Hebrews 10:26-31 The Message
26-31 If we give up and turn our backs on all we’ve learned, all we’ve been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ’s sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God’s Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that he’ll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: “Vengeance is mine, and I won’t overlook a thing” and “God will judge his people.” Nobody’s getting by with anything, believe me.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
From the Midst of the Mob, a Time for Discipline?
If we are gut level honest, with ourselves, others, we all can recall times when we have failed, faltered, or temporarily lost any interest in the things of Christ.
These experiences can unsettle the faith of even the most seasoned believer.
What, then, are we to make of our faults, failures and our own stumbling’s?
The Bible is clear that once we are in Jesus’ hand, we are not coming out.
Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me … No one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).
Indeed, our stumbles, failures serve as a daily reminder to, no matter what the circumstances cling to God’s promises all the more and not to our own merit.
For those who are hidden in Christ, “all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
When God promises that nothing will ever separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39), that includes our seasons of stumbling and of sinning.
When we have been redeemed by Christ, when we have been brought into His orbit of grace, He promises to complete the good work which He began in us. (Philippians 1:6)
We must conclude, then, that a genuine believer cannot be lost.
It is not possible!
According to God’s mercy, we are brought into His family and guarded by His power until the day of salvation (1 Peter 1:5).
The Bible is equally clear, however, that there are also those who for a time are marked by some dedication to God but who then turn in opposition to Jesus and His Word, never to return to Him again. (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8,)
Their repudiation of what they once professed reveals that they never genuinely nor authentically nor faithfully belonged to Jesus at all.
Such individuals, notes the author of Hebrews, receive the knowledge of truth and perhaps even suggest to others around them that their faith is sincere, but in reality, they are trampling the Son of God underfoot.
They engage in the reverse of what Paul describes in Philippians 3:8:
“I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
Paul counted everything in life as rubbish compared to knowing Jesus.
But these men and women taste of the hardcore goodness of the Lord yet come to count Him as the rubbish (truth is too hard) when offered earthly pleasures.
The aim of the writer to the Hebrews is to warn against complacency, which leads to dangerous drifting (Hebrews 2:1).
The anonymous author of Hebrews is consistently urging the readership to run to the cross in their weakness and failures, for the wonder of the cross is that there is no sinful believer that cannot be forgiven, the glory of the Holy Spirit is that there is no weak believer He cannot preserve, He cannot revive, empower.
When you stumble, then, stumble toward the cross.
And when you and I awake each day, ask the one who died in our place for a fresh outpouring of His grace in order that you may persevere in your faith.
Draw Near to God and God will Draw Near to You
James 4:7-10The Message
7-10 So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.
Sin absolutely has consequences.
Consequences which can easily cause us to question the Authority of God.
Consequences which can easily cause us to question the Sovereignty of God.
Consequences which can easily cause us to question the Legitimacy of God.
Consequences which can easily cause us to question the maximum love of God.
Consequences which can easily cause our steadfast and immovable faith to be shaken, shifted, cracks in our foundation soon appear, as from a earthquake.
Divisive issues from within the church which cause rancor and disaffiliation.
Family against Family, Brother against Brother and Sister against Sister.
We have likewise consistently and persistently learned from the Bible —and personally—how life without maximum faith in God brings terrible results.
In today’s verses from Hebrews 10:26-31 we are reminded that we may not “keep on sinning after we have received … the truth.”
In other words, once we receive salvation in Jesus, it is time to change our ways.
Hebrews 10:19-25 English Standard Version
The Full Assurance of Faith
19 Therefore, brothers,[a] since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
And we can only do that in God’s strength, under God’s surest protection.
In the full assurance of faith in Christ Jesus our Savior.
Moment to Moment, Watched Over and Guarded by God’s matchless power.
But rancor and division and disaffiliation in and within the Kingdom of God comes marked displeasure and anger from the throne of God. (1 Corinthians 3)
From within this propensity to sin quite badly, God may decide to discipline us.
When we face a hard time, we should eagerly ask if this is discipline from God.
If it is, then all sides must rush to that attitude of shared consolation, shared repentance, reconciliation, not return to the sins that God is disciplining us for.
Perhaps you are lonely because you have allowed relationships to break.
Friends and family and churches have forsaken you because of your behavior.
With the Holy Spirit’s intercessory help we can all finally get right with God and with others, and those divided relationships can be faithfully one day restored.
Maybe you are reading these words in prison or within a prison like restrictive environment – refugee camps, migrant and immigration processing centers.
If you deserve to be in prison, you know in your heart that you sinned against God and others.
Countless millions of people have found or renewed their faith in God during their time of imprisonment – there is no place God’s grace cannot reach you!
From within any, all restrictive environments, God guards and protects you.
God invites you and everyone around you to join, to rejoin His family by sincerely turning or returning to His Son Jesus the Christ as your Savior.
As the Prodigal Son found out, whatever your sin or situation, today is the anointed time to (re)open your life to the Savior, who is seeking you now.
This may be an appointed time of discipline, but it is also the time of salvation.
This also the anointed and appointed time for everyone to draw near to God that God will also draw near to us – discipline us for a time – restoring His Kingdom.
Draw Near to God And Hold Fast to the Gospel
If our sins are forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus, then there is no further need for the sacrificial system represented by the tabernacle and the Temple (cf. Hebrews 10:18).
“Therefore” (Hebrews 10:19) introduces the whole practical section of the letter, but also specifically the application of this point.
The finished work of Jesus gives us confident access to God. It is by His blood, and through the metaphorical “veil of His flesh” that we thus boldly approach (Hebrews 10:20).
With Jesus as our high priest (Hebrews 10:21), exhorts the writer, let us:
“Draw near” (Hebrews 10:22) faithfully, with a sincere heart; and in the certainty of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ (which we call “assurance of faith”).
Make your approach boldly, having had your conscience (inwardly) cleansed by the blood of Jesus, having been outwardly washed in the obedience of baptism.
Furthermore, let us:
“Hold fast” (Hebrews 10:23) to the confession of our hope. Ours should be a rock hard, sturdy foundation of hope, because He who made the promises is reliable!
And, (Hebrews 10:24-25), let us be considerate of other Christians, encouraging one another to love and good deeds.
Let us never neglect the meeting together of Christian community, both giving and receiving the word of exhortation – and all the more so, said our writer all those centuries ago, as we see “the anointed and appointed day” approaching.
Then, having drawn near, make every possible maximum effort to keep near!
Recall that these new Hebrew Christians were not unfamiliar with persecution (Hebrews 10:32-35).
Perhaps this was why some of them were inclined to fall away (Hebrews 6:6)?
‘But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you,’ the writer assures, ‘and things that accompany salvation’ (cf. Hebrews 6:9).
“We are not of those who draw back to perdition,” he asserts, “but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39).
Still, the writer issues another warning (Hebrews 10:26-31).
Perhaps some were still inclined to slip from their moorings (cf. Hebrews 2:1)?
If so, perhaps it begins when we neglect to meet together under the sound of the Word of God (Hebrews 10:25)?
Again, we should keep in mind the specific Jewish background which we looked at when grappling with Hebrews 6:4-8 The Message.
4-8 Once people have seen the light, gotten a taste of heaven and been part of the work of the Holy Spirit, once they’ve personally experienced the sheer goodness of God’s Word and the powers breaking in on us—if then they turn their backs on it, washing their hands of the whole thing, well, they can’t start over as if nothing happened. That’s impossible. Why, they’ve re-crucified Jesus! They’ve repudiated him in public! Parched ground that soaks up the rain and then produces an abundance of carrots and corn for its gardener gets God’s “Well done!” But if it produces weeds and thistles, it’s more likely to get cussed out. Fields like that are burned, not harvested.
The writer is demonstrating the untenability of even contemplating a return to Judaism (Hebrews 10:26b).
For those Hebrew Christians, that was what it was to ‘fall away’ (Hebrews 6:6).
The language is strong (Hebrews 10:26-29; cf. 2 Peter 2:20-22), but mercifully punctuated with compassion (Hebrews 10:39; cf. Hebrews 6:9).
The indictment (if it is that) is against those who sin WILFULLY after they have “received the knowledge of the truth” (Hebrews 10:26a).
The question may be: have we really “received” it? So, for us as well as for them, it is a matter of the WILL.
Is our will anchored in the One who taught us to pray ‘THY will be done’ (Matthew 6:10; cf. Luke 22:42)?
The threat is real.
If we have not Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 10:26b), then we are going to hell (Hebrews 10:27).
If we have (Hebrews 10:29) “trodden underfoot” the Son of God; counted the blood of the covenant “an unholy thing”; and “despised” the Spirit of grace: then the punishment that awaits us is worse than that which was under the law (Hebrews 10:28-31)!
“It IS a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31), but our writer does not leave his readers there.
Rather he calls upon them to remember what they have already come through (Hebrews 10:32-39 The Message).
Hebrews 10:32-39 The Message
32-39 Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.
It won’t be long now, he’s on the way;
he’ll show up most any minute.
But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust;
if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy.
But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.
Is it really worth throwing everything away after all this?
Effectively, He calls upon them to return to their ‘first love’ (cf. Revelation 2:4).
It appears that the Hebrew Christians had compassion on those who were persecuted for righteousness sake (Hebrews 10:33; cf. Matthew 5:11-12).
And, having their eyes set on the things which are above, endured the spoiling of their own goods (Hebrews 10:34).
The writer encourages ongoing confidence and reminds them that their reward awaits them in heaven (Hebrews 10:35; cf. Matthew 6:20).
Jesus said, ‘he who endures to the end shall be saved’ (cf. Matthew 24:13).
We must have the patience to bend our will to the will of God in order to receive the promise (Hebrews 10:36).
This is the desire of our writer (cf. Hebrews 3:12-14 The Message).
12-14 So watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as God’s still calling it Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul.
These words keep ringing in our ears:
Today, please listen;
don’t turn a deaf ear as in the bitter uprising.
People then, as now, were anxious for the return of Christ: so the writer encourages them as to its certainty.
And reminds them, as Habakkuk reminded his readers some centuries before, that meantime “the just SHALL live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38; cf. Habakkuk 2:2-4).
Those who are truly saved “do not draw back” but “believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39).
But we are not quitters who lose out. Oh, no!
We will stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 121 The Message
121 1-2 I look up to the mountains;
does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
3-4 He won’t let you stumble,
your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel’s
Guardian will never doze or sleep.
5-6 God’s your Guardian,
right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
sheltering you from moonstroke.
7-8 God guards you from every evil,
he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
he guards you now, he guards you always.
O ABBA Father Almighty, Your Son, My Savior Jesus is beyond precious to me. I know that I ever so richly deserve discipline and punishment for my sins. Thank you God for your love, for thy Son Jesus, for willingly taking my punishment so that I may be forgiven. May my life always demonstrate my love and loyalty to him and to you. I pray, I plead to Forgive me for ever insulting you, Jesus, or the Spirit. In Jesus’ name.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 