No Sacrifice Remains
Notes
Transcript
Eternal Security
Eternal Security
Once of the key doctrines to have been codified after the reformation is the doctrine of Eternal Security, or Perseverance of the Saints.
I think it is only fair to clarify that I do not hold to the Calvinistic doctrines of grace that define predestination or limited atonement. But, that said: I do believe that we cannot sin our way out of our salvation.
Hebrews gives us some trouble in holding a view that states: Once Saved Always Saved. We covered one of those difficulties back in Chapter 3 if you remember, verse 12
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Which seems to imply that we have the ability to depart from God in a spirit of unbelief. Hebrews 6:4-6 seems to support this, where we read:
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
And so while I hold to the doctrine of eternal security — The doctrine that states that once we are saved we are always saved — That we can not sin our way out of heaven.
I can’t withhold this warning as I preach through the word of God. There are those in the church that will fall away — And they will be lost eternally in Hell.
Self-Deceived?
Self-Deceived?
Charles Spurgeon the great Prince of Preachers very much held to the doctrine of eternal security, and here is how he addressed this tension in scripture:
Beginners in the way of grace, it is a great and solemn truth that every child of God will hold on until the end, but it is an equally solemn truth that many who profess to be the Lord’s are self-deceivers, and will turn out apostates after all.
It may be that when a Christian falls away from that faith, that it is indeed a case of self-deception. That we may believe that we are saved, but are not.
Church Culture
Church Culture
The church in our country is an incubator for this kind of apostasy. I have shared this before, but one of the most scathing critiques that I have heard of the church was written in an article I read several years ago:
Church can become a suitable backup for people who can’t afford a country club.
This resonates with me pastoring a one room church plant. Because you know what most people looking for a church are looking for? Kids programs, social activities, Christian retreats, etc. — I am not condemning any of those things, but when church has become a social hub it is easy for people to be in love with church life without actually submitting their hearts to the Messiah.
Every one of us drives around in a car with a seatbelt. In 1968 it became mandatory for every car manufactured to include a seat belt. In Ohio it became law to wear your seatbelt in the car in 1986. — But the seatbelt is a device that we really don’t know if it works until we test it. — If you get into a collision and you don’t go flying through the window, well the belt worked. Otherwise, we don’t really know.
Our faith is the same way. We can play a Christianity and we can claim faith in the gospel of Christ — But until that faith is put the test, we don’t know if it is genuine faith or not.
See — If we are playing at Christianity, when that faith is put to the test, when our resolve fails, or when we start being asked to endure difficulty for the Kingdom of God. — We will know the nature of our faith in how we respond.
Hebrews
Hebrews
Well — That was just he intro. And it brings us to our passage this morning. A passage that no doubt has kept many Christians awake at night contemplating.
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Our message this morning is entitled No Sacrifice Remains as we continue our series A Once for All Life.
Let’s Pray
It Means What it Says
It Means What it Says
There is no way around v26
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
There is nothing we can do. I have done the word studies, I have read the commentaries and what this passage means is this
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
An Audience for Hebrews
An Audience for Hebrews
Consider the audience that the book of Hebrews is being written to. Hebrews is written to, well, Hebrew people. And the common ground that the author and the readers had was the religion of Judaism. — They knew the Mosaic law and in v28 they are reading something that they already knew — And he is using that knowledge to make his point from Deut 17:1-7 — You can turn there and follow along but let’s pick up in v2
2 If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant, 3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
And what does it say to do in v5
5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.
It was pretty serious. — You don’t just turn away from the Jewish faith. Under the Mosaic law it was a capitol offense.
Willfully
Willfully
We rightfully get hung up on this phrase If We Sin Willfully. Because we read this as If we sin knowing it was a sin. And so we read this passage in Hebrews as the nail in our own coffins because I can guarantee that everyone here has sinned in a way that they knew it was a sin ahead of time.
The Holy Spirit guides us in discerning sin, and Let’s be honest with ourselves, how often when we sin do we look back surprised that we were sinning? I would venture that most of the time we know what we are doing.
So, temptation gets it’s hands on you, and now you read this saying all that is left for you now is an expectation of what we read in v2 — The judgment and fiery indignation of the Lord.
But understanding the Old Testament context we get a clearer picture. What is the passage in Deuteronomy about? Apostasy. Turning away from the faith.
Sin - The Verb
Sin - The Verb
The tense of the word sin in this passage is a present-active-participle. I will spare you the english lesson and read to you what the Bible Exposition Commentary has to say about it:
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Nine: The Superior Sacrifice (Hebrews 10)
The tense of the verb indicates that Hebrews 10:26 should read, “For if we willfully go on sinning.” This exhortation is not dealing with one particular act of sin, but with an attitude that leads to repeated disobedience
A Willful Person
A Willful Person
I have known some wilful people, haven’t you?
If you have understood someone being referred to as willful then you understand this. Someone who is willful is going to do what they are going to do and they don’t have any care about the consequences, and it is a defining characteristic of their lives.
What Hebrews is telling us is that when a Christian sins it may be deliberately, but it won’t be the pattern of their lives and they will feel guilt and remorse for the sin. — They won’t be willful about it, they won’t thumb their nose at God in rebellion.
No More Sacrifice
No More Sacrifice
We don’t have a temple to fall back to. Verse 26 literally says there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins And like I said, what it says is what it means.
We have been building this case in Hebrews. What did we read back in v10-12 ?
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
Christ made the true sacrifice once for all and the work was done. — Of course there is no more sacrifice for willful sin. There is no more sacrifice for any sin — Jesus paid it all!
But that also meant that they couldn’t run back to their old ways of worshiping and sacrifice in the temple. A truth that was punctuated by the sacking of Jerusalem in 70 in which, as Jesus has prophesied, the temple was destroyed and the sacrifices has ceased to this day.
Exclusivity
Exclusivity
The gospel of Christ is exclusive. That is probably one of the major criticisms a post-modern culture has with Christianity. In post modernist world — that is accepting of all views — this exclusivity is ironically unacceptable.
And While I may have given some comfort to those who thought that v26 meant that any intentional sin was a condemnation to Hell, we need to take v29 with great soberness.
Because it says this of those who have become Apostate, who have willfully turned away from God.
Remember, v28 gave us the Levitical context that leaving the faith was a death sentence and v29 continues:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Apostate
Apostate
The ugliest sinner is the sinner that has as Hebrews 6 says it tasted of the heavenly gift and then fallen away.
I quoted Spurgeon earlier, but in another place he said this:
The raw material for a devil is an angel. The raw material for the son of perdition was an apostle; and the raw material for the most horrible of apostates is one who is almost a saint.
Taken for Granted
Taken for Granted
This morning I ask you to not take your salvation for granted. The expectation is that there are those in the church, that call themselves Christians who are self-deceivers.
A pretty clear indication of self-deception is if you call yourself a Christian and have no care. I am reminded of that often cited verse in Matthew 7:21 where Jesus says
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Some are out their calling Jesus Lord and are going to be surprised when judgment comes. Who will these people be? Well, there isn’t a list but we can start with those who aren’t doing the will of the Father — Those who can sin with impunity.
Fate
Fate
And their fate is what we read in v27. It’s that judgment and fiery indignation.
There are a lot of more liberal theologians have tried to make the case that Hell as we typically define it is not in the Bible. The argument mostly goes that the King James bible and even most modern translation are incorrectly translating Gehenna, Tarturus and Sheol.
Let’s look one final time at v27
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Those who reject Christ have to look forward to Judgment, followed by fiery indignation. The Greek for what we have translated “fiery indignation” is zelos pyros. You know what a zealot is? You know what Pyro means? This phrase literally means intense fire.
Whether you have been self-decieved as a Christian for many years, or you have never been a follower of Christ. I want you to please take this warning seriously. Because unless you make the decision today to turn from your sin and to follow Jesus as your Lord there is only one thing you can ultimately look forward to — And I truly hope you avoid that fate.
If you have any questions about this message or if you just want to know about our Lord and what it mean to be his follower. We are going to close in prayer in just a moment. I invite you to come up after, I would love nothing more than to talk to you about our God.
Let’s Pray