A Warning Against Deserting Christ and His Gospel

INTRODUCTION

Open bibles to Hebrews 10

Dismiss kids to Rise & Shine

Prayer Time for Nation

Hebrews 10:26–31 “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.”

In the early 1700s, the spiritual life of the young American colonies was in sharp decline.

Many churches were full but spiritually cold. Formalism replaced heartfelt faith. The famous “Halfway Covenant” (1662) allowed unconverted descendants of Puritans to be baptized and hold partial church membership, which led to nominal Christianity.

Clergy Complacency: Many ministers preached moral improvement and social order rather than the necessity of new birth.

Moral Climate

Frontier Hardship & Immorality: Taverns, drunkenness, and loose sexual morals were common, especially in frontier towns. Church discipline had weakened.

Social Disunity: Colonies were fractured by denominational disputes (Congregationalists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers).

Wealth & Worldliness: Economic prosperity in some colonies led to materialism, echoing Edwards’ later warnings about misplaced affections.

Solomon Stoddard, pastor of the First Church of Christ in Northampton Massachusetts Bay Colony, lamented that New England churches were full of unconverted members. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

But, on July 8, 1741, Stoddard’s grandson, Jonathan Edwards, preached a sermon that helped spark what would become known as “The First Great Awakening.” This sermon was entitled, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” a title Edwards took from Hebrews 10:31.

God used this message to spiritually wake up a nation and a dead church. Isn’t that what we need today? We need another Great Awakening. We need God to wake up the Church and wake up people who claim to be saved but have never been born again.

And, that’s exactly what the author of Hebrews is warning against. This passage flows out of the passage we were in last week—remember—when we are born again we are saved INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD. But it’s possible to come to church, do all the right things, look the part…YOU CAN BE AMONG THE FAMILY OF GOD BUT NOT BE PART OF THE FAMILY OF GOD.

1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

God’s Word issues a strong warning against deserting Christ and His gospel.

Deserting Christ and His gospel is willful and deliberate.

(vs. 26-27)

“For…” —this is not an insignificant word. In fact, you may be thinking, “Preacher, it’s a little 3-letter word…why are you stopping to talk about it?” Well, it’s important. It’s important because these verses are flowing right out of what he’s just said (what we saw last week in verses 19-25.

The author has just given the reader 3 “let us” commands.

{vs. 22} “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” // share together in the grace of faith in confession and repentance and purity.

{vs. 23} “let us hold fast—together—the confession of our hope”

{vs. 24} “let us hold one another accountable to live out the love and life of the gospel”

All while we commit ourselves to meeting/worshiping together regularly and consistently.

But, here, the author is warning those who are living AMONG believers but don’t BELONG to the family of God who are willfully and deliberately not living out the life of the gospel—the life of someone who has been transformed by the power of the gospel and the Spirit of God.

Listen—repentance and obedience are THE DEFINING MARKS OF THE BORN AGAIN BELIEVER.

“You’ve heard the gospel call//you’ve been given the knowledge of the truth—draw near to God with repentant and obedient hearts cleansed by the blood of Jesus but you’ve refused…you’ve deserted that call and are just going through the motions.”

Profess a faith you don’t possess.

Deserting Christ and His gospel is blasphemy.

By deserting Christ and His gospel, you are/have…

1. “Trampled underfoot the Son of God”

Meaning: To treat Jesus with utter contempt, as if He were worthless. The picture is of someone walking on Christ like dirt on the ground—mocking His authority and ignoring His sacrifice.

Illustration: Imagine a nation’s flag. For many, it represents sacrifice, freedom, and identity. To stomp on it in public isn’t just stepping on cloth—it’s an intentional act of insult. Likewise, to “trample the Son of God” is to treat the Lord of glory with that kind of deliberate disdain.

2. “Profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified”

Meaning: To treat the blood of Jesus—the very blood that seals the New Covenant and opens access to God—as ordinary or common. “Profane” here doesn’t mean cursing but making holy things “cheap,” stripping them of their sacred value.

Illustration: Imagine someone throwing away a priceless family heirloom passed down for generations—something bought with the sacrifice of others’ blood, sweat, and tears. To treat Christ’s blood like any other blood is infinitely worse. It is to say, “His death means nothing to me.”

3. “Outraged (insulted) the Spirit of grace”

Meaning: To openly insult the Holy Spirit, who lovingly testifies of Christ and applies grace to our lives. Instead of welcoming His gracious conviction, this person mocks Him, resists Him, and treats His mercy with scorn.

Illustration: Picture a lifeguard swimming out to rescue someone drowning. Instead of accepting rescue, the person spits in the lifeguard’s face and pushes them away, even as the waves rise higher. That’s what it is to “outrage the Spirit of grace”—rejecting the One who alone can save.

These three phrases show escalating rebellion:

Against the Son: contempt.

Against the Blood: desecration.

Against the Spirit: insult.

The author of Hebrews isn’t describing a careless stumble into sin, but a willful, deliberate rejection of God’s greatest gift. It is a sober reminder: to walk away from Christ is not merely “neutral,” it is active rebellion against the triune God.

The most serious of sins…and, the one Jesus said was unforgivable.

Matthew 12:31–32 “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

Spurgeon:

Hebrews Exposition

Now, adultery and murder, and theft, and lying—all these are damning and deadly sins; but repentance can cleanse all these, through the blood of Christ. But to reject Christ destroys a man hopelessly. The murderer, the thief, the drunkard, may yet enter the kingdom of heaven, if, repenting of his sins, he will lay hold on the cross of Christ. But with these sins, a man is inevitably lost, if he does not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

Deserting Christ and His gospel is willful and deliberate blasphemy that has eternal consequences.

All throughout this passage, the author warns of consequences…

(vs. 26-27) — there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

He refers to two passages in Deuteronomy because they were familiar with the consequences of rejecting the law of Moses

(vs. 28 & 29) — how much worse punishment will be deserved…(Deuteronomy 17)

(vs. 30-31) — 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. (Deuteronomy 32)

Then…also…they were Roman…

Illustration: Roman Decimation

In the Roman army, desertion and cowardice were considered some of the worst crimes a soldier could commit. Rome’s discipline was legendary. To keep men loyal, they had a punishment called decimation.

Here’s how it worked: if a legion was guilty of desertion, mutiny, or running from battle, the soldiers would be lined up. Every tenth man was chosen by lot. And then, not the enemy, but their own comrades would beat them to death—often with clubs, stones, or swords.

Think about that. Even if you personally hadn’t run, if your unit failed, you might pay the price. It was Rome’s way of saying: “Desertion will not be tolerated. Betrayal brings death.”

Now if earthly armies treated desertion with that kind of severity, how much greater is the judgment for deserting Christ? The writer of Hebrews is warning us that to hear the gospel, to be among God’s people, and then to turn away willfully—that’s not weakness, that’s treason against the King of Kings. And the punishment is far worse than decimation. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).

Hell & the wrath of God

This Week’s Action Steps in My Life: 

Examine my life and respond to God’s gracious warning.

Examine my life and my own obedience. 

Does my heart break over the lostness and desertion of Christ and His gospel in the lives of those around me?