Hebrews 10:26-31 ESV
“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Who is Being Addressed?
Who is being addressed here? If we read the previous verses
we see that it is Christians (and/or those merely professing faith in Jesus
Christ) who are being addressed. First they are being encouraged to draw near
to God with a true heart in full assurance of faith. And the indication is that
it means having been cleansed of their sins by the blood of Christ so that they
are no longer living in sin and according to the flesh but so that they are
living godly and holy and pure lives to the glory and praise of God.
And then they are encouraged to hold fast to their faith
without wavering, and that they are to stir one another up to love and good
deeds (or works), which are of the Spirit of God. And they are not to neglect
gathering together with one another to exhort (urge) and encourage one another
towards walks of holiness and righteousness, and away from continuing to live
in sin and for self. For some of them had been neglecting the practice of gathering
together for mutual encouragement in the faith.
The Exhortation
Now, what this says here is not taught just in the book of
Hebrews. Paul taught the same in his letters as did most of the other apostles.
And Jesus taught the same thing, too. Fundamentally, we can’t make a profession
of faith in Jesus Christ and then go on sinning deliberately and habitually and
be able to claim salvation from sin and eternal life with God. All throughout
the New Testament we are taught that if we walk in sin we will not inherit
eternal life with God regardless of what we have professed with our lips.
And then this lets us know how severe this is if we are to
go on (habitually) sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the
truth. Heaven is not going to be our eternal destiny, but hell will be. For when
we believe in Jesus, or when we profess to believe in Jesus, but then we habitually
and deliberately keep on sinning, we are trampling underfoot the Son of God,
and we are profaning the blood of the covenant, and we are outraging the Spirit
of grace who provided our redemption so that we can be saved.
But the way a lot of people are talking and preaching and
teaching today you would not even know that these words are in the Bible. For
many are teaching a cheap grace gospel (not the true gospel of grace) which is
not teaching the necessity of repentance, obedience, and submission to Christ
as part of faith that saves and that sanctifies. They just teach that all one
must do is profess faith in Christ or acknowledge what Jesus did for us on that
cross and that they are saved and going to heaven no matter what.
And so they are giving their adherents carte blanche to
continue living in sin habitually and deliberately, guilt free, while
guaranteeing them heaven when they die. I hear this all the time from people
professing faith in Jesus Christ that they don’t have to repent of their sins,
and that they don’t have to obey the Lord, for they call that works salvation
or Lordship salvation. But if it is, it is what Jesus taught and it is what the
New Testament apostles taught, and they told us if we don’t repent and obey that
heaven is not our home.
So, we need to know that our salvation is not some prayer we
pray or some public confession of faith we proclaim and it is not a one-time
thing that happens in our lives which guarantees us heaven when we die. Our
salvation is deliverance from our slavery to sin and it is empowerment of God’s
Spirit to now walk in holiness and in righteousness to the glory of God. And it
is ongoing, i.e. we are being saved, and it is the one believing who has
eternal life, for Jesus said that we must die daily to sin and follow (obey)
him.
So, whether we end up in heaven or in hell is dependent not
on what we profess but on what we live. For if we live to please the flesh, it
will end in destruction. But if we live to please the Spirit, it will end in
eternal life. And if sin is what we practice and if righteousness and holiness
and obedience are not what we practice, then we will not inherit eternal life
with God but we will spend eternity in the fires of hell. So we need to take
God and his word seriously and know that it is a fearful thing to fall into the
hands of God.
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn
15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1
Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:21-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Col
3:5-10; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn
2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Ac 26:18; Rev 21:8,27;
Rev 22:14-15]
Here
is Your God!
An Original Work / July 18, 2012
Based
off Isaiah 40:9-31 NIV
You who bring good tidings to Zion,
Lift up your voice; raise with a shout,
And do not be afraid of the people.
Say, “Here is your God!”
See how the Lord God comes now with power.
His arm rules for Him; His reward with Him.
He tends His flock just like a shepherd,
His lambs in His arms.
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from beginning?
Our Lord sits enthroned above all things.
None to Him compare.
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens.
Who made all of these? Who calls them by name?
Because of His great power and strength,
All accounted for.
Why do you say, “My way is hidden
From the Lord, and my cause forgotten”?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord, He is your God.
He will not weary. He gives us power.
Those who trust in Him will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings just like eagles;
Walk and do faint not.
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