when this bible passage is often taken out of context it's like what š§ count Floyd of SCTV Fame would say " very scary kids "
Posted : 7 Mar, 2024 11:47 AM
hebrews 10:26 CSB for if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice.
the wrong way to interpret Hebrews 10:26 š«š«
Hebrews 10:26 is an oft-abused scripture. If you wanted to use this verse to scare people, there are a couple of angles you could take:
1. You could use this verse to present a ābalancedā view of God, like this: āHe is a God of grace and He is a God of judgment. Heās not some senile Santa in the sky. Heās a God of vengeance and a consuming fire. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.ā
2. You could also use this verse to preach works: āYou will be judged according to the light of your revelation and those who have received the knowledge of the truth will be held to the highest standard. Itās time for judgment to begin in the house of God. If you fall away it is impossible to be brought back to repentance!ā
trampling the Son of God under foot
a key to unpackaging this scripture is to recall the audience. Hebrews was written for ā surprise, surprise ā Hebrews. It was for those who have grown up with the āelementary teachingsā of the Old Covenant. In other words, the author writes for an informed audience. They know all about the law, sacrifices, and high priests. But what they may not appreciate is that the law was only a shadow of the good things to come. The law points to the true high priest Jesus and His eternally perfect sacrifice.
Hebrews was written to reveal Christ and His work so that we may āenter through the new and living way,ā āgo on to maturity,ā and ādraw near to God.ā That last bit is the key. How do I know the two sermonettes above are carnal nonsense? Because neither will inspire you to draw near to God. Indeed, they will have the opposite effect.
Hebrews 10:26 describes those who have received the knowledge of the truth (i.e., they have heard the gospel) but they have rejected it. The writer compares those who reject grace with those who reject law:
Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? Heb 10:28-29
This passage is not talking about Christians but those who, like Judas, have heard the truth and spurned it. Judas spent time in the company of the Lord. He not only heard the truth, he saw Grace and Truth in the flesh. But Judas rejected Jesus as Lord. He never saw Jesus as anything other than a rabbi. Calling Jesus āRabbiā is a bit like calling the President āMister,ā only infinitely more so. Itās not just insulting, itās unbelief.
Jesus came to give His life for Judas but Judas wasnāt interested. He preferred his own sinful life of greed and betrayal. I am sure Judas had many opportunities to repent (i.e., change his mind) and put his faith in Jesus, but he never did. He rejected the grace of God that could empower him to say no to sin.
Jesus died for Judas. What more could He do? There is nothing! There is no more sacrifice for sins other than the one Jesus provided. To reject Jesus as Lord is to trample the Son of God underfoot and treat the blood of the covenant as unholy.
How do you insult the Spirit of grace?
If I was to give you a free car out of the generosity of my heart, but you insisted on paying for it, I would be insulted. Similarly, we insult the Spirit of grace by trying to pay, with works and sacrifices, what God has freely given us. We may call it āproving our salvationā or āappropriating what God has givenā but it is unbelief. It is like saying, āI donāt believe Jesus has done it all. I need to finish what He started.ā
The wrong way to read Hebrews is to think that God is judging us on our performance. Over and over again Hebrews tells us that it is Jesus and His performance that matters. It is His sacrifice that made us holy, indeed, perfect forever Heb 10:10-14 How can we interpret Hebrews 10:26 as a warning against sin when Hebrews 9:26 says that Christ appeared once for all āto do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himselfā? Is His a finished work or isnāt it? If it is, then sin is no longer the problem. Where there is remission of sins, āthere is no longer any sacrifice for sinā Heb 10:18 The good news is that the Son of God is the once and final solution for sin. Because of Jesus, both God the Father and God the Holy Spirit choose to remember our sins no more see Heb 8:12, 10:17
The warning of Hebrews
In a forthcoming post I will look at Hebrews 6:4-6, which is another passage that bothers some. But the punch-line is the same. The main warning of Hebrews is not in regard to sin but unbelief:
So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. Heb 3:19
The Hebrews of Mosesā day never entered Godās rest because they hardened their hearts to His voice. In the New Testament era, many Jews were doing exactly the same thing. They received the knowledge of truth, they heard the gospel of grace, but they rejected it. They may not have said so in so many words, but by their actions they revealed their distrust.
For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Heb 4:2
The author of Hebrews writes to stir up faith. Without it we cannot please God. With it we can come boldly to the throne of grace.
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved Heb 10:39
Some people hear the good news of Godās grace and shrink back. They cannot believe it. āItās too good to be true,ā they say. āIād better cover myself by doing works.ā Do you see the danger? You cannot cover yourself. This is idol-worship. You are elevating yourself to co-savior with Christ. You are insulting the Spirit of grace by trying to pay for what God has already given you. This is why sermons that put the emphasis on you and your performance are dangerous. Donāt buy into any message that purports to give you a list of keys or steps that will help you achieve/accomplish/appropriate what you already have. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and the sweat of men to take away sins and it is faithless to strive for what you already have (every good thing!)
According to Hebrews there are only two kinds of people; those who donāt enter because of their unbelief and those who believe and are saved. Sin is not the variable; faith is. Where does faith come from? Jesus! He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith Heb 12:2
when this bible passage is often taken out of context it's like what š§ count Floyd of SCTV Fame would say " very scary kids "
Posted : 7 Mar, 2024 06:04 PM
āš”šļø ii. Hebrews was obviously written to Christians with a Jewish background, but it was also written to a Greek frame of mind with its analysis of Jesus as the ultimate reality. This approach to the nature of Jesus explains the Savior to the mindset of the Greek philosophers.
iii. Hebrews is basically a book that exhorts discouraged Christians to continue on strong with Jesus in light of the complete superiority of who He is and what He did for us
when this bible passage is often taken out of context it's like what š§ count Floyd of SCTV Fame would say " very scary kids "
Posted : 7 Mar, 2024 10:06 PM
But if the people who claim the Hebrew passage means loss of salvation, then it follows, salvation can never be regained (ie once lost always lost)ābut thats IF and only if the people teaching that are consistent with their own errant interpretation.
Thankfully the loss of salvation is totally foreign to Biblical theology.
