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.”
Old Covenant vs. New Covenant
Much of what the book of Hebrews talks about is to compare
the Old Covenant to the New Covenant and to show how we are not under the Old
Covenant, but we are under the New Covenant. Now some people interpret this to say
that we are no longer under any law or commands and thus we do not have to
repent of our sins, and we do not have to obey the Lord. But the book of
Hebrews dispels that notion in chapters 3 and 4, definitely, and again in
chapter 10, and perhaps in other chapters, too.
So, before I get into today’s passage, I am going to
summarize some of the verses leading up to this so that we can see this in
context. And I would encourage you to read all of Hebrews, but especially all
of chapter 10 and chapters 3 and 4, also.
Now, beginning with verse 5 we read that Jesus said that God
the Father did not desire burnt offerings and sin offerings, but then Jesus’
response was, “Behold I have come to do your will, O God.” And then in verse 9
it says, “He does away with the first in order to establish the second.” Then verse
14 says, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being
sanctified,” which is a process of being made holy, which involves our
cooperation with God and obedience to our Lord.
Sinning Deliberately and Habitually
Now there are many people, at least here in America,
professing faith in Jesus Christ who have not been crucified with Christ in
death to sin, and who thus have not been raised with Christ to walk in newness
of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. For
they are being taught a cheapened and altered gospel message which allows them
to make professions of faith in Jesus Christ, guaranteeing them forgiveness of
all sins and heaven as their eternal home, but while not requiring of them that
they die with Christ to sin and that they live to him and to his righteousness.
And so they feel that their salvation from sin now gives
them carte blanche (full freedom) to continue living in sin while professing
faith in Christ and heaven as their eternal destiny. But that is not what the
Scriptures teach. It is not what Jesus, Paul, or the other apostles taught. For
they taught that if we continue in sin and not in walks of obedience to our
Lord, and not in living holy and righteous lives, that we will die in our sins.
Heaven will not be our eternal home and we will not have eternal life with God.
So, if after we receive the knowledge of the truth, making a
profession of faith in Jesus Christ, we then go on sinning deliberately and
habitually, the sacrifice for sins that Jesus provided for us will not apply to
our lives, but instead a fearful expectation of judgment will be what awaits
us. And yet it goes on to describe this rejection of Jesus’ blood sacrifice for
our sins as trampling underfoot the Son of God, profaning the blood of the
covenant “by which he was sanctified,” and outraging the Spirit of Grace.
And since it says, “by which he was sanctified,” the
indication is that this person believed in Jesus, and he was sanctified by the
blood of Christ, but then he turned back to living in sin and for self and not
for the Lord. And I know that some of you reading this might think that is not
possible, but the Scriptures teach that it is. For the Scriptures do not teach
that we can believe in Jesus one time in our lives and now we are guaranteed
forgiveness of all sins and heaven as our eternal destiny, regardless of how we
live. They teach that we must die to sin daily and obey our Lord.
And the Scriptures teach our salvation as progressive, which
will not be completed until Jesus returns for his bride and he takes his
faithful ones to be with him for eternity. And they teach that we must continue
in walks of obedience to our Lord in living holy and righteous lives, and that
we must continue in these walks of faith steadfast to the end. For if we don’t,
but sin is what we practice, and righteousness, repentance, and obedience to
our Lord are not what we practice, then we are taught that we will not enter
the kingdom of heaven, and we will not inherit eternal life with God.
So, we need to be those who take God and his word seriously.
For the Lord is going to judge all of us by our deeds. Those who sow to please
the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. But those who sow to please
the flesh will from the flesh reap destruction, corruption, and death. For if
sin is what we obey, it leads to death, not to life eternal. But if obedience
to our Lord is what we obey, it leads to righteousness and sanctification and
eternal life (see Romans 2:6-8; Galatians 6:7-8; Galatians 5:16-21; Romans
6:1-23).
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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