Does this… Hebrews 6:4,5
those who have once been enlightened,
who have tasted the heavenly gift,
who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and
the powers of the coming age—
… refer to saved, born again, Holy Spirit in-dwelt, new creation in Christ believers?
The context is a letter to Jewish people, who are either Jewish Christians or Jewish potential converts inquiring about Christianity, warning them against rejecting or abandoning Christ for the old covenant, and urging them toward spiritual maturity.
“Shared in the Holy Spirit” does sound like the person was born of the Spirit, but could it rather mean they simply experienced the joy in the fellowship of true believers, as a spectator? Or got a divine healing?
Enlightened is not necessarily transformed.
Tasted does not mean consumed by.
Those terms could refer to a casual, superficial event.
And does “impossible…to be restored to repentance” mean a backsliding person, who thought they were a genuine Christian, cannot be forgiven, cannot return to the Father as a prodigal?
Or does it mean you cannot ask Jesus to save you again, get baptized again, repent of all past sins again like a new convert?
In the Old Testament, when Israel and Judah fell away, and worshiped pagan gods lustfully and sacrificed their first born offspring to demons on blasphemous altars, God begged and pleaded with them to return to Him. He guaranteed He would forgive them and fight against their enemies.
Solomon let outlandish pagan seductive women lure him into worshiping their false idols, yet the Bible includes his Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
Peter denied knowing Christ 3 times, but was restored to Him.
But Christians who backslide can lose their salvation and are going to hell?
Bible Hub states:
Hebrews was written to professing Jewish believers under pressure to abandon Christ and revert to Temple Judaism before AD 70. The epistle alternates soaring Christology with sober warnings.
Hebrews 5:11–6:12 is the third warning, urging maturity (6:1) and perseverance (6:11-12) against the lethal pull of apostasy.
The readers stand at the hinge of redemptive history. To revert to sacrifices (10:29) after receiving knowledge of the once-for-all atonement (9:12) would be tantamount to repudiating the only efficacious sacrifice, leaving no second repentance (cf.
Numbers 15:30-31). The warning mirrors Israel’s Kadesh-Barnea rebellion (3:7-19): covenant participation without heart-faith ends in exclusion.
Hebrews 6:6 does not teach that one who is truly regenerated can lose salvation. The text describes those who partake of covenant blessings, yet never exercise saving faith.
Their decisive repudiation makes subsequent repentance impossible because outside of Christ no further sacrifice exists. The passage stands as a real and necessary warning that sifts mere professors from possessors and propels believers toward steadfast, fruitful maturity in the grace that cannot fail.
