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Turn Away from Turning Away
Hebrews 6:4-12
Every now and again, God’s gracious to warn us to turn away from our sins and backslidings. In Pilgrim’s Progress, when Christian first left for the Celestial City, he came to the Interpreter’s house. There he learned important truths. In one dark room he saw a caged man. Christian learned he was once a thriving follower in everyone’s eyes, headed for the Celestial City. But now he was trapped by unbelief. Why? He stopped watching and being sober. He gave into his lusts and sin. He hardened his heart so much he grieved the Spirit and wouldn’t repent. Why did he give Christ up? He did it for lust, pleasure, and profit. And now, they bit and gnawed him like a burning worm. That day, Christian learned to watch and be sober; to escape such misery.
At the end of his journey, he saw a man bound with seven cords, being dragged into a dark alley by seven devils. It looked like Mr Turn-away! While he didn’t get a good look, a label on his back read - “Empty professor, damnable apostate.” It was him! Christian first saw him on the way to the Celestial City. Turn-away was running the opposite way. That’s how he saw the label. Many urged him to return to the Celestial City but he wouldn’t be persuaded. He gnashed his teeth, stomped the ground; resolved to return to his hometown - Apostasy. At the wicket gate, Evangelist put his hands on him and offered to help. But he refused. In fact, he was so desperate to escape, he jumped the wall. He didn’t turn away from turning away. Today, we come to a topic that’s hard to talk about - turning away from Christ, or apostasy. Last week, we saw complacency. Complacency unchecked can turn into apostasy - turning away from Christ. If we don’t check our faith, we may never discover our unbelief until it’s too late. Let’s examine apostasy in three questions. Firstly, who apostatizes? Secondly, what is apostasy? Thirdly, how to fight apostasy?
Firstly, who apostatizes? Verses 4-6 say - “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” This is a long sentence. But the main clause is the beginning of verse 4 and the beginning of verse 6 - “For it is impossible to renew unto repentance those who fall away.” Falling away means to fall away from the faith. But first we ask who are the ones who fall away? There are five descriptions that show us they once followed Christ. Verse 4 says they know the gospel - “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened.” They had knowledge of the truth, they were enlightened. They knew the Apostle’s Creed. There was sure knowledge. There was no confusion in their minds as to what the gospel was. But being enlightened is different from believing the gospel. Sure knowledge does not equate to firm confidence. In the parable of the sower, the rocky and thorny soil both received the gospel with gladness but fell away. And where can a person be enlightened? Among God’s people.
Verse 4 also says they tasted the gift of salvation - “For it is impossible for those who have tasted of the heavenly gift.” To taste the gift of salvation is not the same as to eat or to drink. Jesus said “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever.” He also gives living water - “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” But these didn’t eat or drink - they only tasted. They just sampled Jesus - but never partook of him. And where is salvation talked about? In church. They knew the gospel, tasted salvation, and also partook in spiritual things. Verse 4 - “For it is impossible for those who were made partakers of the Holy Ghost.” Literally, “having been made sharers of holy spirit.” It doesn’t mean they possessed THE Holy Spirit, but were engaged in spiritual things like prayer, service, worship, etc. Such blessings take place in the Christian community. And they also tasted the Word. Verse 5 - “For it is impossible for those have tasted the good word of God.” Once again, it’s only tasted. They benefited from and enjoyed the Word. Maybe they even had deep doctrinal discussions. But unbelievers can be moved by the Word. Mark 6:20 describes how Herod feared John the Baptizer. He followed him and heard him gladly. But he never repented. After tasting the Word, he beheaded John. And where do we hear preaching? In church. And lastly, they witnessed miracles. Verse 5 - “For it is impossible for those who have tasted the powers of the world to come.” The word “power” is translated as “miracles” in Hebrews 2:4. In those days, God authenticated the Word by signs and wonders and these Hebrew Christians saw them. But signs and wonders do nothing for hardened hearts. The Pharisees saw miracles but said Jesus did it by the power of the devil. They were enlightened, tasted the gift of salvation, experienced spiritual things, found the word good, and witnessed miracles, but they blasphemed the Holy Spirit. Where do people experience these things? In church.
That’s their identity. They were in church, but aren’t true believers. Like the mixed multitude in the wilderness, they’re in the covenant community, but leave. A clue is given in the text. All along the writer urged the believers. Last week we saw - for when for the time you ought to be teachers, you need someone teach you again. We need to move beyond the basic principles. In verse 9 here, he calls them beloved. But then in verses 4-8, he refers to those who had fallen away as they. It’s impossible for those who were enlightened, those who tasted salvation and the word, those who partook in spiritual things, if they fall away for them to repent. Those who departed may have professed faith, were baptized, were teachers, attended fellowship groups, or even served in session. But they were no push. On one hand, we should be surprised, but on the other hand, we shouldn’t. The men of the Exodus had the mark of the covenant, saw miracles, praised God and received the law. Demas was a missionary. Simon the Magician was baptized. Judas was an apostle! Our Lord also said some would say to him, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?” Apostasy happens when those in church fail to push forward in looking to Christ, but give into their sins and unbelief.
Now to be clear, true believers will never fall away. Jude 24 says that God is able to keep us from falling. The Lord Jesus also said no man is able to pluck us out of the Father’s hand. We teach once saved always saved. When we’re saved, we’re new creatures, the old is gone, behold the new has come. We no longer have a heart of stone, but a heart of flesh. Our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. We’re delivered from darkness into light. To be unsaved, if that’s a thing, would be complicated. How do you reverse all that? Does God place us back into the kingdom of darkness or perform spiritual heart surgery to return the heart of stone, and give us back our sinful nature? God’s in the business of saving, he doesn’t unsave.
We’ve seen who does it; now secondly, we see what is apostasy? We see its definition. The Greek word for “fall away” occurs only here in Hebrews, but is used in the Septuagint several times. Ezekiel 18:24 - “But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live?” It’s a turning away from righteousness. And a commitment to sin and abomination. There’s no desire to repent, but a willful desire to pursue sin and unbelief. That’s apostasy - a deliberate and conscious effort to reject Christ; by doctrine, life, or both. And by so doing, as verse 6 says, they’re crucifying the Son of God afresh and putting him to an open shame. Meaning, if after seeing and hearing the gospel, experiencing Christian blessings, a man turns his back on Christ, he’s effectively aligning himself with those who rejected Christ, crucifying and mocking him.
Essentially, the apostate doesn’t treasure salvation or sanctification - “Christ can’t save me or remove my sin!” To be sure, apostasy is not just denying Christ in doctrine, it’s also denying him in life. Note that Judas never outrightly denied Christ. No, Peter did that three times! Judas is apostate because by his life, he denied Christ. He hand Christ to his enemies and betraying him with a kiss. There are those in churches who don’t deny the gospel (but may even defend it), but betray Christ by giving themselves over to sins and idolatry. Don’t be mistaken. Denial of Christ is not just by profession but performance. By his performance, Judas effectively crucified Christ. Yes, the Romans hammered the nails, but his crime was worse; because he did it with perfect knowledge while the soldiers did it in ignorance. He crucifies the Son of God shamelessly - “I know he’s king but I’m going to disobey. I don’t want him as my king.” That’s why Jesus said the judgement of Tyre and Sidon, Sodom and Gomorrah, will pale in comparison to the woe of Bethsaida and Chorazin.
Now to be clear, apostasy is not falling into sin. All believers fall into sin; some even grievously. But if we’re fearful and desire to repent, working to bear fruits of repentance, that’s clear indication we’ve not fallen away. So it’s not a falling into sin. If lying causes us to lose our salvation, then Abraham and Rahab are lost. Noah and Lot are lost because of drunkenness. David and Judah are lost because of adultery. And if we could fall away from denying Christ, then Peter’s lost because he did it three times. But apostasy is a falling away that’s never characterized by repentance. It’s deliberately conscious in profession and/or performance. It’s blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
And we see its results. Verse 4 says it’s impossible for those who fall away, to be brought again unto repentance. Apostates won’t repent. That’s how you know they’re apostates. Now, to be clear, they never repented before. They may have exhibited sorrow - like King Saul. But let’s be clear. And this is so important. Sorrow doesn’t equate to repentance. Saul was sorrowful because he got caught. On the other hand, King David was sorrowful and repented. He cried, “against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil.” This brokenness and contrition showed true repentance. On the other hand, King Saul’s sorrow was still self-centered. We’re told it’s impossible for them to truly repent. The word is “impossible.” In Greek, it’s the first word in the paragraph to emphasize the main emphasis of the sentence. “Impossible to repent for those who fall away!” Why? They’ve tasted and hated. They won’t want it again. They’ve experienced fake sorrow, so they can’t generate it again, much less genuine sorrow. It’s impossible! The gospel is bad news to them. Holiness is filthy. And if salvation is dependent on repentance, which it is, then the one who doesn’t repent won’t be saved. Impossible means impossible. It can’t mean anything else. Hebrews 6:18 - “it is impossible for God to lie.” Hebrews 11:6 - “without faith it is impossible to please God.” Impossible can’t mean anything else but impossible. Jesus said - all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, except the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Thus verses 7-8 speaks of their judgment. From all the blessings they experienced, they should’ve been better. They should’ve been like ground which soaks up rain and bears forth fruit. It’s blessed. Instead, they were like fields that soaked up the same rain, but bore forth thorns and thistles. Such useless land will be burned. The author uses this illustration to explain a simple truth - if you reject God’s blessing, there’ll be condemnation. The greater the blessing, the greater the condemnation. Now, the question we may ask is this - we all know someone who’s left church and denied the faith by life or doctrine. The church’s duty, though hard, and often overdue, is to declare their apostasy - as far as we can tell. Will they return? As I’ve said before - where there’s life there’s hope. And we know there are those who return. They’re not apostates. It’s happened before. 2 Corinthians records the repentance of a man declared apostate. Likewise, some of you here returned after years away. Your denial was like Peter’s, not like Judas. But there are those who’ll never return. Some may live amongst us. Only Jesus knew who Judas was. And at the same time, only the Lord Jesus knew that Peter would repent after denying him three times. Time and crisis will show.
But how do we fight apostasy? That’s the last question. The author switches from speaking about them to you. Verse 9 - “But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.” He comforts, assures, and exhorts the believers to press on in their walk with Christ. He didn’t know if there were any apostates in the church, but he urged all of them to do better, to bear fruits of salvation - not briers and thorns - but fruits. So to show what is genuine Christianity, he compared it to the false article. Like comparing diamonds with crystal. Diamonds are a 10 on the Mohs scale while crystals are a 7. Crystals can be smashed, but not diamonds. Side by side, you can see the superior article. Having seen what is apostasy, he shows what proves salvation. And he lists 2 here. To fight apostasy, we must love the brethren continually. Verse 10 - “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” In those days, Christians were persecuted. They sought refuge with each other. But if you gave refuge, you endanger yourself. Like in Nazi occupied Holland, many sympathized with the Jews, but chose not to help, because they’d get in trouble. But Corrie ten Boom and her family, opened their homes and gave them refuge. This shows faith, like Rahab, hiding the spies. These Hebrew Christians were afraid, but they chose to minister to suffering Christians in difficulty. And this marked them out as Christians, fit for persecution. But they were assured that God is not unrighteous - he notices a love that risks itself and will reward it.
But not just love. To fight apostasy, we must hope in Christ tenaciously. Verses 11-12 - “And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Beloved brethren, we must tenaciously hope in Christ to the end. In our recent elections, many threw up their hands in defeat, proclaiming disappointment in all political parties. And that may very well be true for many people. But there’s hope in Christ - our only hope. Our lives aren’t easy - we may be tired of pushing on. But we must hope to the end. All wrongs will be righted, all sins forgiven, all victory won. God never short changes us. So now, don’t give into unbelief and unholiness. Don’t be slothful. Imitate the examples of others, who through faith and patience have inherited the promises. Compare Lot and Abraham, Esau and Jacob, Saul and David, Judas and Peter. But we know most of all whom we should imitate - our Lord Jesus. He was tempted to give up at the beginning and end of his ministry. But he was all push - especially at the Garden of Gethsemane. But the sad thing is that he did it alone. His friends didn’t watch or pray with him. Where was their love? But Christ died so that we can all show each other that love.
So how can we apply this message? It’ll be a sad day when we talk about one another as they and those, rather than we. So let’s not get to that day. That’s why accountability is important. Being accountable and having oversight - to ensure that those who hear the Word are not merely tasting it, that they’re not merely partaking of spiritual things. This requires us to love each other. This requires us to step up to care for one another - to help our families walk with Christ, to befriend and provoke each other to a genuine faith. In practice, this requires more officers. We need mature men, to lay down their lives, not only for their families, but for the church - to visit, to care, to admonish, to teach, to comfort, and to point to Christ. We need all kinds of members - older women and men to minister to younger women and men - in fact, I was speaking to a young at heart sister last week after the sermon last week. She mused that older church members should actually be the mature grown up holy brethren, who are teachers pointing others to Christ. And yes, in our midst are many such older mellow saints on fire for God. Let the rest be like this. Let’s double up in the work of the ministry. But this requires all to participate. It’s not just to shepherd, but to be shepherded. Where do these things happen? They happen in church, among believers, in the ministries of the church. That’s why we come together to pray, study the Bible, worship, and serve. If you’re not engaged in regular fellowship - to serve one another - how do you fight apostasy? And the sad reality is sometimes, the means of grace are available, but not made use of. I’m too busy, the kids have activities, I’m not comfortable, I’m fine on my own.
We read earlier in Canons I:16 what must we do when we’re struggling - don’t be alarmed when reprobation is mentioned, neither count yourself a reprobate. Rather, you “must diligently continue in the use of these means, fervently desire a time of more abundant grace, and expect it with reverence and humility…since a merciful God has promised not to snuff out the smouldering wick nor to break the bruised reed.” That’s how we fight apostasy - by pursuing the means of grace consistently, showing and receiving love, hoping tenaciously together. That’s authentic Christianity.
This is what our Lord died for - a community that helps each other and receives help. Every now and again, God is gracious to warn us to turn away from our sins and backslidings. Let this be one of those times. Take heed that you hear, fear, and persevere.
1. Who Apostatizes?
A. Their five descriptions
B. Their identity
2. What Is Apostasy?
A. Its definition
B. Its results
3. How to Fight Apostasy
A. Love the brethren continually
B. Hope in Christ tenaciously
Conversation for Change:
1. Knowing the judgment that awaits, what duty do we have to those who stray from Christ? Knowing the judgment that awaits, what must the one who strays do?
2. How should the church feel when a church goer decides not to be a Christian anymore? What should those feelings motivate us to do?
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2025, Rev. Mark Chen
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