The Letter to the Hebrews
The Danger of Going On In Deliberate Sin
Hebrews 10:26-31
Imagine that it’s 100 degrees outside, and you are standing under a waterfall – feeling that cool, clean, clear water pouring down on you. Because Jesus died for your sins, and you are trusting Him – you are standing under a waterfall of God’s grace.
· God’s grace has forgiven all your sins; all your past sins, and all your present sins, and all your future sins.
· God’s grace has clothed you with Jesus’ perfect righteousness, so even though you have remaining sin, God sees you as being perfectly righteous.
· God’s grace has adopted you into His family as His child, so that forever He loves you, cares for you, guides you, provides for you, satisfies you in Himself.
· God’s grace is changing your heart so you are growing in loving Him, obeying Him, and trusting Him day after day after day.
· God’s grace continues to forgive you whenever you confess your sins to Him. Day after day, month after month, year after year – forgiving, forgiving, forgiving.
· And God’s grace promises to bring you to heaven. You will not lose your salvation. The good work He started, He will continue. You will certainly have the joy of knowing God with all the redeemed forever and ever and ever.
Because Jesus died for your sins, and you are trusting Him, you are standing under a waterfall of God’s grace.
But this raises a crucial question. Does that grace mean I can go on in deliberate sin and still end up in heaven? Can I continue sinning – knowingly, deliberately – and still be forgiven and go to heaven?
I’ve heard Bible teachers say “Yes, you can.” And I’ve heard other Bible teachers say “No, you can’t.”
What’s important is not which Bible teacher says what. What’s important is what does God’s Word say. So what does the Bible say? To answer that let’s turn to Hebrews 10:26. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Hebrews 10:26 is on page 1007 in the Bibles we are passing out.
So what does the Bible say? After you are saved can you live any way you want and still end up in heaven? To answer that, let’s read vv.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 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 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 one of the most frightening passages in the Bible. And God puts it here because He loves us and does not want us to face His judgment.
So who is it that will face God’s judgment? The author tells us in v.26 – it’s those who go on sinning deliberately. So what does that mean?
What does it mean to go on sinning deliberately? In v.26 the author gives us three clues. Read that verse again –
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
The first clue is the word “sinning,” which is the everyday, ordinary word for sin. So the author is not talking about a few extreme sins, like murder or denying Christ and becoming a Buddhist. This word “sinning” shows that he’s talking about any way that we clearly disobey God.
And the second clue is the first word in v.26 – the word “for.” The New International Version does not include that word – but it’s there in the Greek. That word “for” shows that to fully understand v.26 we need to read the previous verses.
So let’s read vv.24 and 25 with v.26 to see what we discover about what it means to go on sinning deliberately –
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love [that’s love for God] and good works [that’s serving others],
25 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 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins …
So v.26 gives the reason for vv.24-25. So why we must stir each other to love God, stir each other to serve others, and why we must not neglect meeting together. It’s because -- v.26 – if we go on sinning deliberately, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.
So he’s talking about --
· The sin of not loving God – not longing for God, desiring God, worshiping God, seeking God in prayer and the Word.
· The sin of not serving others – not forgiving others, not bearing other’s burdens, not caring for widows and orphans and the needy, not sharing the Gospel with the lost.
· The sin of neglecting to meet together – not gathering with other believers, not worshiping with other believers, not being taught with other believers.
So -- does that mean that if, for example, you blew off time in the Word this week – then there no longer remains a sacrifice for your sins? Not necessarily.
I say this because of the third clue. Notice the exact words he uses – “if we go on sinning deliberately.” The words “go on” mean this is something you continue to do without stopping. And the word “deliberately” means you are not confessing it, battling it, fighting it.
So if you blew off time in the Word this week – but you own up to it, confess it, battle by faith to change that this week -- then you are NOT going on sinning deliberately. But if you blew off time in the Word this week – and don’t care, don’t confess it before the Lord, don’t battle by faith to change – and just continue to blow off time in the Word – then unless something changes you are going on sinning deliberately.
So – are you going on sinning deliberately? Don’t think about anyone else here. The author wants all of us to be thinking of ourselves. So ask -- am I going on sinning deliberately?
And what happens to those who go on sinning deliberately? The author tells us starting in v.26. Let’s read what he says –
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins –
If there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, then that means Jesus was not punished for these sins. Which means this person will need to be punished for their sins. And to see what that means look at v.27 --
27 [there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins] but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
So all there is in this person’s future is fear – the fearful expectation of God’s judgment and the fury of God’s fire that will consume his adversaries – punishing them forever. Then vv.28-29 --
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 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?
So if we go on sinning deliberately then we will face a worse punishment than physical death. What’s worse than physical death? Eternal punishment from God. Then vv.30-31 --
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.
So what will happen if we go on sinning deliberately? The worst thing possible. A fate worse than physical death. We will be punished by God forever for our sins.
Now at this point some of you might have the wrong idea. Let’s say that you are not going on sinning deliberately. You are trusting Jesus and fighting the fight of faith. You are battling sin. You are conquering temptation – and when you stumble and sin, you confess your sins, and get back up and keep fighting. So you are not going on sinning deliberately.
But this passage could make you fear that someday you might turn from Christ and start going on sinning deliberately – which would mean you will face the punishment described in vv.26-31.
But if today you are trusting Jesus and battling sin – I’ve got good news for you. YOU WILL NEVER FACE THE PUNISHMENT DESCRIBED IN VV.26-31! Because if today you are trusting Jesus and battling sin – then that shows you have been saved. And because God has saved you, He will not let you turn from Christ and go on sinning deliberately. The good work He started, He will continue.
But didn’t the people who are going on sinning deliberately receive the knowledge of the truth? Yes. But that can’t mean they were genuinely saved, because when God genuinely saves someone – He keeps them trusting Jesus and fighting sin until the end.
So if today you are battling sin and fighting to trust Jesus – you don’t need to have any fear. You can know for sure that you will continue in the faith all the way to the end and be saved.
But – if you are not – if you are going on sinning deliberately – then you should fear. Because unless something changes – you will be punished by God forever for your sins.
But why? Why is the punishment so severe? To help us see why this punishment is so severe -- the author gives us three pictures in v.29 --
How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one [here’s the first picture] who has spurned [literally: “trampled underfoot”] the Son of God, and [second picture] has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and [third picture] has outraged the Spirit of grace?
Think about it like this. To save us, God took a step that shows such love – a love so intense, so sacrificial, so costly -- that it’s almost frightening. He loves us so much that He sent His own Son to be punished in our place for our sins. He sent His own Son, who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature. And the only reason we can be forgiven for our sin is because the One hanging on the Cross -- the one being punished for our sins -- was the Son of God. We should love the Son of God!
But if we go on sinning deliberately -- first picture – we spurn – trample underfoot -- the Son of God. God punishes His Son so we can be forgiven for our sin and freed from our sin. But if we respond to this by going on deliberately in sin, it’s like we tear Jesus off the Cross, throw Him on the ground, and stomp on Him.
Then here’s the second picture. As the Son of God died He shed His own blood for us. This blood is the blood of God’s covenant – by which our hearts are changed and progressively and ultimately set free from sin. There is nothing so ugly as sin, nothing so hateful as sin, nothing so dangerous as sin. And the blood of the covenant can free us from sin. We should love the blood of the covenant!
But if we respond to this by going on deliberately in sin, continuing knowingly in sin, then we are profaning the blood of the covenant – spitting on it, desecrating it, mocking it.
And here’s the last picture. Because of the blood of the covenant, God the Father gives us the Spirit of grace -- the precious Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes God’s grace real in our lives. It’s by the Spirit of grace that we receive help, feel comfort, have power over sin, are enabled to pray, understand God’s Word, and see and feel the glory of Jesus. All of this and more comes from the Spirit of grace. Love the Spirit of grace!
But if we go on sinning willfully -- third picture – we outrage the Spirit of grace. See, the Holy Spirit loves Jesus. His whole ministry is to glorify Jesus. So if we trample underfoot the Son of God by continuing in sin – if we profane the blood of the covenant by going on deliberately in sin – we outrage the Spirit of grace. The Holy Spirit becomes furious – angry – outraged.
That’s why it’s right – so, so right – for God to punish forever those who go on sinning deliberately.
So let’s say you have been going on sinning deliberately. You have trampled underfoot the Son of God. You have profaned the blood of the covenant. You have outraged the Spirit of grace.
And let’s say you fall on your knees before Jesus and say – “I’m sorry. Help me. Forgive me. Change me.” What will happen? The One you’ve trampled underfoot will love you -- forgive you – embrace you. The blood of the covenant you’ve profaned will wash you – change you – free you. The Spirit you’ve enraged will comfort you – strengthen you -- fill you.
So do that now.