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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, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 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. 

Hebrews 6:4-6 [NASB]

Does this verse simply state that a person who is saved can once again lose their salvation?

The problem with a lot of teachings, regarding what the scripture says, is that it is often taken out of context. Lots of verses are taken out of context. And when they are they lose their context.

I am going to make this as direct and to the point as I can.

The first word in chapter 6 is “Therefore”. When we see the word therefore, we should always ask, what is it there for?

The reason in this case is the first three chapters of Hebrews. The writer of the book is addressing unbelievers in the mix.

Even before that the verses prior to verse 4 explain a lot of what is going on in this chapter.

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. 

Hebrews 6:1,2

Leaving the elementary teaching about THE Christ, let’s push on to maturity. In other words, let’s continue until you reach the point, or the end goal; salvation.

The rituals of the Hebrews all point to the savior. The writer is saying, “Now that you know these things, lets keep going until you reach the goal.”

Now we come to the part of chapter 6 that causes the most confusion.

“For in the case of those who have once been enlightened…”

Enlightened doesn’t mean saved. It means, you have heard about the gospel. It’s referring to those that have been told about Jesus and heard what He did and why.

This is what it is saying. For example, if I tell you an amazing song by your favorite artist was just released, you would be enlightened to the fact, but that doesn’t mean you have heard the song yet.

So this whole section is referring to those that have heard, seen and understood the gospel. The danger is to think that it is okay to go back to what you were doing to be in God’s good graces, after hearing the good news.

The bible says if you reject it at that point that it is IMPOSSIBLE to be saved.

Let’s let that sink in.