Day 767: A route to not go down - Hebrews 10 vs 23 - 31

23-25 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 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.

26-27 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgement, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28-29 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30-31 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:23-31 English Standard Version

Verses 26-31 must be one of the most solemn paragraphs in all of the Bible! Writing to some people who appeared to be wavering, and wondering if they should forsake Christ, he urged them to cling to the profession of faith they'd made, to keep on encouraging one another, and to not give up the meetings when fellow Christians gathered together. Then, to show how serious this matter was, he gives them a graphic description in vs 26-31 of what it would mean if they were to turn away from the wonderful high priest God had provided and the amazing sacrifice He had offered for them. What does he warn them against in vs 26-27, and why was it so serious?

He wasn't speaking of failures they might make along the way to live up to the life Christ calls them to – we are all guilty of that – but rather of a deliberate rejection of the truth they had received through the gospel. It doesn't mean they were going to turn to the worst sins we can think of, it just meant going back to live as if the gospel was not true. He says if they were to do such a thing, they would no longer be under the protection that Christ's sacrifice provides and would be exposed to the wrath of God in all it's fury. Those are strong words. But he takes it even further in vs 28-29. What are three words he uses there that show how serious this was?

He speaks of 'spurning' God's Son, ‘profaning’ the blood that was shed for sinners and the covenant of forgiveness God had made, and causing ‘outrage’ to the Spirit of grace. It would be as if they had turned their backs on the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. No wonder he says it would be a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. If despising God's laws given through Moses led to a penalty of death, what would those who despise His grace in the gospel deserve!

This raises again the question of whether true Christians can lose their salvation. A question that can't be answered in a glib way. I would say that these words in Hebrews reflect what Christ expressed in John 6:39-40 when He said: “This is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” The apostle Paul later said: “God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4) And the apostle Peter said that by ‘delaying’ the return of Christ, God was being patient with the world “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

The writer of Hebrews doesn't say that any of them had lost their salvation, but he was warning them of how serious it would be to spurn Christ and the sacrifice He had made to save them out of sin. He was urging them to press on and to not lose heart and give up because of their trials. It's one of the ways in which Christians are kept for salvation. It's not as much how we started the journey, as how we finish it. The Holy Spirit's encouragements, and His strong warnings, keep us going.