In the Old Covenant (Old Testament), they gave sacrifices every year and if it took away sins permanently, there would have been no more conscience of sins:
Hebrews 10:1 ¶ For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Hebrews 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins to sacrifice again.
But Jesus' sacrifice is once and for all:
Hebrews 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
Jesus offered the sacrifice for sins once and for all and:
Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
Jesus' sacrifice perfected us that are sanctified.
Therefore I conclude we cannot lose our salvation.
I believe that the verses you quote proves the opposite when taken in proper context. Here are the verses from Hebrews 10: 12-18; 26-31 (KJV, emphasis my own):
“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin....….For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”
And also from 2 Peter 2:20-22 (KJV):
“For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”
And finally, the following verses already provided by Avatar 4321 (see permalink 5, above):
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” Hebrews 6:4-6).
Those for whom this Epistle was written, whilst they were members of God's earthly people, had been brought under the power of the Gospel and, as a whole, had accepted the Christian faith, thought they were still in an elementary condition in regard to it and needed to be stirred to a full realization of its truths and of its superiority to the religion in which they had been brought up. There were many, however, who, though attracted to Christianity, had never definitely accepted Christ. They had been "enlightened" without having Christ as their Light: they had "tasted of the heavenly gift," without receiving it. They had been having a share in the power of the Holy Spirit, without being indwelt by Him as believers. They had "tasted of the good Word of God," without actually feeding on the Bread of Life. They had tasted of the powers of the coming world, without entering into the real anticipation of them.-NOTES ON THE EPISTLES TO THE HEBREWS BY W.E. VINE, PREFACE, P.7
Hebrews 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame.
Is this the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?
". . . they had "tasted of the heavenly gift," without receiving it."
Pastor Charles wrote:
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". . . they had "tasted of the heavenly gift," without receiving it."
Really? So when Jesus tasted death for every man, did He really not die??? Hmmm??? & Huh? Everything in this passage suggests to me that they were saved people. Enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age.
The heavenly gift of what? I can't specify what it is. Gift of the Holy Spirit or Gift of Righteousness? In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came alongside of believers. They saw the miracles and told them not to preach in His name. They tasted the heavenly gift.
Acts 3:12 And when Peter saw [it], he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
Hebrews 6:7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
Hebrews 6:8 But that which beareth thorns and briers [is] rejected, and [is] nigh unto cursing; whose end [is] to be burned.
They weren't Christians because the writer of Hebrews (Paul) is making a comparison of them and true Christians. Jesus said if you continue in my word you are my disciples indeed.
Heb. 6:7-8 were the reasoning W.E. Vine gave but I can look it back up tonight for the exact reasoning. It doesn't say they sometimes brought forth herbs like some people in the church do.
Chuck:
If it was the gift of righteousness or the Holy Spirit, then in reality it is the gift of salvation and that's how I understand it.
This came from Vine's and you will still have to click on "view entry". Basically he says tasting is different from receiving it. Until I look at my books at home, this is the best I can do right now. At least you have some idea as to where W.E. Vine is coming from.
Greek Lexicon :: G1089 (KJV)
Taste:
"to make to taste," is used in the Middle Voice, signifying "to taste"
(a) naturally, Mat 27:34; Luk 14:24; Jhn 2:9; Col 2:21;
(b) metaphorically, of Christ's "tasting" death, implying His personal experience in voluntarily undergoing death, Hbr 2:9; of believers (negatively) as to "tasting" of death, Mat 16:28; Mar 9:1; Luk 9:27; Jhn 8:52; of "tasting" the heavenly gift (different from receiving it), Hbr 6:4; "the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come," Hbr 6:5; "that the Lord is gracious," 1Pe 2:3.
See EAT.
I'm not saying that this verse has a prophetic relation to the Hebrews verse and I'm not saying this has a bearing on the definition of the Hebrews verse but the Vine's definition of "tasted" meaning "not receiving" wouldn't set a precedent because we already have a case for not receiving the totality of our total senses.
Matthew 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Matthew 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Same word in these verses below.
How is it that Jesus only rubbed shoulders with death but didn't actually die?
Peter is certainly talking to believers.
1 Peter 2:2-5
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Did Jesus merely taste death as you suggest in Hebrews, or did He really die? Likewise those who have tasted the heavenly gift have experienced it.
Hebrews 2:9
But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
(1) W.E. Vine teaches that Jesus tasted death:
“The clause ‘that by the grace of God He should taste death for all men’ is purposely put last in verse 9 because it is immediately connected with and introduces what follows, which explains the object for which Christ tasted death. The tasting is to be distinguished from the idea of having a taste of death; it describes what is slow and painful.”-P26, The Epistles to the Hebrews by W.E. Vine.
(2) W.E. Vine makes a distinction between tasting and being indwelt by Him through faith in Christ:
“VERSE 4. For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,-These facts would be true in regard to all those Hebrews who had been influenced by the testimony and power of the gospel, but had not done more than make a profession of faith, and were inclined to return to Judaism, the power of which remained very strong among the people. There is nothing in the details in this and verse 5 but what could take place in the experience of one who was drawn to Christianity without being born again and becoming possessed of eternal life. To be enlightened comes short of conversion. To taste of the heavely gift is far short of receiving it in its fullness. To be a partaker of the Holy Spirit is not becoming indwelt by Him through faith in Christ.”-p. 56, Ibid
Vine doesnÂ’t elaborate or explain it more. Words get their meaning from the context but I didnÂ’t think that you might find Hebrews 6:7-8 a good enough explanation for not receiving the fullness of the Spirit.
I decided to look at Kenneth WuestÂ’s (one of the NASB translators) explanation:
“They had been made partakers of the Holy Ghost. We must be careful to note that the Greek word translated ‘partakers’ does not mean ‘possessors,’ in the sense that these Hebrews possessed the Holy Spirit as an indwelling person who had come to take up His permanent abode in their hearts. The word is a compound of the Greek verb ‘to have or hold’ (echo), and a preposition meaning ‘with’ (meta), thus ‘to hold with.’ It is used in Luke 5:7 where it is translated ‘partners,’ signifying one who co-operates with another in a common task or undertaking. It is used in Hebrews 1:9 where the angels are ‘fellows’ of our Lord, partners or associates with Him in the work of salvation. It is used in Hebrews 3:1 where the recipients of this letter are called participators in the heavenly calling. That is, they participated together in the heavenly calling. These Hebrews had left the earthly calling of the nation Israel, and had identified themselves with the Church which has a heavenly calling. It is used in Hebrews 3:14, where it speaks of those who participate together in the Lord Jesus.
“The word (metochos) was so used in secular Greek. Moulton and Milligan give examples of its usage in the following phrases: ‘We, Dionysius son of Socrates and the associate collectors;’ ‘Pikos son of Pamonthes and his colleagues,’ ‘the joint-owner of a holding,’ ‘I am unable to take part in the cultivation,’ ‘Some do so because they are partners in their misdeeds.’ Thus the word signifies one who participates with another in a common activity or possession. It is so used here. These Hebrews became participators in the Holy Spirit insofar as an unsaved person can do so, namely, in the sense that they willingly co-operated with Him in receiving His pre-salvation ministry, that of leading them on step by step toward the act of faith. He had led them into the act of repentance. The next step would be that of faith. Here they were in danger of turning their backs upon the Spirit and returning to the sacrifices. Peter in his first epistle (1:2) in the words,’through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience,’ speaks of this work of the Holy Spirit on the unsaved, setting them apart from unbelief to faith. This word in its context does not at all imply that these Hebrews had been born of the Spirit, sealed with the Spirit, indwelt by the Spirit, anointed with the Spirit, baptized by the Spirit into the Body of Christ, or filled with the Spirit. This work of the Holy Spirit in leading them on towards faith was a once-for-all work, so thoroughly done that it needed never to be repeated. However, there was nothing permanent of itself in this work, for the work was only a means to an end. This is shown by the aorist participle used, referring to the mere fact, not a perfect, speaking of a finished act having present results. The fact that the writer did not use the perfect tense here, which is a specialized tense, but rather the aorist, which is the maid of all work, points to the incompleteness of the work of the Spirit in the case of these Hebrews. So far as the work had been done, it was perfect, thorough. But it would not be complete until the Hebrews accepted the proffered faith from the Spirit. The incompleteness of the work would be due, therefore, not to the Spirit, but to their unwillingness to go on as a partner or cooperator with the Spirit.”-p.114-116, Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, Volume II by Kenneth Wuest, one of the NASB Translators
And then Wuest adds in his commentary on Hebrews 6:9-12 “…and repeatedly exhorts to go on to faith in the New Testament sacrifice, Messiah. The fact that he urges them on to faith, shows that they merely made a profession and were not saved. After issuing this solemn warning in 5:11-6:8, he addresses the saved among his readers and uses them as an example to urge the unsaved on to the act of faith.”-p, 119, Ibid
him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 
