For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then fall away, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Hebrews 6: 4-6

Some time ago a man approached me with a heavy heart as he considered the implications of the passage above.

Some believe those who “fall away” are believers who become apostates (those who abandon or renounce their faith in Christ). Others believe this passage refers to people who have been exposed to the Gospel but have never truly believed.

My view is that of apostates, but the man who approached me had another, bigger question – “Is it impossible to restore again to repentance…if they then fall away?”

Here is a hopeful response from the ESV study bible -“it is wise pastoral advice to encourage a person who worries that he may have committed such a deep sin, that the very desire to repent and to be restored in fellowship in the Christian community is evidence that he has not “fallen away” in the permanent, irrevocable way described…”

Some people reject God entirely, but God remains gracious and extends mercy to those who repent. Let’s consider these hopeful words from John’s first epistle.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9