Hebrews 10C (2014) The wrd patience is an interesting wrd It sunds gd t ur ears, because it describes an act f kindness Patience is the act f letting an ffense pas by unnticed Patience means giving grace by shwing cnsideratin t smene wh deserves smething less But patience als implies a limit, desn t it? T call smene patient is t say they culd be respnding differently than they are It suggests that sner r later their patience may run ut And s the wrd is s interesting because thugh it sunds gd nw, it carries the ptential fr unpleasant things in the future The Bible says the Lrd is patient and lng-suffering in withhld His judgment against sin He is patient nt nly tward the unbeliever but als fr the rebellius saint But sner r later His patience runs ut Fr the unbeliever, the Lrd s patience expires at the death f their bdy As we learned earlier in this study, everyne is appinted t die nce, and then cmes judgment But this principle is als true fr the believer The Lrd is patient in withhlding His judgment against us fr ur disbedience t His wrd Clearly, the cnsequences f ur rebellin are very different than thse fr an unbeliever Nevertheless, there are cnsequences And when the Lrd s patience runs thin, we will experience the discipline f the Lrd 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 10C (2014) 2 f 12 Even mre sbering, we may face the prspect f diminished eternal reward at ur judgment, especially if ur life was ne f significant rebellin The Apstle Jhn warns us f this ptential when he says: 2Jhn 8 Watch yurselves, that yu d nt lse what we have accmplished, but that yu may receive a full reward. We may put at risk what we have gained in the past thrugh future rebellin S while we rejice in the grace we ve received frm ur patient Heavenly Father, let s nt verlk that His patience has a limit This is where we find the writer s thughts this mrning in ur study f Hebrews He has reached his furth warning f his letter, where he addresses the cnsequences f his readers returning t a life f false wrship under the Old Cvenant In chapter 10:19-25 the writer issued three Let us exhrtatins These cmmands directed the believer t stand firm in their new-fund faith in the bld f Christ T cntinue in their cnfessin f hpe in the resurrectin f Christ And t cntinue gathering with the New Testament church rather than frsaking this gathering t participate in ther, false bservances under the Law But what might happen t the believer wh fails t heed this teaching? What are the cnsequences fr spurning the Lrd Wh died t save us? Hw will He respnd t the believer nce His patience runs ut? The writer nw issues the furth warning t address these questins 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 10C (2014) 3 f 12 Heb. 10:26 Fr if we g n sinning willfully after receiving the knwledge f the truth, there n lnger remains a sacrifice fr sins, Heb. 10:27 but a terrifying expectatin f judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Heb. 10:28 Anyne wh has set aside the Law f Mses dies withut mercy n the testimny f tw r three witnesses. Heb. 10:29 Hw much severer punishment d yu think he will deserve wh has trampled under ft the Sn f Gd, and has regarded as unclean the bld f the cvenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit f grace? Heb. 10:30 Fr we knw Him wh said, VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY. And again, THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE. Heb. 10:31 It is a terrifying thing t fall int the hands f the living Gd. The writer begins by naming a certain grup f Christians, specifically thse wh g n sinning willfully What des it mean t g n sinning willfully? First, ntice it s expressed as a cntinuing actin, ne that has begun and desn t end The writer is referring t a Christian wh runs after smething sinful and desn t cme back Secndly, in this cntent, the sin he s wrried abut must be that f abandning the New Cvenant and returning t life under the Old Cvenant wrship practices These are Jewish Christians wh, because f their immaturity in the knwledge f Christ and Christian dctrine, have wavered in their cnfidence And at sme pint, they have returned t seeking Gd in the cmfrt and familiarity f the Jewish sacrificial system In a wrd, they have becme apstate This sin was willful because they have made a deliberate chice against what they had been taught The writer says they received the knwledge f the truth They knew the apstles teaching n the New Cvenant They knew that Christ was the nly sacrifice they needed 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 10C (2014) 4 f 12 Yet, as the writer said back in chapter 5, they weren t able t discern gd frm evil because f their spiritual immaturity S they have becme apstate thugh they remain a child f Gd by grace But this warning applies equally t ther situatins tday, where Christians are sinning willfully Anytime a believer chse t live in ways that are cntrary t their prfessin f faith, they are als at risk Fr example, if a Christian abandns his Christian walk fr wrldly pursuits, they are sinning willfully If he r she stps assembling with ther Christians, stps studying the Bible, stps praying, stps living fr Christ... Then such a persn is als testing the patience f the Lrd Or if a Christian adpts a lifestyle r a pattern f behavir that is cntrary t dctrine and teaching and a gd witness Like a Christian wh chses t live a hmsexual lifestyle r engages in frnicatin as a regular rutine is sinning willfully Or a Christian wh is rutinely dishnest, rutinely vilent, rutinely ungdly Or a Christian wh lives in slavery t addictins r lusts These are all willful ways t sin, and all risk exhausting the patience f the Lrd S what d yu think becmes f the slave wh lives in disbedience t his Master? Fr such a persn, the writer says there n lnger remains a sacrifice fr sins He s referring t the sacrifices that were perfrmed under the Old Cvenant s he can draw upn a principle fund in the Law In the Law, there were certain ffenses like murder, adultery, blaspheme and thers that were nt cvered by a sacrifice The Law f Mses made n prvisin fr the persn wh intentinally cmmitted a sinful act 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 10C (2014) 5 f 12 The writer calls this setting aside the Law f Mses in v.28 He means ignring what Gd had instructed in the truth f His wrd S if a Jew crssed ne f thse lines, they knew their penalty wuld be very severe In v.27 the writer said anyne wh traded bedience under the Old Cvenant fr a life f willful disbedience faced a terrifying utcme - He mentins a fire that cnsumes Gd s adversaries - That s a reference t Numbers 16 where a grup f men wh were cnsumed by fire frm Heaven fr crssing ne f thse line Therefre the writer asks in v.29 what shuld we expect if we frsake the new and greater cvenant? There are sme chices and decisin that may lead us int shipwrecked faith Walking away frm ur faith cmmunity r bankrupting ur persnal testimny is a crisis in ur relatinship with the Lrd The writer says it s like trampling Christ under ur feet In the east, the sle f the ft is an ffensive and degrading symbl T trample smething r smene means t treat them with utter cntempt Secndly, when we fllw ther gds we regard as unclean the bld f the cvenant T wrship in any ther cntext besides the New Cvenant church means we believe the bld f Christ is cmmn, withut pwer r significance Instead, we seek the pwer f Gd elsewhere Christians wh jin in pagan rituals, new age practices r ther cults are taking immense risk that a jealus Gd will cntinue t withhld judgment in patience 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 10C (2014) 6 f 12 Finally, we are insulting the Spirit f grace The Spirit f Gd cntinues t live within us even when we run after false wrship r engage in a lifestyle f persistent sin S when we sin in these ways, we drag the Spirit alng with us We insult Him by taking the enlightenment and empwerment He has granted us and thrwing it away Where there is act in these ways, there is n get-ut-jail-free card, n act we can perfrm (like a sacrifice) that will reset the past Of curse, ur sins are frgiven by the bld f Christ We will never experience the penalty that sin demands, which is the secnd death But there is still a judgment fr the believer If the Jews under the Old Cvenant a lessr cvenant faced a severe penalty fr failing t bey the truth, what cnsequence d yu think awaits a believer wh disbeys the New Cvenant? We remember that in v.25 the writer made mentin f a day drawing near, which we understd t be a reference t the judgment fr believers It s that day he s alluding t as he calls t mind the expectatin f judgment fr willful sinning This is the Judgment Seat f Christ, and it s a judgment where the Lrd assesses ur life f service As Paul explains in 1Crinthians 3, the utcme is a test, like passing precius metal thrugh a refiner s fire Thse with a gd testimny will receive a reward, while thse wh test Gd s patience will see a cnsuming fire 1Pet. 4:15 Make sure that nne f yu suffers as a murderer, r thief, r evilder, r a trublesme meddler; 1Pet. 4:16 but if anyne suffers as a Christian, he is nt t be ashamed, but is t glrify Gd in this name. 1Pet. 4:17 Fr it is time fr judgment t begin with the husehld f Gd; and if it begins with us first, what will be the utcme fr thse wh d nt bey the gspel f Gd? 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 10C (2014) 7 f 12 Just in case there is any dubt, the writer is talking abut true believers, nt unbelievers wh pretended t be Christian First, we see the cntext f these chapters has clearly been fcused n believers Thrughut chapter 10, the writer has been speaking in terms f we, which means he s placing himself amng this grup And he says they have a cnfessin f faith they need t hld And they have frsaken assembling tgether, indicating they are a part f a cngregatin And the three ffenses they cmmitted against Gd are ffenses that can nly be cmmitted by believers Trampling Christ is nly pssible if we have a relatinship with Him first When an American sldier becmes a traitr during war, we might say he trampled under ft the American flag He brught shame t America because he had a special relatinship t the natin Likewise, nly a Christian can bring shame t Christ because f the relatinship we have with Him Secndly, regarding the bld f the cvenant as unclean can nly be an ffense fr a Christian T regard as unclean means t act as if the bld is cmmn In ther wrds, the persn has been cleaned by that bld, thugh nw they act as if it didn t clean them As the writer says, this is the bld by which he was sanctified (past tense) Finally, nly a believer can insult the Spirit f grace Gd places His Spirit inside every believer as a guarantee f their future resurrectin and inheritance Only a believer has the kind f relatinship with Gd 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 10C (2014) 8 f 12 Unbelievers may ignre the Gspel certainly, but they can t insult a Spirit they dn t knw S if a believer disbeys the truth they have cme t knw in the New Cvenant, then the writer says remember yur Lrd is ne t repay in kind In vs.30-31 the writer qutes frm the OT t remind his readers that the Lrd has a histry f repaying and judging even thse He saves Ntice at the end f v.30 the Lrd says He will judge His peple Once again, we re talking abut a judgment fr the believer And this judgment can be severe We dn t knw hw that judgment will g fr thse wh frsake the Lrd, but this much we can say It s a terrifying thing t fall int the hands f the living Gd Des it challenge yu t cnsider that ur judgment mment can include terrr? Well what d we find in the Bible? Mses, Isaiah, Elijah, the Apstle Paul, the Apstle Jhn and thers all demnstrate unreserved fear and trembling when the Lrd appeared befre them And thse weren t mments f judgment fr thse men S imagine what the judgment mment will be like fr the ne wh has entered int the New Cvenant, has knwn the truth f what s expected... And then intentinally lives in apstasy r severe disbedience... One day that believer must stand befre the hly, awesme, Creatr Gd t answer fr hw he served Him It will be terrifying because we will be withut excuse We will knw we didn t heed the wrd f Gd And nly then we will understand what we put at risk because f ur willful sinning Our eternal life will be secure, but this isn t a cnslatin accrding t scripture 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 10C (2014) 9 f 12 Nr can it becme license fr us t live in disbedience This is the heathy tensin that we see thrughut the New Testament We have been saved by grace frm the penalty f ur sins The sacrifice f Christ nce fr all is sufficient t save us and recncile us t Gd And we will live in glry with Christ frever n accunt f ur faith in His life and death But with ur faith and salvatin cmes an expectatin that we serve the Master Wh bught us We must nt turn back We cannt insult the Spirit f grace nr trample under ft the Christ Wh saved us And if we d shrink back, becmes lazy r seek after false wrship, then we shuld fear the Lrd We shuld fear the cnsequences Because the Lrd Himself said He will repay and He will judge His peple Keeping bth these perspectives in mind will assure us a jyful life f service t an exacting Master Wh stands ready t reward thse wh please Him Like all the warnings in this letter, the writer ends with an encuragement that it s nt t late Heb. 10:32 But remember the frmer days, when, after being enlightened, yu endured a great cnflict f sufferings, Heb. 10:33 partly by being made a public spectacle thrugh repraches and tribulatins, and partly by becming sharers with thse wh were s treated. Heb. 10:34 Fr yu shwed sympathy t the prisners and accepted jyfully the seizure f yur prperty, knwing that yu have fr yurselves a better pssessin and a lasting ne. Heb. 10:35 Therefre, d nt thrw away yur cnfidence, which has a great reward. Heb. 10:36 Fr yu have need f endurance, s that when yu have dne the will f Gd, yu may receive what was prmised. 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 10C (2014) 10 f 12 Heb. 10:37 FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. Heb. 10:38 BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. Heb. 10:39 But we are nt f thse wh shrink back t destructin, but f thse wh have faith t the preserving f the sul. The writer hpes his stern wrds have shcked the cnscience f his readers, and if s, then he says it s time t wake up and get back n the straight and narrw path Remember the frmer days, the early days when everything in ur faith was new and we were excited t fllw and bey Christ Befre the enemy created cnfusin Befre ur flesh tempted us thrugh ur fear, desires and distractins THey lived in their faith and by the Spirit, they did deeds in keeping with their faith They suffered persecutins fr their faith They gave t thanks t the Lrd even as they lst their pssessins The Jewish Christians in the early church were cmmnly persecuted by fellw Jews, smetimes cruelly - Often they were imprisned - Occasinally, they lst their lives as martyrs Why? Because they knew these persecutins were tests frm the Lrd, and they were passing with flying clrs And as they endured these trials, they knew they were earning even greater treasure in Heaven When we re living in the Spirit instead f ur flesh, we re pwerful lights in the darkness We may endure persecutins as all Christians inevitably d, but we will endure them gladly and with ur testimny intact We live with eyes fr eternity rather than fcusing n the wrld 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 10C (2014) 11 f 12 But these Christians stalled in their spiritual grwth, s their gaze began t fall Eventually, they weren t lking heavenward They began t lng fr the stability and peace f ging with the crwd Of living as a Jew accepted in their culture instead f as a Christian despised and rejected like Christ Himself Their apstasy wasn t a matter f religius cnvictins; it was a matter f cnvenience, as the writer says They were seeking t avid persecutins They were mre interested in saving their skin and their wealth than hnring the Lrd Wh died fr them As the writer says in v.35, they threw away their cnfidence It wasn t lst; they gave it up t gain smething earthly Ntice in vs.35-36 the writer reminds his readers that they ught nt thrw away their cnfidence in the prmises f Christ, because there is a great reward at stake Our endurance, he says, will be rewarded Whatever the will f Gd may be fr each f us, if we accept it and live up t it, then we may expect t receive what has been prmised t us We may nt knw specifically what the Lrd has in stre fr us, but remember Paul s wrds 1Cr. 2:9 but just as it is written, THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM. S we can be sure that whatever reward awaits thse wh serve Gd faithfully, it will be well wrth whatever sacrifice the Lrd asks f us here Mrever, the writer reminds us that the wait will nt be lng when cnsidered frm an eternal perspective 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Hebrews 10C (2014) 12 f 12 The Lrd is cming in a very little while, the writer reminds us in v.37 And the righteus will live by faith withut shrinking back Fr thse wh dare t shrink back will nt please Gd Finally, the writer declares, ptimistically, that his readers will nt be amng thse wh shrink back and suffer the penalty Instead, they will live like thse f faith He s saying dn t be a believer wh lives like an unbeliever Fr ding s results in destructin f yur witness and reward Instead, be a believer wh lives like a believer Fr in ding s, yu are living ut a witness that is in keeping with yur faith which has the pwer t preserve yur sul In ther wrds, yur physical life shuld reflect yur spiritual life If yu are saved by faith t serve Gd int eternity, then yu life nw shuld reflect that reality Obey and serve Christ nw as yu will in the Kingdm And if yu d, yu will be rewarded in ways beynd yur imaginatin If yu dn t, yu will lse smething far greater than yu stand t gain n earth 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.