Dr Paul Allen

“For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened” (Heb. 6:4a). This is one of the most difficult passages in all of Scripture. Hebrews 6:4–6 has often been used with the attempt to prove that genuine Christians can lose their salvation. Because of this text, the Novatians and Donatists in the early church denied readmission to the church to those who had fallen into idolatry under persecution—even when some of these lapsed people repented and later died for the Gospel. Arminians believe this passage destroys any confidence that the saints will persevere. Calvinists deny that the passage should be understood in this way but sometimes have trouble articulating the reasons why. And so we must ask: Does Hebrews 6:4–6 refer to genuine believers who once really believed in Christ but then later fall away?  At first glance we might answer yes. The person described in these verses has done many things that might lead us to believe he ...

You probably know someone who once lived passionately for Christ but has now abandoned him altogether. Your heart sinks and twists even to hear his or her name. Perhaps even more painful than loved ones who have consistently rejected Christ for years are loved ones who seemed to have been saved at one time, only to fall away from the faith. You saw their eyes light up with love for Jesus, and then watched a dark cloud slowly roll in and cover them again. You prayed, and watched, maybe even wept, feeling powerless to reverse their course. The apostle Paul wrote about that kind of pain in Philippians  3:17 –21. Many, especially recently, have used these verses to remind us that we are citizens of  heaven , and not first and foremost Republicans , Democrats , Americans, or any other kind of earthly citizen. That is a good, relevant, and needed application, especially today. But Paul was not writing here simply to warn people in love with politics, but people in love w...