Some have asked if this text is talking about backsliding; it is not. If it were, it would be "impossible" (verse 4) for them ever to get right again. In verse 6, the writer revealed the condition he was dealing with when he spoke of "fall away." The Greek word is parapipto, and it means "to apostatize."

This question must be answered in view of the context. He was speaking of those who had fallen away. It is "impossible" to "renew them" (verse 6) because they are under a deception. They think they are all right; they think they are still new. Therefore, you cannot "renew them." The life they live with a profession and not a possession is what crucifies Christ and puts Him "to an open shame." 

Initially, Christ was crucified because of unbelief and rejection backed by a religious spirit, and that is the same thing apostates do yet today! Babylon continues to crucify the Lord afresh daily when they teach one can live in iniquity and still be a Christian. Second Timothy 2:19 reads, "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." Any experience that leaves you in wickedness or spiritual bondage while under the deception that you are spiritually fine (a new creature), crucifies "the Son of God afresh" because He came to set men and women free.

Earl R. Borders

I think Strong's is the most accurate place to start with its numerical reference to the Hebrew and Greek words. For a more expansive reference, I use several different reference materials. One of the most valuable I have found is Strong's Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words including Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary. For the New Testament, I use Thayer's Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, among others. For the Old Testament, I use:
 
• Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
• Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament 
• Theological Word Book of the Old Testament

As with any reference material, you must exercise caution and listen to Holy Ghost direction and enlightenment. As with most words, there are more than one definition, and it takes both considering the context and listening to the Holy Spirit to determine which is the appropriate definition for the particular passage under consideration.

Earl R. Borders

The Old Testament Levitical Law included stringent dietary restrictions. Leviticus, Chapter 11, as well as other Mosaic writings, sets forth those restrictions. Leviticus 11:4 says, "Nevertheless these shall ye not eat," and Moses proceeded to set forth specific instructions in the following verses of that chapter. However, with the introduction of the New Covenant, or Testament, there has been a transition. 

The Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 2:14 that through Christ's redemptive work on Calvary, there was a "blotting out [of] the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." The Old Testament dietary law was one of those "ordinances that was against us," which Christ's Crucifixion nailed "to his cross" and abolished.

The Old Testament practices under the Mosaic Law "was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ" (Galatians 3:24). The inspired penman said in Galatians 3:25, "We are no longer under a schoolmaster." When the Apostle Peter received a vision in Acts  10:12 of all manner of unclean animals under the Jewish law and was enjoined to "kill, and eat" (verse 13), he initially refused. 

However, the Lord clearly told Peter in Acts 10:15, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." Thus, the Old Testament dietary laws were no longer in force.  In I Timothy 4:3, the Apostle Paul spoke of those "commanding to abstain from meats," and he designated such teaching as "doctrines of devils" (verse 1). He went on to write in verse 4, "Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused." Verse 5 says, "It is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."

In Matthew 15:17-20, Jesus established a clear principle that an individual's spiritual state is not affected by dietary issues. Jesus was rebuked by the religious leaders of that day because "thy disciples ... wash not their hands when they eat bread" (verse 2). In response to this, our Lord proclaimed, "Whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught" (verse 17). Christ revealed, it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man but rather what comes out of the mouth (verse 18)! What a man eats has nothing to do with what could defile the spirit of man.