God Will Judge His People

GOD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE Spring Valley Mennonite; March 8, 2020; Hebrews 10:26-39 Almost 30 years ago, when we first moved from Houston TX to Hesston, we lived on Ridge Road, a mile south of town. By the time Trucks and automobiles passed our house, they were usually going rather fast. Living on a busy paved road has its advantages and disadvantages. During snowy weather, the road is quickly plowed, and one doesn’t have to wash his car quite so often. A paved road keeps the dust down. But it is also very dangerous, and we often warned our children about playing close to the road. Unfortunately, training our dog to avoid the road was more difficult, a task we ultimately failed at, and we had to deal with the trauma of losing our pet to a dump truck. I read that the job of a preacher is to comfort the troubled, and to trouble the comfortable. This passage of scripture will trouble anyone who has grown comfortable with sin. When danger exists, we must do all we can to guard against it. Such is the case as presented in our passage today in Hebrews 10. There exists a great danger for Christians of all ages. In our study of Hebrews, we have come to the fourth of five warning passages. This passage, along with that of 6:4-8 describe the extremely dangerous situation of a believer who falls away from the truth, even to the point of apostacy. As we examine these warning passages, the traditional conservative view is to place these apostates as non-believers, those who are part or have been a part of the church but have never actually been saved. This removes a lot of the difficulty in interpretation. Another popular view in interpreting this passage, which I strongly believe scripture does not support, is that a true believer can lose his salvation. I will quickly admit that sincere and godly theologians have differed among the various views on this issue. As I proposed earlier as I have covered the warning passages, I believe the author is describing the heavy hand of God’s discipline and judgment on a believer who falls away, but not to the point of losing salvation. This passage is speaking of the loss of blessing, protection, and reward. What we have here is a description of the heavy price to be paid by a believer who turns away from the truth and chooses to live in rebellion to His Savior, and God’s response to such apostacy. Allow me to present why I hold this view. Read Hebrews 10:26-27. There are: I. TWO REMEDIES FOR A CHRISTIAN’S SIN We who preach the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith alone, apart from works are often accused of preaching a gospel of “easy believerism” which gives a license to sin, a gospel which leads to loose living. This accusation is understandable, as there can always be found those believers who do not live godly lives. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul describes “carnal or fleshly” Christians who were “walking like mere men.” They didn’t act much different than the non-believers around them. The Bible is full of examples of children of God who fell into sin and became a reproach to the Lord and His church. We remember Ananias and Sapphira in Acts, or Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Peter and Thomas. All sinned against the Lord. It is clear to me that the author is continuing to speak to believers, the same ones he addresses in verse 19 with the term “we”; also “us” in verse 20, “we” in verse 21, “us” in 22, 23, and 24. Without breaking thought from the preceding verses, clearly written to believers, he continues in verse 26 “For if we…” Same group of listeners, with whom the author self-identifies. “For if we go on sinning…” At this point we must acknowledge the presence of non-believers within the church. In fact, the church should always be welcoming to those who are seeking God. Simply attending church doesn’t make one a Christian, and among those who attend church throughout the world are many who know “about God” but do not truly “know God” having been saved by grace through faith. Such was the case within the original audience of this letter. These ones would also be warned by these words, although they are not the primary target of the warning. For true believers who sin there exist two choices on dealing with their sin: the first is to acknowledge the sin, repent and confess. For those who wisely follow this path, there is forgiveness and restoration in accordance with 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” But what about those who do not repent? How does God deal with them? Does He just overlook their sin and let them slide? Or does God “kick them out of the Kingdom” denying them the salvation they once enjoyed? Neither one of these options are taught in the Bible. Nowhere does the Bible teach that we can sin with impunity. But neither does the Bible teach that a true believer can lose his salvation. There truly are responsibilities of grace, and clear consequences for our sins, both present and in the future at the Judgment Seat of Christ. God’s response to a lack of repentance and to a believer’s continuance in sin is judgment and chastening. The form this chastening takes may be physical in the form of weakness, sickness and even death. I Corinthians 11:30, in describing sins regarding the Lord’s Table, states, “For this reason many among you are weak and sick and a number sleep (or have died).” Read vv. 28-29 II. AN ILLUSTRATION FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT Under the Mosaic Law there were different classes of sins. There were sins of ignorance, those done because of weakness or waywardness; sins of omission and sins of defilement. Sacrifices were available to atone for each of these sins. But there were sins for which there was no atoning sacrifice such as adultery, murder, and idol worship. On the testimony of two or more witnesses the penalty for such sins was death. However, as demonstrated by the sin of King David of adultery and murder, upon sincere repentance God could extend grace. But the consequences of those sins followed King David for the rest of his life. His personal family life was a shipwreck with incest, murder and even the rebellion of his own son Absalom who tried to take over the kingdom. The point being made in these verses is if the Mosaic Law--which now has been replaced by the greater Law of the New Covenant—If the Old Covenant prescribed death without mercy for serious sins and crimes, how much more serious is apostacy for a Christian? How much more severe will be the punishment of such a one who abandons the faith which saved him? The terms used of “Trampling underfoot God’s Son”, of “regarding Christ’s sacrifice as common”, “His holy blood as unclean”, and “insulting the Holy Spirit”—such terms create a sense of horror and disgust that someone would do this. But in fact, this is what a believer does when he fails to deal with sin and abandons the faith. Only God’s grace can rescue such a one, and forgiveness is possible, but the consequences could not be more severe. The doctrine of the Judgment Seat of Christ is severely under emphasized in the church. Perhaps we think we can sin with impunity, thinking “at least I will be in heaven.” It is there at the Judgment Seat that a lack of rewards will be experienced by those who wasted their opportunities during this life. I truly believe that when Jesus spoke of laying up treasures in heaven that He implied that some will forfeit eternal rewards and some measure of responsibility in heaven. Some will have great reward, and some will not—how exactly will these rewards be experienced? Scripture is not specific, but the principle is clear. I believe these rewards will affect our eternity. But the present consequences of falling away can also be most severe. A believer who refuses to repent and continues in sin after a process of church discipline may suffer public rebuke. The removal of the protective hand of God may lead to physical sickness or even to an early death, as 1 Corinthians 11:30 describes. Financial and family problems may result, as evidenced by King David’s later life. Certainly, a lack of purpose and frustration and falling victim to the schemes of the devil will follow. In 1 Corinthians 5:5, Paul speaks of an unrepentant believer, “I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit ay be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” Abandoning the fellowship and support of the church may lead to a life of isolation and loneliness or of a life surrounded by the ungodly. Read vv. 30-31. III. GOD IS NOT TO BE MOCKED Perhaps you have, at times in your lives, experienced the loving yet unpleasant discipline of the Lord. It is at times like those that we learn that God loves us too much to allow us to continue in sin. Hopefully we have learned to quickly respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and repent and confess our sins and experience the forgiveness God guarantees. But if we stubbornly hang on to our sin, we learn that God has all the resources of the universe at His disposal to try and change our minds and the direction of our lives. This respectful awareness of God’s awesome power and loving jealousy toward those whom He loves and sacrificed His Son to redeem is part of the FEAR OF THE LORD. God hates sin because of what it does to us. He will go to all lengths to purge that sin from our lives. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. IV. A DEFENSE AGAINST APOSTACY AND FALLING AWAY: REMEMBERING Read vv. 32-35. Verse 32 gives a picture of God’s grace with the word “But.” But remember the former things. When times get difficult, or when we find ourselves under the strong discipline of the Lord, we are to remember the past times when God came through for us. We are to remember the joy of walking closely with the Lord, how the joy of the Lord was our strength. We are to remember how we were motivated to endure hardship, and it didn’t even seem difficult because of the wonderful presence of the Lord. Not every day is a pleasant day. Often, because of illness or circumstances, a day may just be crummy. Sitting in the hospital waiting room when a loved on is having life-threating surgery is not pleasant. Burying a parent or a beloved brother or sister or even more dreadful a child is not pleasant. Bearing up under persecution or the loss of possessions is not pleasant. At such times we are to remember. “Remember the former days.” This “remembering” can be a potent defense against yielding to temptation and falling away from the faith. These believers were to remember the hardships of the past, the storms they had weathered, and to remember that such things were temporary, as is this present life itself. There is a better and more permanent life waiting, a life of eternal rewards. Therefore, hang in there; don’t throw away what is permanent for what is only passing and temporary and what will not satisfy. The future holds great rewards for the faithful at the Judgment Seat of Christ. That is the truth of verses 36-39. Read vv. 36-39. V. ENDURE UNTIL JESUS RETURNS God will give us the strength to hang in there, to endure until Jesus takes His Bride out of this world at the Rapture. Endurance, living by faith is what pleases the Lord. Purposing in our hearts to endure, serving the Lord with a pure heart, for whatever our remaining years on earth may hold, is God’s will for our lives. We live in troubling times which are challenging to our faith. Temptations abound, and it may seem easier at times to “go with the flow”, compromising our beliefs to avoid criticism or censure by our culture. But we can be more than conquerors through focusing on the future, letting heaven fill our minds. His return for us is nearer now than ever before. We are to live by faith, pleasing the Lord, enduring to the end. AND--We are to encourage one another even more as we see the day drawing near.