Read the whole chapter
Hebrews 10:26-29 warns against the sin of apostasy. Apostasy is an intentional falling away or defection.
One cannot fall away from somthing one does not have. These are not “on the verge”, they are partakers of the divine grace. That means they became part of the body of Christ.
Better yet, read the whole book! It is written to believers:
" Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we share in Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end…Heb 3:12-15
You can’t “fall away” unless you are first holding on! The readers of Hebrews “share in Christ”. This message, found also in many other places in the NT, warns that we must “hold to the end”.
These are people who are perhaps even aware of their sin and even make a profession of faith. The Lord illustrated these types of people in the second and third soils of Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23. These are those who “receive with joy” the things of the Lord, but who are drawn away by the cares of the world or turned off by difficulties they encounter because of Christ.
What you say is also true, but such persons cannot qualify as apostate. To be that, one must be joined to Christ, not just curious or attracted.
“For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt. 7 For land which has drunk the rain that often falls upon it, and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed; its end is to be burned.” Heb 6:3-8
These persons are enlightened, repentant, communicants, baptized, etc. The land has drunk, the seeds have sprouted. Granted, they should be teachers by now, they should be eating meat, not milk, but believers they are.
“Willful sinning” in this passage carries the idea of consciously and deliberately rejecting Christ. To know God’s way, to hear it preached, to study it, to count oneself among the faithful, and then to turn away is to become apostate. Sinning willfully carries with it the idea of sinning continually and deliberately. Such a person does not sin because of ignorance, nor is he carried away by momentary temptations he is too weak to resist. The willful sinner sins because of an established way of thinking and acting which he has no desire to give up.
I agree with all these except that this person is not just “counting oneself”. Such a state does not qualify as being a partaker.
The true believer, on the other hand, is one who lapses into sin and loses temporary fellowship with God. But he will eventually come back to God in repentance because his heavenly Father will continually woo and convict him until he can’t stay away any longer. The true apostate will continue to sin, deliberately, willingly and with abandon. John tells us that “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9).
This is not so far from the Catholic Teaching. However, in contrast to the OSAS theology, Catholicism teaches that it is possible to resist the Spirit permanently. That is what apostasy is.
Apostates have knowledge, but no application of that knowledge. They can be found in the presence of the light of Christ, mostly in the church, among God’s people. Judas Iscariot is the perfect example—he had knowledge but he lacked true faith. No other rejector of the truth had more or better exposure to the love and grace of God than Judas. He was part of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples, eating, sleeping, and traveling with Him for years.
It is a good try, but does not quite cut it. As a matter of fact, we cannot know the heart of Judas, and if there was ever a time when he actually believed. A pretender, as you have described here, cannot be an apostate. One who is not joined to Christ is not able to fall away from Him. I agree with you, though, that a person can have knowledge, but not know how to apply it. But this is not so much about knowledge as it is about relationship. One cannot be considered a partaker if one was never joined.
Having turned his back on the truth, and with full knowledge choosing to willfully and continually sin, the apostate is then beyond salvation because he has rejected the one true sacrifice for sins: the Lord Jesus Christ. If Christ’s sacrifice is rejected, then all hope of salvation is gone. To turn away willfully from this sacrifice leaves no sacrifice; it leaves only sin, the penalty for which is eternal death.
No arguement here.
This passage is not speaking of a believer who falls away, but rather someone who may claim to be a believer, but truly is not. Anyone who apostatizes is proving he never had genuine faith to begin with (1 John 2:19).
This seems like a convenient rendering to support OSAS, but is not consistent with Apostolic Teaching, and other passages in the NT about falling away. I have a question for you…
If a person is OSAS, then how is it that their name can be blot out of the book of life once it has been entered?