Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 10:26
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
26 31. A solemn Warning of the Peril of Wilful Apostasy
26. For if we sin wilfully) The word “wilfully” stands in contrast with sins of weakness, ignorance and error in Heb 5:2. If the writer meant to say that, after the commission of wilful and heinous sins, “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,” this would not only be the most terrible passage in Scripture, but would do away with the very object of Redemption, and the possibility of any Forgiveness of Sins. It would, as Kurz says, “be in its consequences truly subversive and destructive of the whole Christian soteriology.” But the meaning rather is “ If we are willing sinners,” “if we are in a state of deliberate and voluntary defiance to the will of God.” He is alluding not only to those sins which the Jews described as being committed presumptuously “with uplifted hand” (Num 15:30; Psa 19:13; see. Heb 6:4-8, Heb 12:16-17), but to the deliberate continuity of such sins as a self-chosen law of life; as for instance when a man has closed against himself the door of repentance and said “Evil be thou my good.” Such a state is glanced at in 2Pe 2:20-21; Mat 12:43-45.
after that we have received the knowledge of the truth ] Rather, “the full knowledge of the truth.” Something more is meant than mere historical knowledge. He is contemplating Christians who have made some real advance, and then have relapsed into “desperation or the wretchlessness of unclean living.”
there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins ] Lit., “no sacrifice for sins is any longer left for them.” They have rejected the work of Christ, and it cannot be done for them over again. There is one atoning sacrifice and that they have repudiated. He does not say that they have exhausted the infinite mercy of God, nor can we justly assert that he held such a conclusion; he only says that they have, so long as they continue in such a state, put themselves out of God’s covenant, and that there are no other covenanted means of grace. For they have trampled under foot the offer of mercy in Christ and there is no salvation in any other (Act 4:12).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth – If after we are converted and become true Christians we should apostatize, it would be impossible to be recovered again, for there would be no other sacrifice for sin; no way by which we could be saved. This passage, however, like Heb 6:4-6, has given rise to much difference of opinion. But that the above is the correct interpretation, seems evident to me from the following considerations:
(1) It is the natural and obvious interpretation, such as would occur probably to ninety-nine readers in a hundred, if there were no theory to support, and no fear that it would conflict with some other doctrine.
(2) It accords with the scope of the Epistle, which is, to keep those whom the apostle addressed from returning again to the Jewish religion, under the trials to which they were subjected.
(3) It is in accordance with the fair meaning of the language – the words after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, referring more naturally to true conversion than to any other state of mind.
(4) The sentiment would not be correct if it referred to any but real Christians. It would not be true that one who had been somewhat enlightened, and who then sinned wilfully, must look on fearfully to the judgment without a possibility of being saved. There are multitudes of cases where such persons are saved. They wilfully resist the Holy Spirit; they strive against him; they for a long time refuse to yield, but they are brought again to reflection, and are led to give their hearts to God.
(5) It is true, and always will be true, that if a sincere Christian should apostatize he could never be converted again; see the notes on Heb 6:4-6. The reasons are obvious. He would have tried the only plan of salvation, and it would have failed. He would have embraced the Saviour, and there would not have been efficacy enough in his blood to keep him, and there would be no more powerful Saviour and no more efficacious blood of atonement. He would have renounced the Holy Spirit, and would have shown that his influences were not effectual to keep him, and there would be no other agent of greater power to renew and save him after he had apostatized. For these reasons it seems clear to me that this passage refers to true Christians, and that the doctrine here taught is, that if such an one should apostatize, he must look forward only to the terrors of the judgment, and to final condemnation.
Whether this in fact ever occurs, is quite another question. In regard to that inquiry, see the notes on Heb 6:4-6. If this view be correct, we may add, that the passage should not be regarded as applying to what is commonly known as the sin against the Holy Spirit, or the unpardonable sin. The word rendered wilfully – hekousios – occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, except in 1Pe 5:2, where it is rendered willingly – taking the oversight thereof (of the church) not by constraint, but willingly. It properly means, willingly, voluntarily, of our own accord, and applies to cases where no constraint is used. It is not to be construed here strictly, or metaphysically, for all sin is voluntary, or is committed willingly, but must refer to a deliberate act, where a man means to abandon his religion, and to turn away from God. If it were to be taken with metaphysical exactness, it would demonstrate that every Christian who ever does anything wrong, no matter how small, would be lost.
But this cannot, from the nature of the case, be the meaning. The apostle well knew that Christians do commit such sins (see the notes on Rom. 7), and his object here is not to set forth the danger of such sins, but to guard Christians against apostasy from their religion. In the Jewish Law, as is indeed the case everywhere, a distinction is made between sins of oversight, inadvertence, or ignorance, (Lev 4:2, Lev 4:13, Lev 4:22, Lev 4:27; Lev 5:15; Num 15:24, Num 15:27-29; compare Act 3:17; Act 17:30), and sins of presumption; sins that are deliberately and intentionally committed; see Exo 21:14; Num 15:30; Deu 17:12; Psa 19:13. The apostle here has reference, evidently, to such a distinction, and means to speak of a decided and deliberate purpose to break away from the restraints and obligations of the Christian religion.
There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins – Should a man do this, there is no sacrifice for sins which could save him. He would have rejected deliberately the only atonement made for sin, and there will be no other made. It is as if a man should reject the only medicine that could heal him, or push away the only boat that could save him when shipwrecked; see notes, Heb 6:6. The sacrifice made for sin by the Redeemer is never to be repeated, and if that is deliberately rejected, the soul must be lost.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Heb 10:26-27
If we sin wilfully
Apostasy
I.
THE PREVIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES ESSENTIAL TO THE COMMISSION OF APOSTASY.
1. An accurate and extended acquaintance with the disclosures of the gospel.
2. A decided conviction of the truth and authority of the gospel.
3. A partial experience of the power and excellence of the gospel.
4. A distinct and open profession of the gospel.
II. THE PECULIAR FEELING INVOLVED IN THE COMMISSION OF APOSTASY. It must be done wilfully.
1. From sin committed through want of due information and conviction.
2. From sin committed through hasty inconsideration.
3. From sin committed through powerful and unexpected temptation.
4. From the occasional falls of the true believer, which are subsequently followed by deep, and perhaps speedy repentance. Apostasy is not one act of sin, but a continued state of mind and conduct. It is a falling away, persevered in to the close of life, and issuing in a state of hopeless wretchedness.
III. THE AWFUL CONSEQUENCES RESULTING FROM THE COMMISSION OF APOSTASY.
1. It occasions a necessary exclusion from the attainment of mercy.
2. It induces a terrifying apprehension of coming wrath. (Essex Remembrancer.)
Left without a sin-offering:
For those that abandon their Christian profession–sin wilfully after that they have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. They could not return to the temple, and plead with God for mercy over the offerings which their fathers had presented to Him. The old covenant had passed away. Its priests had lost their consecration. Its altars had lost their sanctity. Its sacrifices had lost their power with God. There was now only one atonement for sin which God would regard; and if they turned away from that, there was nothing for them but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. For a Jew to be left with all his sins upon him, and no sin-offering by which to invoke the Divine pardon, was for him to be condemned to intolerable despair. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
The danger of apostasy
1. The apostle is net here speaking of the common infirmities which may attend the godly, but of wilful transgressions; or, as David calls them, presumptuous sins, from which he prayed to be delivered (Psa 19:13).
2. Neither are sins of ignorance intended, but such as are against light and strong conviction. To sin against knowledge is one of the greatest aggravations, and that which leads on to perdition.
3. The text speaks not of sins in general, though knowingly or presumptuously committed, but of some sin in particular, and such as excludes from the hope of salvation. Now this appears to be no other than an absolute and entire rejection of the truth which had been professedly received. Those who cast the Son of God from His throne must expect that He will cast them into hell. They divest Him of His glory, and He will cover them with disgrace.
I. THE DEATH OF CHRIST WAS A REAL AND PROPER SACRIFICE FOR SIN. The sacrifices under the law were figurative: this was real and effectual. They were shadows: this was the substance.
II. THE DEATH OF CHRIST IS THE ONLY SACRIFICE FOR SIN.
III. THOSE WHO REJECT THE SACRIFICE OF CHRIST ARE LEFT WITHOUT HOPE.
1. If Christ became a sacrifice, this will account for the treatment He met with both from the hands of God and man.
2. If the death of Christ be the only sacrifice for sins, let us not only hold fast this doctrine, but actually build upon it as the foundation of all our hopes and comfort.
3. As the passage which we have now considered speaks terror to these who either never embraced the doctrine of Christs atoning sacrifice, or who have shamefully apostatised from it, so it speaks terror to them only. Such indeed are running a dreadful risk of unpardoned guilt and Divine displeasure, and it behoves them to take warning. But let those who put their trust in Christ crucified, and who know no other hope, rejoice and be exceeding glad; for He is able to keep that which they commit unto Him until that day. (B. Beddome, M. A.)
The knowledge of the truth
Receiving the truth
1. By the truth is meant the true, pure and most certain doctrine of the gospel concerning Christ already come, faith and salvation. This is called truth because it is true, and most eminently and infallibly true, which is noways in anything false and erroneous, as being at first immediately revealed from God, the God of truth. It is called also the truth by way of eminency, as the most excellent truth revealed for mans eternal happiness.
2. Truth may be truth, and yet not known to any man or angel, and the truth was first known only unto God; yet it pleased Him, out of His great mercy, to reveal His mind to man, and in particular this truth of the gospel by Christ and His apostles, who made it known unto others, who by that means came to know it. This knowledge was not mathematical, physical, political, or metaphysical, as some use to speak, but theological and Divine, and a light above the light of nature. The word may signify not only knowledge, but acknowledgment of this truth, by a full assent upon conviction. And this might be caused, not only by outward revelation, information, and miracles, but also by the illumination o! the Spirit, and supernatural gifts for God goes far with man, and doth much to save him: He many times penetrates his inward parts, and by His Divine light and power enters into his very heart, and all this to convert him.
3. They received this knowledge. God did not only offer it, but give it, which He might be properly said to do when they received it. They had it not by nature; for it is far above the natural man. They acquired it, but not by their own power and industry; neither did they merit it. Yet in this receiving they were not merely passive, yet passive because they could be active. God must do something without man, before he can actively receive, He must prevent him by revelation and information without, and by illumination and operation within, and this done, man may be active. For, to receive it is certainly an act not only of the understanding which assents, but of the will which approves. So that he both wittingly and willingly receives, and that with some delight, and proceeds to profession, and continues for a while to believe, approve, profess. Though this receiving of knowledge may seem only to be acknowledgment, yet it is something more. Truth is opposed to error, knowledge to ignorance, acknowledgment to dissent, approbation to rejection of this truth. (G. Lawson.)
Fearful looking for of judgment
Fiery judgment
I. The word judgment may inform us that this justice is not legislative, but judicial; and, as judicial, not remunerative, but vindictive, which presupposeth crime and guilt in the party to be judged. This judgment is the decree of condemnation which determines the penalty: and to signify how dreadful it is, it is said, metaphorically, to be fiery indignation. The words may be translated, the heat, or boiling, or burning of fire; that is fiery heat. By these terms the Spirit informs us of Gods high displeasure against apostasy, and the severity of His justice, whereby He is resolved most fearfully to punish that sin, which is not barely a disobedience of some particular law, but a plain revolt.
II. The parties that must suffer are adversaries: adversaries are apostates, who are not merely disobedient subjects, but revolters.
III. There remains a certain fearful looking for of this judgment.
1. Though they never fear it, nor think of it, yet they are obnoxious to it.
2. This will certainly be their doom; and as they are obnoxious by law, they shall certainly suffer that which they have deserved.
3. If they ever seriously reflect upon themselves, and remember what they have done; as conscience will now and then lash them, and mind them of their crime, they must needs expect it, and their fear will be very great. For as they apprehend the peril, so will their fear be; and they cannot apprehend the judgment, but as very grievous, pressing hard upon them, and unavoidable, and so it will torment them before the time of execution. (G. Lawson.)
Foreboding of the judgment day:
Traverse the earth–enter the gorgeous cities of idolatry, or accept the hospitality of its wandering tribes–go where will-worship is most fantastic, and superstition most gross–and you will find in man a fearful looking for of judgment. The mythology of their Nemesis may vary–their Elysium and the Tartarus may be differently depicted–the Metempsychosis may be the passage of bliss and woe–still the fact is only confirmed by the diversity of the forms in which it is presented. (R. W. Hamilton.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 26. For if we sin wilfully] If we deliberately, for fear of persecution or from any other motive, renounce the profession of the Gospel and the Author of that Gospel, after having received the knowledge of the truth so as to be convinced that Jesus is the promised Messiah, and that he had sprinkled our hearts from an evil conscience; for such there remaineth no sacrifice for sins; for as the Jewish sacrifices are abolished, as appears by the declaration of God himself in the fortieth Psalm, and Jesus being now the only sacrifice which God will accept, those who reject him have none other; therefore their case must be utterly without remedy. This is the meaning of the apostle, and the case is that of a deliberate apostate-one who has utterly rejected Jesus Christ and his atonement, and renounced the whole Gospel system. It has nothing to do with backsliders in our common use of that term. A man may be overtaken in a fault, or he may deliberately go into sin, and yet neither renounce the Gospel, nor deny the Lord that bought him. His case is dreary and dangerous, but it is not hopeless; no case is hopeless but that of the deliberate apostate, who rejects the whole Gospel system, after having been saved by grace, or convinced of the truth of the Gospel. To him there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin; for there was but the ONE, Jesus, and this he has utterly rejected.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
If we sin wilfully: the severe exaction which God will take upon such as apostatize from him, is further enforcing the former duty, and is introduced by the particle for, to that end; if we by a free and spontaneous desertion of Christ, and his ordinances, without a coercion by threats and persecutions; and this after we had professedly in our judgments, wills, and affections, with faith and reverence, acknowledged a love and subjection to the true gospel doctrine of the way of bringing sinners to God by Christ our great High Priest, Joh 8:31; 14:6, which was made known to them by Christ and his apostles, and confirmed by miracles and the gifts of the Holy Ghost, so as to profess a full conviction of this truth, so as to assent and consent to it.
After that we have received the knowledge of the truth; after all this, to renounce the profession of it, and to forsake the assemblies where it is held forth; this is the spontaneous and wilful sinning: see Heb 6:6.
There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins: this is unpardonable by the just constitution of God in the gospel, because no sacrifice can atone God for them, without which they cannot be pardoned; and the sacrifice of Christ, which only could do it, they renounce and desert; and so this, nor any other they can bring, can procure pardon for them, so that their sins remain in guilt and power on them, and between them and Gods wrath are they like irrecoverably to be ground to perdition.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
26. Compare on this andfollowing verses, Heb 6:4,c. There the warning was that if there be not diligence inprogressing, a falling off will take place, and apostasy may ensue:here it is, that if there be lukewarmness in Christian communion,apostasy may ensue.
if we sinGreekpresent participle: if we be found sinning, that is, notisolated acts, but a state of sin [ALFORD].A violation not only of the law, but of the whole economy ofthe New Testament (Heb 10:28Heb 10:29).
wilfullypresumptuously,Greek “willingly.” After receiving “fullknowledge (so the Greek, compare 1Ti2:4) of the truth,” by having been “enlightened,”and by having “tasted” a certain measure even of grace of”the Holy Ghost” (the Spirit of truth, Joh14:17; and “the Spirit of grace,” Heb10:29): to fall away (as “sin” here means,Heb 3:12; Heb 3:17;compare Heb 6:6) and apostatize(Heb 3:12) to Judaism orinfidelity, is not a sin of ignorance, or error (“outof the way,” the result) of infirmity, but a deliberatesinning against the Spirit (Heb 10:29;Heb 5:2): such sinning,where a consciousness of Gospel obligations not only was, but ispresent: a sinning presumptuously and preseveringly against Christ’sredemption for us, and the Spirit of grace in us. “Heonly who stands high can fall low. A lively reference in the soul towhat is good is necessary in order to be thoroughly wicked; hence,man can be more reprobate than the beasts, and the apostate angelsthan apostate man” [THOLUCK].
remaineth no moresacrificeFor there is but ONESacrifice that can atone for sin; they, after having fully known thatsacrifice, deliberately reject it.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For if we sin wilfully,….] Which is not to be understood of a single act of sin, but rather of a course of sinning; nor of sins of infirmity through temptation, or even of grosser acts of sin, but of voluntary ones; and not of all voluntary ones, or in which the will is engaged and concerned, but of such which are done on set purpose, resolutely and obstinately; and not of immoral practices, but of corrupt principles, and acting according to them; it intends a total apostasy from the truth, against light and evidence, joined with obstinacy.
After that we have received the knowledge of the truth; either of Jesus Christ, or of the Scriptures, or of the Gospel, or of some particular doctrine, especially the principal one, salvation by Christ; of which there may be a notional knowledge, when there is no experimental knowledge; and which is received not into the heart, but into the head: and whereas the apostle speaks in the first person plural, we, this is used not so much with regard to himself, but others; that so what he delivered might come with greater weight upon them, and be more readily received by them; when they observed he entertained no hard thoughts or jealousies of them, which would greatly distress the minds of those that were truly gracious. Moreover, the apostles use this way of speaking, when they do not design themselves at all, but others, under the same visible profession of religion, and who belonged to the same community of believers; see 1Pe 4:3 compared with
Ac 22:3. Besides, these words are only hypothetical, and do not prove that true believers could, or should, or do sin in this manner: to which may be added, that true believers are manifestly distinguished from these persons, Heb 10:38,
there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins; meaning, not typical sacrifice; for though the daily sacrifice ought to have ceased at the death of Christ, yet it did not in fact until the destruction of Jerusalem; but the sacrifice of Christ, which will never be repeated; Christ will die no more; his blood will not be shed again, nor his sacrifice reiterated; nor will any other sacrifice be offered; there will be no other Saviour; there is no salvation in any other, nor any other name whereby we must be saved. These words have been wrongly made use of to prove that persons sinning after baptism are not to be restored to communion again upon repentance; and being understood of immoral actions wilfully committed, have given great distress to consciences burdened with the guilt of sin, committed after a profession of religion; but the true sense of the whole is this, that after men have embraced and professed the truths of the Gospel, and particularly this great truth of it, that Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of men by his blood and sacrifice; and yet after this, against all evidence, all the light and convictions of their own consciences, they wilfully deny this truth, and obstinately persist in the denial of it; seeing there is no more, no other sacrifice for sin, no other Saviour, nor any salvation in any other way, the case of these men must be desperate; there is no help for them, nor hope of them; for by this their sin they shut up against themselves, in principle and practice, the way of salvation, as follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
If we sin wilfully ( ). Genitive absolute with the present active participle of , circumstantial participle here in a conditional sense.
After that we have received ( ). “After the receiving” (accusative case of the articular infinitive second aorist active of after ).
Knowledge (). “Full knowledge,” as in 6:4f.
There remaineth no more ( ). “No longer is there left behind” (present passive indicative as in 4:9), for one has renounced the one and only sacrifice for sin that does or can remove sin (10:1-18).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
We sin willfully [ ] . JEkousiwv willfully, only here and 1Pe 5:2. Comp. Phl 1:14, kat’ eJkousion of free will. See LXX, Num 14:3. The willful sin is the abandonment of Christianity for Judaism.
The knowledge [] . Only here in Hebrews. Very common in Paul. For the word, and the phrase knowledge of the truth, see on 1Ti 2:4. The truth is the revelation through Christ.
There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins [ ] . Of course not. For the Levitical sacrifices are abolished. It is Christ ‘s sacrifice or none.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “For if we sin willfully,” (ekousios gar hamaranonton hemon) “Because when we sin willfully,” of our own will, our own volition, voluntarily, even presumptuously; most sins are voluntary, if not also knowingly presumptuous, presuming upon the goodness and mercy of God, taking things into ones own hand, Num 15:30; Deu 17:12; Psa 19:13; Heb 6:4; 2Pe 2:10.
2) “After that we have received the knowledge of the truth,” (meta to labein ten epignosin tes aletheias) “After receiving a living, believing, full knowledge (experimental knowledge) of the truth,” after salvation and baptism, and with it, a new covenant church commitment to divine worship and service, Mat 28:18-20; Rom 6:4; Eph 2:10; Gal 5:13; Mat 5:15-16.
3) “There remains no more,” (ouketi apoleipetai) “There (then and thereafter) remains no more,” none at all. The blood of Jesus Christ is not offered to exclude his disobedient children from flesh consequences, even chastisement, for their sins of presumption, their highhanded sins; The law of sowing and reaping in the flesh is not canceled in salvation, Gal 6:7-8; Jas 4:17.
4) “Sacrifice for sin,” (thusia peri hamartion) “A sacrifice for (concerning) sin,” for your premeditated, wilful, presumptuous sins, for sins committed by children of God and church members knowingly, in defiance of God’s will and word, Jas 4:17; Joh 13:17; Sins of the flesh, in every child of God, must be paid for in the flesh, when defiantly committed against God or his creatures. Tho the once for all sacrifice that releases every believer from hell’s consequence of sin be eternal, man must still obey God’s and nature’s natural laws or suffer certain consequences of natural or Divine decree, Gal 6:7-8; Luk 12:45-48; Heb 12:6-11.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
26. For if we sin willfully, or voluntarily etc. He shows how severe a vengeance of God awaits all those who fall away from the grace of Christ; for being without that one true salvation, they are now as it were given up to an inevitable destruction. With this testimony Novatus and his sect formerly armed themselves, in order to take away the hope of pardon from all indiscriminately who had fallen after baptism. They who were not able to refute his calumny chose rather to deny the authority of this Epistle than to subscribe to so great an absurdity. But the true meaning of the passage, unaided by any help from any other part, is quite sufficient of itself to expose the effrontery of Novatus
Those who sin, mentioned by the Apostle, are not such as offend in any way, but such as forsake the Church, and wholly alienate themselves from Christ. For he speaks not here of this or of that sin, but he condemns by name those who willfully renounced fellowship with the Church. But there is a vast difference between particular fallings and a complete defection of this kind, by which we entirely fall away from the grace of Christ. And as this cannot be the case with any one except he has been already enlightened, he says, If we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth; as though he had said, “If we knowingly and willingly renounce the grace which we had obtained.” It is now evident how widely apart is this doctrine from the error of Novatus
And that the Apostle here refers only to apostates, is clear from the whole passage; for what he treats of is this, that those who had been once received into the Church ought not to forsake it, as some were wont to do. He now declares that there remained for such no sacrifice for sin, because they had willfully sinned after having received the knowledge of the truth. But as to sinners who fall in any other way, Christ offers himself daily to them, so that they are to seek no other sacrifice for expiating their sins. He denies, then, that any sacrifice remains for them who renounce the death of Christ, which is not done by any offense except by a total renunciation of the faith.
This severity of God is indeed dreadful, but it is set forth for the purpose of inspiring terror. He cannot, however, be accused of cruelty; for as the death of Christ is the only remedy by which we can be delivered from eternal death, are not they who destroy as far as they can its virtue and benefit worthy of being left to despair? God invites to daily reconciliation those who abide in Christ; they are daily washed by the blood of Christ, their sins are daily expiated by his perpetual sacrifice. As salvation is not to be sought except in him, there is no need to wonder that all those who willfully forsake him are deprived of every hope of pardon: this is the import of the adverb ἔτι, more. But Christ’s sacrifice is efficacious to the godly even to death, though they often sin; nay, it retains ever its efficacy, for this very reason, because they cannot be free from sin as long as they dwell in the flesh. The Apostle then refers to those alone who wickedly forsake Christ, and thus deprive themselves of the benefit of his death.
The clause, “after having received the knowledge of the truth,” was added for the purpose of aggravating their ingratitude; for he who willingly and with deliberate impiety extinguishes the light of God kindled in his heart has nothing to allege as an excuse before God. Let us then learn not only to receive with reverence and prompt docility of mind the truth offered to us, but also firmly to persevere in the knowledge of it, so that we may not suffer the terrible punishment of those who despise it. (180)
(180) See Appendix N 2.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Heb. 10:26. Sin wilfully.Such sins contrast with sins of ignorance, frailty, and error. Involving the will, they put men outside the influence of remedial or recovering agencies. No more sacrifice for sins.Lit. no sacrifice for sins is any longer left to them. They wilfully reject that, and there is no other for them. It is distinctly assumed that the man keeps in this wilful mind. If he comes to a better mind, he comes within the range of the sacrifice that has been provided. The writer does not say that they have exhausted the infinite mercy of God, nor can we justly assert that he held such a conclusion; he only says that they have, so long as they continue in such a state, put themselves out of Gods covenant, and that there are no other covenanted means of grace.
Heb. 10:27. Fiery indignation.R.V. a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire. Lit. a jealousy of fire. The Hebrew suggests vehement displeasure. Compare Heb. 12:29; Psa. 79:5. Devour the adversaries.Not sinners generally, but specifically the impenitent Jews and the wilful apostates from the Christian faith, All who oppose themselves to the character, claims, and kingdom of Christ. Farrars hint concerning the limitation of this threatening deserves careful consideration: It is at least doubtful whether the writer meant to imply anything beyond that prophecy of doom to the heirs of the old covenant which was fulfilled a few years later, when the fire of Gods wrath consumed the whole system of a Judaism which had rejected its own Messiah.
Heb. 10:29. Punishment.Here the word used () means vengeance, or retribution. Vindictive punishment can only be attributed to God by the figure of speech known as anthropopathy, i.e. the representation of God by metaphors drawn from human passions. Trodden underfoot.A strong figure taken from our way of treating a thing that we despise. Blood of the covenant.See Heb. 13:20. Done despite unto.Openly insulted; , only here in New Testament; treating with spite, malignity, or contempt. Spirit of grace.The Spirit who bestows grace, i.e. gospel favours and privileges. It is not, however, quite clear that the Holy Ghost is referred to.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Heb. 10:26-31
The Judgment of the Wilful.If others remind the Jewish Christians of the authority, inspiration, and value of the Mosaic ceremonial system, this writer will remind them of the solemn sanctions of that system. If he has proved to them that the dispensation of which Christ is the head is in every way superior, it follows that the sanctions will be found altogether more searching and severe.
I. The sanctions of the Jewish dispensation (Heb. 10:28).Moses law was most considerate and merciful in dealing with sins of frailty, lapses through inadvertence, weakness, and ignorance. Its rites and ceremonies provided for all kinds of sin arising out of human infirmities. Its severity is often dwelt on; its mercifulness is far more remarkable than its severity. But for wilful sin based on knowledge that what was done was sin it had no sacrifice. Let it be fully proved by witnesses that a man has wilfully done what he knew to be sin, and then he is recognised as a man who has set at nought Moses law, and he must die without compassion. Every care must, however, be taken to ensure that the mans wrong was persistently wilful, and that it was intelligently wilful, being based on knowledge. It is necessary to press this point very closely, because upon it the comparison of this paragraph depends.
II. The sanctions of the spiritual dispensation.Merciful in all matters of frailty, it also is severe, with a yet intenser severity, in all matters of wilfulness upon and after knowledge and experience. Lapses or slidings from the faith in Christ are not dealt with here, but wilful departures from the faith after having confessed it. Apostasy which implies resolute wilfulness is here indicated. If we sin wilfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth. In the passage four things are presented for our consideration:
1. The true significance of such wilful apostasy. It might seem only giving up one particular phase of religion, and falling back upon an older. It might be represented as a loosening of hold on the uncertain, and gripping tight that which had been the confidence of men through long ages. But all such representations only obscured the solemn truth, and confirmed men in their wrong-doing. See the wilful departure from Christ aright, and it has a most terrible threefold significance, which the writer does indeed present in the line of Old Testament figures and associations, but which readily impress their solemnity on every heart. It really is such an insult to Christ, as
(1) would be involved in treading underfoot the Son of God. It is such an awful meanness as
(2) counting the blood of the covenant, by which the man was sealed over to Christ for ever, a thing to be lightly trifled withan unholy thing. It is even
(3) doing despite unto the Spirit of grace. In the common associations of men it is thought an insulting thing for a man to throw up his membership. What must it be to apostatise from Christ, after a man has professed to have obtained through Him eternal salvation?
2. The hoplessness of such apostasy regarded as a moral condition. For it should be clearly seen that no merely intellectual doubting is here dealt with. The apostasy is a settled feeling of the heart, and a resolute determination of the will. It is a hopeless moral state, which may find expression in a specific act. It is hopeless because it is immoral. The bringing of further proofs may persuade the intellect; but if the sacrifice of Christ has made its persuasions of the heart and the will, and then that persuasion is put away, refused, and resisted, it is plain that that sacrifice can no longer be used as persuasion; and there is no other, no higher moral force that can be exerted upon the man; and so his case has become necessarily a hopeless oneunshielded the man stands exposed to the full blasts of the Divine indignation. There remaineth no more a sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries.
3. The punishment of such apostasy which is inevitable. He who ventures outside the shelter stands exposed to the storm. Figures alone, such as that of fire, can convey to human minds fitting ideas of Divine indignation and wrath. All punishment is necessarily relative to the being punished; and we have to realise what punishment of a spiritual being, such as man is, may possibly be. Scripture uses two words, both of which are of awful significanceeternal punishment, and eternal death.
4. The warning which the possibility of such apostasy should prove to those who are exposed to malign influences and subtle temptations. Take heed lest you yield even a step; it may be putting your foot upon a slide, and before you are aware you may have drifted away. See how fearful a thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God, as you must if you are found outside that shelter and resting-place which you have in Christ. Hold fast your profession. Help one another to hold fast. For Christs sake, for your own sake, for each others sake, hold fast.
Note on sinning wilfully.The word wilfully stands in contrast with sins of weakness, ignorance, and error. If the writer meant to say that, after the commission of heinous and wilful sins, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, this would not only be the most terrible passage in Scripture, but would do away with the very object of redemption, and the possibility of any forgiveness of sins. It would, as Kurtz says, be in its consequences truly subversive and destructive of the whole Christian soteriology. But the meaning rather is, if we are willing sinners, if we are in a state of deliberate and voluntary defiance to the will of God. He is alluding not only to those sins which the Jews described as being committed presumptuously with uplifted hand (Num. 15:30; Psa. 19:13see Heb. 6:4-8, Heb. 12:16-17), but to the deliberate continuity of such sins as a self-chosen law of life; as, for instance, when a man has closed against himself the door of repentance, and said, Evil, be thou my good. Such a state is glanced at in 2Pe. 2:20; Mat. 12:43-45.Farrar.
SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES
Heb. 10:26. No other Sacrifice.There remaineth no longer a sacrifice for sins, so far as they are concerned, because that offering of Jesus which they deliberately reject has abolished all the earlier sacrifices. The observances and ceremonies of Judaism, which had been full of meaning while they pointed to Him that was to come, have lost all their virtue through His coming. Nay more, for such sin as this, the sin of knowing and wilful rejection of the only Sin-offering, God has provided no other sacrifice.Dr. Moulton.
Apostasy is Perdition.If you make defection from Christianity, and renounce your hope and trust in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, no other is provided, or can be provided, for youno other makes real atonement for sin; this being renounced, therefore, your case is desperate. The sacrifice under the new covenant is never, like the Jewish offerings, to be repeated. Apostasy from your present religion, then, is final perdition.Moses Stuart.
No Sacrifice for Some Sins.There were some sins under the law for which no sacrifices were provided; but yet if those who committed them did truly repent, though they might not escape temporal death, they might escape eternal destruction; for Christ would come, and make atonement.Matthew Henry.
Only One Atoning Sacrifice.They have rejected the work of Christ, and it cannot be done for them over again. There is one atoning sacrifice, and that they have repudiated. He does not say that they have exhausted the infinite mercy of God, nor can we justly assert that he held such a conclusion; he only says that they have, so long as they continue in such a state, put themselves out of Gods covenant, and that there are no other covenanted means of grace. For they have trampled underfoot the offer of mercy in Christ, and there is nosalvation in any other (Act. 4:12).Farrar.
Falling from Grace.He only who stands high can fall low. A lively reference in the soul to what is good is necessary, in order to be thoroughly wicked; hence man can be more reprobate than the beasts, and the apostate angels than apostate man.Tholuck.
Heb. 10:30. God the Hater of Sin.God stands between the right and the wrong, not looking pleasant on the one and equally pleasant on the other; not looking as the sun looks, with a benignant face on the evil and on the good; and not as man looks, with only a less benignant face upon the evil. He stands with all the fervour of His infinite love and all the majesty of His unlimited power,approving good, and legislating for it on the one side; and disapproving evil, and abhorring it, and legislating it down to the dust, and beneath the dust, into infamy and eternal penalty on the other side. And if there be one truth that speaks throughout the Bible like the voice of God, and resounds with all the grandeur of Divine intonation, it is the truth that God does not look with an equal eye upon the evil and the good, that He is a discriminator of character, a lover of that which is right, and a hater of that which is wrong.H. Ward Beecher.
Vengeance.To our minds this word conveys a meaning which makes it unsuitable for application to God. It is hardly possible for us to separate personal feeling, and unrestrained passion, from it. The Bible idea of the term is best understood by thinking of the family gol, avenger, or as it is in Numbers 35, revenger of blood. That family revenger took vengeance; he was bound to take vengeance; but he imported no personal feeling into his vindication of outraged family sanctities. Vengeance was the solemn duty of his position, office, and relation. With such an association we may rightly conceive of vengeance as applied to God.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 10
Heb. 10:27. Fear of the Judgment.Jerome used to say, that it seemed to him as if the trumpet of the last day was always sounding in his ear, saying, Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment. The generality, however, think but little of this awful and important period. A Christian king of Hungary being very sad and pensive, his brother, who was a gay courtier, was desirous of knowing the cause of his sadness. Oh, brother, said the king, I have been a great sinner against God, and know not how to die, or how to appear before God in judgment. His brother, making a jest of it, said, These are but melancholy thoughts. The king made no reply; but it was the custom of the country, that if the executioner came and sounded a trumpet before any mans door, he was presently led to execution. The king, in the dead of the night, sent the executioner to sound the trumpet before his brothers door; who, hearing it, and seeing the messenger of death, sprang into the kings presence, beseeching to know in what he had offended. Alas! brother, said the king, you have never offended me. And is the sight of my executioner so dreadful? and shall not I, who have greatly offended, fear to be brought before the judgment-seat of Christ?
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(26) For.The connecting links are the thought of the consequences to which such sinful neglect (Heb. 10:25) may lead, and the awful revelation of judgment which the final day will bring. Even more clearly than in Heb. 6:4-6 the state described is one of wilful and continued sin, which is the result and the expression of apostasy from Christ. It is not, If we fall under temptation and commit sin; but, If we are sinning wilfully. The descriptive words are few as compared with those of the former passage, but they teach the same lesson. Not merely the knowledge but the full knowledge (Rom. 1:28) of the truth has been received by those to whom the writer here makes reference; they have been sanctified in the blood of the covenant (Heb. 10:29). For such there remaineth no longer a sacrifice for sins: that offering of Jesus which they deliberately reject has abolished all the earlier sacrifices. The observances and ceremonies of Judaism, which had been full of meaning whilst they pointed to Him that was to come, have lost all their virtue through His coming. Nay more: for such sin as this, the sin of knowing and wilful rejection of the only Sin offering, God has provided no other sacrifice. In its general significance this passage does not differ from Heb. 6:4-6. (See the Notes.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
26. If we sin The word sin here is to be taken as in a continuous or general present tense. The meaning is, If from saints we become sinners; that is, by total apostasy. See note on 1Jn 3:10.
Wilfully Against clear light and knowledge, usually preceded by forsaking the assembly. How flagrant and conscious the return to sin is here supposed, is indicated by the fearful language of Heb 10:29.
Knowledge Says Lunemann, “This of the absolute truth embraces, in addition to an acquaintance with it through the understanding, also its internal power through experience and life.” It was not necessarily a one atrocious sin for which the Hebrews are so terribly condemned, for they may have apostatized by slow degrees and continuous small sins; but the special facts are, the clearness of their knowledge and the reality of their Christian experience. Our author here utters no denial that there may be Hebrews in excusable ignorance of Christ, who are perfected and saved in their own dispensation by the very Redeemer they know not. It is the man who renounces and denounces the very Christ whose redeeming love he had experienced, whose damnation is thus irrevocable and final.
Remaineth no more sacrifice Rejecting this one Christ, there is no other Christ for him. There is but one atonement, and no salvation but by that one. If the apostate revert to the Levitical sacrifices, the blood of bulls and of goats avails nothing. All this is not quite saying that the apostate cannot return from his apostasy, and still avail himself of the one sacrifice: but for the persistent apostate there remains no more sacrifice for sins.
‘For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries.’
For they must note that now that Christ has come there remains no other sacrifice for sin (Heb 10:18). It is Christ or judgment. We cannot now turn back to the old ways and the old sacrifices. All a turning from Christ can do is result in fiery judgment. There is no other path to God.
‘If we are those who sin wilfully –.’ The verb means to do something willingly, without constraint. See its use in 1Pe 5:2; Phm 1:14. There are different ideas among commentators as to what these words signify. Some point out that all sins are wilful, and that it simply emphasises what sin is. The interpretation then is that having turned from Christ they have no One to turn to because they have deserted Him. Thus there is nowhere else that they can look for cleansing. They are doomed. Unless of course they repent and turn back to Christ.
This is, of course, true. Each sin of ours deserves God’s full judgment, and that judgment would be severe. We do need to take this lesson to heart. And we do need to repent and turn back to Christ (1Jn 1:5-10). But such sin is nowhere else called ‘wilful sin’ and the verses that follow do seem to suggest a sinning which is of unusual severity. Furthermore the opposite of wilful (ekousios) sin, which is ‘akousios’ sin, sin done unwittingly or in error, is found in Lev 4:2; Lev 5:15; Num 15:24-29. Wilful sin is clearly more than just sin.
But finally the meaning of the phrase is surely made clear by the following verses, it means deliberately with considered forethought setting Christ at naught by continual, open rejection (Heb 10:28-29). It is a rejection after receiving the full knowledge of the truth. It is true that there is a sense in which all sin is wilful. But the Old Testament distinguished the sins of daily life from ‘sin with a high hand’, sins of deliberate defiance against God (Num 15:30 compare Deu 17:12-13). Such sins demanded an immediate death penalty. They included premeditated murder, the taking of a life which belonged to God (Exo 21:12-14); idolatry, the setting aside of God for the worship of idols (Exo 22:20, and especially in this context Deu 13:6-9; Deu 17:2-7), and being deeply involved with the occult (Exo 22:18). In all these God was openly set at naught.
The present tense indicates a continual state. Such people have chosen this way of sin in which they are found and are intent on persevering in it. Note the ‘if’ which suggests his hope that it is not true of his readers, and the ‘we’ which includes himself as one who must himself take care that he does not do the same.
‘After that we have received the knowledge of the truth.’ The emphasis here is on the fact that the sin is in full knowledge or possibly a philosophical knowledge (epignosis) of the truth (on the other hand epignosis does not necessarily mean ‘spiritual knowledge’). It is not a sin done in ignorance or in a moment of weakness, or while in absolute darkness, it is a deliberate turning of the back on ‘the truth’, God’s revealed truth in Jesus Christ (Gal 5:7; Eph 1:13 ; 2Th 2:12; Joh 1:17; Joh 3:21; Joh 16:13; Jas 3:14; Jas 5:19; 1Pe 1:22), as received from God and understood and outwardly lived under. It is a considered rejection of what it once professed.
‘There remains no more a sacrifice for sins.’ In Heb 10:18 it is said that where there is full forgiveness of sins there is ‘no more an offering for sin’. Through Christ the provisions of the old dispensation were no longer required. Sin offerings had become invalid. The same principle is in mind here. We cannot turn from God and reject His revealed truth about Jesus Christ, and find that the old sacrifices, or indeed anything else, will still suffice. Once the new covenant comes into focus the old has lost all efficacy.
‘But a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness (zelos) of fire (puros) which will devour the adversaries.’ Thus having lost any means of finding mercy by turning from Christ, only the expectation of judgment (compare Heb 10:13) awaits, and that a fearful one and a certain one, for it is dreadful and it comes from God. The wording is taken from Isa 26:11 LXX, (compare Psa 79:5-6), ‘jealously (zelos) shall seize on an untaught nation, and now fire (puros) shall devour the adversaries’, and can be compared with the judgment on the adversaries of Elijah, those who rejected Elijah as God’s prophet, where fire came down on them and devoured them (2Ki 1:10; 2Ki 1:12), or God’s judgment on the sons of Korah who rejected Moses and Aaron and were consumed by fire because they had shown contempt for God (Num 16:35; Num 26:10), or that described in 2Th 1:8, ‘in flaming fire rendering vengeance to those who do not know God’.
‘Certain.’ This does not actually mean ‘certain and sure’ but is an enclitic indefinite pronoun such as we use when we say ‘a certain man’, etc. It suggests something that is indefinable. Yet the judgment is certain, for it is the judgment of God.
‘The adversaries.’ By their turning from Christ they have become enemies of God.
Warning Against Drawing Back Heb 10:26-39 gives a warning against drawing back, or falling away to those who may decide not to draw near unto God and hold fast their confession of faith in Christ, denying the high priesthood and atonement of Jesus Christ that was explained in Heb 6:1 to Heb 10:18. We have similar statements in Heb 3:13; Heb 6:4-6; Heb 12:15; Heb 12:25. Heb 6:4-6 and Heb 10:26-31 contain a similar statement, that those who turn away from God willfully after knowing the truth cannot find repentance a second time. Between these two statements is a lengthy doctrinal discourse on the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ, which reveals that His offering secured eternal redemption for mankind once and for all. Therefore, Jesus Christ cannot make a second offering for sin.
The Purpose of this Warning – The teaching that the author of Hebrew has made in 6-10 about the priesthhood of Jesus Christ and the believer’s responsibility to draw near to the throne of God is so contradictory to the Law, in such conflict to the mindset of the Jews who have lived under the Law for the past fifteen hundred years, that he concludes it with a stern warning. It would be natural for a Jew to walk away and say that this is impossible to be true, to throw aside the Law and accept a life of grace alone without some form of works. He would be strongly inclined to believe that a Christian still had to do something to earn access to God’s acceptance and love. Yet, God has put all of the sins of mankind upon His Son, and there is no wrath and condemnation left for us, His children.
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,
Heb 10:26 Heb 10:26 “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” Comments – Under the Levitical priesthood, there was always next year when the high priest entered the holy of holies to atone for the sins of the people. However, in Christ the sacrifice was made once for all.
Heb 10:26 Comments – In Heb 6:1-3 the author discusses with them about going on further into the truth of God’s Word, partaking of meat and no longer milk. He warns them in Heb 6:4-6 of the dangers of rejecting this truth once it has been imparted. This revelation truth of Jesus being our Great High Priest was then presented in Heb 7:1 to Heb 10:18. This is why we find a similar statement to Heb 10:26 in Heb 6:4-6, which says:
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
If a person has met these five conditions of (1) being enlightened unto their need for salvation, (2) tasting of the gift of salvation, (3) being filled with the Holy Spirit, (4) having grown in the knowledge of God’s Word, and (5) having exercised the supernatural gifts of the Spirit, if he should go back into the world, he cannot come back to the Lord in repentance. This is exactly what Heb 10:26 is saying. Thus, the revelation of the knowledge of the truth that a person must receive before falling away without repentance being available is listed in Heb 6:4-6.
Heb 10:27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Heb 10:28 Heb 10:28 Heb 10:29 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?
Heb 10:29 Heb 10:29 “and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace” Comments Doing despite means to insult or outrage. We see an example of this in Mat 12:32, “And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”
Heb 10:29 Comments Three acts are listed here that are done against God:
1. Trodden underfoot the Son of God
2. Counted the blood of the covenant as an unholy thing
3. Done despite unto the Spirit of grace
Paul is exhorting them not to fall under such rebellion (Heb 6:9).
Heb 6:9, “But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.”
Note God’s same wrath against His covenant-breaking children in Deu 29:19-20.
Deu 29:19-20, “And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.”
God is the same yesterday and today. He does not change.
Mal 3:6, “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”
Illustration:
1Sa 3:14 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.
Heb 10:30 Heb 10:30 Comments – Heb 10:30 addresses those who for sake God. There is a judgment from God that is certain to come for those who draw back from the Christian faith. This judgment is also referred to in Heb 10:27.
Heb 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Heb 10:31 1Co 11:32, “But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”
When a believer dies he must fact judgment on the words that he has done in this life. Note:
1Co 3:13, “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”
Heb 4:13, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”
The context of this passage is talking about the believer. Therefore, this verse applies to the believer as well as to the sinner
Heb 10:32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;
Heb 10:32 Heb 6:4, “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened , and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,”
Heb 10:33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.
Heb 10:33 1. Themselves being persecuted.
2. Being ridiculed because of helping those who were persecuted.
Heb 10:34 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.
Heb 10:34 Heb 10:34 Comments – Although the average believer recognizes obvious abuses of love in his Christian life, there is a deeper walk with the Lord where we become much more sensitive to walking in love with others. In 1Th 4:10 Paul exhorts the believers to strive to grow in their love walk by saying “that ye increase more and more.” John the apostles defines this type of mature love as “perfect love” (1Jn 4:18). John explains that it means a believe can come to the place where he no longer makes decisions based on the fear of man, but he strives to please God in pure love and devotion to Him as all costs. We find an excellent example of mature, self-less love in the life of Onesiphorus (2Ti 1:15-18). In contrast to Phygellus and Hermogenes, who were ashamed of Paul’s bonds and hid their faith in Christ for fear of Roman persecutions, Onesiphorus boldly kept the faith in the face of possible persecutions, even going as far as visiting Paul during his Roman imprisonment, which Luke mentions in general in Act 28:30. Onesiphorus walked in self-less love, while many others in Asia were self-centered because they were moved by fear.
1Jn 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
We find another example in Heb 10:32-34, where the author describes the persecutions endured by these believers because of their faith in Christ. Their goods were plundered by those who were persecuting them (Note Jesus’ commandment on this issue of the spoiling of their goods in Luk 6:30.) Despite such persecutions, these Hebrew saints were not ashamed of Paul’s bonds.
Luk 6:30, “Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again .”
Heb 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
Heb 10:35 Our faith is a practical expression of our confidence that we have in God and His Word. The devil is after this confidence in God. Sin makes men cowards through condemnation. This statement in Heb 10:35 is a good example of Mar 4:17 in the sense that those believers who become offended lose their confidence towards God.
Mar 4:17, “And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.”
Heb 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
Heb 10:36 Heb 6:12, “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
Heb 10:37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Heb 10:37 Heb 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Heb 10:38 “but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him” – Comments The author of Hebrews has exhorted to come boldly unto the throne of grace through the one-time sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We are not to draw back in fear, believing that our sins have blocked our access to God.
Heb 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Heb 10:39 Illustrations:
Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt for looking back:
Gen 19:17, “And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee , neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.”
Jesus warns of looking back:
Luk 9:62, “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
The children of Israel looked back to Egypt in the wilderness:
Num 14:1-4, “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.”
Mar 4:13-20 – Afflictions and cares of this world cause us to look back and not enter into rest.
As believers, we have a better option than to look back:
Joh 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:”
Php 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Php 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Heb 10:39 “but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” Comments – How do we believe to the saving of the soul? We do this by taking God’s Word as a part of our lifestyles (Jas 1:21). The next chapter is an illustration of those who lived by faith to the saving of their soul.
Jas 1:21, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
Heb 10:39 Comments – Paul is exhorting these Hebrews to press on and not to draw back as in Heb 6:9. Thus, we have a choice, to draw back, or to press on by faith.
Heb 6:9, “But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.”
He will define this type of persevering faith in Heb 11:1, then he will go through the Old Testament Scriptures and cite many examples of those who persevered by faith and received God’s promises.
The sacred writer now supports his admonition by a very solemn warning:
v. 26. For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
v. 27. but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
v. 28. He that despised Moses’ Law died without mercy under two or three witnesses;
v. 29. of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot 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?
v. 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.
v. 31. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Here the dreadful result and the final consequence of falling from faith is portrayed with terrible realism: For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge’ of the truth, there no more remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expecting of judgment and of a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries. The writer is not speaking of some ordinary transgression of the Ten Commandments, such as even Christians become guilty of every day. He emphasizes that he refers to a willful sin, which consists chiefly in neglecting that to which he has just admonished, namely, that people that have come to the faith do not hold fast the confession of hope without wavering, that they neglect the means of grace, no longer attend church services, or at best very irregularly, and neither apply nor receive brotherly admonition. The denial of Christ is the sin, and the contempt of the means of grace is the road leading thereto. People that become guilty of this sin do so purposely, with deliberate intent, and they go on sinning, they persist in their transgression. Having received the knowledge of the truth, having accepted Jesus Christ and His salvation, such people maliciously and blasphemously deny the accepted facts, the truths of the Gospel. And in their case it holds true that the sacrifice for sins no longer exists for them. The very nature of their sin has this result; for, having denied the expiatory offering of Christ which they had once received in faith, they have discarded the only means of salvation. What they have to expect, therefore, is the terror of the Last Judgment, of the final doom; what they must look forward to is the fury of the fire of hell, which will consume and destroy forever, throughout eternity, the adversaries of the Lord. The intensity of this punishment is such as to make it impossible adequately to portray its fierceness.
The writer makes an attempt to do this by means of an example taken from the story of Moses: Any one that has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses; of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be considered worthy that has trampled on the Son of God and has reckoned the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified a common thing, and has insulted the Spirit of Grace? The readers of the letter were familiar with that provision of the Mosaic code which placed the penalty of death upon the sin of idolatry, Deu 17:2-7. If any person belonging to the children of Israel was found guilty of that sin, as substantiated by the testimony of two or three witnesses, capital punishment was the only punishment which was deemed adequate. For idolatry is essentially denial, a malicious breaking of the covenant existing between God and His people. In such a case, therefore, no distinction was made, there was no respect of persons: death was he penalty. Now the author lets his readers judge for themselves as to an adequate punishment for him that denies the faith in Jesus Christ in the manner here described. In order to show the heinousness of the offense, the blasphemous apostasy is characterized. It consists in trampling the Son of God under foot as a contemptible thing, not worthy of a better treatment. It includes a despising of the blood of the covenant, of the holy, innocent blood of Christ, as something common, of no more value than the blood of any ‘human being. It finally goes to the extent of insulting the Spirit of Grace, the same Spirit who, in the means of grace, has given the redemption of Christ, has wrought sanctification in the heart. Such a person deliberately blasphemes. Such is the description of a man’s condition who, after having received the grace of God in conversion, now sins in such a terrible manner, and not only once and under particular provocation, but again and again, with a certain fiendish delight in shocking others by his utter recklessness. Note: There can be no doubt that the author is here describing the sin against the Holy Ghost, which, on account of its peculiar character, is outside of the pale of God’s forgiveness. But mark that he does not accuse any of his readers of having committed the sin, his only object being to warn them lest they do become guilty and be lost forever.
To bring home his warning properly, the sacred writer refers to two passages of the Old Testament: For we know who said, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay; and again, The Lord will judge His people. Terrible it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Deu 32:35-36; Psa 135:14. When God, who is faithful also in keeping His threats, will sit in judgment and execute vengeance, then it will be too late to flee from the wrath to come. Then the knowledge that it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God will no longer be able to turn the condemned person to repentance. If we believers, who are condemned by the Law, but have become partakers of the grace of God through the gift of the Holy Ghost, willfully and maliciously deny the saving truth and grace and blasphemously spurn all offers of salvation, we have no one but ourselves to blame if the terrible vengeance of God strikes us on the last day.
Heb 10:26. For if we sin wilfully “For if any of us, who make a profession of Christ’s name, be so much under the power of unbelief, prejudice, pride, and a worldly temper, as, not merely through some sudden hurry of spirit, temptation, or fear of danger; but deliberately, resolutely, and willingly, with full consent, to reject the doctrines of the gospel and the good ways of the Lord, and to turn back to Judaism, Heathenism, or infidelity, after we have been enlightened in, and convinced of the truth of the gospel, with respect to the way of salvation alone by Jesus Christ; the case of such apostates is of all others the most dreadful: for as all legal sacrifices are of no farther use in the worship of God, nor ever were available to purge from the moral guilt of sin; and as there never was any sacrifice appointed under the law for presumptuous sinners; so there remains no other, than the one only sacrifice of Christ, for the remission of sins; and they that reject this last and only remedy, by perfidious unbelief, can have no interest in it; nor can there be any hope of pardon and acceptance with God on any other ground whatever.” The sin here intended, as appears from all the preceding and following context, is wilful, resolute, and contemptuous apostacy from the profession of Christ and his gospel: and therefore, though we ought to be always upon the strictest guard against every known sin, and to be deeply humbled before God, in thorough contrition of spirit, and resolute determination to forsake it, if ever we fall into it; yet this text is not to be understood of every sin which has been committed under the power of temptation, against light and conviction, as some tender-spirited Christians are often apt to apply it, to their own great discouragement and terror, almost to utter despair, but, as observed before, of real, wilful, contemptuous apostacy.
Heb 10:26 . ] For if we sin wilfully ( i.e. against our better knowledge and conscience) after having received the certain knowledge of the truth ; so that we become recreant to Christianity (comp. Heb 10:29 ), to which the forms the dangerous preliminary step. The are the opposite of the , Heb 5:2 , [103] and the participle present indicates the continuous or habitual character of the action.
is the truth absolutely , as this has been revealed by Christianity. The of this absolute truth, however, embraces, along with the recognition thereof by the understanding, also the having become conscious of its bliss-giving effects in one’s own experience. Comp. Heb 6:4-5 .
] there remains in relation to sins, i.e. for the expiation thereof, no more sacrifice ; inasmuch, namely, as the sin-cancelling sacrifice of Christ, the communion of which we then renounce, is a sacrifice which takes place only once , is not further repeated, while at the same time the Levitical sacrifices are unable to effect the cancelling of sins. Bengel: Fructus ex sacrificio Christi semper patet non repudiantibus; qui autem repudiant, non aliud habent.
[103] The assertion of Kurtz, that, if this remark were true, the author would be expressing “a dogma in its consequences truly subversive, and destructive of the whole Christian soteriology,” inasmuch as it would “imperatively follow therefrom, that even under the New Covenant only those who transgressed from ignorance and error could find forgiveness with God for Christ’s sake, while all who had been guilty of a conscious and intentional sin must beyond hope of deliverance fall victims to the judgment of everlasting damnation,” is a precipitate one, since the special limitation within which the expression was used was naturally afforded to the reader, quite apart from the investigation already preceding at Heb 6:4 ff., even from our section itself.
Heb 10:26-31 . In the , Heb 10:25 , there was manifested a lukewarmness in Christianity, which might lead to apostasy therefrom. In warning notes, therefore, the author points out that the man who knowingly slights recognised Christian truth, and sins against it, will infallibly be overtaken by the punitive judgment of God. To be compared Heb 6:4-8 .
II Heb 10:26-31
26For if we, sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more [a] sacrifice for sins, 27But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and [a] fiery indignation, which shall [the glowing fervor of a fire that is about to] devour the adversaries. 28He that despised [set at naught] Moses law died [dieth] without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29Of 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 [common, unhallowed, ], and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him that hath [om. hath] said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord.14 And again, The Lord shall [will] Judges 15 his people. 31It is a, fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
[Heb 10:26. , for voluntarily, , emphatically standing before the Part. , we sinning, in case of our sinningthe present Part. denoting an habitual and abiding state; but nothing seems to require us to transfer it, with Alf., to the actual day of judgment. It seems much more forcible, as well as more natural, to refer it to the condition, in the present life, of one who has completely apostatized from God. , after receiving. , the recognitionmore than the mere the knowledge to which the mind has been consciously directed, and borne, as it were, its attestation., there remaineth as a logical result: , there is left behind as a historical fact, see Heb 4:1; Heb 4:4.
Heb 10:27. , an indignation, or, fervor of fire that is about to devour.
Heb 10:28. , any one, after setting at naught.
Heb 10:29. , who trampled on, common, that of a common man (De W., Del., Alf., etc.), or (as Thol., Ln., Moll, etc.),=, unclean, impure.K.].
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Heb 10:26. For if we sin wilfully, etc.That the reference here is not to deliberate and heinous sins in general, but to apostasy from Christianity after regeneration, is clear from the entire phraseology. stands in contrast with and , Heb 5:2 : the pres. marks habitual in contrast with transient denial: the apostasy is preceded by the , at once a theoretical and practical recognition of the truth, and deliberate and conscious embracing of it, and is followed by a failure of any further expiatory sacrifice, and instead of it (, as Heb 4:6) an , whose fearfulness is heightened by the rhetorical . is not to be taken as a single conception=fiery zeal or jealousy (Luth., etc.), since the following Part, takes the case of , which is treated as a person, as at Heb 12:29 God Himself is called . points not to a destroying=annihilating, but to the sensible conscious suffering of the fiery infliction. The expressions remind us forcibly of Isa 26:11 in the Sept. The words in Heb 10:28 refer evidently to Deu 17:6, which refer in like manner not to the transgression of individual commandments, but to a breaking of the covenant, and abandonment of God for idol-worship. Hence the ground for the following parallel.
Heb 10:29. Of how much sorer punishment think ye, etc. lays the decision regarding the case, about which there can be no doubt, on the judgment of the readers: represents God as Him who weighs the greatness of guilt, and hence awards the according to the facts of the preceding (Aor. Part.) sins. The words (as read uniformly except by A. and Chrys.) designate the blood of the covenant as that whose sanctifying influencei.e., an influence which, in virtue of the atonement and purification, consecrates to a true covenant fellowship with God and His peoplehad been already experienced. Hence here, doubtless, denotes impurity (Vulg., Luth., Grot., Thol., Ebr., Ln., Riehm, etc.), not commonness (Pesh., It., cum., Theophyl., Bez., Schlicht., Beng., Bl., De W., Bisp., Del., etc.). By Bl., De W., Ln. understand the Holy Spirit as the gift of grace; but more correctly acc. to Heb 13:9; Heb 13:25 (comp. Zec 12:10). Bhm., Del., Riehm, etc., understand it as the efficient principle of grace. The first citation is from Deu 32:35; the second from Deu 32:36 (repeated Psa 135:14). In both passages the sentiment is, that Jehovah, by His judicial sway, will vindicate the rights of His people against His enemies. This meaning of the original is also here to be maintained, since denotes in the conception of the writer the church of God of the New Covenant (Del.), which is overlooked by Bl., De W., Ln., who understand the words of a judgment upon the people, instead of for them. The first citation deviates from the Heb. text, and still more from that of the Sept.; but accords with Rom 12:19, which contains also the that is wanting in the original. Hence Bl., De W., Del., Reiche infer that the citation was taken at second hand from Romans; while Meyer (Rom 12:19; Rom 12:3 d ed.) regards the paraphrase of Onkelos, Ln., on the contrary, a current proverbial form of the expression, as the common source of the citation both here and in Romans.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The most immediate inducement to follow the injunctions that in their rightful claim have just been laid down, is the great danger of apostasy from Christ, and the fearfulness of its consequences.
2. The penitent sinner may indeed, with resigned spirit, choose rather to fall into the hands of God than of men, 2Sa 24:14; Sir 2:18. But the covenant-breaker and apostate, who has come into a hostile and radical gainsaying of the truth which he had before acknowledged, cannot be again renewed to repentance, Heb 6:4-8, and cannot possibly henceforth obtain forgiveness of sins. The offerings of the law bring no true propitiation; self-originated offerings have not even the character of type and of promise. If the only true atoning sacrifice, the Son of God and His blood, have in view of the earlier experience of its sanctifying power, been rejected as useless, and the Spirit of grace spurned and scorned, not only is there nothing to replace the sacrifice thus rejected and dishonored, but this itself can no longer exercise a saving influence upon him who has made wilful and wanton wreck of all the previous influences of grace.
3. The distinction of peccatum deliberatum and ignoranti is a less fixed and rigid one than is commonly supposed: there is in sinning a knowledge of the right, which the sinner refuses to allow to assert itself. The veil of the lying excuse which is drawn over the conscience would fain lift itself, but is held fast with convulsive power. Such a character of the inward struggle and gainsaying of truth must we particularly insist on when Christian truth, once attested by the Holy Spirit, is, in an apostasy which has grown out of lesser acts of infidelity, not only denied, but blasphemed. The conflict regarding objective truth becomes all the more fierce in proportion as there is, at the same time, a conflict against the truth which still in a measure asserts itself within the bosom of the apostate (Thol. comp. Stud. und Krit., 1836, Heft. 2).
4. Rightfully and justly after such an apostasy, nothing remains to be expected but judgment, which will be executed by God with the full living energy of His holy nature, just as inevitably as His undeceiving word has infallibly declared it; and its fearfulness will stand proportionate to the richness of the grace, and the fulness of the revelation, of the New Covenant.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
To the greatness of the grace which has been received we find standing in direct relation the guilt of apostasy, and the fearfulness of the punishment.The hands of God reach through time and eternity, and to apostates bring no less of terror and destruction, than comfort and assistance to believers.The judgments of God come slowly but surely; yet they are preceded by the proffer of grace and the announcement of punishment upon the despisers.He who turns the grace of God into wantonness has nothing further to hope from His compassion.The looking for of the Divine judgment, without faith in the expiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ, is a foretaste of damnation.The wrath of God burns as hotly as His love, and strikes no less surely than justly.
Starke:Were there to be another sacrifice, there must also be another Messiah; and God must lay through Him an entirely new foundation for salvation; must institute an entirely different economy for attaining it; and must consequently, at the same time, Himself take away the way which has been disclosed, and the foundation which has been laid, through Christ. Inasmuch, therefore, as this is absolutely impossible, it is also equally impossible that any one should be saved out of Christ; and that any other propitiatory sacrifice should be made on his behalf.Not only is the judgment of God terrible in itself, but terrible is also the tormenting fear and foretaste of it which the ungodly feel in themselves as a hell even upon earth.Great sins deserve great punishments; he therefore who allows himself in their commission must not be surprised that he receive his reward (Jer 2:19).Against the apostate there are three witnesses: the Father, who hath given to him His Son; the Son, whose blood he tramples under foot; and the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of grace, to whom he does despite.Seest thou the apostate and ungodly walking secure, believe that he will not remain unpunished; God does all precisely at the right time; he will thus speedily remember him (Nah 1:2).
Hahn:According to the greatness of His grace, is the severity with which God visits His wrath upon the contempt of it.
Rieger:To the Lord Jesus is ascribed a long-suffering patience (Heb 10:13), but to believers a hopeful waiting (Heb 9:28): unbelievers, on the contrary, fall into a fearful apprehension, wherein many a word of God that had been heard without fear, returns with terrible power.The unfruitful vine before every other tree is given as food to the fire (Eze 15:6-7); and thus abused love and neglected grace awaken all the greater wrath.It is a great deception of our hardened and insensible heart that the death-punishments threatened in the law, stoning, etc., affect us more than the sorer punishment which takes effect only in the realm of the future and invisible.He who eats my bread, tramples me with his heel, is the just complaint of Jesus in regard to His betrayer.
Heubner:There is a more subtle and a more open apostasy.The abandonment of the only Saviour and Propitiator takes us out of the reach of propitiation.The apostate suffers a twofold punishment; first, in awaiting it, and then in the actual experience.We hear in this case an earnest testimony to the guilt of careless and unprincipled changes in religion.
Menken:In that the Lord judges His people He will avenge and deliver them.Vengeance is a prerogative of the Divine majesty. This we are not to assume, but rather to refrain from all private vengeance, and, feeling the love of Jesus Christ, are to commend to the Divine compassion those who in thought and act oppose themselves to Christianity, and who are our enemies for the Gospels sake; and this all the more from the fact that they who from this cause, hate, calumniate and abuse us, unless they cease from their unrighteousness, will not escape the Divine retribution.
Footnotes:
[14]Heb 10:30.The words are wanting, indeed, in Sin. D*. 17,23*, 67**, and most ancient translations, but have the authority of A. D. E. K. L. Philox., and are added by a later hand in Sin. Comp. Expos, of Heb 10:29, conclusion.
[15]Heb 10:30.Instead of the lect. rec. , we are to read after Sin. A. D. E. K. 31, 73, which MSS., except Sin. and A., have also preceding, as Sept., Deu 32:36; Psa 135:14. In the Sin., the change has been introduced by the corrector.
DISCOURSE: 2313 Heb 10:26-31. If we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 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? 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. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
WE cannot be too strongly on our guard against attaching ourselves to human systems in religion. The partisans of human systems take a partial view of the Scriptures, leaning invariably to those passages which appear to sanction their favourite dogmas, and excluding all mention of those which have a contrary aspect. They all take it for granted, that the things which they know not how to reconcile, are contrary to, and inconsistent with, each other. But as in a machine wheels may move in opposite directions, and yet so harmonize as to subserve one common end, so, in the word of God, truths, which have an opposite aspect, may be perfectly reconcileable to each other, and equally conducive to the accomplishment of the Divine purposes. The Apostle Paul insisted, as strongly as any one could do, on the doctrines of grace, shewing that all was ordered by God according to the counsel of his own will: yet no Apostle spoke more strongly than he on the danger of apostasy; or taught more forcibly the necessity of continual watchfulness on our part in order to the attainment of those blessings which God had from all eternity prepared for us. It is on this subject that he is speaking in the passage before us; wherein he cautions the Hebrew converts against apostasy, bidding them to hold fast the profession of their faith without wavering; and warning them, that, if they turned back from God, it would be to their everlasting perdition. I.
The evil of apostasy
It is not of all sin, or even of all wilful sin, that he speaks: for, if there were no pardon for wilful sin after baptism, or after we have embraced the Gospel, who could hope ever to attain salvation, since there is not a man in the universe who has not, on some one occasion at least, knowingly and wilfully done what he ought not, or left undone what he ought to have done. The sin spoken of in the text, is, a total and wilful apostasy from the Gospel of Christ. This appears from the whole context, both from that which precedes, and that which follows. In the preceding context he bids them to hold fast the profession of their faith without wavering; and then he adds, for, if we sin wilfully; that is, by renouncing our holy profession, we reduce ourselves to the most awful condition that can be imagined; seeing that, having put away all affiance in the sacrifice of Christ, there remains no other sacrifice for our sins. In the following context the sin is opened at large under three separate heads, which, whilst they mark distinctly the nature of the sin which is intended, display the evil of it in most tremendous colours.
Let us consider each of them in its order Next, it is a counting of the blood of the covenant an unholy thing. The Mosaic covenant was ratified with blood; and with that blood both the tabernacle with all its vessels, and the people who worshipped before it, were sanctified, and set apart as holy to the Lord [Note: Heb 9:18-21.]. The covenant of grace is ratified with the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; and, when we come to the knowledge of the truth, we also are sanctified with it, and set apart to the service of our God. We profess to consider that blood as the one procuring cause of all that we either have or hope for: and we look for all the blessings of the covenant solely through the merit of his blood as shed for us, and as sprinkled on us. But, when we cast off our profession, we declare before all, that we consider the blood of Christ as having no virtue at all as an atonement for sin, and as being, in fact, of no more efficacy than the blood of bulls and goats, or even of a malefactor, justly put to death.
Further, it is a doing of despite unto the Spirit of grace. The Holy Spirit, both before and after the death of Jesus, bare witness to him by signs and wonders innumerable: and, when we are brought to the knowledge of the truth, it is by that same blessed Spirit illuminating our minds, and sealing the truth with power upon our souls. But, when we renounce the truth we have received, we insult that Divine Agent, as having borne witness to a falsehood: and we ascribe all his miracles either to Satanic agency, or to some mysterious imposture. We even laugh also at the impressions which he has made upon our minds, and deride all his merciful suggestions as fanaticism and delusion.] Hence then may be seen,
II.
The danger of it
This is declared,
1.
From the very nature of the sin itself
[Consider what the sin is: it is a discarding of the only remedy which God has provided for the necessities of fallen man. Under the Mosaic dispensation, God revealed himself to the Hebrews as the only true God; and entered into covenant with them to be their God, if they would serve him in sincerity and truth. But, if any one made void that law [Note: , ver. 28.], and departed from him to worship other gods, he appointed, that, upon the fact being proved by two or three witnesses, the offender should be stoned to death [Note: Deu 17:2-7.]; and it was expressly forbidden to any person to conceal the crime: if it should have been committed by a mans dearest friend or relative, he must reveal it to the constituted authorities, and take the lead in executing sentence on the offender [Note: Deu 13:6-9.]. In this law the Hebrews had acquiesced as holy, and just, and good. (Here let me suggest, by the way, that the illustration here brought by the Apostle farther shews, what the sin was of which he spake; namely, that it was not every wilful sin, but a wilful renunciation of the Gospel of Christ.) Now, says the Apostle, if so severe a sentence was executed, without any mercy, on the contemner of the Mosaic covenant, and the judges themselves declared the offender to be worthy of it [Note: Deu 17:6.], of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who has renounced the Christian covenant; since he has trodden under-foot the Son of God, &c.? Here he appeals to them, and makes them judges in their own cause. And to you also do I appeal. If they who renounced that legal covenant, the provisions of which were chiefly of a temporal nature, and the engagements of it ratified only with the blood of beasts, were counted worthy of such a tremendous punishment as death; of how much sorer punishment must he be worthy, who renounces the covenant of grace, in which all the blessings of grace and glory are made over to us, and which has been ratified and confirmed with the blood of Gods only dear Son? I consent that you shall be judges in your own cause, and the arbiters of your own fate. They who renounced the law were guilty of most egregious folly and ingratitude: but their impiety was not to be compared with yours: for whilst, as renouncing the only means of salvation, you resemble them, your impiety is greater than theirs, in proportion as the covenant which you despise is more glorious than theirs, and the mercies which you reject have been purchased for you at a dearer rate.
Know then, that to such persons there remains no more sacrifice for sins. Under the law, the sacrifices were repeated from year to year; but not so under the Gospel: Christ will never die for your sins again; nor will any other offering be made in his stead: and therefore, having renounced him, nothing remains for you but a certain fearful looking-for of judgment, whilst you continue here; and of fiery indignation, when you go hence, that shall devour all the adversaries of God and his Christ. Even here, I say, the punishment of such persons is awful: for, to say the least, they are in a state of uncertainty what shall be their fate in the eternal world; and they have frequently in their minds and consciences such an anticipation of their doom, as appals their souls, and terrifies their spirits, and forms a very hell within them: and the moment they go hence, the wrath of an incensed God comes upon them to the uttermost.]
2.
From the fixed determination of God to punish it
[God has said, Vengeance belongeth unto me; and I will recompense [Note: Deu 32:35.]. And again, The Lord shall judge his people [Note: Deu 32:36.]. Now if he, as the moral Governor of the universe, has determined to execute justice, as well as to shew mercy; and if the administering of justice be no less necessary to his own glory than the dispensing of mercy, what have the contemners of his Gospel to expect? He has said, he will thus display his righteousness at the last day: and we know him who has said it: we know that he is almighty, and therefore able to inflict punishment; and we know he is true, and therefore will fulfil his word. It is in vain to think that he will change: for he is not a man, that he should lie; or the son of man, that he should repent. Seeing then that he will take the matter into his own hands, judge ye, whether it be not a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Were it only a mortal man that was incensed, and you had no way of escape from him, it were a terrible state for you to be in: but what must it be to be exposed to the wrath of the living God, who, whilst he ever lives to execute vengeance, will preserve you in existence, that you may eternally endure it? Think of enduring the wrath of the Lamb, which will be so much the more terrible, in proportion as his mercy in submitting to be slain for you has been slighted and despised.]
Suffer ye then, brethren, a word of Exhortation Watch and pray against every wilful sin
[Keep thy servant from presumptuous sin, said David; then shall I be innocent from the great transgression [Note: Psa 19:13.]. Now, though it is true that every wilful sin, or every presumptuous sin, does not involve us in all the guilt of apostasy, yet it leads to apostasy as its natural end and issue; because it hardens the heart, and sears the conscience, and grieves the Holy Spirit, and provokes God to leave us to ourselves: and, if once God say of us, They are joined to idols; let them alone [Note: Hos 4:17.]; our doom is sealed, and our perdition sure. Let me then affectionately entreat you to guard against every wilful sin, whether of commission or omission. A man does not become an apostate all at once: he first indulges some secret lust, some filthiness either of the flesh or spirit. Then he declines into formality in his secret walk with God: then his besetting sin gets an ascendant over him: then he becomes indifferent to public ordinances; and so, from opposing the Gospel in his heart and life, he comes to abandon it even in profession, and to relapse into avowed infidelity, and a contempt of all true religion [Note: Ecclus. 19:1.]. The misery which such persons frequently endure in this life, is sufficient to make us dread such an event as this But that which the apostate soul shall endure in the eternal world, surpasses all conception. It would have been better for such an one never to have known the way of righteousness, than, having known it, to desert it, and make shipwreck of his faith [Note: 2Pe 2:20-21.].]
2.
Bear in mind your obligations to Christ and to his Holy Spirit
[Why did the Lord Jesus Christ die under the load of all your guilt? Was it that you might continue in your sins? Why did the Holy Spirit undertake to renew and sanctify your souls; and why has he begun a work of grace in your hearts? Was it that you might return again with the dog to his vomit, and the sow that was washed to a wallowing in the mire? Let then the Lord Jesus Christ behold in you the fruits of his love and let the Holy Spirit rejoice in beholding in you the efficacy of his grace Then it will be no formidable thing to fall into the hands of the living God: on the contrary, you may then with joyful hope look forward to the time of your departure, and, after the example of that Saviour in whom you have believed, you may say in your dying hour, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.]
(26) For if we sin willfully 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.
I beg the Reader’s close regard to these verses, because, for want of due attention, God’s dear children have sometimes, through the weakness of their faith, and Satan’s temptations, been apt to mistake the Lord s Meaning. The Apostle by willful sin, could not be supposed to imply, the common sins, and infirmities of the brethren. For in many things we offend all, Jas 3:2 . The just man (that the justified believer in Christ,) falleth seven times, and riseth up again, Pro 24:16 . Yea, willful sins against light and knowledge, are not the sin which the Apostle alluded to in this scripture. Such there are in the best of men. Paul himself confessed, that in his flesh dwelt no good thing, Rom 7 throughout. And David hath left it upon record, that the transgression of the wicked said within his heart, that there was no fear of God before his eyes, Psa 36:1 . Nay, the Lord’s own testimony to the same solemn truth is, that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart is only evil continually, Gen 6:5 . And the carnal mind, is not only enmity against God; but it is not subject to the law of God: neither indeed can be. Let the Reader remark the strong emphasis of this latter clause: neither indeed can be, Rom 8:7 . Many read this scripture as though it referred to the child of God before his regeneration, And there was a time, I confess, that I read it so too. But I bless God, since he mercifully brought me more into an acquaintance with the plague of my own heart, and his grace, that I have been taught better. I now see, that as the regeneration of the spirit doth not regenerate the flesh, the body of sin and death remains the same. That which is born of the flesh, is flesh. So Christ hath said. And so I know. It is only that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, Joh 3:6 . Hence, the carnal mind is carnal; neither can it be subject to the law of God, as the Holy Ghost hath declared. And it is only by the Spirit, that the deeds of the body are mortified, and the soul lives, Rom 8:13 . Hence, neither from the testimony of scripture, neither Paul’s own personal experience, neither the experience of the Lord’s people, in all ages of the Church, could Paul mean by this expression to allude to, in the common sins and infirmities of the brethren, whether involuntary errors, or those of a more deliberate nature.
But, it is evident by the expression itself, there is intended some one more special act of offence, in a willful transgression. Let the Reader observe, it is spoken of someone sin, not sins. For, if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. Hence it is plain, that it was one special, particular sin, against the commission of which the Lord the Holy Ghost warned the Church. And when we consider to whom this Epistle was especially written, and the circumstances of that people, we shall soon discover, under the Lord’s teaching, what this willful sin was to which the Lord alluded. But, before we do this, let it be observed, that the expression itself, doth not speak as of a sin done, but if it were done. The Hebrews are not charged with doing it, only cautioned against it. I beg that this also may be properly and fully attended to, in order that no false inference may be made from it, and to which the scripture itself gives not the least countenance, as if there was a possibility implied in it of finally falling away from grace.
In order to a right apprehension of this passage, let it be first considered, that the Apostle is here writing to the Church of the Hebrews; that is, to persons who were brought up in all the prejudices of Jewish ideas, and of consequence had been in the habit of observing all the sacrifices of the law. When, therefore, by regeneration, they were gathered to the Lord, and had learnt the blessed truth, that Christ, by the one offering of himself, once offered, had forever perfected them that are sanctified; a firmness of faith in this one all-sufficient offering, ought to have kept them from having the least disposition to return to any of the sacrifices of the law. Nevertheless, as in this Church of Christ, made up of true believers, there were with them, as there is with us now, a visible professing Church also, of men unregenerated; the weak and fearful of God’s people among them were tempted by such characters to suppose, that there could be no harm in observing the sacrifices of the law, and still to look to Christ. To prevent this, and to shew the danger of such conduct, the Apostle solemnly points out that such a willful perversion of the truth, in looking to the shadow, now the substance was come, became virtually a denial of the full and complete sacrifice of Christ for sin; and therefore there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. I am inclined to think that this was the case in this church of the Hebrews; and that this was the object had in view in this Scripture. We know that it was so with the Church of Galatia, which was composed of a mixture of Jews and Gentiles. See Gal 1 ; Gal 4 . And we know that in our own day, too many there are, who mingle law and Gospel, and but few, comparatively speaking, who live wholly upon Christ, as the sole cause of justification before God.
Secondly. Let it be further considered, that, in this Church of the Hebrews, there must have been as there always is in the purest congregations upon earth, a number of mere nominal professors, who had no part nor lot in the matter. The real Church of Christ therefore, was hereby taught how to discriminate the precious from the vile. And this became the more necessary, because, when the after-visitation came, in the destruction of Jerusalem, the people of God might discover that a mere profession would not screen from the just judgment of God. This certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, actually took place at the memorable siege made upon Jerusalem, agreeably to Christ’s prediction, when the Roman soldiers, under Titus Vespasian’s army, burnt the City and the Temple, and destroyed the people with the sword. It should seem, therefore very plainly to be meant, that the willful sin here spoken of, was that, special act of considering the sacrifice of Christ, either not in itself sufficient for salvation, or that it might receive benefit by the addition of joining with it an attention to the sacrifices under the law. And this transgression is here pointed at, as willfully departing from the faith, and this is done by way of preserving the real child of God from being led away by the temptation, and calling upon the Church to mark the sure destruction of mere nominal professors, in whose hearts no saving act of grace had been wrought by the Holy Ghost.
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Ver. 26. For if we sin wilfully ] Against the grace of the gospel, despising and despiting it, as those that fall into the unpardonable sin. Some good souls by mistakes of this text have been much afflicted, as Master John Glover. Other odious apostates have utterly despaired. Others of the ancients have unworthily cashiered this Epistle out of the canon, because of this passage.
There remaineth no more sacrifice ] For sins against the law, though against knowledge there was an atonement, Lev 6:1 , though it were for perjury; but for this sin against the gospel, that repudiates the remedy, there is no sacrifice; abused mercy turns into fury.
26 31 .] Caution , arising from the mention of that day, which will be not a day of grace, but a day of judgment, of the fearful peril of falling away from Christ . The passage finds a close parallel in ch. Heb 6:4 ff., and much of what was there said will apply here.
26 .] For if we willingly sin (contrast to , in reff. and the to the . , ch. Heb 5:2 . The sin meant by is sufficiently defined by the connexion ( ) with the preceding exhortations, and by the description of one who has so sinned in Heb 10:29 . Neglect of assembling together, and loss of mutual exhortation and stimulus, would naturally result in (as it would be prompted by an inclination that way at first) the of ch. Heb 3:12 ; the of ch. Heb 6:6 . It is the sin of apostasy from Christ back to the state which preceded the reception of Christ, viz. Judaism. This is the ground-sin of all other sins. Notice the present, not the aor. part. ‘If we be found wilfully sinning,’ not ‘if we have wilfully sinned,’ at that Day. It is not of an act or of any number of acts of sin, that the Writer is speaking, which might be repented of and blotted out: but of a state of sin, in which a man is found when that day shall come) after the receiving (having received) the knowledge (“It is usually said that is the weaker word, the stronger: or, the former the more general, the latter the more special: or, the former the more quiescent, the latter the more active: the truth in all these is, that when is used, there is the assumption of an actual direction of the spirit to a definite object and of a real grasping of the same: so that we may speak of a false , but not of a false . And the Writer, by the use of this word, gives us to understand that he means by it not only a shallow historical notion about the Truth, but a living believing knowledge of it, which has laid hold of a man and fused him into union with itself.” Delitzsch. It is most important here to keep this cardinal point distinctly in mind: that the are not mere professors of religion, but real converts, or else Heb 10:29 becomes unintelligible) of the truth (the truth of God, as so often in St. Paul and St. John), there is no longer left remaining (see on ch. Heb 4:6 ) a sacrifice for sins (for there is but One true sacrifice for sins: if a man, having availed himself of that One, then deliberately casts it behind him, there is no second left for him. It will be observed that one thing is not, and need not be, specified in the text. That he has exhausted the virtue of the one sacrifice, is not said: but in proportion to his willing rejection of it, has it ceased to operate for him. He has in fact, as Del. observes, shut the door of repentance behind him, by the very fact of his being in an abiding state of willing sin. And this is still more forcibly brought out when, which Del. does not notice, the scene of action is transferred to the great day of the Lord’s coming, and he is found in that impenitent state irreparably. This verse has been misunderstood, 1. by the Fathers, who apply it to the Novatian controversy, and make it assert the impossibility of a second baptism: so e. g. Thl., , , , . , . . . And similarly Chrys., c., and Augustine, Inchoat. Exposit. Ep. ad Rom. 19, vol. iii. pt. ii., Rev 2 . By Theodore of Mopsuestia and others, who interpret it only of those in a state of impenitence, understanding that on penitence they will again come under the cleansing influence of the blood of Christ: , , , );
Heb 10:26-39 . Dreadful result of falling from faith.
Heb 10:26 . . “For if we go on sinning wilfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no more remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain dreadful waiting for judgment and a fury of fire which is to devour the adversaries.” , introducing an additional reason for the preceding exhortation. The emphasis is on ; and the present tense of . must not be overlooked. Cf. , Thuc. 4:98. Wilful sin, continued in, means apostasy, repudiation of the covenant. Cf. Heb 6:6 , , and Heb 5:2 , , and Heb 3:12 . Apostasy can only occur a condition which is explained in detail in chap. 6. Without this preceding knowledge of the covenant its wilful repudiation is impossible. Those spoken of in Heb 10:25 , as having abandoned meeting with their fellow Christians, and possibly as having neglected, if not renounced, the confession of their hope, were perhaps alluded to here, as on their way to apostasy. They are warned that they are drifting into an irredeemable condition, for to those who have repudiated and keep repudiating the one sacrifice of Christ, . The only sacrifice has been rejected, and there is no other sacrifice which can atone for the rejection of this sacrifice. “The meaning is not merely that the Jewish sacrifices to which the apostate has returned have in themselves no sin-destroying power, nor even that there is no second sacrifice additional to that of Christ, but further that for a sinner of this kind the very sacrifice of Christ itself has no more atoning or reconciling power” (Delitzsch). That this is the meaning is shown by the positive assertion of what the future does contain, a terrifying prospect of waiting for inevitable judgment. The expression is not equivalent to , which, as Bleek remarks, would not be so impressive. means either “causing fear” or “feeling fear”; “scaring” or “affrighted”. Here it is used in the former sense. occurs elsewhere only in the sense of receiving something or of the acceptation or interpretation of a word; but Heb 10:13 and Heb 9:28 guide to the meaning given by the Vulg. expectatis . The by leaving the expectation indefinite heightens the terror of it. The imagination is allowed scope. is general, but immediately suggests , the destined fire; for which see 2Th 1:8-10 . “Fiery indignation” very well renders , an anger which expresses itself in fire. The expression is derived from such O.T. phrases as Psa 79:5 . Cf. Zep 1:18 and Deu 4:21 . This fiery anger is destined to devour the adversaries, as in Isa 26:11 , , and Isa 64:2 . Cf. also Isa 30:27 , a natural figure used by Homer and others. , see Lightfoot on Col 2:14 , who shows that it means “direct, close, persistent opposition”.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Heb 10:26-31
26For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. 28Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Heb 10:26 “if we” This is not a typical conditional sentence. Possibly the genitive absolute (hamartanontn hmn) is functioning as the protasis (if clause).
Surprisingly the author grammatically identifies himself with the wilfully sinning group, but this may be a literary technique (editorial plural) similar to Heb 2:3. The first person does not automatically identify him with the group spoken of in Heb 10:26-29. This same type of literary technique using the first person can be found in 1Co 13:1-3.
“sinning willfully” “Wilfully” is placed first in Greek for emphasis. The word is possibly analogous to the “high handed” sin of the OT (cf. note on Heb 5:2). The grammatical form of the verb (present active participle genitive masculine first person plural) has been used by some to suggest that this refers to believers who continue in sin. If they would cease sinning they would avoid the judgment. However, this does not fit the ominous context of Heb 6:1-6 and Heb 10:26-29. This is a life or death warning, a once out, always out warning! Rejection of Jesus in the presence of the clear light of revelation produces the darkest possible spiritual night.
“after receiving the knowledge of the truth” The verb in English, “receiving,” is an aorist active infinitive. This is the crux of the interpretive problem. If they once received the full experiential knowledge (epignsk) of the (definite article) truth; this sounds like believers! This is the same theological issue as Heb 6:4-6.
It must be admitted there is no easy, clear, obvious interpretation. My personal fear is that my own biases may dominate a very clear text. I must resist a systematic, denominational agenda which silences this powerful, inspired text. The issue is not sinning believers. The issue is believers who cease to believe! I cannot accept a theology that (1) makes salvation dependant on human performance or (2) turns assurance into a dogmatic pronouncement totally unrelated to the Christian life. I reject a theology of lost, saved, lost, saved, lost, saved! I also reject a theology of “once saved, always saved” which is unrelated to the continuing belief and lifestyle faith. Therefore, what do I do? I exegete the text: in its historical setting, in its literary context, in its grammatical expression, in its choice of terms, in its genre, and its parallel passages. I must admit that if all I had to work with was Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:26-29, there would be little option but that believers fall away from grace. However,
1. the historical setting, the Jewishness of the book, and the presence of persecution are major issues
2. the literary context (cf. Heb 5:11 to Heb 6:12) and the three groups (cf. “us,” “you,” and “those who”) seem to reveal a Jewish setting of “believing Jews” and “unbelieving Jews” worshiping and fellowshipping in a synagogue setting
3. the use of so many OT quotes related to the tabernacle, the use of the term synagogue (cf. Heb 10:25), and the roll call of faith, all point toward a reader familiar with the OT
Therefore, after exegeting the text I think the best overall explanation (not without its own problems and assumptions) is the supposed historical reconstruction of R. E. Glaze, Jr. in No Easy Salvation, published by Insight Press, 1966.
Hebrews seems to be a specialized book, to a select group. Does that mean it has no message for today? The warnings of this inspired author (along with James, Peter, and the writer of I and 2 John) should motivate believers to continue to run the race (see F. F. Bruce, Answers to Questions, pp. 124-125)! The answer does not lie in an easy believism, nor in a fear-generated legalism, but in a godly life of faith, a striving toward holiness, produced by an attitude of gratitude in a full, finished, and final salvation (cf. Heb 10:14) through Christ by faith.
Heb 10:27 “judgment” The author has emphasized again and again the wonderful hope that believers have in Christ, but the negative side is as compelling; judgment is coming, and all will stand before a holy God (cf. Heb 9:27; Gal 6:7).
“the fury of a fire will consume the adversaries” This is an allusion to Isa 26:11. Fire is often associated with holiness or cleansing. God is an ethical being; His creation is an ethical reality. Humans do not break His laws, they break themselves on His laws.
SPECIAL TOPIC: FIRE
Heb 10:28
NASB”anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses”
NKJV”anyone who has rejected Moses’ law”
NRSV”anyone who has violated the law of Moses”
TEV”anyone who disobeys the Law of Moses”
NJB”anyone who disregards the Law of Moses”
This is a strong word of wilful rejection. In A Handbook on the Letter to the Hebrews, Ellingworth and Nida say:
“The word fordisobeys is a strong word, used not of incidental sins, but of breaking the whole covenant (Eze 22:26), for example, by idolatry (Deu 17:2-7), false prophecy (Deu 18:20), or blasphemy (Lev 24:13-16)” (p. 236).
“dies without mercy. . .two or three witnesses” In the OT a capital trial always required two witnesses (cf. Deu 17:6; Deu 19:15). There are consequences to disobedience!
Heb 10:29 “How much severer” This is an argument from the lesser (Moses’ covenant) to the greater (Jesus’ covenant). This comparison is the theme of Hebrews.
“trampled under foot” This imagery means to treat contemptuously (cf. Heb 6:6). This is an aorist active participle, which implies a completed act, as does the next participle.
“Son of God”
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE SON OF GOD
“regarded” This means a deliberation of facts resulting in a choice.
“unclean” This refers to something that is ceremonially unclean, not fit for its assigned purpose.
“the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified” The question here relates to the verb (aorist passive indicative). Is this referring to the initial rejection of the new covenant or is this a turning away from the new covenant? The aorist participles in the previous phrase and the aorist passive participle in the following phrase imply an initial rejection.
The problem with this interpretation is that every place in Hebrews that “sanctified” is used it refers to believers (cf. Heb 2:11; Heb 9:13; Heb 10:10; Heb 10:14; Heb 13:12). For me the issue is one of covenant-keeping. The sovereign God has produced a covenant relating to salvation. It is free; it is for all, but it must be received (human free will), not just in an emotional response (cf. Mat 13:20-22), nor in a uniting with a church (cf. 1Jn 2:19). Believing is the key. Those who believe/faith/trust (all possible translations of pisteu) are saved and have assurance. The dual warning of Hebrews is to (1) receive the gospel offer and (2) walk in it. If one fails to receivejudgment; if one ceases to believejudgment!
“and has insulted the Spirit of grace” He convicts of sin, brings us to Christ, baptizes us into Christ and forms Christ in us as believers (cf. Joh 16:8-11). The Spirit is insulted or outraged when unbelievers reject His wooing and convicting. Some of the recipients of this book were rejecting Christ in the presence of clear revelation from other members of the synagogue (see Introduction, Recipients).
Heb 10:30 “vengeance” This is a quote from the Septuagint of Deu 32:35 a and 36a. This is not anger, but full justice handed out to all involved.
“the Lord will judge His people” This is a further quote from the Septuagint of Deu 32:36 a. The Hebrew text has “vindicate” instead of “judge.” Does this phrase imply that the ones wilfully sinning were once God’s people? Usually only one aspect of the OT quote is intended. It is probably “judge” that is the focal point of the quote, not that in its original context it referred to idolatrous Israel. The author has been using God’s rejection of His own people in judgment as a warning throughout the book.
Heb 10:31 “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of a living God” This phrase (cf. Heb 3:12) reflects the covenant name of God, “YHWH” (cf. Exo 3:14), from Hebrew verb “to be” (cf. Mat 16:16). See Special Topic at Heb 2:7. Unbelief reaps an eternal consequence!
if, &c. = we sinning. Greek. hamartano. App-128.
wilfully. Greek. hekousios. Only here and 1Pe 5:2 (willingly). The adjective only in Phm 1:14. The sin here is the deliberate turning back to Judaism. Compare Heb 6:4-6.
that we have = having.
knowledge. Greek. epignosis. App-132.
remaineth. See Heb 4:6.
no more = no longer. Greek. ouketi.
26-31.] Caution, arising from the mention of that day,-which will be not a day of grace, but a day of judgment,-of the fearful peril of falling away from Christ. The passage finds a close parallel in ch. Heb 6:4 ff., and much of what was there said will apply here.
Heb 10:26. , wilfully) For after the truth has been acknowledged, the excuse of ignorance is taken away.-, if we sin) To sin here means entire revolt or apostasy from GOD, Heb 10:29, ch. Heb 3:12, 2Ki 21:16; and the violation, not of the law, Heb 10:28, but of the whole economy of the New Testament, Heb 10:29. Comp. , rejected, despised, Heb 10:28, note.- , after we have received) This does not so much refer to individuals as to the state of believers of the New Testament: whence, however, the conclusion holds good to individuals, Heb 10:29.- , of the truth) The truth, here, and grace, Heb 10:29, are expressions applied to the New Testament. The Spirit of grace, ibid., is called the Spirit of truth in Joh 14:17.-, no more) The fruit of the sacrifice of Christ is always evident to them who do not reject it, but those who reject it have nothing else.- , for sins) refers to , if we sin.
Heb 10:26-31
A SOLEMN WARNING AGAINST
THE DANGERS AND FEARFUL
CONSEQUENCES OF APOSTASY
Heb 10:26-31
Heb 10:26 —For if we sin willfully, etc.-To sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth is the same as to apostatize from Christ, for which there is no forgiveness. See notes on Heb 6:4-6. The use of the present participle (hamartanonton) shows that the sin is not one of error or inadvertence; not a sin of momentary excitement; but rather that it is a sin of habit; a sin that is willingly and deliberately persisted in; a sin that is committed with a high hand and in open violation and contempt of Gods law. For the law in reference to these two classes of sins, see Num 15:22ff. The word rendered knowledge (epignosis) means more than a mere objective knowledge (gnosis) of the truth. It rather denotes a full experimental knowledge, such as we gain by the active application of our minds to the study of the truth. And hence it is of those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, that our author speaks. If such persons apostatize from Christ-
Heb 10:26 —There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,-Or rather, there remaineth no longer (ouk eti) a sacrifice for sins. The idea of the Apostle is not simply that those who presumptuously reject the sacrifice of Christ can obtain salvation through no other; but further, he means to say that in the case of such high-handed transgressors, even the sacrifice of Christ is no longer available. The man who was once a Christian, a true child of God, and who as such was made a partaker of the Holy Spirit, and yet falls away as an apostate from Christ, can obtain no more forgiveness in any way. His desperate condition, as Delitzsch justly remarks, is both the natural consequence of his willful error, and also a condign punishment inflicted by the Divine hand. He not only shuts out himself from grace, but the door of repentance is shut behind him; and he has before him only the prospect of a damnation from which there is no escape.
Heb 10:27 —But a certain fearful looking for of judgment-This is the fearful condition of every apostate from Christ. Cut off from all hope of being saved, nothing remains for him but a certain fearful anticipation of coming judgment and a fervor of fire which will finally consume all the enemies of God. There seems to be an allusion here to the fire which came out from God and consumed the two hundred and fifty Levites who participated in the rebellion of Korah (Num 16:35); and perhaps also to the destruction of Nadab, Abihu, and other like rebels against the Divine government. See references. So, God himself is represented as a consuming fire (Heb 12:29), before whom all the wicked will finally perish (2Th 1:8). This thought our author now proceeds to illustrate still further by a reference to the law of Moses.
Heb 10:28 —He that despised Moses’ law, etc.-The Apostle does not speak here of all manner of sins and transgressions committed under the Old Covenant, but only of such as were committed with a high hand, and in open rebellion against God and in contempt of his government: such, for example, as the sin of idolatry; the law concerning which was inexorably laid down as follows: If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant, and hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; and it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired diligently, and behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: then thou shalt bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death <be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you. (Deu 17:2-7.)
This is the best possible commentary on our text. It proves beyond all doubt that for the apostate under the Old Covenant there was no forgiveness. And now he proceeds to show by an argument, a minori ad majus, that the case of the apostate under the superior light and privileges of the New Covenant, is even more intolerable.
Heb 10:29 —Of how much sorer punishment, etc.-The lesson is taught by our Lord himself, that wherever much is given, there also is much always required. That servant, he says, who knew his lords will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required; and to whom men have committed much, of him will they ask the more. (Luk 12:47-48.) And just so our author reasons in the case before us. If the apostate under the Old Covenant was punished with so great severity, much more shall the apostate, who under the superior light of the New Covenant has trampled under foot the Son of God, and accounted the blood of the covenant by means of which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace, suffer the extreme penalties of the divine law. The threefold specification of his guilt is given here for the purpose of more clearly defining the desperately wicked and abandoned course of the apostate. Let us notice each of these in order:
Heb 10:29 —Who hath trodden under foot the Son of God,-The ineffably glorious and perfect Being who in infinite condescension became flesh and died to redeem him; who sent his good Spirit to enlighten, comfort, and sanctify him; and who, in a word, did all that Heaven could do to save him from his sins, and to make him an heir of honor, glory, and immortality;-this is the Being whom the apostate, as far as he can, now tramples under foot, and treats as an object of extreme hatred and contempt! What else can such a one expect but the extreme terrors and torments of the coming judgment.
Heb 10:29 —And hath counted, etc.-The word rendered unholy (koinon) means (a) what is common; and (b) what is unholy or impure. Its secondary meaning is to be preferred here as being more in harmony with the context. The apostate treats this blood, by means of which he was himself once sanctified, as an unholy and impure thing. The use of the word sanctified (hegiasthe) shows very clearly that the subject of the discourse was once a Christian, a true child of God, and prospectively an heir of glory. But now he is a child of the devil and an enemy of all righteousness.
Heb 10:29 —Hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?-That is, to the Holy Spirit. It is here called the Spirit of grace, because through it God imparts all grace, comfort, and salvation to our helpless and sinful race. By it, Christ himself worked all his miracles (Mat 12:28) ; and by it, he convinces the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (Joh 16:8) ; and by it, he comforts his saints and helps their infirmities (Joh 7:39; Rom 8:26). To insult this Spirit, then, as does the apostate, is manifestly the height of all wickedness, maliciousness, and impiety. And hence, as Christ says (Mat 12:32), for those who do so there is no forgiveness. Nothing remains for them but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a jealousy of fire which will devour all the adversaries of God.
Heb 10:30 —For we know him that hath said,-The meaning is, we know the character of God: we know him to be a God of truth; a God of justice; and a God of infinite power and holiness. We know, therefore, that he will certainly execute all his threatenings on his enemies, while he at the same time fulfills all his promises to his children.
Heb 10:30 —Vengeance belongeth unto me, etc.-This is a quotation from Deu 32:35. It is cited in Rom 12:19, to show that vengeance does not belong to us but to God. Here, it is cited to prove that God will certainly, in due time, render a just recompense to all his enemies.
Heb 10:30 —And again, the Lord shall judge his people.-This is a citation from Deu 32:36. The same expression is found also in Psa 135:14; but it is most likely that our author quotes from the law as given by Moses. The passage is variously explained by expositors. Some take it to mean that the Lord will vindicate and avenge his people, by executing just judgment on his and their enemies (Delitzsch, Alford, Moll, Stuart) ; but others think that the object of our author is rather to show that God is so very just and righteous, that he will not allow the sins of even his own children to pass with impunity, much less the daring impiety of apostates (Bleek, Lunemann, De Wette). For if the righteous scarcely be saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear ? (1Pe 4:18.) Perhaps both ideas may be included in the Apostles argument.
Heb 10:31 —It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.-This is plain enough from the scope of the passage and the explanations already given. For if God is infinitely just and infinitely holy, it must indeed be indescribably awful to fall into his hands to be punished forever and ever. True, indeed, David says, Let us fall now into the hands of the Lord; for his mercies are great; and let us not fall into the hand of man. (2Sa 24:14.) But David was not an apostate. It was for correction, and not for everlasting punishment, that he chose to fall into the hand of the Lord, rather than into the hands of his enemies. The cases are, therefore, not at all parallel. For it is not for the purpose of being corrected during the short space of three days, or even three centuries, that the apostate falls into the hands of Jehovah; but it is that he may be punished with an everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. (2Th 1:9.) These, says Christ, shall go away into everlasting (aionion) punishment; but the righteous, into everlasting (aion- ion) life. (Mat 25:46.)
Commentary on Heb 10:26-31 by Donald E. Boatman
Heb 10:26 –for if we sin wilfully
Observe he has been talking about absentees.
a.Deliberately absenting oneself from the Lords Supper is wilful sin.
b. Church members should examine their hearts to see if it is an excuse or a reason that kept them from the table.
Heb 10:26 –Sinning wilfully is producing sin
a. Producing sin is not in the nature of the Christian.
2Pe 1:4 : Become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.
1. 1Jn 2:1 : These things I write unto you that you may not sin.
2. 1Jn 3:9 : Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin because His seed abideth in him and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God.
b. Note the Greek word for sin wilfully, poion-poiei, in I John.
1. The verb is poico: to make, to form, to construct.
2. The unregenerate man lives in sin and loves it; the regenerate man may lapse into sin, but he loathes it.
c. The Christian does not practice or form sin.
Heb 10:26 –after that we have received the knowledge of the truth
A knowledge of the truth should make us produce fruit of the Spirit, instead wilful sin. A return to sin is a worse state than the first, according to 2Pe 2:20-22.
Heb 10:26 –there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sin
The Jews had none for the sin of the high hand.
a. Num 15:30 : But the soul that doeth aught with a high hand, whether he be home born or a sojourner, the same blasphemeth Jehovah and that soul shall be cut off from among the people.
b. See Isa 1:10-15; Isa 59:1-2.
c. Also Jer 6:19-20; Jer 7:9-16.
God hates sin deeply, and for those enlightened ones who know better and have the power to escape and refuse it, there is no sacrifice to cover it.
With the power of God, there is no excuse for wilful sin. See Php 4:13; 1Co 10:13.
The Christian Life
Not willful SinNot unto Death
Sacrifice for sinRenewed unto Repentance
With ChristExhorts Christ
Faith in BloodHonor to Holy Spirit
Holy
The Willful Sinner
Contrast the above with Heb 10:29
Sin of High HandWillful Sin
Cp. Num 15:30Death
No sacrifice for sin
Falling away; impossible to renew without Christ
Trodden underfoot the Son of God
Counted the blood an unholy thing
Done despite unto the Spirit of Grace
Heb 10:27 –but a certain fearful expectation of judgment
Those who go out from the blood of Christ have not only an evil conscience to feel but also the wrath of God to face.
Heb 10:27 –and a fierceness of fire
Of course this is not a new doctrine.
a. Fire destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
b. Fire destroyed Korah and his rebellious company. Num 16:35.
c. John preached about fire. Matthew 3.
d. Peter preached about fire. 2Pe 3:8-14.
e. Heb 10:27 says God is a consuming Fire.
f. Christ will come as a flaming Fire. 2Th 1:8.
This Greek word Luxos does not always mean fire.
a. In Act 13:45 it is translated envy, jealously.
b. Act 5:7-wrath, indignation.
c. Rom 10:2, It is translated zeal.
d. Heb 10:27. The American Standard Version footnotes it as jealousy.
Heb 10:27 –which shall devour the adversaries
Whether the above word is fire, jealousy, or indignation, the result is the same.
a. The backward-treading individual is to be counted as an enemy.
b. Those not for Him are adversaries. Mat 12:30.
Paul, in 1Co 16:9, says that there are many adversaries.
Heb 10:28 –a man that hath set at naught Moses law dieth without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses
Setting aside amounted to apostasy and was a capital offense. Deu 17:3-6. Without compassion shows the strictness of an absolute God.
a. Num 15:32-36 is an example.
b. Sentiment cannot enforce the law. Enforcement calls for all sentiment to be aside.
Two or three witnesses were required to establish the fact.
a. See Deu 17:6.
b. Note the fact that an elder must likewise have a plurality of accusers before being condemned. 1Ti 5:19.
Heb 10:29 –of how much sorer punishment
Such offenses were trifling in comparison to turning against Christ after once being for Him. The word sorer carries the idea of severity.
Heb 10:29 –think ye, shall he be judged worthy
Deserving the worst for deserting the best is suggested. Cf. Luk 12:47-48.
a. Jesus suggested that the one who knew that he was sinning, but did not cease from it, deserved many stripes.
b. How undeserving of forgiveness is the one who turns his back on Christ after knowing Him.
Note the three charges against such a one:
a. Treading upon Christ.
b. Discounting the blood of Christ.
c. Insulting the Spirit.
Heb 10:29 –who hath trodden under foot the Son of God
Who has treated Christ with contempt is meant here. It is an utter disregard of the King of our lives, tramping upon Him as though we were king and He a lowly conquered creature.
Heb 10:29 –and hath counted the blood of the covenant
Note the ways it is spoken of:
Heb 10:19 : The blood of Jesus.
Heb 9:14 : The blood of Christ.
1Pe 1:2 : The blood of Jesus Christ.
1Pe 1:19 : The precious blood of Christ.
1Jn 1:7 : The blood of Jesus, his Son.
Rev 7:14 : White in the blood of the Lamb.
The blood is to take away the errors of repentant people, not wilful sinners.
Heb 10:29 –wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing
Unholy in Greek means common, in contrast to sacred. He has treated it as though no power or atonement were in it.
Heb 10:29 –and hath done despite
Insult, defiance is meant here, We see people who try to hurt loved ones; this is spite.
Despite is an intensified form of the word, translated, to treat shamefully in Mat 22:6; to insult in Luk 18:32; Act 14:5; 1Th 2:2.
Heb 10:29 –unto the Spirit of grace
The Spirit that bestowed upon them such wonderful blessings is meant, When we turn from the path of the fruit of the Spirit to produce evil fruit, we endanger our soul.
How important is the Spirit?
Mat 12:28 : By Him Christ worked miracles.
Joh 16:8 : By Him God convinces the world of righteousness and judgment.
Joh 7:39 and Rom 8:26 : He comforts the saints and helps their infirmities.
When we insult Him there is no forgiveness. Mat 12:32; also Mar 3:29; Luk 12:10.
Heb 10:30 –for we know Him that said
Deu 32:35-36 : God is speaking. The Hebrews knew the God that stated this. The Hebrews knew the faithful God Who in times past punished men for sin. They no doubt knew the severity of God in His dealing with Ananias and Sapphira.
Heb 10:30 –vengeance belongeth unto Me
God has certain rights, and vengeance is one of them.
a. Lev 19:18 : Thou shalt not avenge.
b. Rom 12:19 : Avenge not yourselves.
c. 1Th 4:6 : The Lord is the avenger.
A discussion of vengeance should consider three things;
a. God delegated the power to execute apostates of the nation of Israel to the rulers of the people.
b. Now He has resumed the power, and He reserves apostates for an everlasting destruction.
Justice demands vengeance.
Heb 10:30 –I will recompense
God can do an adequate job.
a. Rom 1:27 : Receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due.
b. Heb 2:2 : Every transgression received a just recompense of reward. How shall we escape?
c. 1Pe 4:18 : For if the righteous are scarcely saved.
Mans judgment is feeble in comparison to Gods.
a. Observe these scriptures:
Mat 25:46 : These shall go into everlasting punishment. 2Th 1:9 : Everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.
2Pe 3:10-13.
b. Compare this with our one-to-five year imprisonments with good food, libraries, recreation, etc., furnished to the criminal. And again, Deu 32:36.
Heb 10:30 –the Lord shall judge His people
Judge here means govern.
a. God will divide the godly from the hypocrites. See Psa 1:5 : Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment. Also Mat 25:46.
b. The hypocrites may grow as tares, but their doom is certain. I am glad God governs His people and that He will judge us, rather than men who judge by the outward appearance.
Heb 10:31 –it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God
Examples of it-Old Testament characters:
a. Adam and Eve.
b. Cain.
c. People of Noahs day.
d. Sodom and Gomorrah.
e. Korah.
An example of it in the New Testament is that of Ananias and Sapphira. The destruction pictured by Peter, and by the Book of Revelation, is the worst yet.
Study Questions
1939. What was the willful sin in the Old Testament called? Cf. Num 15:30.
1940. What does Peter say concerning the Christian who returns to evil? Cf. 2Pe 2:20-22.
1941. Was there a sacrifice for sin of the high hand in the Old Testament? Cf. Num 15:30; Isa 1:10-15; Isa 59:1-2; Jer 6:19-20; Jer 7:9-16.
1942. Does God hate the sin of the enlightened ones more than the sin of those living in sin?
1943. What is meant by no more sacrifice for sin?
1944. With the power of God at our disposal, is there any excuse for our falling? Cf. Php 4:13; 1Co 10:13.
1945. Does this verse mean that such a one cant return and repent?
1946. What may the backslider expect? Heb 10:26.
1947. What is Pauls adjective to describe the expectation of judgment?
1948. What does Heb 10:31 say about it?
1949. What is the cause for Gods ability to be fierce according to Nah 1:2; Nah 1:6-7?
1950. What will accompany the judgment?
1951. Has God ever used fire to destroy people? See Gen 19:28; Num 16:35.
1952. Is the expression fierceness of fire a new doctrine?
1953. Did John preach about fire? Cf. Matthew 3.
1954. Did Paul? Cf. 2Th 1:8; Heb 10:27.
1955. Did Peter? Cf. 2Pe 3:8-14.
1956. Does the word translated fire always mean fire?
1957. What other meanings has it? Is it ever so translated?
1958. Is the result the same, as seen by the word devour?
1959. Is the indifferent person an adversary? Cf. Mat 12:30.
1960. Was it a great sin to set aside the law of Moses?
1961. Was it a capital offense? Cf. Deu 17:3-6.
1962. Do we have an example of the lack of compassion? See Num 15:32-36.
1963. Why did God insist on a multiplicity of witnesses?
1964. Does God require witnesses against an elder? Cf. 1Ti 5:19.
1965. Is God sentimental when His laws are concerned?
1966. What does the word sorer mean?
1967. Do we deserve the worst when we have broken the best? Cf. Luk 12:47-48.
1968. How deserving of forgiveness is the one who turns his back on it?
1969. What are the sins named in this verse as deserving of punishment?
1970. How can we tread upon Christ?
1971. Do we walk on Him when we neglect His table for visiting, fishing, picnicking, etc.?
1972. In what relationship does he speak of the blood here?
1973. How is it expressed in other verses? Cf. Heb 10:19; Heb 9:14; 1Pe 1:2; 1Pe 1:19; 1Jn 1:7; Rev 7:14.
1974. What is meant by the expression unholy thing?
1975. How can the backslider by his life make the sacrifice seem unholy?
1976. Define done despite.
1977. See other verses for examples. Cf. Mat 22:6; Luk 18:32; Act 14:5; 1Th 2:2.
1978. If the Spirit produces the blessings in our lives, what may we expect if we treat Him shamefully?
1979. If He is the Comforter, may we expect comfort by insulting Him?
1980. What did Jesus say concerning sin against the Holy Spirit? Mat 12:32; Mar 3:29; Luk 12:10.
1981. Who is known in Heb 10:30?
1982. What verse is quoted?
1983. Did these people know God?
1984. Do you suppose that they knew Ananias and Sapphira?
1985. What is meant by vengeance?
1986. Was this an old doctrine carried over into the New Testament? Cf. Lev 19:18; Rom 12:19; 1Th 4:6.
1987. Does justice demand vengeance?
1988. Is a law of value if God does not enforce it and punish for it?
1989. Does God mean by recompense that He can do an adequate job?
1990. Will He give a just recompense? Cf. Heb 2:2; Rom 1:27.
1991. How does Gods judgment compare with our modern penal systems, with libraries, food, recreation, etc.?
1992. Did Jesus teach the judgment of God?. Cf. Mat 25:46.
1993. What is meant by God judging His people?
1994. Does God exercise His absolute power now?
1995. How does Gods judgment differ from mans?
1996. If man judges by outward appearance, ought we to be the more careful?
1997. Give examples of the fearfulness of Gods judgment in the Old Testament. In the New Testament.
1998. Is that pictured in Revelation and by Peter worse?
1999. What former days are to be recalled?
2000. What pleasant and worthwhile memories should they recall?
2001. What would enlightened refer to? Heb 10:32.
2002. What had they endured in suffering?
2003. Could it be the persecution after Stephens death?
2004. What kind of good could come from such a memory?
2005. Does easy living make for careless religion?
2006. What is meant by gazingstock?
2007. What does the word partly refer to?
2008. Could it mean that some of them had been gazingstocks, and others had not?
2009. Was it common for people to be publicly abused?. Cf. Act 19:29; 1Co 4:9.
2010. What is the difference between reproaches and afflictions?
2011. Does Heb 10:34 give a clue?
2012. How could they partly be partakers with abused people?
2013. Could Heb 6:10 be a reference to this?
2014. What two things were commendable in their life according to this verse?
2015. Does the King James Version read differently here?
2016. Is the commendation in order in either case?
2017. What is meant by spoiling of possessions? Heb 10:33.
2018. What possessions cannot be spoiled by man?
2019. What is implied by the word abiding?
2020. Cast away would be the sign of what?
, , , .
Heb 10:26-27. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
In these rinses the apostle gives a vehement enforcement of his preceding exhortation, from the dreadful consequences of a total neglect of it, or uncompliance with it. And this he doth,
1. By expressing the nature of the sin which lies therein.
2. By an impossibility of deliverance from the guilt of it.
3. The punishment that would unavoidably follow upon it.
Interpreters have greatly perplexed themselves and others in the interpretation and exposition of these verses, and those that follow. Their conjectures in great variety have proceeded principally from a want of a due attendance unto the scope of the apostle, the argument he had in hand, the circumstances of the people unto whom he wrote, and the present state of Gods providence towards them. Shall not trouble the reader with their various conjectures, and censures of them; but I shall give such an evident sense of the words as themselves and the context do evince to be the mind of the Holy Ghost in them.
1. As unto the words wherein the sin and state of such men is expressed, If we sin wilfully, he puts himself among them, as is his manner in comminations: both to show that there is no respect of persons in this matter, but those who have equally sinned shall be equally punished; and to take off all appearance of severity towards them, seeing he speaks nothing of this nature but on such suppositions as wherein, if he himself were concerned, he pronounceth it against himself also. We sinning, or, if we sin wilfully, say we: our former translations, willingly; which we have now avoided, lest we should give countenance unto a supposition that there is no recovery after any voluntary sin. If we sin wilfully; that is, obstinately, maliciously, and with despite; which is the nature of the sin itself, as is declared verse 29: but the word doth not require, nor will scarce bear any such sense. Willingly, is of choice, without surprisal, compulsion, or fear; and this is all that the word will bear.
The season and circumstance which state the sin intended is, after we have received the knowledge of the truth. There is no question but that by the truth, the apostle intends the doctrine of the gospel; and the receiving of it is, upon the conviction of its being truth, to take on us the outward profession of it. Only there is an emphasis in that word, . This word is not used anywhere to express the mere conceptions or notions of the mind about truth, but such an acknowledgment of it as ariseth from some sense of its power and excellency. This, therefore, is the description of the persons concerning whom this sin is supposed: They were such as unto whom the gospel had been preached; who, upon conviction of its truth, and sense of its power, had taken upon them the public profession of it. And this is all that is required to the constitution of this state. And what is so required may be reduced to one of these two heads:
(1.) The solemn dedication of themselves unto Christ in and by their baptism.
(2.) Their solemn joining themselves unto the church, and continuance in the duties of its worship, Act 2:41-42.
On this opening of the words, it is evident what sin it is that is intended, against which this heavy doom is denounced; and that on these two considerations:
(1.) That the head of the precedent exhortation is, that we should hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, Heb 10:23; and the means of continuing in that profession, Heb 10:24-25. Wherefore the sin against this exhortation is, the relinquishment and renouncing of the profession of the faith, with all acts and duties thereunto belonging.
(2.) The state opposite unto this sin, that which is contrary unto it, is receiving the knowledge of the truth; which what is required thereunto we have now declared. Wherefore the sin here intended, is plainly a relinquishment and renunciation of the truth of the gospel and the promises thereof, with all duties thereunto belonging, after we have been convinced of its truth, and avowed its power and excellency. There is no more required but that this be done , willingly; as,
(1.) Not upon a sudden surprisal and temptation, as Peter denied Christ;
(2.) Not on those compulsions and fears which may work a present dissimulation, without an internal rejection of the gospel;
(3.) Not through darkness, ignorance making an impression for a season on the minds and reasonings of men: which things, though exceedingly evil and dangerous, may befall them who yet contract not the guilt of this crime.
But it is required thereunto, that men who thus sin, do it,
(1.) By choice, and of their own accord, from the internal pravity of their own minds, and an evil heart of unbelief to depart from the living God.
(2.) That they do it by and with the preference of another way of religion, and a resting therein, before or above the gospel.
(3.) That whereas there were two things which were the foundation of the profession of the gospel;
[1.] The blood of the covenant, or the blood of the sacrifice of Christ, with the atonement made thereby; and
[2.] The dispensation of the Spirit of grace; these they did openly renounce, and declared that there was nothing of God in them, as we shall see on verse 29. Such were they who fell off from the gospel unto Judaism inthose days. Such are they whom the apostle here describeth, as is evident in the context. I will say no more unto the sin at present, because I must treat of it under its aggravations on verse 29.
Obs. 1. If a voluntary relinquishment of the profession of the gospel and the duties of it be the highest sin, and be attended with the height of wrath and punishment, we ought earnestly to watch against every thing that inclineth or disposeth us thereunto.
Obs. 2. Every declension in or from the profession of the gospel hath a proportion of the guilt of this great sin, according unto the proportion that it bears unto the sin itself. Hereof there may be various degrees.
Obs. 3. There are sins and times wherein God doth absolutely refuse to hear any more from men in order unto their salvation.
2. The first thing which the apostle chargeth as an aggravation of this sin is, that it cannot be expiated, There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins; words not unlike those of God concerning the house of Eli, 1Sa 3:14, I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Elis house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever. An allusion is had herein unto the sacrifices of the law. As there were certain sins which from their nature, as murder, adultery, blasphemy; or from the manner of their commission, with obstinacy and a high hand had no sacrifice allowed for them, but those that were so guilty were to be cut off from the people of God, and to die without mercy, as the apostle declares his own mind, verse 28: so is it with them that thus sin willingly; there is no relief appointed for them, no means for the expiation of their sin. But yet there is an especial reason of this severity under the gospel, which the apostle hath principal respect unto. And this is, that there is now no multiplication or repetition of sacrifices for sin. That of Christ, our high priest, was offered once for all; henceforth he dieth no more, he is offered no more, nor can there be any other sacrifice offered for ever.
This the words express, , There remaineth not; there is not, in the counsel, purpose, or institution of God, any other sacrifice yet left, to be offered in this, or any other case. To suppose there is yet any such left, it must be on one of these two accounts:
(1.) That God would change the whole dispensation of himself and his grace by Christ, because of its weakness and insufficiency. But it may be said, Whereas God did thus deal with the Mosaical law and all its sacrifices to bring in that of Christ, why may not therefore there be another way of expiation of sin yet remaining, whereby they may be purged and purified who are guilty of apostasy from the gospel?
(2.) Although men have justly forfeited all their interest and benefit by the one offering of Christ, why may he not appoint another for them, or cause himself to be offered again for their recovery?But both these suppositions are not only false, but highly blasphemous; for it is certain there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.
compriseth all sorts of offerings and sacrifices whereby sin might be expiated. Wherefore the apostle plainly expresseth, that as persons, by a voluntary relinquishment of the gospel, did forfeit all their interest in the sacrifice of Christ, as he further declares, verse 29, so there was no way appointed for the relief of them by the expiation of their sin for ever.
Further to clear the mind of the Holy Ghost herein, I should answer some inquiries that may arise on this interpretation of the words, but in this place I shall only propose them:
1. Whether this commination may be extended to all ages, times, and seasons? or whether it were confined unto the present state of the Hebrews, with the circumstances they were in? The reasons of the inquiry are,
(1.) Because their circumstances were eminently peculiar, and such as cannot befall others in any season.
(2.) Because there was a temporal destruction then impendent over them, ready to devour apostates; which cannot be applied unto them who fall into the same sin at other seasons.
2. Whether the sin intended may include great actual sins after the profession of the gospel, answering such as under the law were said to be committed with an high hand?
3. Whether there may be hopes for the persons here intended, though no express provision be made in the covenant for the expiation of this sin?
4. Whether there be any defect in the priesthood of Christ, that it hath but one sacrifice for sins, which if it be neglected and despised can never be repeated, nor can any other sacrifice be added unto it?
5. If a person who hath voluntarily forsaken and renounced the gospel, with a great appearance of all the circumstances that concur unto the state of the sin here mentioned, should make profession of repentance, what may be conceived concerning his eternal condition? what is the duty of the church concerning such an one?
These things shall be spoken unto elsewhere.
Obs. 4. The loss of an interest in the sacrifice of Christ, on what account or by what means soever it fall out, is absolutely ruinous unto the souls of men.
Heb 10:27. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
When a man under the law had contracted the guilt of any such sin as was indispensably capital in its punishment, for the legal expiation whereof no sacrifice was appointed or allowed, such as murder, adultery, blasphemy, he had nothing remaining but a fearful expectation of the execution of the sentence of the law against him. And it is evident that in this context the apostle argues from the less unto the greater: If it was so, that this was the case of him who so sinned against Moseslaw, how much more must it be so with them that sin against the gospel, whose sin is incomparably greater, and the punishment more severe?
The connection of the words with those foregoing, by the adversative for , includes or brings along with it the verb , there remaineth: No sacrifice for sin is left or remains; but there doth remain or abide for such persons a fearful expectation of judgment.
There are two things in these words:
1. The punishment due unto the sins of apostates, which is three ways expressed:
(1.) By the general nature of it, it is judgment;
(2.) By the special nature of that judgment, it is fiery indignation;
(3.) By the efficacy of it unto its end, it devours the adversaries.
2. The certain approach of this judgment, there remaineth a fearful expectation.
1. This last lies first in the words. And,
(1.) That which we render certain, is in the original only . It doth not denote an assured expectation, nor the certainty of the punishment; but only a certain kind of expectation, a kind of fearful expectation. Nor is this spoken in the way of diminution, but to intimate something that is inexpressible, such as no heart can conceive or tongue express. 1Pe 4:17-18, What shall be the end of them who obey not the gospel? Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
(2.) , an expectation, is the frame of mind with respect, unto any thing that is future, good or bad, wherein we are concerned, that we are to look for, whatever it be, which we have reason and grounds to think will come unto us or befall us.
(3.) This expectation is said to be fearful, tremendous, which men can neither conflict withal nor avoid, as we shall see further, Heb 10:31; that which fills the mind with dread and horror, depriving it of all comfort and relief. An expectation of this dreadful and terrible nature may be taken two ways:
[1.] For the certain relation that is between the sin and punishment spoken of; the punishment is unavoidable, as any thing is which upon the most certain grounds is looked for. So they are said only metaphorically to look for that which will certainly ensue.
[2.] As it expresseth the frame of the minds of them concerning it. And though the assertion may be used in the former sense, yet I doubt not but this latter also is included in it; and that also on two accounts:
1st. Because if they did set themselves unto the consideration of the event of their apostasy, nothing else could befall their minds, nothing could present itself unto them for their relief; their minds will not admit of other thoughts but what belongs to this dreadful expectation.
2ndly. On the account of that dread and terror that God sends at times into the minds and consciences of such persons.
They may bear it high, and with an ostentation of satisfaction in what they have done, yea, commonly they proclaim a self-justification, and prove desperate persecutors of them who sacredly adhere unto the truth; but as he said of old of tyrants, that if their breasts were opened, it would appear what tortures they have within, I am persuaded it is probable that God very seldom lets them pass in this world without tormenting fear and dread of approaching judgments, which is a broad entrance into hell.
Obs. 5. There is an inseparable concatenation between apostasy and eternal ruin.
Obs. 6. God oftentimes visits the minds of cursed apostates with dreadful expectations of approaching wrath.
Obs. 7. When men have hardened themselves in sin, no fear of punishment will either rouse or stir them up to seek after relief. Obs. 8. A dreadful expectation of future wrath, without hope of relief, is an open entrance into hell itself.
2. This dreadful punishment is described by the general nature of it.
(1.) It is , judgment. It is not a thing that is dubious, that may fall out, or may not do so. It is not an unaccountable severity that they are threatened withal; but it is a just and righteous sentence, denouncing punishment proportionate unto their sin and crime. Judgment is taken sometimes for punishment itself, Psa 9:16; Jas 2:13; 1Pe 4:17; 2Pe 2:3. But most commonly it is used for the sentence of judicial condemnation and trial, determining the offender unto punishment; and so it is most commonly used to express the general judgment that shall pass on all mankind at the last day, Mat 10:15; Mat 11:22; Mat 11:24; Mat 12:36; Mar 6:11; 2Pe 2:9; 2Pe 3:7; 1Jn 4:17. I doubt not but that in the word as here used both these are included, namely, the righteous sentence of God judging and determining on the guilt of this sin, and the punishment itself which ensues thereon, as it is immediately described. And although respect be had herein principally to the judgment of the great day, yet is it not exclusive of any previous judgments that are preparatory unto it and pledges of it; such was that dreadful judgment which was then coming on the apostate church of the Hebrews.
Obs. 9. The expectation of future judgment in guilty persons is, or will be at one time or another, dreadful and tremendous.
(2.) The punishment and destruction of those sinners is described by its particular nature; it is a fiery indiguation, . For these words do not relate unto , as doth, nor are regulated by it, (it is not the expectation of fiery indignation,) but refer immediately unto
. As there remains an expectation of judgment, so there is a fiery indignation that remains. And so the words following, which shall, , refer to fire, , and not to indignation, ; the indignation, the vehemency, the power of fire.
What is this fire? and what is this indignation of it?
God himself is in the Scripture said to be a consuming fire,
Deu 4:24; Deu 9:3; Isa 33:14; Heb 12:29. What is intended thereby is declared in a word, Deu 4:24, , as here . The essential holiness and righteousness of God, whereby he cannot bear with the iniquities and provocations of men who betake not themselves unto the only atonement, and that he will by no means quit the guilty, are intended in this metaphorical expression.
The judgment of God concerning the punishment of sin, as an effect of his will in a way consonant unto the holiness of his nature and the exigence of his righteousness, is called fire, 1Co 3:13. But that is not the fire that is here intended. It is devouring, consuming, destroying, such as answereth the severity of Gods justice unto the utmost, as Isa 9:5; Isa 30:33; Isa 66:15; Amo 7:4; Mat 18:8; 2Th 1:8; Psa 11:6; Deu 32:22. Therefore this indignation, or
fervor of fire, hath respect unto three things:
[1.] The holiness of the nature of God; from whence originally this judgment doth proceed, as that which is most suitable thereunto.
[2.] The righteous act of the will of God; sometimes called his wrath and anger from the effects of it, being suitable unto the holiness of his nature.
[3.] The dreadful severity of the judgment in itself, in its nature and effects, as it is declared in the next words.
I doubt not but respect is had unto the final judgment at the last day, and the eternal destruction of apostates. But yet also it evidently includeth that sore and fiery judgment which God was bringing on the obstinate, apostate Jews, in the total destruction of them and their church-state by fire and sword. For as such judgments are compared to and called fire in the Scripture, so this was so singular, so unparalleled in any people of the world, as that it might well be called fiery indignation, or fervor of fire. Besides, it was an eminent pledge and token of the future judgment, and the severity of God therein. Wherefore it is foretold in expressions that are applicable unto the last judgment. See Mat 24:29-31; 2Pe 3:10-12.
(3.) This indignation, to be executed by fire, is described in the last place by its efficacy and effects. It is the fire that shall devour or eat up the adversaries. The expression is taken from Isa 26:11. For, the fire of thine enemies, is there, not that which the enemies burn with, but wherewith they shall be burned. Concerning the efficacy and effect of this fire we may consider,
[1.] The season of its application unto this effect, .
[2.] The object of it, the adversaries.
[3.] The way of its operation, it shall devour them.
[1.] It shall do so; it is not yet come to the effect, it is future. Hence many of them despised it, as that which would never be, 2Pe 3:3-6. But there are three things intimated in this word:
1st. That it is in procinctu, in readiness; not yet come, but ready to come: so is the word used to express that which is future, but ready to make its entrance.
2dly. That it is certain, it shall and will be; whatever appearances there are of its turning aside, and mens avoiding of it, it will come in its proper season: so speaks the prophet in a like case: Hab 2:3.
3dly. The foundation of the certainty of the coming of this fiery indignation, is the irreversible decree of God, accompanied with righteousness, and the measures which infinite wisdom gave unto his patience. This was the unavoidable season that was approaching, when the adversaries had filled up the measure of their sin, and Gods providence had saved the elect from this wrath to come.
Obs. 10. There is a determinate time for the accomplishment of all divine threatenings, and the infliction of the severest judgments, which no man can abide or avoid. He hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world. So at present there is a sort of men whose damnation slumbereth not, concerning whom he hath sworn that time shall be no more; which is the present state of the antichristian world.
Obs. 11. The certain determination of divine vengeance on the enemies of the gospel is a motive unto holiness, and a supportment under sufferings, in them that believe. Lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh. What manner of persons ought we to be? See 2Th 1:7-10.
[2.] There is a description of those on whom this fiery indignation shall have its effect, and it is the adversaries, . He doth not say, those that believe not, and obey not the gospel, as he doth elsewhere, when he treats absolutely of the day of judgment, as in that place, 2Th 1:8-9, now mentioned; but it confines them unto those that are adversaries, who, from a contrary principle, set themselves against the Lord Christ and the gospel. This is the peculiar description of the unbelieving Jews at that time. They did not only refuse the gospel through unbelief, but were acted by a principle of opposition thereunto; not only as unto themselves, but as unto others, even the whole world. So is their state described, 1Th 2:15-16, Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary unto all men: forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them unto the uttermost. They laid the foundation of this enmity in killing the Lord Jesus; but they rested not therein, they continued in their unbelief, adhering to their old Judaism, and their sins therein. Nor did they rest there, but persecuted the apostles, drove them out from amongst them, and all that preached the gospel; and this not only with respect unto themselves alone, and those of their own nation, but they set themselves with fury all the world over against the preaching of the gospel unto the Gentiles, and that of cursed malice, that they might not be saved. See instances of this rage, Act 13:45; Act 22:22-23. They were properly the adversaries whom the apostle intends; and therefore the judgment which was peculiar unto them and their sins, in that fearful temporal destruction which did then approach, is intended herein, as well as the equity of the sentence as extended to the general destruction of all unbelievers at the last day.
Obs. 12. The highest aggravation for the greatest sin, is, when men, out of a contrary principle of superstition and error, do set themselves maliciously to oppose the doctrine and truth of the gospel, with respect unto themselves and others.
Obs. 13. There is a time when God will make such demonstrations of his wrath and displeasure, against all adversaries of the gospel, as shall be pledges of his eternal indignation. He will one day deal so with the antichristian, persecuting world.
[3.] What is the effect of this fiery indignation against those adversaries? It shall eat them up, or devour them. The expression is metaphorical, taken from the nature and efficacious operation of fire; it eats, devours, swallows up and consumes, all combustible matter that it is applied unto, or is put into it. That intended is destruction, inevitable, unavoidable, and terrible in the manner of it. See Mal 4:1, whence those expressions are taken. Only the similitude is not to be extended beyond the proper intention of it. For fire doth so consume and devour what is put into it, as that it destroys the substance and being thereof, that it shall be no more. It is not so with the fiery indignation that shall consume or devour the adversaries at the last day. It shall devour them as to all happiness, all blessedness, all hopes, comforts, and relief at once; but it shall not at once utterly consume their being. This is that which this fire shall eternally prey upon, and never utterly consume. But if we make the application of it unto the temporal destruction that came upon them, the similitude holds throughout, for it utterly consumed them, and devoured them, and all that belonged unto them in this world: they were devoured by it.
Obs. 14. The dread and terror of Gods final judgments against the enemies of the gospel is in itself inconceivable, and only shadowed out by things of the greatest dread and terror in the world. Whence it is so, I shall now declare.
Beware of Backsliding
Heb 10:26-39
The willful sin here referred to does not consist in isolated acts, but in a determined course of action, persisted in until the very desire for a better life wanes and dies out of the soul.
These strong remonstrances were needed in those days of sore persecution. Three considerations are adduced, urging steadfastness: (1.) The certain punishment which must follow on the rejection of the greatest gifts that God can make, so much richer than anything presented under the Mosaic covenant. (2.) The sufferings already endured, the reward for which would-be forfeited, if these harried souls were now to draw back. (3.) The near advent of the Christ, who would not fail to compensate His faithful servants.
Then we are reminded that the just-those who have been accepted in the Beloved-live; that is, may derive all the reinforcements of soul strength and patience that they require, from the unseen and eternal world where Jesus waits to succor and uphold.
We Are Not Of Them Who Draw Back
There are many who begin the race, but never finish, — many who run well for a season, but in time fall by the wayside, — many who, like Judas, Demas, and Diotrephes, seem to be stalwart examples of faith and faithfulness, but at last deny the faith, forsake Christ and his people, and make shipwreck of their souls.
These facts, so often illustrated in Holy Scripture and verified by observation, cause great concern in the hearts of men and women like us who struggle with sin. True believers are often like the true apostles of our Lord. On that night when he announced that one of them would betray him, those whose hearts were true quaked with fear, saying, Lord, is it I?
After reading the warnings given to us in this tenth chapter of Hebrews against such apostasy, when we read Heb 10:39, we have reason to shout with joy and thanksgiving to our God who keeps us by grace. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
This last section of Hebrews 10 was written specifically to encourage us in perseverance; and the source of encouragement is the assurance that true believers shall persevere unto the end. The righteous shall, indeed, hold on his way. Christs sheep shall never perish. Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ. Gods elect shall persevere unto the end, because we shall be preserved and kept unto the end by Gods almighty, immutable grace.
Apostasy and Willful Sin
Once again, we have here a word against apostasy. In Heb 10:26-27, the apostle describes what apostasy is. This description must be understood in its context. Here the Holy Spirit clearly makes apostasy to be connected with the forsaking of Christ, his gospel, his church, and the worship of God in the assembly of his saints.
These verses are perverted by many in their attempts to prove that true believers can be lost – that people who commit sin after being saved by the grace of God are lost. That heresy is so totally contrary to the Scriptures that it needs no more refutation than the teaching of reincarnation. Yet, an incorrect interpretation of this passage has caused great distress upon many genuine believers. The fact is, honest hearts, burdened with a sense of inward sin, realize that all of our acts of sin are, to one degree or another, willful acts.
This is what the text means. — After a person has embraced and professed the gospel of Christ (and particularly the great truths revealed in this chapter: that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only and all-sufficient High Priest of Gods elect, that his blood is our only effectual atonement, and that his sacrifice is the end and fulfillment of all the types and shadows of the law) — and yet, against all evidences, light, and revelation, willfully denies the sufficiency of Christ and the efficacy of his sacrifice, there is no other sacrifice for sin; there is no other Savior! There is no help for him, no hope for him, but only a certain fearful judgment awaiting him eternally. There is no going back to the Mosaic law, rituals and ceremonies. So if anyone willfully turns from Christ, there is no hope! (Act 4:12; 1Co 3:11).
The willful sin spoken of in Heb 10:26 is the abandonment of Christ, his gospel, his worship, and his people. It is going back to the law, going back to works religion, — going back to the world.
That is exactly the way this apostasy is described in Heb 10:28-29. God gave the law to Israel by Moses. Anyone who rejected Gods law or set at naught the rules and sacrifices of the law was put to death (Deu 17:1-6). While the tabernacle, temple, and ordinances of the law stood, they were binding upon the people. If God poured his wrath upon those who made light of the types, think how severe his judgments shall be upon those who reject and make light of the precious blood of his dear Son! A return to circumcision and ceremony is turning away from Christ! It is bringing contempt upon the Son of God and the gospel of Gods free grace (Gal 5:1-4; Gal 4:21).
We must not shy away from the very strong words the apostle was inspired to use in describing what this apostasy involves. — It is treading under foot the Son of God. — It is counting the blood of the covenant, wherewith a person has been outwardly sanctified (by the profession and practice of religion), a unholy, common, ordinary, meaningless thing. — It is doing despite to the Spirit if grace.
Awaiting Judgment
Those who abandon Christ and the gospel of Gods grace and glory in him never knew him. Nothing awaits them but wrath and judgment (Heb 10:30-31). They went out from us because they were not of us. Such people, those who choose will-worship, circumcision, works and law in the stead of the revealed Christ, have every reason to expect the wrath and judgment of God to fall on them (Deu 32:35-39). It is a fearful thing to incur the wrath of the eternal and living God (Joh 3:36). Ask Noahs generation, the inhabitants of Sodom, or the sons of Korah. — Be not high minded, but fear (Rom 11:21-22; Joh 3:35-36).
Assurance
In Heb 10:32-34, the Holy Spirit calls us to remembrance. To encourage us in perseverance, to encourage us to go on in faith, trusting Christ, even in the face of great temptation and opposition, to hold to our confidence in him and not be disturbed and discouraged by false prophets, ceremonialists, and legalists (who would rob us of liberty in Christ and take us away from the simplicity that is in him), Paul urges us to remember the early days of faith when we endured mocking, ridicule and affliction.
When you left the world to walk with Christ, the world did not allow you to leave peacefully; but you knew that in heaven you had a family, an inheritance and an everlasting glory, even if you lost everything here. The people you lost for Christ’s sake are nothing compared to the family you have gained. The comforts, pleasures and fame of the world are nothing but soap bubbles. The glory of heaven is eternal.
sin
Sin. (See Scofield “Rom 3:23”).
if: Heb 6:4-6, Lev 4:2, Lev 4:13, Num 15:28-31, Deu 17:12, Psa 19:12, Psa 19:13, Dan 5:22, Dan 5:23, Mat 12:31, Mat 12:32, Mat 12:43-45, Joh 9:41, 1Ti 1:13, 2Pe 2:20-22, 1Jo 5:16
after: Luk 12:47, Joh 13:17, Joh 15:22-24, 2Th 2:10, Jam 4:17
there: Heb 10:3-10
Reciprocal: Exo 21:14 – presumptuously Exo 23:21 – he will not Exo 30:33 – compoundeth Lev 26:31 – I will not smell Num 5:27 – if she be defiled Num 9:13 – forbeareth Num 15:30 – doeth ought Num 35:28 – he should Deu 18:19 – General Jos 24:20 – he will turn 1Sa 2:25 – if a man 1Sa 3:14 – the iniquity Psa 85:8 – but Pro 21:16 – wandereth Ecc 5:1 – give Isa 22:14 – Surely Eze 3:19 – he shall Eze 18:24 – All his Eze 47:11 – shall be Hos 3:4 – without a sacrifice Zec 11:6 – I will no Mal 4:6 – and smite Mat 7:27 – General Mat 11:22 – It shall Mat 12:45 – and the Mat 24:21 – General Mar 3:28 – General Mar 6:11 – It shall Luk 6:49 – the ruin Luk 11:26 – and the Luk 12:10 – General Luk 19:42 – the things Luk 21:23 – great Luk 21:26 – hearts Joh 8:24 – for 1Ti 2:4 – the knowledge Tit 3:11 – is subverted Heb 9:26 – the sacrifice Heb 10:38 – but Heb 10:39 – unto Heb 12:17 – for he 2Jo 1:1 – known
IF WE SIN WILFULLY
If we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins It is a fearful thing to fall into the bands of the living God.
Heb 10:26-31
To whom do these words refer?
I. He who has received the knowledge of the truth.These Hebrews had been enlightened; their difficulty was not darkness of mind, but unwillingness of heart. This passage has nothing to do with sincere seekers who cannot discover what the truth or what the method of salvation is.
II. He who is compared to the despiser of Moses law who died without mercy.Both sins are regarded as of the same character. Under Moses law the sentence of instant death was not for offences in general; atonement could be made and joyfulness secured for them; but for the sin of deliberate rejection of God (see Deu 13:6-11; Deu 17:2-7). The Jew referred to, then, is he who deliberately renounced Jehovah to serve other gods; and he of whom the Apostle writes is compared with him.
III. He who rejects with contempt the Son of God, the blood of the covenant, the Spirit of Grace.The idea in these most solemn words is clearly that of contempt. He does not count the blood of the covenant a common thing who longs to feel its efficacy, nor despise the Spirit of Grace who seeks His help, nor tread underfoot the Son of God who desires to possess Him.
IV. Why God cannot save such.
(a) God cannot save him, because he repudiates the only remedy for sin (Heb 10:26).
(b) God cannot save him, because His judgment is eternally righteous (Heb 10:28-29).
(c) God cannot save him, because His Word is inviolably true.
Heb 10:26. Sin wilfully means to sin deliberately or purposely, in contrast with that committed incidentally or through weakness. No more sacrifice does NOT SAY there is no more chance of forgiveness. Jesus taught that all manner of sins would be forgiven except that against the Holy Spirit. This passage is in the same class or principle as Heb 6:4-6, in that it mentions that the persons had received the knowledge of the truth. The point is that Christ made one sacrifice for sin and will make no other. If this one is repudiated there is no other to which we can look as the Hebrews could In the Mosaic system. Those sacrifices were repeated over and over again and after every transgression the guilty ones could look forward to another sacrifice. If we reject the one in Christ there will be no one and nothing else to which we may look (Gal 5:4). But that does not say we cannot change our mind and return to the sacrifice that is still available for all who will receive it on the Lord’s terms.
Heb 10:26. For if we sin wilfully; rather, are wilfully continuing in sin. It is a word which needs to be noted. First of all there is no if in the passage; it is stated as an actual case, not a supposed one. Then the emphasis is on wilfully and on continuance in sin. In a sense all sin implies the consent of the will for a time; and yet there is a distinction. Paul was a blasphemer and a persecutor; but he did it ignorantly in unbelief. Peter was a true disciple, and nevertheless he denied Christ with curses and oaths; but not wilfully, rather apparently through passing fear (Mat 26:74-75). The expression seems taken from Num 15:30-31, where sinning wilfully is described as doing something presumptuously, with a high hand, and by one who despises the Word of the Lord. The willing sinner is one who will sin. Nor is it a single act that is denounced, but a permanent state (not an aorist, but the present), continuance in a sinful course, and such continuance as implies apostasy. Moreover, it is the state of one who has received the knowledge of the truth, and who knows it to be truth (not as in Pauls case, and not as in the case of the murderers who crucified Christ ignorantly, and some of whom became obedient to the faith). They were enlightened; they received the word with joy; for a while they believed (Luk 8:13). And this knowledge of the truth, it may be added, is found only here in this Epistle, though common in Pauls writings. Such was their character; and yet they gave up the Gospel, trod under foot the Son of God, counted His blood an unholy, a common, even a profane thing, offered insult to the Spirit of grace. They rejected that one sacrifice which completed and ended the sacrifices of the ancient Law, against their better knowledge, and resolved to return to their former sinful life; and for them there is no longer remaining any sacrifice for sin.
In these verses the apostle gives a vehement enforcement of his preceding exhortation, to an unfainting perseverance in the profession of Christianity, and this is drawn from the dreadful consequences of apostasy. We have here the nature of the sin expressed, the impossibility of deliverance from the guilt of it declared, and the punishment that will unavoidable follow upon it asserted.
Observe, 1. Wherein the nature of this sin consists, if we sin wilfully, that is, by renouncing Christianity.
Where note, How our apostle puts himself in among the number; to show that there is no respect of persons in this matter, but those who have equally sinned, shall be equally punished.
Note farther, That the apostle, by sinning wilfully, does not mean every wilful sin, and that there is no recovery after any voluntary sin committed: But by wilfully, he means obstinately, maliciously, and with despite.
Observe, 2. The season and circumstance of this sin, After we have received the knowledge of the truth, that is, after the gospel has been preached unto us, and we, upon conviction of its truth, and sense of its power, have taken upon us the public profession of Christianity: After we have dedicated our selves to Christ in baptism, and joined ourselves unto the body of his church: After all this, to relinquish and renounce the Christian profession, either for fear of suffering, or love of this present world, exposes us to a unutterable and inevitable condemnation.
Observe, 3. What the apostle charges as an aggravation of this sin, namely, that it cannot be expiated, There remains no more sacrifice for sin: For God has no other Son to offer as a sacrifice for sin, if this be rejected; and no other Spirit to make that sacrifice effectual, if the Holy Spirit be despised, and finally resisted; and therefore no ground of hope can remain for such apostates. The punishments of sins unpardonable is unavoidable: It is an eternal decree of divine justice, that the sacrifice of Christ shall never benefit that man, who finally falls away after he has received the knowledge of the truth.
Observe, 4. The dreadful and tremendous judgment here threatened to apostates, and what they must eternally expect, namely, the fiery indignation, and fearful wrath of the just and holy God.
From the whole learn, 1. That there is an inseparable connection between apostasy and eternal ruin.
2. That the minds of wretched apostates are oft-times filled with dreadful expectations of approaching wrath.
3. That the dread and terror of God’s final judgement against apostates, is, in itself inconceivable, and accordingly shadowed out by things of the greatest dread and terror in the world.
4. That God’s fiery indignation, thogh it shall devour his adversaries, yet shall it never eat them up’ it shall eternally prey upon them, but never consume them, or annihilate their being.
O mysterious fire! Whose strange property it is always to torture, but never to kill; or always to kill, but never to consume. God grant that we may never experimentally know, or feelingly find, either where hell is, or what it is.
The Danger of Willful Sin
People who openly rebelled against Moses’ law were unable to receive forgiveness ( Deu 17:2-7 ). Since we have a covenant that is so much better, the punishment should bemuch worse ( Luk 12:47-48 ). We know God and are assured He will keep His promises. God will reward man according to the deeds done in the flesh, as He promised. We also know that God will judge all people, including His own ( Deu 32:35-36 ). Knowing these facts makes us know it would be a terrible thing to be a condemned sinner ( Heb 10:26-31 ; Mat 25:46 ).
Heb 10:26-27. For, &c. As if he had said, It concerns us to use all means to ensure our perseverance, because apostacy is so dangerous; if we Any of us Christians; sin wilfully By total apostacy from God; (see on Heb 6:4;) after we have received the knowledge of the truth As it is in Jesus, namely, an experimental and practical knowledge thereof, so as to have been made free thereby from the guilt and power of sin; there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins None but that which we obstinately reject. As the apostle, in the former part of the epistle, had proved that the sacrifices of the law were all abolished, and that the only sacrifice for sin remaining was the sacrifice of Christ, it followed that apostates, who wilfully renounced the benefit of that sacrifice, had no sacrifice for sin whatever remaining to them. But a certain fearful looking for , a kind of fearful expectation: intimating something inexpressible, such as no heart could conceive or tongue describe. Thus St. Peter, 1 Epist. 1Pe 4:17-18, What shall be the end of them who obey not the gospel? Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Of judgment and fiery indignation. The apostle refers both to the final judgment of the great day, when apostates from the religion of Jesus, as well as those who obstinately rejected it, shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, &c., 2Th 1:9; and also to the dreadful and fiery indignation which God was about to bring on the unbelieving and obstinate Jews, in the total destruction of their city and temple by sword and fire, devouring them, as adversaries to God and his Christ, of all others the most inexcusable. The reader should observe that the apostle lays it down here as certain, that God will not pardon sinners without some sacrifice or satisfaction. For otherwise it would not follow, from there remaining to apostates no more sacrifice for sin, that there must remain to them a dreadful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation. In these last words, the conflagration of the heaven and the earth at the day of judgment seems especially to be referred to.
ARGUMENT 12
ADMONITORY OF HOPELESS COLLAPSE.
26… Perfect knowledge of the truth. The Greek here is epignoosi, which means sanctification, whereas gnoosis is regeneration.
27. This verse is alarming in the extreme, setting forth the hopeless doom of the apostate.
28, 29. Here the doom of the apostate far transcends that of the malefactor under the law of Moses whose penalty was death, having trodden under foot the Son of God and counted the blood of the covenant with which He was sanctified common, and insulted the Spirit of grace.
30, 31. These verses set forth the appalling doom of the hopeless apostate having fallen into the hands of an infinitely just and holy God, with no Christ to intercede for him. This paragraph, and Heb 10:26-31, vividly describes the hopeless doom of the Palestinian Christian who repudiates Christ and apostatizes to Judaism. The rank and file of the Jewish church, with their pastors and official members, unfortunately rejected Christ, endorsed His crucifixion as a malefactor, plunged into idolatry and hastened to their awful doom of destruction and slavery under the invasion of the Roman armies which followed the writing of this letter in a few years. A most powerful combination of social, ecclesiastical and consanguineous influences were brought to bear on the Palestinian Christians to lead them into this awful apostasy with their Jewish brethren. Where your English says, counted the blood of Christ an unholy thing, the Greek says common. Whereas, the Palestinian Christians had trusted the blood of Jesus to sanctify them, their brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, influential friends and relatives, church-members and pastors, ridiculed them, certifying that Jesus was nothing but a sinner like other men, and that instead of His blood possessing saving virtue, it was nothing but common blood, like that which dropped down from the wounds of the two thieves on either side of Him, and that it was the silliest chimera to think that the blood of Jesus could wash away their sins. Now see the meaning of this paragraph. Here are the sanctified Palestinian Christians, trusting the blood of Jesus to cleanse them from all unrighteousness and keep them clean. Now suppose they yielded to the clamorous criticisms and terrible persecutions of their Jewish brethren, and gave up the Christhood of Jesus, acquiescing in the popular verdict of the Jewish Church, that He was nothing but a wicked impostor, utterly powerless to save, and that His blood was simply crimson blood like that of any other man. You see how in the very nature of the case there is no possibility of their salvation, since they have rejected the only Savior of the world. In their attitude there is nothing for them but hopeless damnation, since there is no other sacrifice for sin. Doubtless you see the application of this awful paragraph to the Hebrew Christians who utterly reject Christ and conclude, with their Jewish comrades, that He is an impostor. But how does it apply to the Apostolic Christians of the present day? Precisely as it applied to the fallen Hebrews. If we repudiate the Christhood of Jesus, recognizing Him as an impostor, and His blood nothing but common human blood, utterly destitute of all saving efficacy, we are certainly at the end of our row, hopelessly doomed to damnation, since there is no longer a sacrifice for sins, as we have rejected the only one God ever made. You see from this Scripture how utterly inconsistent it is to conclude that an ordinary backslider out of the sanctified experience can never be reclaimed and sanctified. If such au one repudiate the Christhood of Jesus, and then turn infidel, of course there is no reclamation. But did you ever know a case of the kind? I never did. Backsliders, as a rule, believe in the Christhood of Jesus as much as they ever did. They have simply inadvertently fallen away through unwatchfulness. In an evil hour Satan has dropped his lasso around head, hand or foot, or perhaps the whole body, and dragged them away into sin. Since they have not rejected the Christhood of Jesus, nor counted His blood common, they still have access to the mercy-seat, through the intercession of the blessed atoning Savior, who pleads for them at Gods right hand. The conclusion that an apostate from the sanctified experience who still believes in the Christhood of Jesus can not be restored to sanctification and eternally saved in heaven, is in no way deducible from this paragraph. If you will let it alone where the Holy Ghost has put it you will have no trouble with it.
Heb 10:26-31. The mention of the judgment suggests the dreadful consequences of falling away from faith. It is assumed, as in Heb 6:4 ff., that no second repentance is possible. If men persist in sinning after they have once accepted the Christian message, they cannot again expect forgiveness through Christs sacrifice (Heb 10:26). They have nothing to look for now but that condemnation which the Scripture so often threatens when it speaks of the wrath of God that burns like fire (cf. Psa 79:5; Isa 26:11; Zep 1:18; Zep 3:8; Eze 36:5). The punishment of apostasy from the Mosaic Law, when duly proved by two or three witnesses, was death (cf. Deu 17:6). Must we not believe that something worse than death is in store for those who show open contempt for the Son of God, who regard the blood which He shed to seal the new covenant and give us access to God as nothing more than ordinary blood, who wantonly insult the Spirit from whom proceed all higher gifts? Apostasy from the great Christian privileges enumerated in Heb 6:4 f. is held to be equivalent to declaring them worthless and mocking at them. God never threatens in vain, and He has stated that He will inflict punishment on evildoers, and will sift out His true servants from the false (Heb 10:30). We have to give account of ourselves to a living God, one who knows everything, and who can execute His will to the uttermost (Heb 10:31).
Heb 10:29. an unholy thing: lit. a common thing, without any sacred significance (see Exo 12:22*).
Verse 26
No more sacrifice; Christ having offered himself once for all (Hebrews 9:26-28.)
10:26 For if we sin {m} wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
(m) Without any cause or occasion, or show of occasion.
2. The warning of judgment 10:26-31
The writer turned from positive admonition to negative warning to highlight the seriousness of departing from the Lord.
"Between the imperatives of Heb 10:22-25; Heb 10:32; Heb 10:35, the author describes, more fully than in Heb 2:2 f.; Heb 6:4-6, the nature and consequences of apostasy, previously described as ’falling away from the living God’ (Heb 3:12)." [Note: Ellingworth, p. 530.]
"The word ’we’ cannot refer to any other group of people than his readers and himself [cf. Heb 2:1]." [Note: Marshall, pp. 141-42.]
Willful sin in the context of Hebrews is deliberate apostasy, turning away from God (Heb 2:1; Heb 3:12; Heb 6:4-8). If an apostate rejects Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, there is nothing else that can protect him or her from God’s judgment (cf. Heb 6:6). The judgment in view will take place at the judgment seat of Christ, not the great white throne. It is the judgment of Christians (cf. 2Co 5:10), not of unbelievers (cf. Rev 20:11-15). It will result in loss of reward, not loss of salvation. The same fire that will test believers will also consume unbelievers. Fire is a frequent symbol of God and His work in Scripture (Exo 3:2; Exo 19:18; Deu 4:24; Psa 18:8-14; Isa 33:14; Eze 1:4; Mal 3:2), and it often indicates His judgment (Mal 3:2; Mat 3:11; Luk 3:16).
"The motif of inescapable judgment is developed with an allusion to Isa 26:11. The imagery of ’raging fire ready to consume God’s adversaries’ is vividly suggestive of the prospect awaiting the person who turns away from God’s gracious provision through Christ. The apostate is regarded as the adversary of God. The description of judgment as a fire that devours and utterly destroys recalls the actual experience of the followers of Korah who were consumed by fire because they had shown contempt for God (Num 16:35; Num 26:10). The consequence of apostasy is terrifying, irrevocable judgment." [Note: Lane, Hebrews 9-13, p. 293.]
"Knowledge" (Heb 10:26) is full knowledge (Gr. epignosis).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
The heaviest and inevitable judgment of God falls upon apostasy from acknowledged Christian truth
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
THE EVIL AND DANGER OF APOSTASY
In the words which I have just read, he sets forth,
[Apostasy, he tells us, is a treading under foot the Son of God. The Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, came down from heaven to seek and to save them that were lost. We, when we are baptized in his name, or make a profession of faith in him, acknowledge him before all to be the Saviour of the world. All other lords we then renounce; and all other grounds of hope before God; and in effect we say with Peter, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life: and we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God [Note: Joh 6:68-69.]. But when we renounce our faith in him, we, as far as in us lies, cast him down from his throne, and trample him under our feet; declaring, that he is unworthy of the honour which we had erroneously put upon him, and that we will no longer have him to reign over us: yea, we even crucify him afresh, and put him to an open shame [Note: Heb 6:6.].
In this view of apostasy, say, if it be not a most tremendous evil?
[Those who are guilty of it, speak of it only as a change of sentiment resulting from conviction; and thus they take credit to themselves as having grown in wisdom, and been faithful to their convictions. But God seeth not as man seeth. God beholds all the evils of the heart which have been accessary to this change; and all the injury that results from it, both to his honour, and to the world at large. He sees the pride of heart which will not receive the truth upon his testimony. He sees the love of the world which operates to draw the heart from him; yea, and the enmity of the heart against him, which will not submit, either to be saved or governed in so mysterious a way. In other sins he beholds only a resistance to his authority; but in this, a contempt of all the wonders of his wisdom and love. A person who has never received the knowledge of the truth, cannot commit this sin, or any sin of equal malignity. It is the resisting of light that has been imparted, and the acting contrary to it to such an extent as to call it darkness; this it is which makes the guilt so great, that, humanly speaking, it can never be forgiven. Were it indeed repented of, and were mercy sought through the blood of Jesus, even this sin, great as it is, might be forgiven: but the commission of it implies such desperate wickedness and obduracy, that it never can, without a miracle of mercy, be repented of [Note: Heb 6:4-6.].]
1.
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)