July 24, 2022 Preaching | Bro. Matthew Dela Serna
There are five warnings and five corresponding exhortations that can be found in the book of Hebrews. In chapter 10, the author gives the 4th warning, the sternest of the five, it is the danger of presumptuous sin, committed continuously and deliberately. He then exhorts his audience to not shrink back, to endure patiently, and to live by faith.
Why is this warning important and relevant to us? As believers, we have the assurance of salvation, eternal life, and the affirmation that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Being recipients of these gifts then, we need to heed the warning even more because of the possibility of veering away from God and the penalty that comes with it.
Who is the audience of the warning?
These words of warning are intended for the Hebrew believers. The author is addressing God’s people, those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, those who have given up their lives for God.
What type of sin are they being warned against?
The nature of this sin is willful denial of who Jesus is and what He did for us. It is a denunciation of the person of Christ, the work of Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God in the life of the believer. It is turning away from God despite knowing full well the privileges gifted to believers. It is important to understand the time and cultural atmosphere that these Hebrew Christians were experiencing day in and day out. Having found their newfound faith, they were subjected to persecution and were therefore suffering as a result. Hence it was highly possible for them to consider giving up their faith, shrinking back and turning their back towards God.
What is the nature of judgment?
By committing this type of sin, the punishment is something that one would not even want to know or experience. While the judgment cannot be loss of eternal salvation nor loss of eternal life for the believer who commits this sin because there is already security in the blood of Jesus. The judgment will however be worse than the experiences of those in the Old Testament who rejected the Law of Moses and died without mercy. In v31, the author says “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” because we do not know what God is capable of doing, what God’s wrath looks like.
What should be our response?
We must first acknowledge that God loves us so much and is so merciful that He gave us this warning. He could have chosen not to give us the warning and the penalty will just be the same. But we are encouraged by this chapter in Hebrews to remember how much we love God and the reward that awaits us. If we want to experience the abundant life, we must heed these warnings, we must wait and patiently endure, and we must not shrink back to perdition. Our response to the warning should be to live our Christian life by faith. We must put our hope in Jesus, who will do everything to bring us back to Him. The Spirit of God will discipline us, because that is what disobedience brings. On the other hand, blessing is what obedience brings. So no matter what difficulties we may face in life, let us not allow ourselves to shrink back, but instead to patiently endure because He who is faithful is coming soon.