Hebrews 10:26-31

Hebrews 10:19–25 (NASB95)

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

The Hebrew Christians Were Encouraged to Draw Near to God

Jesus has Opened Up a New and Living Way into God’s Presence, Through Him

So Now We can Draw Near with Sincere Hearts, Full Assurance of Faith, and Cleansed Consciences

Because Jesus has Provided All of this for Us, We Should Hold On to Our Faith/Allegiance to Him

We Need to Be Thinking and Planning Ways to Stimulate/Prod One Another…

To Love and Serve Each Other

It is Our Responsibility in the Assembly to Encourage Each Other Toward These Goals

We Can’t Fulfill These Responsibilities if We Abandon the Assembly

In Our Abandonment of Our Family in Christ…

Not Only Do We Hurt Our Siblings By Not Fulfilling Our Responsibilities to Them…

But We Hurt Ourselves By Being Disconnected From God’s Loving, Encouraging People

We Separate Ourselves From Exactly What We Need to Keep the Faith

This Isn’t the 1st Time the Hebrew Author has Said this:

Hebrews 3:12–13 (NASB95)

Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

In Order to Stay Faithful to Jesus and Not Be Hardened By Sin…

We Need Intimate Relationship With and Encouragement From Other Believers

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.

This is the 4th of the 5 Warning Passages in Hebrews…

And Probably the Harshest of Them All

These Warning Passages are Meant to Warn These Wavering Christians…

Of What Will Be the Case if They Forsake Their Covenant with Jesus

Hebrews 10:26 (NASB95)

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

The Verse Starts with “For”

What Does that Tell Us?

It’s a Conjunction Similar to “Therefore”

It Reminds Us that We are in the Midst of a Context

He Just Told Them Not to Forsake/Abandon Their Assembling Together

“For if We Go On Sinning Willfully…”

The 2 are Connected

It’s Important to Understand the Verb Tense in this Passage:

To “Go On Sinning” Doesn’t Refer to the Occasional Sin

This is Something that Continues to Actively Take Place

Then We Have the Word “Willfully”/Deliberate/Intentional

What is a Willful/Deliberate/Intentional Sin?

Isn’t All Sin Willful/Deliberate/Intentional?

We’ve Talked About this Subject in Our Study of Hebrews Before

The Old Law Distinguished Between 2 Types of Sin

One Type of Sin Would Be Forgiven

The Other Type of Sin was to Be Punished By Death

Numbers 15:27–31 (NASB95)

‘Also if one person sins unintentionally, then he shall offer a one year old female goat for a sin offering. The priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who goes astray when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him that he may be forgiven. You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them.

‘But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.’ ”

The Difference is Between Unintentional Sin and Defiant Sin

What are the Differences Between These 2 Types of Sin?

Unintentional Sin Refers to Sin Committed in Ignorance or Moment of Weakness

This is the Person Who Wants to Do What is Right, But is Not Perfect

Defiant Sin Refers to Sin Committed in Rebellion Against God

This is the Person Who Shakes His Fist at God and Purposefully Disobeys Him

One Commentator Described it this Way:

Willful Sin “communicates the idea of willing participation in an action, something done with a clear mind and firm step”

It is a Willing and Conscious Rejection of God

Hebrews 10:26 (NASB95)

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

Those Who Were Forsaking the Assembly Weren’t People Who Occasionally Missed for Various Reasons

These Were People Who Were Defiantly Abandoning the Assembly as an Indication of Their Forsaking Christianity

These are the Kind of People Who Go On Sinning Willfully/Deliberately/Intentionally

Who is the Person Who “Receives the Knowledge of the Truth”?

The Person Who Accepts the Gospel of Jesus

This is Referring to a Christian

What is the Result When a Christian Defiantly, Rebelliously, and Continuously Sins?

“There No Longer Remains a Sacrifice for Sins”

What Does that Mean?

Jesus’ Once for All Atoning Sacrifice is No Longer for You

You Have Rejected Your High Priest and Sacrificial Offering

Therefore, Because of Your Rebellion, You are Hopelessly Lost in Your Sin

Hebrews 10:27 (NASB95)

but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.

They No Longer Have a Sacrifice for Their Sins

But What They Do Have is a Terrifying Expectation of Judgment

When Jesus Returns, He is Going to Be Coming With a Consuming Fire for His Enemies

Hebrews 10:28–29 (NASB95)

Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

To “Set Aside” = “to Reject”

Under the Old Covenant, Anyone Who Rejected Moses’ Law Would Be Put to Death

No Mercy Would Be Shown to Them

But What About Those Who Reject Jesus?

He Says They Deserve a Punishment Much Severer Than Merciless Execution

Why?

Because They Have Trampled the Son of God Under Their Feet

Apostasy, the Act of Abandoning Faith in Jesus…

Is Described as Trampling Jesus

How Much Do You Have to Hate Someone to Knowingly and Willingly Trample Them?

They Have Considered the Atoning and Sanctifying Blood of Jesus as Unclean

This Sacrificial Blood was Willingly Given By an Innocent Man Out of Love

We Deserved All of the Punishment, Anguish, and Pain

It Should Have Been Our Blood, But Jesus Took Our Place

And Through His Sacrifice, We are Considered Righteous Like Him

To Forsake Jesus is to Consider that Blood as Unclean, Defiling Garbage

Something that Should Be Tossed in the Trash as if it Were Nothing

It’s to Say that Jesus’ Death was No More Important Than Anyone Else’s

They Have Insulted the Spirit of Grace

What Does it Mean to Insult the Spirit of Grace?

God Granted Forgiveness and the Gift of His Life-Giving Spirit to His Sinful, Wicked Enemies

There’s Not an Ounce of Goodness in Us that Could Ever Deserve What He’s Done

For Us to Turn Our Backs On Such Grace is to Insult the Holy Spirit Himself Who Lives Within Us

It Amounts to Kicking God Out of Our Lives

Hebrews 10:30 (NASB95)

For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”

The Hebrew Author Quotes From Deuteronomy 32:35-36

This is a Section of the Song of Moses Where God Promises to Bring Vengeance Upon Israel’s Enemies

But it’s Important for Us to Remember that the Hebrew Author is Talking to Christians

Christians Who Forsake Jesus Make Themselves Enemies of God

And He is Going to Bring Personal Vengeance Upon Them

Hebrews 10:31 (NASB95)

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

To Fall into Someone’s Hands is to Be Overpowered By Them

It is a Terrifying Thing to Make Yourself God’s Enemy and Be Overpowered By Him

What Should We Do to Keep From Having a Heart that Forsakes Jesus?

Assemble Together with Other Christians for the Purpose of Mutual Encouragement

Focus On Jesus’ Loving Sacrifice and Priesthood on Our Behalf

Rely on the Spirit to Help Transform Our Hearts into Hearts that Love God