Perseverance: Objections Part 7b

In these next few posts we will be examining Hebrews 6:4-9 in more detail.  You can read the introduction to this section here.  Each time we will look at one or two phrases.   

Once been enlightened. The Greek word for enlighten "refers to learning in general, not necessarily a learning that results in salvation" (Grudem, p. 796, cf. its usage in John 1:9 and 1 Cor. 4:5).  Therefore, this phrase can simply mean that these individuals came to understand the the truths of the gospel and does not need to mean that they responded with genuine faith to those facts. 

Tasted of the heavenly gift...the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. When you taste something, you may still choose to spit it out (cf. Matt. 27:34 where the same word is used).  In a figurative sense, the word can be used to mean that you get a small taste of what something would be like without actually possessing it.  For example, people who are living under an oppressive government might get a "taste of freedom" without truly possessing freedom (cf. BAGD, Greek English Lexicon, p. 157).  It can also be used in a figurative sense to mean that a person has come to know what something is like without fully experiencing it.  For example, a person may get a taste of some form of philosophy without embracing it (Grudem, 797 fn. 14).  So, it is perfectly legitimate to take our passage to mean that these people have seen and been around the work of the Holy Spirit (heavenly gift), learned about the word of God, and the powers to come without embracing it with saving faith.  These people were deeply involved with the church, saw the Spirit at work, but they only tasted of it without believing it.