[Heb 10:26-27 NKJV] 26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
[1Ti 4:16 NKJV] 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
I'll take God's word over your opinions.
10:26–31
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 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? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
1. To the Knowledge of the Truth
10:26–27
Forsaking the congregation at worship leads to serious consequences. The author warns the believers that the sequel to sinning deliberately is falling “into the hands of the living God” (10:31).
26. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27. but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
The word
deliberately stands first in the original Greek, and as the opening word of the sentence it receives all the emphasis. The term occurs only twice in the New Testament, here and in 1 Peter 5:2. It refers to something done intentionally.
In the Old Testament the distinction is made between sins committed unintentionally and sins committed intentionally. The first can be forgiven; the second cannot. Moses writes, “But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people” (Num. 15:30; see also Lev. 4:2, 22, 27; 5:15, 18; Num. 15:24 for unintentional sins).
The author of Hebrews is rather specific. He writes concerning a person who sins intentionally and who keeps on doing this in open rebellion against God and his Word. To reach his readers in a pastoral manner, he even includes himself in the warning not to sin defiantly. He is not talking about a believer who falls into sin unintentionally and finds forgiveness in God’s grace and mercy. Rather, he points to the same sin that Jesus calls the sin against the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:32; Mark 3:29) and that John describes as “a sin that leads to death” (1 John 5:16). Although he employs different terms, the writer virtually repeats the same thought he expressed in 3:12 and 6:4–6, where he speaks of falling away from the living God.
Those who turn away from God and “have received the knowledge of the truth” can never say that they sinned in ignorance. The phrase
knowledge of the truth relates to God’s revelation in general and the gospel in particular (see 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Tim. 2:25; 3:7; Titus 1:1). They who at one time received this truth, but now have turned against God and his revelation, are without excuse. Nothing can save them. They know that Christ’s sacrifice is the only sacrifice that removes sin. If they deliberately reject Christ and his atoning work, they reject salvation. For them, says the writer, “no sacrifice for sins is left.”
What then is left? “Only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” A decision against Christ taken deliberately can only result in judgment. And judgment is not merely something that happens at the end of time. Evidence already is being gathered and presented to the jury in preparation for the judgment day. And that is a fearful expectation!
The emphasis falls on the adjective
fearful. The word occurs three times in the New Testament, all in this epistle (10:27, 31: 12:21). This adjective is translated “fearful,” “dreadful,” and “terrifying.” In all three instances its use pertains to meeting God. The sinner cannot escape God’s judgment and, unless he has been forgiven in Christ, faces an angry God on that dreadful day.
Not only the judgment awaits the sinner who will receive the verdict, but also the execution of that verdict. The author vividly portrays the execution as a raging fire that will consume all those who have chosen to be enemies of God. Actually he echoes the words of Isaiah’s prophecy, “Let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them” (Isa. 26:11).[1]
[1] Simon J. Kistemaker and William Hendriksen,
Exposition of Hebrews, vol. 15, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 293–294.
