Click here for the Hebrews 10:26-31 PODCAST
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. ~ Hebrews 10:26-31
We continue today in our study of Hebrews 10 where the writer of Hebrews has established the fact that the Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of all of the Mosaic Law. Through the blood of His sacrifice on the cross, the believer in Christ has been freed from the very wrath of God. Not only that, the Lord Jesus now is living His life in and through the believer. This is the exchanged life. The apostle Paul once said, "For me to live is Christ." In essence, the Lord Jesus is the believers justification and sanctification.
In v.26-27 of today's passage we read, "26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God."
Many come to this passage and assert a believer in Christ can lose his salvation. That makes sense if we ignore the context. The writer of Hebrews wrote these words to people who had a thorough understanding of Judaism. His readers knew that in the Old Testament there were sacrifices for all sorts of sin, but there was no sacrifice for willful deliberate sin. If someone was caught sinning deliberately and egregiously, they were put to death.
It was into this understanding that the writer of Hebrews wrote these words. And, he wrote them to these young Jewish Christians who were having a hard time pulling away from the religion they had always known.
The essence of his message to them was: Why go back to Judaism, knowing what you know about the Lord Jesus Christ and all He has done for you? This does not make sense. And, you do know there is no sacrifice for willful sin in the system of Judaism?
The "fearful expectation of judgment" spoken of here was the end result of those who were caught in willful sin, they were killed. This is why in v.28 the writer of Hebrews wrote, "Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses."
Then, in v.29 of today's passage we read, "How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?"
Again, the writer of Hebrews was reminding his readers of the seriousness of rejecting the free gift of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Our only hope is in the Lord Jesus, alone. You see, it is the blood of Christ, not the blood of any Old Testament sacrifice, that sanctifies us. Rejecting God's only solution for sin results in us going to Hell. The Gospel means good news, but the flip side of the Gospel means facing the wrath of God on our own.
Insulting the Spirit of grace comes on the heels of a person rejecting the free gift. The job of the Holy Spirit is to draw us to faith in the Lord Jesus who did every ounce of all that was needed to wash away our sin forever. It is an insult to the Lord Jesus to think that we must add to His sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of our sin. The writer of Hebrews wrote to these young Jewish Christians about the new covenant of grace and to enjoy this new covenant which made them holy. By entering into the new covenant through faith in Christ, they had yet learned to rest permanently from sacrificing animals and depending upon the blood of animals to temporarily forgive their sins and to make them holy. And, by maintaining that mindset, they were hindering the grace of God from doing what it was meant to do ... to liberate them into a deeper relationship with God.
In v.30-31 of today's passage we read, 30"For we know him who said, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' and again, 'The Lord will judge his people. 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."'
Again, the writer of Hebrews was writing to people who were tempted to go back to trusting Judaism and not trusting in the Lord Jesus. Spurgeon once said, "Think lightly of hell, and you will think lightly of the cross. Think little of the suffering of lost souls, and you will soon think little of the Savior who delivers you from them." The person who rejects the free gift of salvation through the Lord Jesus will in terror face God. Although some prominent evangelical leaders deny the doctrine of hell, we need to remember that the Lord Jesus spoke more about the terrors of hell than any other subject.
Jonathan Edwards got his title for his infamous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” from today's text. In that sermon, Edwards hammered home with frightening force the terrors of God's impending judgment, and also the refuge of the cross. I trust, my friend, that you have trusted solely in the One who hung on that old rugged cross. If not, invite Him into you life right now and begin to enjoy His matchless grace that He freely extends to you.
