Be Alert For False Christians

November 26th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 6:4-6 …those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

From the day the Church began almost 2,000 years ago, there have been false believers who come and go in and out of Christ’s Church. Some look like believers for at least four reasons. First, they were once “enlightened.” They had the gospel preached to them, and they were illumined with the truth of Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Jewish Messiah, or Christ. This truth is not said to have saved these people, however, only to have enlightened them. Many understand that Jesus is the Christ, yet they are not saved. Satan himself is guilty of such.

The second trait that some in the church possess is that they have “tasted of the heavenly gift.” This gift of course is Christ Himself, the Bread of Life (John 6:35). Much like the Israelites in the wilderness who ate the bread, or manna, from heaven for 40 years but who still refused to believe (3:7-11), so too are some who merely taste the goodness of God, once delighting in it, but who lose their appetite for the truth. These never feast on the truth, but like one who merely samples food, they tasted Christ but rejected Him. Judas Iscariot was one of these, as was the false prophet Balaam (Jude 11). But in spite of what they knew about God, they fell away.

Thirdly, there are some who “have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit.” We note here that they are not said to be regenerated (Titus 3:5), baptized (1 Cor 12:13), or sealed by the Spirit (Eph 1:13-14), just “partakers,” or sharers, of the Spirit. They did not possess the Spirit in the sense that He indwelt them (Rom. 8:9-11). Perhaps they had been cooperating with other Christians in the common tasks of ministry in the church (cf. 1 Cor. 7:14). In spite of this, they did not “hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end” (Heb. 3:14).

Fourthly, these are said to “have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come.” The wicked Herod Antipas is said to have enjoyed hearing John the Baptist preach (Mark 6:20). Yet he later murdered him! In like manner, Jesus told a parable about those who received God’s word with joy in their hearts but later fell away (Mark 4:16-17). These also merely taste of God’s word without eating it, digesting it, and becoming full. They fail to be nourished by it.

For those who fit this bill, impulsive folks who reject Christ and apostatize, it is “impossible to renew them again to repentance.” In other words, no one is able to participate in God’s pre-salvation work in their lives and then choose to reject Jesus as the Messiah. To do so would put Jesus Christ to open shame. One who would do such would actually participate with those who crucified Jesus and confirm their own belief that Jesus is not the Messiah but a false Christ and a deceiver worthy of death. “Impossible” is not to be rendered “difficult” as some have proposed but as unattainable and unachievable (cf. Heb. 6:18; 10:4; 11:6). Apostasy therefore is a serious sin, for at its core it entails unbelief—the most heinous of sins.

Notice that none of the normal terms for salvation are used in this passage, terms like redeemed, justified, sanctified, born again, or forgiven. That is because the people that the author of Hebrews is addressing may not have been true believers. And the writer suspected as much! After all, they were threatening to apostatize, to fall back into Judaism. In fact, all apostates are at one time in the Church, for out of the Church do apostates come (1 John 2:19). True believers are guaranteed a future redemption (Eph 1:13-14); false believers are only guaranteed to leave the Church. They are fully known once they depart. Christ’s sheep, on the other hand, can never cease to be His sheep. No one can snatch them out of Christ’s own hands (John 10:28-29). They may backslide and act foolishly for a time, but they will never willfully renounce their faith.