Hebrews 10:26-31
Notes
Transcript
Main Course
Main Course
The danger of apostasy, v26-27, v29
The danger of apostasy, v26-27, v29
Connection to v19-25
v19-25 encourage Christians to draw near to God, hold on to their hope with both hands and encourage one another towards godly living. The basis for that was the Gospel, v19-21: why on earth would anybody forfeit these privileges, when they have been blood-bought by Jesus? That’s the carrot.
In many ways, v26-31 are the stick. Only foolish (modern?) thinking says that love doesn’t use a stick to persuade. Proverbs 13:24: “Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.” You don’t turn to the rod when you lose your temper, but when your love for your children dictates so.
Many were going astray from the faith from among the community of Hebrews. He has already called upon the faithful among them to take action, 3:12-14. He again hinted at problems with faithfulness in 10:25: “the habit of some” has become “giving up meeting together”. To the writer, this has signalled a big enough problem to allude to the Day of the Lord, “the Day”. They doubtless were looking forward to this, as did the people in Amos’s day, Amos 5:18
Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
That day will be darkness, not light.
They were mixing idolatry with the worship of God, sinful living with their sacrifices, but still thought they were OK. They were not.
Is the community in Hebrews in such a state? By and large: no! But “some” are. And the writer addresses them as a community, issuing a stern warning again—because he loves them.
Warning against apostasy, v26-27, 29
The connection to the previous passage is indicated by an untranslated word in NIV: “for”. The connection particularly is to the neglect of meeting together, a habit of some.
Described here is apostasy, departure from the faith, as is clear from the context, especially v23. It is the “sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” of 3:12.
It is characterised by habitual, persistent, wilfully sinful life by a professing Christian, v26.
“deliberately keep on sinning”: not falling into sin. It is wilful (“deliberately”) and persistent (“keep on”).
“after we have received the knowledge of the truth”: not hearing it once, but receiving it as truth. This is faith. So apostasy is, as one commentator puts it, “a calculated, persistent renunciation of the truth received” (William L. Lane, Hebrews 9–13, vol. 47B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1991), 292.)
Can you see why “giving up meeting together” is such a big deal? It is a sign of poor spiritual health. Worse still, if somebody is living in sin, they will be isolated from the community of faith, hardening them in their sin. We should never take irregular church attendance lightly—it’s that dangerous. It can be the beginning signs of apostasy.
There is no hope for the apostate
“no sacrifice for sin is left”, v26-27. “the only sacrifice that can remove defilement has been repudiated, and the sufficient sacrifice of Christ cannot be repeated (10:10, 12, 14) […] The apostate is regarded as the adversary of God.” (William L. Lane, Hebrews 9–13, vol. 47B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1991), 293.) This reminded me of Exodus 21:12-14:
‘Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death. However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate. But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.
What the apostate is really doing, v29.
Hebrews Exegesis
The sin here is another way of speaking of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit (Matt 12:31–32; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10) or is manifested in the resistance to the Spirit in Stephen’s hearers (Acts 7:51; cf. also Acts 5:3).
Taken cumulatively, the three clauses in v 29 define persistent sin (v 26a) as an attitude of contempt for the salvation secured through the priestly sacrifice of Christ.
The seriousness of apostasy, v28-31
The seriousness of apostasy, v28-31
In light of God’s Law, v28-29
“How much more severely”
Two or three witnesses testifying that the law is right and you’re in the wrong vs. God presenting His Son whom you repudiate. God’s witness is greater than all human witnesses put together.
The greater glory of the New Covenant in Christ compared to the Mosaic Covenant demands a worse punishment. “As we have seen so often in Hebrews, the earthly punishment forecasts and anticipates a heavenly punishment.” (Thomas R. Schreiner, Hebrews, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2021), 325.)
“do you think”—he’s reminding the readers of what they know. He makes it personal, because it is.
In light of God’s character, v30-31
The quotes come from Deuteronomy 32:35-36, Moses’s farewell song, a chapter in which God highlights his love and faithfulness to His people, and rebukes His people for their unfaithfulness to him (v1-14). The Lord is long-suffering, but His patience has a divinely set limit; therefore He says in v34-38.
Notice: “we know him who said”—we know God is just, does all things well, and what He promised, He will do. How could we live in blatant sin, even reject Him, and hope for mercy? He will not go back on His Word.
“The Lord will judge his people.”
This might be a surprising sentence. But let’s consider what it means: the Lord will see to it that justice is done among His people. This means that God is acting consistently with His character, and His people are no exception to this.
Let us remember that “his people” in context refers to the nation of Israel: and as Paul makes clear, “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.” (Romans 9:6) Just because you belonged to Israel, and your body was circumcised, did not mean that your heart was as well. That is how the Old Covenant worked.
Similarly, in the church, when we gather for worship, we welcome all, believer and unbeliever alike. When it comes to baptism and church membership, we require more: a credible profession of faith—that is, we seek to ascertain whether you are in covenant with God through faith in Christ, before we apply the sign of the covenant (baptism) and welcome you into the covenant community (membership).
But we are fallible; we may welcome people who are not really Christians. Eventually, some may begin to fall away, stay away from the church, but may still profess to be Christians—it is to them that the warning is issued: “The Lord will judge his people.” Don’t play around—God sees your heart, and “the Day” will reveal who is truly the Lord’s. In light of that, live lives that are holy, reflecting who you are by thinking and acting as God would—and when you stray wilfully, be warned that God is not fooled.
The elect will respond favourably to this warning, repent and will be restored. This is why James 5:19-20 writes:
My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Those who are not genuinely God’s people will not heed the warning. They will go to full apostasy, and will be treated as God’s enemies. No wonder the author concludes in the sobering v31.
We may not see this fully until “the Day”; in this world, wheat and weeds grow together in the same field (cf. Matthew 13:24-29). The weeds masquerading as wheat may bring even the church to disrepute—but God will judge, and thereby vindicate His people. The bride of Christ will shine in her full glory.
What then should we do?
What then should we do?
We should seek to obey the charge of v24-25
Let us love one another enough to seek out, and if necessary, warn the erring brother/sister. Is there anybody missing who is unaccounted for? Is this a regular thing? Let’s not turn a blind eye just because it’s embarrassing or scary to bring this up with them. Let us be winsome, loving and bold.
“encouraging” means “to spur … on”: not just saying nice things to lift the other up, but lovingly being prepared to say the the hard thing for their good.
Let us bring one another repeatedly to Christ, v19-21. He will welcome back the repentant child of God, as He graciously forgave Peter for denying Him. There is ample provision for all our sins in the blood of Christ. And He is a merciful High Priest. Let us not abuse, but fully full on His gracious provision for us.