Hebrews 6:4-6. Having sought to meet the difficulties occasioned by their dull spiritual condition, the apostle passes on to warn these believers of the serious danger to which they were exposed. The fact that they were clinging to the forms and ceremonies of Judaism might indicate that some who were enlightened by the truths of Christianity, and had tasted its privileges, had given up their profession and had returned to Judaism. For such there would be no recovery. This “falling away,” of which the apostle speaks, is not the backsliding of a true believer, but the apostasy of a mere professor.
The passage speaks of enlightenment, not of new birth, nor of eternal life. It speaks of the outward privileges of Christianity, the presence of the Spirit, the preciousness of the Word of God, and the outward display of power in the Christian circle. All this could be felt and known by those brought in among Christians, even where there was no spiritual life. Such partook in an outward way of the privileges of the Christian circle, and yet could give up their profession and return to Judaism. So doing, they returned to a system that had ended in the crucifixion of the Messiah. They virtually, for themselves, crucified the Son of God and put Him to an open shame for, by their action, they practically avowed that, having tried Christ and Christianity, they found Judaism better.
It removes all difficulty from the passage when we clearly see that the apostle is not supposing the possession of divine life or a divine work in the soul, but merely tasting the outward privileges of the Christian circle.
Hebrews 6:7-8. The illustration used by the apostle makes his meaning clear. The herbs and the briars equally partake of the blessing of the rain which comes from heaven, but the herbs bring forth fruit, while the briars end by being burned.