Art Toombs Ministries
Online Bible Commentary
Drink in the Rain
Hebrews 6:3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. 7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. (NKJV)
The early church claimed that the Apostle Paul wrote the Book of Hebrews. Clement of Alexandria claimed that Luke translated the book into Greek.
Luke was Paul’s amanuensis in Paul’s final days (2 Timothy 4:11) and is believed to be his amanuensis for this writing. This letter is believed to be Paul’s last, written late A.D. 67-early A.D. 68.
Paul begins this passage by writing “And this we will do if God permits” (v. 3), a reference to the previous passage about becoming mature Christians.
Obviously, it is in the will of God for all Christians to mature in their faith. However, opposition in their lives does not always make this possible.
Next, Paul writes “4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,” (vv. 4-5).
In the Greek text verses 4-6 form one very long sentence, something that Paul often does. Five results are identified in verses four and five, which come from contact with God.
The first result is being “enlightened” (v. 4a). People experience enlightenment from Christ when they hear the gospel preached.
The second result is tasting the “heavenly gift” (v. 4b). People taste the heavenly gift by receiving a taste of Jesus from hearing the gospel.
The third result is partaking “of the Holy Spirit” (v. 4c). People partake of the Holy Spirit through His work of convicting them of their sin and moving them closer to God.
The fourth result is tasting “the good word of God” (v. 5a). People taste the goodness of the word of God as they receive the gospel with joy.
The fifth, and last, result is tasting “the powers of the age to come” (v. 5b). People taste the powers of the coming age by hearing and reading of the miracles of Christ. The fullness of His powers will be revealed in the coming age, the Millennium, the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth.
So, these people are experiencing, sharing, and tasting. They are getting a taste of Christ, but only a taste of Christ.
“It is impossible” (v. 4a) for these people “if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance” (v. 6a). This is a reference to those who reject Christ.
Those who reject Christ, turning their backs on Him, are referred to as apostates. They have a taste of Him, but have made a deliberate and conscious decision to reject Him, once and for all. They do not even worry about what they have done. Paul completes this long sentence with “since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame” (v. 6b). Apostates don’t come back to Christ. They are crucifying Him all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
There is a difference between apostates and immature, or baby, Christians. Apostates have been exposed to Christ, but have rejected Him.
On the other hand, Baby Christians are up and down in their walk with Christ. They do not know enough yet to be mature, because they have not read and studied the Bible.
They have not rejected Christ. They just are not following Him at this time in their lives.
Next, Paul writes “For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God” (v. 7). This describes a mature Christian.
A mature Christian is described as one who “drinks in the rain” and produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed. A mature Christian “drinks in” the word of God and becomes someone who is useful to the kingdom of God.
Paul completes this passage with “but if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned” (v. 8). This describes an apostate.
An apostate produces thorns and thistles, is rejected by God and is in danger of being cursed. In the end he will “be burned”. The apostate is worthless to God and, in the end, will spend eternity in Hell.
Paul is concerned that the Hebrew Christians have not matured in their faith, but he does not believe that they are apostates. In verses seven and eight he is giving them both sides of where they currently stand.
They are not mature Christians, but they are also are not apostates. They are somewhere in the middle, sitting on the fence.
In telling them what they should be, Paul is giving them a goal. In telling them what they are not, Paul is encouraging them.
And so, too, we Christians of today should be encouraged. We are in different stages of our maturity as Christians, but we are still faithful to the Lord.
We have not turned our backs on Him. It is a mark of one who has been indwelled by the Holy Spirit to stay the course.
However, that course is not consistently upwards. We have our ups and downs, our peaks and valleys.
We have dry spells. We have times when life derails our walk.
But the true Christian always bounces back onto the rails. Perseverance is the mark of a true Christian.
If we persevere and “drink in the rain” we will be useful to our Lord.