Hebrews 10:26-39
The Letter to the Hebrews • Sermon • Submitted
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· 9 viewsExhortation to not leave what we have gained in Christ and drift away and be swallowed up by the world. We must hold on to the faith we have and walk by that faith and not y sight.
Notes
Transcript
Christ or Judgement
Christ or Judgement
The writer of Hebrews closes this portion of the letter with the fourth or five exhortations in this message. Previously: The believer who
drifts from the Word (Heb 2:1-4) will begin to
doubt the Word (Heb 3:7-4:13. Soon he will become
dull to the Word (Heb 5:11-6:20) and become lazy in life, resulting in his
despising the Word. (Heb 10:26-39)
All this leads to willful sin.
26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 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?
30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
This exhortation is dealing with an attitude that leads tto continual disobedience.
In the old testament, there was no sacrifice for deliberate sin.
27 ‘Also if one person sins unintentionally, then he shall offer a one year old female goat for a sin offering.
28 ‘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.
29 ‘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.
30 ‘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.
31 ‘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.’ ”
Sinners who despised the Law of Moses and broke it intentionally were executed.
1 “You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God.
2 “If there is found in your midst, in any of your towns, which the Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, by transgressing His covenant,
3 and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, which I have not commanded,
4 and if it is told you and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the thing certain that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,
5 then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil deed to your gates, that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them to death.
6 “On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.
7 “The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
David knew his sin was punishable by death and no amount of sacrifice could atone for his willful disobedience when he wrote in Psalm 51:
(video)
An arrogant heart tramples on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It cheapens it. It insults the Holy Spirit, Instead of a life filled with Faith, Hope and Love, the believer who wilfully sins brings disgrace on the Name of Christ and the entire church.
For this action, the disengaged believer can expect severe discipline from God. God does not always take the life of a rebellious sinner - but He does ultimately deal with them.
31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
What should a believer do who has slipped away into doubt and deliberate sin? Turn back to God for mercy and forgiveness. Repentance is the turning from sin and toward God. There is no sacrifice for deliberate sin.
Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient and does not have to be repeated. He is waiting for us to repent and turn back to Him. He will welcome us with open arms, like the father does his prodigal son.
32 But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings,
33 partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.
34 For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.
35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
37 For yet in a very little while,
He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
38 But My righteous one shall live by faith;
And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.
39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
In these passages, the writer assures the readers that they are true believers who follow the Word of God. He does not expect them to turn from their faith after all they have endured to get to where they are. He does not expect you and me to turn from Him.
In verse 38, he quotes from Hab 2:4
4 “Behold, as for the proud one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the righteous will live by his faith.
It is also quoted in Romans
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
where Paul emphasizes “righteous". In Galatians
11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.”
he deals with “shall live”.
In Hebrews
38 But My righteous one shall live by faith;
And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.
deals with “faith”.
The secret to victory in Christ is in patience and faith - this is courageous endurance. We must hold on to the faith which fuels our endurance.
If we live by faith we will continue to hold true until that time the Lord takes us hoe to glorious perfection. If we live by sight, we will drift away into the world that surrounds us wanting to drag us down.
A believer who walks by sight and not by sight wastes his life and the gift of eternal life given to hi by God.
To walk by faith is to walk in the word of God. To follow the teaching of Jesus Christ when this world tries to drag you back into its clutches. We lose our lives for His sake - and ave them.
25 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.
Which brings us to our memory verse:
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11-13 is the final section of this great letter. It describes a life of faith and the rewards that result. It also show how the world treated (treats) those who walk by faith.
This world is still dragging those who walk by faith down, “canceling” them, deleting their message of hope for this fallen world.
It hates anything that speaks of a moral law, an absolute truth. A single way to salvation.
Indeed, to the world there is no salvation. It all ends at death. Live your life to the fullest! This is as good as it gets!
Well, if this is as good as it gets, let me off now.
On the contrary,
I know that my redeemer lives.
25 “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.
I know that He has gone before me to prepare a place for me.
2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
I know that He has sent the counselor - the Holy Spirit - as a down payment on my salvation.
7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
He (the Spirit) will remind me of all that Jesus taught and bring those thought to mind just when they are needed.
13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
And, I know that when I have completed the works He prepared for me in advance, He will come to bring me home to live with Him forever.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
Walk by Faith and Not by sight.