David B. McWilliams, Lectio Continua Commentary: Hebrews
(New Geneva Press, 2014)
1. Hebrews 6 is not hypothetical
“This view seems to undermine the serious intent of the author, as he sees some on the verge of a perilous return to Judaism.”
p. 174
“The writer is not concerned with spiritual immaturity alone, but with apostasy as a real alternative.”
p. 173
2. The subjects are members of the visible covenant community
“In becoming a member of the church visible, they have known something of the eschatological powers.”
p. 176
3. Explanation of the Hebrews 6:4–5 descriptors
“Once enlightened”
“Enlightenment is not synonymous with regeneration, but refers to an objective exposure to gospel truth.”
p. 174
“Tasted the heavenly gift”
“The term ‘tasted’ should not be weakened, as though it indicated a mere sampling with no real participation.”
p. 174
“Shared in the Holy Spirit”
“To be a ‘partaker of the Holy Spirit’ does not require regeneration, but refers to sharing in the Spirit’s operations within the covenant community.”
p. 175
“Powers of the age to come”
“The powers of the age to come are experienced already within the life of the church, which participates in the realities of the coming kingdom.”
p. 176
4. Why these people are not regenerate
McWilliams grounds this in perseverance, not introspection:
“Continuance is the test of reality.”
p. 175
And therefore:
“Those who fall away show that their profession, though real, was not saving.”
p. 175
5. The impossibility of restoration (Heb 6:6)
“The impossibility is not psychological, but covenantal, for there is no return to the old order once Christ has been rejected.”
p. 177
Marcus A. Mininger, Impossible to Be Restored: Temptation and Warning in the Epistle to the Hebrews
(IVP Academic, 2025)
1. Hebrews 6 is not hypothetical
“The interpretation above helps to show how the apostasy that Hebrews speaks of and the warning that it issues are not merely hypothetical but quite real.”
p. 143
2. The warning concerns real apostasy, not a theoretical scenario
“The warning passages describe people who have experienced a decisive progression from ‘before’ to ‘after,’ such that their situations have been fundamentally altered.”
p. 140
3. The prior repentance in Hebrews 6 was real, not false
“The specific wording does not suggest that this repentance, experienced before, was false or otherwise to be criticized in itself. It instead suggests that this previous repentance would be desirable to return to in theory yet is impossible to be restored to in actual fact.”
p. 105
4. The word “again” (πάλιν) implies continuity of repentance
“The word ‘again’ implies that the second repentance under consideration is of the same essential nature as the first repentance that the people in the passage had already experienced before.”
p. 52
And further:
“If the repentance that these apostates had experienced were not truly godly sorrow… it is hard to see why it would be desirable to renew it anyway.”
p. 52
5. Hebrews 6 is not primarily about regeneration categories
“The problematics of Hebrews 6:4–6 are not adequately articulated through a controlling interpretative interest in theological topics such as divine election, inward regeneration, and true or false conversion.”
p. 53
6. Hebrews 6 operates with covenantal and historical categories
“Hebrews’ warning concerns situational change rather than psychological or spiritual status.”
p. 139
“The old-covenant nature of the foundation that they are tempted to re-lay stands in noticeable juxtaposition to the specifically new-covenant benefits that are described in 6:4–5.”
p. 105
7. The impossibility is covenantal, not an ‘unforgivable sin’
Mininger is explicit about what Hebrews 6 does not teach:
“Hebrews 6:4–6 is not an ‘unforgivable sin’ text, stating that a certain sin or certain type of apostasy cannot be forgiven later by turning back to Christ in faith.”
p. 143
Instead, the impossibility is defined covenantally:
“Hebrews’ warning concerns the impossibility of returning to right standing in the old covenant after having heard of and embraced the new.”
p. 143
8. Hebrews 6 describes public covenant apostasy
Mininger emphasizes the public and covenantal nature of the falling away:
“Any repudiation of a previous public profession of faith in Christ would inevitably hold Christ up to public shame.”
p. 54
9. Hebrews 6 does not specify a special or rare form of apostasy
“Scholars have not been able to specify what particular kinds of apostasy those are… that kind of clarity just does not seem to be available in the passage itself.”
p. 53
