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, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 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? 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 fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
This is a scary passage. We are warned not to ignore what we are taught, not to take for granted the grace we have been given. If we do, we will face "a fearful expectation of judgment" (verse 27). This is particularly unsettling for those who struggle with addictions, for we indeed do "go on sinning" (verse 26). But we have to look at the whole verse. It says: "if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" (verse 26). We have indeed received "the knowledge of the truth", but a key word here is "deliberately". This is referring to someone who knows the truth, but deliberately, purposely, turns from that truth and follows a different path. It is not just a temporary backsliding, it is someone who consciously chooses to not be a God-follower. It is turning away and staying away. If I were to throw my faith out, and decide to live a hedonistic lifestyle, this would be a warning for me, for I would be hardening my heart against what I already know, and what hope would there be if I have already rejected that hope? But if I sin and then repent, and seek to continue to follow God, I would just be my usual broken self, covered by the grace of God.
Lord, help me to never turn away from You.
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 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? 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 fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
This is a scary passage. We are warned not to ignore what we are taught, not to take for granted the grace we have been given. If we do, we will face "a fearful expectation of judgment" (verse 27). This is particularly unsettling for those who struggle with addictions, for we indeed do "go on sinning" (verse 26). But we have to look at the whole verse. It says: "if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" (verse 26). We have indeed received "the knowledge of the truth", but a key word here is "deliberately". This is referring to someone who knows the truth, but deliberately, purposely, turns from that truth and follows a different path. It is not just a temporary backsliding, it is someone who consciously chooses to not be a God-follower. It is turning away and staying away. If I were to throw my faith out, and decide to live a hedonistic lifestyle, this would be a warning for me, for I would be hardening my heart against what I already know, and what hope would there be if I have already rejected that hope? But if I sin and then repent, and seek to continue to follow God, I would just be my usual broken self, covered by the grace of God.
Lord, help me to never turn away from You.