Salvation Lost?

February 27th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26 For in the case of 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… 10:26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.

In the warning passages of Hebrews, it is vital to note what is not being taught—that salvation can be lost. The author was writing to converted Jews who were a part of the early Church and which consisted of both true believers who had committed their lives to Christ and false believers who were among the believers in the Church. The false ones were convinced Jesus was the Messiah, but did nothing with Him. And eventually, these types will walk away from Him. This is likely true in every church in the world today there are both true and false believers. True Christians commit their lives to Christ and live for Him; false believers do not. Their end will look something like those that Jesus rebuked in Matthew 7:21-23.

The Jewish audience the author addressed were in a position where they needed to make a decision regarding their faithfulness to Jesus Christ—to grow up in their faith (6:1-3). Having lived for so long in the OT Levitical system of shadows, pictures, and spiritual ABC’s, these Jews had a tendency toward their old life. But to go back into that life and reject Christ would be a fatal error. The tabernacle, the priesthood, and offerings all pointed to Jesus in His person and work. But these were mere pictures of the Christ, elementary teachings about Him. The writer called them to leave the pictures of Christ and look at the actual man Jesus who is God in flesh.

Consider the Jews to whom Jeremiah prophesied. After giving them ample opportunity to repent and return to God, and after they continually rejected Him, God finally told Jeremiah to stop praying for them (7:16; 11:11, 14; 14:11-12). God was finished with them! Likewise, the Pharisees, having received a first-hand look at the Messiah, blatantly denied Jesus and credited His deeds to the devil (Matt. 12:24). Was this the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (12:30-32; Mark 3:20-30), the eternal sin? This is debatable, but if so, then attributing the works of Jesus Christ to the devil is a clear sign of one who has adequate knowledge for salvation but who forfeits it.

People today who attend an evangelical church regularly are in the same boat. They have been enlightened over and over, week after week. But they fail to commit their lives to Christ. In failing to do so they become dull of hearing and are in danger of shipwrecking their faith.

The warning passages of Hebrews are not talking about Christians who fall into sin, backslide, and later repent of their sins. Most Christians do that at some point in their lives, sometimes repeatedly. These passages are addressing those who have been adequately presented the person of Jesus Christ and who have supposedly put their faith in Him. But by failing to nurture their faith, they subsequently reject Him as Lord and Christ. Though claiming to have faith in Him, they are in danger of apostatizing—of ultimately falling away from the faith. This includes those who never truly make a profession of faith in Christ but who have clearly understood the presentation of the gospel. These folks have no way of coming back to faith once they have rejected Christ outright, after having been given a proper presentation of the gospel.

Food For Thought
Salvation is a gift from God, a gift He will never take back. God Himself wrote the Book of Life long before the earth and people were even created (Rev. 13:8; 17:8). This book contains the names of all His elect people. That book is not being edited—subtracted from or added to. Salvation is eternal, and it cannot be lost (cf. John 10:26-30; Rom 8:31-39; Eph 1:13-14).