Jesus: The Greater Confidence

The Impending Judgment

Hebrews 10:26–31 NIV

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 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? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The writer of Hebrews is interrupting the point that he has been making for the last several chapters, that Jesus is our great high priest, our better tabernacle, our better covenant. The writer has been making his case over and over again conerning Jesus as the fulfillment of the law and the greater fulfillment of every piece of the Levitical system. He has been preaching this to the hearts of the hearers for the last few chapters. Now he breaks from this to confront their current response to this foundational truth.

The hearers of this letter were Jewish Christians who were facing persecution and trial for their faith at the hands of the Roman government and their Jewish brethren. These hearers were on the brink of abondoning their faith and returning to the Jewish law.

The writer pleads with them to see the error in this. He states that when we have been given the truth and the Holy Spirit has convicted our hearts and yet as a result of our current circumstances we willfully choose against that truth, we can not expect God’s grace to cover our deliberate disobedience. In other words, as long as we deliberately make decisions in contradiction tot he truth that we have been shown, we can not expect to be considered holders of the promise.

For many of us, this may bring great fear and trembling. How can the blood of Jesus Christ not be enough? Am I at risk of losing my salvation?

I believe what the writer is stating here falls under the same lines as his last interruption in chapter 6. The emphasis is put on the attitude and motivation of our heart. The first word in the Greek in verse 26 is the word deliberately.

When we deliberately remove the impact of Christ and the Holy Spirit from our relationship with the Father, then we are also removing the help provided to stand in the holiness of the Lord. So when judgment comes, we can only stand on our own deeds and actions and upon the word of two or three witnesses we will be condemned because we are not holy. For God to be a just and good God, he must judge sin and disobedience, especially that which is done deliberately with the knowledge of a greater hope.

The Response of Faith

Hebrews 10:32–34 NIV

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.

We will always find ourselves in less than desirable circumstances. This truth has been made all the more clear in our present hour. In times like this, we realize how little control that we really have. In these moments, we tend to quickly turn back to the Lord, but what about the moments when we seemingly are in control? When all this has passed, how will we respond?

Will our convictions move us to respond differently? When all of this is over, we will return to what we have for a long time considered the norm. In fact, I am sure by the fall, the quarantine time period will be a distant memory for that is how we are. But in these times will we continue to do what is needed to follow what the Lord has called us to?

The writer appeals to the times of trial and tribulation that these Jewish Christians have already faced. He points them back to their conversion and the hardships that they endured in the beginning when their faith was strong in their newfound hope.

We all have had to make choices to either hold to our conviction in Christ or respond in accordance with other desires. Maybe it has been relationships that have been strained as a result of our faith or business practices that have been challenged or maybe it has been the ways in which our time has been spent. We have all experienced the convicting of the Holy Spirit in how we are called to respond in these areas.

The Awaited Promise

Hebrews 10:35–39 NIV

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

The writer of Hebrews points us to the hope and promise that we have been shown as what is needed in these difficult seasons to remain steadfast. No matter what the world throws at us, no matter how hard times get, no matter the level of stress, pain and anxiety, the promise has not changes. Jesus is coming back. Our conquering King will ride in and avenge the day.

We must remain steadfast and not shrink bak for the Lord has a great prize and great reward, eternity with Him.