Michael S. Heiser on Perseverance & eternal security
Yes — real apostasy is possible
"If you believe the gospel, you are eternally secure. If you don't, you're not." — Naked Bible 184. And: "That which cannot be gained by moral perfection can't be lost by moral imperfection."
THE POSITION
Apostasy is possible, but only by a deliberate turning to unbelief — never by moral failure, since what cannot be gained by moral perfection cannot be lost by moral imperfection. Security is tied strictly to the state of belief: believing, you are secure; not believing, you are not. He treats Hebrews 6:4 as describing something unlikely rather than impossible.
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age— 6 and then have fallen away—to be restored to repentance, because they themselves are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to open shame.
4 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Old Testament and Semitic languages scholar (PhD, Wisconsin, 2004), Scholar-in-Residence at Faithlife/Logos, and host of the Naked Bible Podcast. Argued that the Hebrew Bible assumes a real divine council of lesser elohim under Yahweh, and held that this reading defends rather than threatens the deity of Christ.
Cite this page
"Michael S. Heiser on Perseverance & eternal security", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/heiser/perseverance (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/heiser/perseverance).