FALLING AWAY AND THE WILLFUL HEART
The Bible leaves no honest reader in doubt that it is possible for one who has truly come to Christ to fall away through persistent rebellion. Hebrews 6:4-6 speaks not of mere professors of religion, but of those who “were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit.” These are not casual hearers—they have known the grace of God. Yet the passage warns that if such a person “falls away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put Him to an open shame.” The impossibility is not because God’s mercy has run dry, but because they have hardened their hearts through continual defiance. They persist in the very sin that nailed Christ to the cross.
This same truth is echoed in Hebrews 10:26-27: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment.” The writer is not describing a stumble or a moment of weakness, but a settled, deliberate turning away from the Savior. Such sin is “willful”—a conscious choice to reject the very grace that once brought salvation. These are believers who have received the truth, yet choose darkness. The Spirit has pleaded, the Word has warned, and still they continue in rebellion.
Both passages paint one solemn picture: the believer who once stood in the light but now closes his eyes to it. The impossibility of renewal lies not in God’s unwillingness to forgive, but in man’s refusal to repent. God’s arm is not shortened, but the hardened heart no longer responds. Just as Pharaoh hardened his heart against repeated mercy, so these persist in crucifying Christ afresh—mocking His grace and despising His call. To live in willful rebellion is to silence repentance itself.
The message of Hebrews is plain. We do not accidentally lose salvation; we forfeit it through persistent sin and conscious rejection. Salvation is not fragile, but neither is it careless. The Christian life must be guarded and nourished with obedience and faith. “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). The way to remain safe is to remain near the cross—to keep the heart tender, the conscience pure, and the will surrendered to the Lord who loved us and gave Himself for us.
BDD
