaching.

He was talking some "crazy stuff" about how recently a guy was drowning and a mysterious guy rescued him and disappeared. He said it was Jesus, and he did it before and still does it.

I looked at my friend, made a funny face and shook my head as to say, "I ain't believing this crazy stuff!". He defied me and shook his head to say he believed it.

By the way, I still believed in Santa Claus at the time, but didn't believe this stuff.

Well, I don't really know if the evangelist was making it up or making a point. In retrospect, I now believe him. But at 9 years old, I rejected the notion that Jesus did such even in that day

To my friend's credit, his belief prompted me to listen and consider it.

At age 33, I decided enough was enough and fully accepted Jesus was who he said he was a d started paying attention. I played around with it between the age of 23 and 32... But at age 33, time stopped for me!

But I rejected him and accepted Santa Claus at age 9. Was I then subject to Hebrews 6? Yes, I was a young child, but I never fully believed until I was an an adult. Yet I heard of him even before age 9.

"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, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 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" (Hebrews 6:4-6).

And that is the thing... I was age 9 but it doesn't matter. A 50 year old still can be a "child". The verse is talking about those who have been on the experience of Christ (for lack of a better term) and then walk away.

At 9 years old I scoffed at God. I don't have that luxury anymore. I know him and am immersed in him. You can be 50 years old and not know him, but heard of him as I did at age 9. But if by 55 you experience him and walk away... Then Heb 6 applies.

Then again, it took m 24 years to finally get it. Perhaps it'll take a 50 year old that long as well.

It the verse is true... Once you've experienced those things, there ain't no going back.

 

[Paul Christensen]

Hello brother

Have you ever visited many mental institutions ?
They are half full of Christians which have driven themselves over the top crazy, by believing that the verse refers to them . We have counselled so many , but it’s next to impossible to change their mind.
Whatever they did, they have convinced themselves that they are doomed.

(One reason that I do not believe that Christian suicide is unpardonable )

Please be careful with that verse,
Just my opinion.

As a Family Court registrar I would go with the judge when he heard applications from those who were committed to the local mental health facility to be declared healthy and able to be released.

We had one patient who thought he was Jesus, and blessed everyone at the hearing when he walked in. Obviously it was shown that he was not yet cured and still not ready for release from the facility.

 

[Paul Christensen]

1978 or 1979.… I was 8 or 9 years old. A childhood friend of mine and I went to a community center to hang out, play some games and have fun. We ended up wandering into an evangelist's teaching.

He was talking some "crazy stuff" about how recently a guy was drowning and a mysterious guy rescued him and disappeared. He said it was Jesus, and he did it before and still does it.

I looked at my friend, made a funny face and shook my head as to say, "I ain't believing this crazy stuff!". He defied me and shook his head to say he believed it.

By the way, I still believed in Santa Claus at the time, but didn't believe this stuff.

Well, I don't really know if the evangelist was making it up or making a point. In retrospect, I now believe him. But at 9 years old, I rejected the notion that Jesus did such even in that day

To my friend's credit, his belief prompted me to listen and consider it.

At age 33, I decided enough was enough and fully accepted Jesus was who he said he was a d started paying attention. I played around with it between the age of 23 and 32... But at age 33, time stopped for me!

But I rejected him and accepted Santa Claus at age 9. Was I then subject to Hebrews 6? Yes, I was a young child, but I never fully believed until I was an an adult. Yet I heard of him even before age 9.




And that is the thing... I was age 9 but it doesn't matter. A 50 year old still can be a "child". The verse is talking about those who have been on the experience of Christ (for lack of a better term) and then walk away.

At 9 years old I scoffed at God. I don't have that luxury anymore. I know him and am immersed in him. You can be 50 years old and not know him, but heard of him as I did at age 9. But if by 55 you experience him and walk away... Then Heb 6 applies.

Then again, it took m 24 years to finally get it. Perhaps it'll take a 50 year old that long as well.

It the verse is true... Once you've experienced those things, there ain't no going back.

No. Hebrews 6 doesn't apply to you at all.

It applies to a converted believer, filled with the Holy Spirit, having a full knowledge of the the things of God and what Jesus did for him on the cross, and had personally experienced the blessings and good things that go with a genuine Christian commitment, who then decides, fully knowing what he is doing, to totally reject Christ, turn his back on Him and God, and declares to the world that he is now a confirmed atheist.

Was that you? I doubt it. What 9 year old would have that level of knowledge of Christian things. When I was 9 I knew there was a bloke called Jesus but that was about all.

A guy can go to a church, attend for a while without making a personal commitment to Christ, decided that all Christians are hypocrites and walk away and decide to become an atheist. Hebrews 6 cannot apply to him because he was never converted to Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit and was never long enough at church to have the depth of knowledge to know exactly what he is doing to deliberately and knowingly tread the blood of Christ underfoot and crucify the Lord afresh.

It is the reason why Judas Iscariot could never have repented after denying Christ. He was a chosen disciple of Christ, and was with Him for three years, receiving all the teaching, seeing all the miracles, seeing the fulfilment of the OT prophecies about Jesus. So his betrayal of Christ was the worst act of treachery and rejection of Christ in the whole of history. He had intense remorse and guilt but it was too late, and all he could do was to kill himself and send himself straight to hell.

Doesn't the Scripture say that foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child? Do you really think that at 9 years old you would have had the knowledge that Judas had after he spent three years in close fellowship with Jesus?

A 9 year old's brain, intellectual ability, and emotions are not fully developed until the age of 25, so even if you rejected Christ as a 9 year old, you could not have known clearly what you were doing, and the implications of it.