Restoring an Apostate: Can one who was saved, then turned away be restored?

I've been asked by one of the girls in my class how one can restore an apostate Christian into the fold of Christ.

For those who aren't familiar with the term, an Apostate is someone who once was a Christian -saved-  and then they decided to turn away from God. At the risk of sounding harsh, II Peter 2 compares this person to a dog who returns to its own vomit and says that the end will be worse for that person than if they had never obeyed the Gospel.

The short answer is that once someone has been a Christian and made the decision to turn away, you can't restore them, but please stick around for the long answer. The Hebrews writer tells us this in Chapter 6:4-6.

^"For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt."

(as a side note, this clearly references people who were once saved, and now are not saved)

Yes, there is nothing that you can do to change a person's heart, mind, or the way that he or she thinks. No amount of arguing and proving the person wrong will convince that person to become a Christian again. The main reason here is that people just don't change religions, political parties, or their perceptions about the world like that. Deciding to turn your back on God is not a decision that someone just makes overnight. It is a burning, questioning mind that thinks for a long time before deciding to change something that they have built their entire lives around, like a religion. Often this change can SEEM sudden, but usually it is something the person has been thinking about for a long time before they let anyone know about it. 

So, is there no hope for that person?

Of course there is. In I Corinthians, Paul tells us of a man who was guilty of a sexual sin, one that was even the pagans considered taboo. In Chapter 5:1-2 we read the following:

"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you."

This man had clearly turned away from God to practice things that even the pagans wouldn't tolerate. I believe that this is the same person that Paul is referencing when he calls for forgiveness and welcoming a sinner back into the church in II Corinthians 2:5-11.

^" Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you.  For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs."

and again in Chapter 7 verse 12-13.

"So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. Therefore we are comforted."

Yes, there is still forgiveness. Romans 11:20-23, while actually talking about Jews and Gentiles, teaches in principle that one can be cut off and grafted in again. You can turn back to Christ even after turning against him. Hebrews 6 does indeed say that it is impossible to bring an apostate to repentance. It's also impossible for a virgin to give birth to a son, but "nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37). Just because YOU cannot bring an apostate back to Christ, that doesn't mean that it is impossible for an apostate to repent.

So, is there nothing you can do?

If this is a person that is erring, but still TRYING to be a Christian you have a responsibility to correct that person like Simon the Sorcerer was corrected in Acts 8. If they are trying to be a Christian and you answer that their sin lovingly and sincerely, then that person should take the correction and make a change even if they don't seem to welcome correction.

If this person has completely turned their back on Christ, then it is a little different. This is a person who knows that their life is not in accordance with the teaching of Christ. This person has decided that Christ's teachings were good, but he was not God. What can you do for such a person?

Pray. Keep this person in your prayers. As I quoted earlier, nothing is impossible with God. This person clearly needs the work of God in their lives.

Love. This person will never hear a word you say unless you say it with love. They know where you are coming from. They know what you are supposed to do and that you are doing it.

Be patient. This person will not change over night. Don't expect them to.

There does come a time when the church is to cast this person from amongst themselves like they did with the sexually immoral man in I Corinthians. I struggle with this because I'm not exactly sure what this looked like back then or what it would look like today. I tend to believe that this does not mean a total excommunication from the church, but some would disagree with me. I believe this refers to exclusion from the first century church's common meals, common funds,  and worship services (Like we find in the latter part of Acts 2). In any case, it is important to do this delicately and lovingly. The elders in your congregation have likely dealt with this before and are usually equipped to handle these situations. If this person is living as an apostate and still coming to services, it clearly is not for the purpose of worship. His or her presence causes more distraction than it helps anyone, and that person can influence faithful people in the group. If the Church is where an apostate gets their social interaction or what they have their lives built around, exclusion means a big change in life for them. Some grief comes with that, but the hope here is that they will repent. If that person does not repent, then at least the negative influence is no longer in the church.