Verse 6. Well, the apostle says, if a person who has been brought under all this power of the Holy Ghost give it all up, “it is impossible to renew such an one to repentance, for he has crucified for himself the Son of God.” What had the nation done? It had crucified the Son of God. What were the people doing? ‘The same as their fathers did. If you give up Christianity, give up this heavenly Christ—and God says He has nothing else left—all God’s resources have been employed without effect.
Why does he speak of it being impossible to renew them again to repentance? I believe because repentance is always produced in the soul by the effect of the testimony of the Spirit of God, and God had no further witness to give. When God sent His Son into this world, what did man do? Man spat upon Him and slew Him. What did God do? Did He draw the sword of judgment? No; He took Him up to heaven, and sent from heaven the Holy Ghost to say to man, “You would not have Him as an earthly Christ, now will you have Him as a heavenly Christ?” If man refuses this—rejects a heavenly Christ—God, as it were, declares that there is no other means of producing repentance towards God, and faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ. As another has said, “After having been the subject of this influence of the presence of the Holy Ghost, after having tasted the revelation thus made of the goodness of God, and experienced the proofs of His power, if any one then forsook Christ, there remained no other means for restoring the soul, for leading it to repentance. The heavenly treasures were already expended; he had given them up as worthless; he had rejected the full revelation of grace and power, after having known it. What means could now be used? To return to Judaism, and the first principles of the doctrine of Christ in it, when the truth had been revealed, was impossible, and the new light had been known and rejected. In a case like this there was only the flesh; there was no new life. Thorns and briars were being produced as before. There was no real change in the man’s state.
When once we have understood that this passage is a comparison of the power of the spiritual system with Judaism, and that it speaks of giving up the former, after having known it, its difficulty disappears. The possession of life is not supposed, nor is that question touched. The passage speaks not of life, but of the Holy Ghost as a power present in Christianity. To “taste the good word” is to have understood how precious that word is, and not the having been quickened by its means. Hence in speaking to the Jewish Christians he hopes better things, and things which accompany salvation, so that all these things could be there and no salvation then. Fruit there could not be. That supposes life. The apostle does not however apply what he says to the Hebrew Christians, for, however low their state might be, there had been fruits, proofs of life, which in itself no mere power is; and he continues his discourse by giving them encouragement and motives for perseverance.
It will be observed, then, that this passage is a comparison between that which was possessed before and after Christ was glorified, the state and privileges of professors at these two periods, without any question as to personal conversion. When the power of the Holy Ghost was present, and there was the full revelation of grace, if any forsook the assembly, fell away from Christ, and turned back again, there was no means of renewing them to repentance. The inspired writer, therefore, would not again lay the foundation of former things with regard to Christ—things already grown old—but would go on for the profit of those who remained steadfast in the faith.”
W. T. P. W.