Hebrews 10:26-31
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
Hebrews 10:27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
Hebrews 10:28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
Hebrews 10:29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
Hebrews 10:30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”
Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
This is a fearsome passage, and must be considered with a spirit of grace and humility, for the message has been interpreted in many ways, defending a number of teachings within the Body of Christ.
The larger issue in this passage is the intended audience. Is this intended to address those who have yet to enter the salvation provided by the Messiah, but are simply looking in from the position of the Old Testament faith? Hebrew faithful who are still considering the claims of the Messiah?
In my current understanding of the Word, to be a faithful Hebrew was to be a follower of the Messiah when (or shortly after) first coming into contact with Him, for He provided varied, ample and timely evidence of His office and ministry of Messiah. The faithful Hebrew, (sometimes called the remnant throughout the Old Testament) looked for the Messiah, and to have Him displayed so prominently, with so many evidences, none the less than the resurrection from the dead, tells me that to remain outside of the community of faith was to show evidence of unfaithfulness as a Hebrew.
Isaiah 28:5 In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,
Therefore, I am of the opinion this passage is directed to the faithful Hebrew, the remnant of His people. The passage is for the one who has seen the evidence, believed the message and has followed after the Christ, abandoning the old system of relating to God through animal sacrifice and temple worship. And this passage supports this understanding. The author includes himself in this warning, as he begins this passage.
… if we go on sinning deliberately
First, the author speaks of sinning deliberately. This may be translated as sinning willfully, acting in opposition to the knowledge of the truth.
Now I don’t know about my reader, but I want to humbly confess that I have known the will of God in certain times of my life and yet failed to perform that known will. I have been weak, obstinate and without excuse.
Is the apostle addressing this condition, this state of belief in the saint? Possibly, but at the risk of seeming to justify my own weakness to maintain my citizenship in heaven, I am thankful the apostle defined the “willful sinning” in a following verse.
As we consider the following three phrases in verse 29, I think we will appreciate the clarification of the “willful sinning” referred to earlier.
Our next posts in this series will address each of these phrases. I am looking forward to finding out more about them and trying to communicate my findings to you.
Until them, may the Lord bless you and keep you, and make us a blessing to others!
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