10:26,27
We now come to one of the severe warning sections in Hebrews. Rather than getting involved in silly “once-saved-always-saved” debates, we do better to look at the text and to heed the warnings. The writer has just spent sometime focusing on the absolute completeness of the sacrifice of Jesus, how he has dealt with our sins once and for all. The people needed to believe this and to fully appreciate it, as do we. However, the danger is that we will then swing to the other error and think that it doesn’t matter what we do because whatever sin we commit Jesus has already paid for it, so we can live how we like. The New Testament never teaches this view and roundly condemns it on multiple occasions.
So if we keep on deliberately sinning we can expect only judgement. We have been saved, justified, so that we can live a new life, not so we can carry on living the old life. Notice that the writer is careful to make it clear he is talking about deliberate persistent sin. He is not saying we will never sin if we are true believers. We should also note that the God of the New Testament is exactly the same God of the Old Testament. Fire and judgement are as much a part of the NT as the OT.
10:28,29
The writer has spent much effort comparing the Law to the Gospel, showing how the Law was a shadow of the reality. Everything in the gospel is so much greater than the shadows we see in the Law. The same principle applies to judgement! Under the Law rejection of the Law resulted in judgement. So the price of rejecting the gospel is so much greater. For if we reject the gospel we are rejecting the Son of God, we are saying He needn't have bothered shedding His blood, dying on the cross. We have rejected the Holy Spirit. Too often we talk as if we sit in judgement on the gospel, as if we can choose to accept or reject it. The choice we have is whether or not to obey the gospel, for the command of the gospel is to repent and believe. If we choose to disobey we will take the consequences.
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