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Heb
10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice
for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery
indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two
or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be
thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God,
and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was
sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto
me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord
shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the
living God.
Here
again, the author of Hebrews gives us more ominous verses to
meditate upon; and as we have already studied, these verses
are directed only to believers. Let us, first of all,
examine the type of sin that Paul is talking about—what is
willful sin? Sin, we know, is the transgression of the law
of God; and sin is, first and foremost, against the being of
God Himself.
We also know that God is Holy; that God cannot sin; and that
God hates sin. Furthermore, Jesus did not come just to save
His people from the penalty of sin, but He came to “save
his people from their sins.”
1 John
3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law:
for sin is the
transgression of the law.
Psa
51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done
this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified
when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
1 Sam
2:2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none
beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
Tit
1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie,
promised before the world began;
Prov
8:13 The fear of the
LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil
way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Matt
1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call
his name JESUS: for
he shall save his people from their sins.
We
further understand that, in spite of what we have just said,
God’s people do commit sin. Many times we are overcome with
temptation and we fall into sin; many times we sin
ignorantly, unaware that we have done evil; and many times
we sin by failing to do that which is right, when we know to
do right. Although we, as believers, strive to live holy
lives, we understand that perfection in not attainable while
we live in this body of sinful flesh. We are going to sin
many times and in many different ways, but “he (God)
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John
1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us.
Matt
26:41 Watch and
pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed
is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Numbers 15:27 And if any soul sin through ignorance,
then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin
offering.
28 And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul
that sinneth ignorantly,
when he sinneth by ignorance
before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall
be forgiven him.
James
4:17 Therefore to
him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is
sin.
The issue
therefore becomes—not that we will sin, but what is our
attitude towards sin. If we truly have a repentant heart
towards God, our sin will produce sorrow of heart. Like the
Psalmist David, we will cry out for God’s mercy and
forgiveness; and we will find that God is more than willing
to “create in (us) a clean heart … and renew
(in us) a right spirit.” Paul said in another place
that “godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to
be repented of.” True sorrow and repentance will bring
changes to our heart and life and draw us closer to God. It
is a part of the normal Christian experience that causes us
to mature in Christ.
Psa
51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy
lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender
mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me
from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever
before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil
in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou
speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother
conceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in
the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me,
and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which
thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine
iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right
spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy
spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me
the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free
spirit.
2 Cor
7:8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not
repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same
epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a
season.
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye
sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after
a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in
nothing.
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not
to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh
death.
11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a
godly sort, what
carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of
yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what
vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all
things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this
matter.
On the
other hand, when someone commits willful sin, they
are doing it with an ‘I don’t care’ attitude. They
are not being tempted beyond their means to refrain from
sin; and they are fully aware that what they do is indeed
sin. However, there are many children of God, if not all,
who become so discouraged and defeated at times in their
life, that they also deliberately sin—but this is not
willful sin; it is sin that is done in the pit of
despair, which, in brighter days, would be avoided. It is
important to be able to differentiate what kind of sin we
have committed; because Satan loves to take young Christians
and “sift (them) as wheat.” He convinces them
that they have committed the unpardonable sin or that there
is no more sacrifice for their sins. Many a saint has
languished in despair for long periods of time thinking that
all is lost. The book of Hebrews can be very unnerving if
not understood properly; and Satan knows the Bible better
than we do and uses it for His advantage.
Luke
22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold,
Satan hath desired to have
you, that he may sift you as wheat:
2 Cor
2:11 Lest Satan
should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of
his devices.
Gen
3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the
field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the
woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every
tree of the garden?
Who then
are those saints which “sin willfully”? They are, as
we found in our last study, mature believers who “have
received the knowledge of the truth.” All Christians are
given a certain “knowledge of the truth” when they
are saved. They are given knowledge about their sin and the
awful state of their soul; they are given the knowledge that
there is nothing they can do—by their own works—to change
their eternal destiny; and they are given the knowledge that
Christ paid their sin debt upon the cross. Furthermore, all
believers—to some degree— “grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
However, mature saints are those who go beyond the level of
most other Christians. Their hunger and thirst for the
knowledge of God drives them to pray for God’s truth and to
study and meditate upon God’s Word. These are believers who
have committed themselves to the service God, and God in
return commits to them “the hidden wisdom.” What may
we say are those hid treasures that are given to these
saints?: (1) The knowledge of God Himself—His person, His
manifestation as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, His
holiness, His sovereignty; that He is almighty, omniscient,
and omnipresent; that He is the Divine Architect and Creator
of all things; that He is loving, compassionate, and
merciful to His creators; that He has been friend to man,
identified Himself with man, and become Saviour to man; that
He is the coming King of Kings and will be the Judge of all
men. (2) The knowledge of salvation—election, grace, faith,
repentance, the blood atonement, redemption, justification,
substitution, regeneration, and resurrection. (3) The
knowledge of the Christian life—the old man, the new man,
the indwelling Christ, living by faith, the liberty of the
believer, the security of the believer, and the power and
gifts of the Holy Spirit. (4) The knowledge of final
things—the Rapture of the Church, the great tribulation, the
return of Christ, the Millennial reign, the final judgment,
the New Heavens and Earth, and the eternal state. Although
many believers have some understanding in many or most of
these things, their knowledge is superficial. Their
understanding has not been “enlightened” by the
Spirit of God so that these concepts become a reality in
their lives; and they are mostly unaffected by the truths
which they profess to believe. To know the truth is
to be given a special revelation from God that makes His
Word a part of our spiritual life.
Luke
1:77 To give
knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of
their sins,
2 Cor
4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, hath shined in our hearts,
to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
1 Tim
2:4 Who will have
all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth.
2 Pet
3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and
for ever. Amen.
Eph
1:15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the
Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you
in my prayers;
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation
in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your
understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is
the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of
his inheritance in the saints,
Eph
4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and
some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and
fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the
sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in
wait to deceive;
15 But speaking
the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which
is the head, even Christ:
Col
1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do
not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be
filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and
spiritual understanding;
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all
pleasing, being fruitful in every good work,
and increasing in the
knowledge of God;
1 Cor
2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet
not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this
world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the
wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which
God ordained before the world unto our glory:
Matt
5:6 Blessed are they
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they
shall be filled.
John
6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words
that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
The
warning then is to those who have known the truth but who
sin in spite of the truth. They are those whose knowledge of
spiritual things could and would deliver them from
temptation and sin; but they consciously, and in full
control of their faculties, choose to sin anyways. But why
would any believer who has been so blessed by the knowledge
of God’s truth choose to sin against that truth?—
they become “hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
Some have allowed their Christian liberty to be “an
occasion to the flesh” and the flesh has overtaken them.
Many, like Demas, forsake Christ “having loved this
present world.” Believers cannot love the world and at
the same time give their devotion to God. Those whose heart
is drawn toward the riches and the things of this world soon
find their heart cold towards God. While the knowledge of
God can and does deliver those whose heart is following the
Lord, those who become ensnared by sin become “the
servant of sin.” These believers soon “depart from
the faith” “giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines
of devils”; and soon find that “their conscience
(is) seared with a hot iron.”
Heb
3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an
evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To
day; lest any of you
be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Gal
5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty;
only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but
by love serve one another.
2 Tim
4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this
present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica;
Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
Matt
6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate
the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the
one, and despise the other.
Ye cannot serve God and
mammon.
1 Tim
6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a
snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown
men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil:
which while some coveted
after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows.
1 John
2:15 Love not the
world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man
love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
John
8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whosoever committeth
sin is the servant of sin.
1 Tim
4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter
times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to
seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy;
having their conscience seared
with a hot iron;
Therefore, what is the condemnation of those to whom these
Scriptures apply?— “there remaineth no more sacrifice for
sins.” However, we must determine in what sense the
writer of Hebrews makes this statement. It cannot mean that
these wayward saints lose their salvation. Those who are
truly born-again can never be lost. The sacrifice of Christ
“hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
Those who have received Christ have the gift of eternal life
and “shall never perish.” The salvation of lost
sinners is all of grace—God the Father elected those that
are to come; God the Son died for those the Father had given
to Him; and the Holy Spirit draws, regenerates, indwells,
and seals those that are Christ’s. If one chosen saint
were ever lost, God would be a failure. No matter how bad a
believer might become, Christ is able “to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
Heb
10:14 For by one
offering he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified.
John
10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they
follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall
never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my
hand.
29 My Father, which
gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to
pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Eph
2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not
of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
John
6:37 All that the
Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out.
Eph
1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after
that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of
promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise
of his glory.
Heb
7:25 Wherefore he is
able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
The
sacrifice of Jesus Christ does many things for a believer.
First of all it satisfies the justice of God against whom we
have all sinned. By Christ’s blood atonement our eternal
salvation has been secured. However, until the day of our
final redemption when we receive our glorified bodies,
Christ’s blood keeps on cleansing our conscience of sins so
that we may be free from guilt and continue to serve God in
an acceptable manner. When Jesus washed the disciple feet He
was demonstrating this very principle. Those believing
disciples were “clean every whit” by the sacrifice
which Jesus was about to offer; but, “He that is washed
needeth not (to be washed again) save to wash his
feet.” The daily contamination of sin needs to be washed
from our conscience; and, as Jesus told Peter “If I wash
thee not, thou hast no part with me.” Sin must be
repented of and confessed on a daily basis if we are to
remain free from its damning influence upon our lives.
Furthermore we need the daily assurance that all is well
between us and God despite our sins, faults, and failures to
do His will.
John
13:3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into
his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and
took a towel, and girded himself.
5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to
wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel
wherewith he was girded.
6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him,
Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest
not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet.
Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part
with me.
9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but
also my hands and my head.
10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save
to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean,
but not all.
1 John
1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and
the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Heb
10:22 Let us draw
near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies
washed with pure water.
1 John
1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in
darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we
have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a
liar, and his word is not in us.
Those who
are unrepentant about sin, who have grown cold to the things
of God, and yea, even “sin willfully,” lose the
efficaciousness of the daily cleansing of Christ’s blood.
Their hearts are soon plagued by “a certain fearful
looking for of judgment and fiery indignation,” even as
those who are lost. Jonah, that wayward prophet, proclaimed
that those who are turned aside to “lying vanities
forsake their own mercy.” The writer of Hebrews tells us
why willful sin is such an abomination to God: (1) Those
that do so tread “under foot the Son of God.” Those
that “sin willfully” do so in spite of the great love
that the Saviour has shown toward them. By rejecting the
truth and turning again to a perditious lifestyle, they
bring reproach upon the name of Christ and cause great harm
to His cause. Whenever we “sin willfully,” we spite
in the face of Christ just as those Jews who rejected Him as
their Messiah. (2) They have “counted the blood of the
covenant, wherewith (they were) sanctified, an unholy
thing.” They treat the sufferings of Christ and His
blood sacrifice as inconsequential to them. Their actions
portray that Jesus died in vain for them and the great price
He paid for their atonement was “an unholy
(valueless) thing.” (3) Finally, they have done
“despite unto the Spirit of grace.” Those that sin
willfully do so in the presence of the Holy Spirit who
indwells them; and they cause Him to grieve because of their
sin and perverse lifestyle. The “Spirit of grace” who
came into their heart to give them victory over sin, now
must watch as they bring reproach upon the Saviour.
Heb
10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice
for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and
fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two
or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be
thought worthy, who
hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the
blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an
unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of
grace?
Jonah
2:8 They that
observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
Eph
5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and
hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God
for a sweetsmelling savour.
1 Cor
3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that
the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man
defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the
temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
Eph
4:30 And grieve not
the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day
of redemption.
What then
is God’s judgment against those who so blatantly sin?
Although the author of Hebrews makes an association to those
under the Old Covenant that “despised Moses' law” and
“died without mercy,” he is not implying that God
goes about striking these saints dead or using any other
form of quick justice. Though they may be “thought
worthy” of “much sorer punishment,” they are
still God’s children and He deals with them accordingly.
They are not going to be denied Heaven and cast into Hell;
but, their lives will become so miserable that they imagine
they have been. While living upon this earth, their “soul
shall utterly be cut off” from God’s grace and
blessings. We again make a spiritual comparison to the
children of Israel. Although God intended to greatly bless
them while they dwelt in the land, they turned from
serving the Lord and instead worshipped other gods. Although
God made every attempt to turn this nation back to Himself,
eventually He drove them from the Promised Land; and they
have suffered, down through the centuries, as no nation has
ever suffered. However, they are still God’s chosen nation
and He will not utterly cast them off; but He will one day
bring them back to Himself.
Likewise, those who “abide in Christ” receive God’s
blessings—their lives are fruitful; they see prayers
answered; they sense the love of God for them; and they have
hearts full of joy. On the other hand, “If a man abide
not in (Christ), he is cast forth as a branch, and is
withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire,
and they are burned”—not the fire of hell, but the
flames of tribulation, trouble, and anguish of soul. Let
those who are Christ’s not be deceived—“The Lord shall
judge his people”; and “It is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God.”
Numbers 15:30 But the soul that doeth ought
presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a
stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall
be cut off from among his people.
31 Because he hath
despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his
commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his
iniquity shall be upon him.
Deut
28:63 And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced
over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD
will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you
to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land
whither thou goest to possess it.
64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people,
from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there
thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy
fathers have known, even wood and stone.
65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease,
neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD
shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of
eyes, and sorrow of mind:
66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou
shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of
thy life:
67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even!
and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for
the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for
the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
2 Chr
36:15 And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by
his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he
had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
16 But they
mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and
misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose
against his people, till there was no remedy.
John
15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth
in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch,
and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the
fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall
ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit;
so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you:
continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love;
even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in
his love.
11 These things have
I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that
your joy might be full.
Heb
10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth
unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again,
The Lord shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Paul
pleads with those who are contemplating turning back from
Christ by reminding them of all that they have already gone
through. How that, as new believers—“after (they)
were illuminated”—they “endured a great fight of
afflictions.” Many of these saints had already gone
through much suffering because of their faith in Christ—
“both by reproaches and afflictions.” Many, like Paul,
had “suffered the loss of all things”—family ties,
social standing, and worldly goods. However, he reminds them
that they “have in heaven a better and an enduring
substance.” He pleads with them not to cast away their
confidence in Christ “which hath great recompence of
reward.” Those that faithfully serve Christ have many
promised rewards in the worlds to come; but, the saints of
God “have need of patience, that, after (they)
have done the will of God, (they) might receive the
promise. The writer also reminds these believers of the
promise Christ’s eminent return and to live in the hope of
that promise. The hope we have in seeing our Saviour face to
face should give us courage and strength to go on, no matter
how hard our course may be.
Heb
10:32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which,
after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of
afflictions;
33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by
reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became
companions of them that were so used.
34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took
joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves
that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath
great recompence of reward.
36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done
the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will
come, and will not tarry.
John
14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again, and receive
you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Now, in
spite of all that Paul has said, he emphasizes that “the
just shall live by faith”—we are saved by faith, keep
through faith, and live by faith. What he is saying here has
nothing to do with ‘making it to heaven’ as some
would teach. Our faithfulness and works have nothing to do
with our eternal salvation—that is in God’s hands alone.
However, we have much to lose by not remaining faithful to
Christ. Paul expresses his feelings towards anyone that
would “draw back” by saying, “my soul shall have
no pleasure in him”; but, we should be much more
concerned about standing before the Saviour and being “ashamed
before him.” Do we want to hear Him say “Well done,
good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a
few things,” or “Thou wicked and slothful servant”?
Finally, Paul encourages us by saying that believers “are
not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that
believe to the saving of the soul.” Although he has been
warning saints about the potential, and the danger of
forsaking Christ, such is not the normal course for the
children of God. We do not live in mortal fear of drawing
back; but, neither should we be ignorant that such a
possibility exists; and, we need to guard our hearts against
it. Believers need to “watch and pray” and to
“take heed” concerning the dangers that surround them.
“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be
accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come
to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
Heb
10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man
draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
39
But we are not of them who
draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the
saving of the soul.
Phil
3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss
for Christ.
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:
for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I
may win Christ,
1 John
2:28 And now, little
children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may
have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his
coming.
Matt
25:23 His lord said unto him,
Well done, good and faithful
servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will
make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of
thy lord.
Matt
25:26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked
and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I
sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
Matt
26:41 Watch and
pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed
is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Luke
21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your
hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and
cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell
on the face of the whole earth.
36 Watch ye
therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy
to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to
stand before the Son of man.
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