verse 5: "and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the coming age,"
The author now has 5 things that are said about these people, the ones who have: (1) "once been enlightened"; (2) "tasted of the heavenly gift"; (3) "made partakers of the Holy Spirit"; and now (4) "tasted the good word of God"; and (5) "tasted the powers of the coming age."
Hebrews 6 emphasizes the duty of progress and the peril of relapse. It points out the impossibility of repeating the past, as even nature shows.
Alleviating persecution by fellowshipping in the old order, this was a sign of their immaturity. The exhortation is to leave the Mosaic order for the reality of Christ. The purpose of this immediate section is to show the duty of every believer to make progress.
Characteristic 4: "[those who] have tasted the good word of God."
Characteristic 5: "[those who have tasted] the powers of the coming age.
You cannot be saved twice! Paul follows his admonition to "press on toward the goal" in Philippians 3:14, with the admonition in Philippians 3:15, 16.
verse 6: "and then have fallen away, to be renewing them again to repentance, since they are crucifying again to themselves the Son of God, and putting Him to open shame."
You notice it is "renewing them again to repentance" not to salvation.
We all have choices to make. We all have decisions to make. Some of those choices and decisions we live with and wish that we could change, but there is no possibility.
For Esau when he sold his birthright for a bowl of chili, he wished often he could undo that decision. Samson must have grieved while he was blind and grinding in the prison of the Philistines. Saul must have grieved when the kingdom was ripped from him because of poor choices. Judas Iscariot went out and hung himself because of poor choices.
It is impossible to remove failure by another experience of salvation. Therefore, the only thing you can do is to progress.
We will learn in Hebrews 9:27:"...it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (KJV).
"and then have fallen away, to be renewing them again to repentance, since they are": (1) "crucifying again to themselves the Son of God" and (2) "putting Him to open shame,". These 2 present tenses are used here in conclusion of verse 6 to help us understand what is happening when we try to do this.
(From “A Great While Before Day: Issue 2, part 2” by Don Anderson)
