Lesson 18: Don’t Abandon Your Confidence
Hebrews 10:26-39
For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy “on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who have spurned the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting. Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
For yet “in a very little while,
the one who is coming will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one will live by faith.
My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.”
But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.
The journey of faith is a long road fraught with both danger and hope. The preacher reminds those on the journey that to abandon it is to fall into God’s judgment but to persevere is to experience deliverance. Faith is a serious undertaking filled with great difficulties both within our own souls and in relation to the surrounding culture. At times, we endure it gladly, but at other times we are fatigued, troubled, and ready to give up. The preacher recognizes this and encourages believers to persevere as the Day approaches.
Hebrews 10:26-39 falls into two sections, and both are grounded in the quotations from the Hebrew Bible. The first section, focused on judgment and consequences, grounds its theology in Deuteronomy 32:35-36. The second section, focused on perseverance, grounds its theology in Habakkuk 2:3-4. The first highlights judgment but the second highlights hope. The Hebrew texts shape the significance of the preacher’s point. Because we have confidence (Hebrews 10:19, 35)—the confidence to enter the sanctuary because we have a great high priest—let us persevere in faith rather than experience the negative consequences of abandoning that confidence.
The Consequences of Abandonment (Hebrews 10:26-31)
What kind of consequences are involved?
It is the sort of consequence to which the ultimate statement of divine justice in the law of Moses applies. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” comes from Deuteronomy 32:35 which is from the “song of Moses.” It is near the end of the song (besides the blessings for each tribe in Deuteronomy 33) that describes God’s judgment upon Israel should they sin, including exile. The preacher also quotes Deuteronomy 32:36, “The Lord will judge his people.”
The divine judgment (Hebrews 10:30) is called “punishment” (Hebrews 10:29) and “vengeance” (Hebrews 10:30). It is a “fury of fire” (or zealous fire) that will “consume” (or eat up) God’s “adversaries” or God’s opponents. “To fall into the hands of the living God” is a terrifying prospect (Hebrews 10:31). Fear is a prominent theme as one contemplates this judgment (Hebrews 10:27, 31).
The preacher appeals to the sort of punishment executed under the “law of Moses” in Hebrews 10:28. It was “without mercy” in the light of the testimony of “two or three witnesses.” The latter phrase comes from Deuteronomy 17:6 within the larger context of Deuteronomy 17:2-7 that describes the punishment meted out to those who are found “doing evil,” or violating the covenant, or worshiping “other gods,” which is a “detestable” and “evil” thing. The law demands execution, a death penalty. Importantly, the great evil in the context of Deuteronomy of 17 is idolatry, “bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky” (Deuteronomy 17:3). In others, it is a rejection of Yahweh’s divine sovereignty, that Yahweh alone is the God of Israel.
If idolatry received the death penalty under the law of Moses, “how much worse punishment” belongs to those who abandon their faith in the Messiah (Hebrews 10:29). What sin generates this sort of divine response? What is the potential sin that exiles God’s people and brings down this kind of divine vengeance?
The preacher characterizes this sin as willful. Willful sinning describes those who already know the truth but reject it. What is the truth they know? Since no sacrifice remains for those who sin willfully, we might surmise that the “truth” envision here is the truth of what God has accomplished in Jesus, our High Priest. This is the truth that the whole prior section of the sermon sought to demonstrate (from Hebrews 4:14 to Hebrews 10:18). If one knows the truth of Jesus as high priest before God, but continues to sin willfully, there is no other sacrifice for sin.
But what does it mean to sin “willfully”? Some might suggest this refers to momentary lapses, but the emphasis on “willfully” stresses the deliberate nature of these sins. It is a sustained, continuous, and determined volition to sin, that is, to continue in their course of action. The intentional abandonment of Jesus the Messiah is stressed by the following three phrases. The one who sins willfully is the one who:
- Spurns the Son of God
- Profanes the blood of the covenant
- Outrages the Spirit of grace
The Son of God is Jesus the Messiah, who is God’s heavenly High Priest (Hebrews 4:14). The rebellious spurn or show disdain for the Son of God. They, literally, trample him under foot. They trample the one whom God has exalted. This is complete and full rejection. It is deliberate and rebellious.
The blood of the covenant is what the Messiah has offered for the sins of the people. It inaugurates the new covenant, the renewal of God’s covenant with Israel (which also had a “blood of the covenant” in Exodus 24:8). To treat the blood of Jesus as profane is to treat it as ineffectual, worthless, or mundane. It is no better than any other blood. It is to say that it is no real sacrifice for sin.
When one spurns the Son of God or treats the blood of Jesus as worthless, this is also a rejection of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, it mocks or insults the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, through Scripture, anticipated the high priesthood and sacrifice of the Messiah. The Holy Spirit, as a participant in the saving work of God, invited Israel to share in the age to come. To insult the Spirit is to reject the Spirit’s saving work and the promises of the age to come.
In effect, the apostate rejects the Triune offer of grace and mercy. The living God of Israel, the priestly Son of God, and the Holy Spirit of grace invite Israel to renewal, and to reject this is to reject God’s sacrifice through the Messiah. And there is no other sacrifice for sin.
This is the description of an apostate, not one who is struggling in their weakness. This is the language of rebellion and dismissal. They have abandoned the faith, including meeting together with the saints. Their abandonment is total, and they treat God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit with disgust and revulsion.
This does not apply to people who sin in their weakness or inadvertently or even make choices they soon regret, that is, people who seek God and yearn to follow Jesus but struggle in their hearts and actions to fully live out their desire. It applies to those who have totally rejected what God has offered in Jesus and refuse to participate in the age of the Spirit.
The Call to Perseverance
For the only time in Hebrews, the preacher explicitly invites his hearers to “remember” or “recall” something. In this case, he wants them to remember their faithful past. It was a difficult time, but they persevered. It was in the early days of their life in renewed Israel under the leadership of Jesus, their high priest. It was in their earliest post-conversion days, the days of their enlightenment.
But those days were filled with public abuse and persecution, including the loss of possessions and the imprisonment of some. We don’t know the details of this oppression or even exactly where it happened (whether in Jerusalem, Rome, or elsewhere). We don’t know the exact when and where except it was early in their faith journey. Perhaps it was at the time of the introduction of Christianity in Rome that caused conflicts among the Jewish faithful, or perhaps it was in Jerusalem as disciples of Jesus and followers of other rabbis lived in conflict. We don’t know.
Yet, what we do know is that these disciples of Jesus persevered in faith amidst these troubles and sufferings with compassion and joy. They “cheerfully accepted” their loses because they knew they possessed “something better and more lasting.” They persevered because they were confident about what that something better was.
Throughout his sermon, the preacher has explained what was “better” and why it was “better.” They believed this from the beginning, but what the preacher has provided is more depth, more explanation, more grounding. He has tried to deepen their faith in order to withstand this new wave of persecution and hostility.
Their own previous example provides encouragement to persevere now. “Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours.” Don’t abandon the confidence of “something better and more lasting,” which the preacher has explained. Indeed, it is—in the immediate context—the confidence to enter the sanctuary of God. Don’t throw away that for which you endured so much in the past and for which you now suffer. Hang on! Endure! Stay in the struggle! Don’t give up!
While remembering their own past struggles early in their faith, the preacher also calls to mind the past struggle of Judah in Habakkuk 2:3-4. It is important to remember the context of Habakkuk. The prophet complained to Yahweh about the violence and injustice in Judah, and God responded that an end is coming to Judah through the sword of Babylon. The empire will ravage Judah and destroy its cities and prosperity. While the prophet questioned this approach, God also promised Babylon will receive their due recompense as well. Consequently, the prophet and the people will have to wait on the deliverance of the Lord and live through the dark days of Babylon’s imperial occupation.
As Hebrews 10:25 indicated, there is a “Day” approaching. It is an eschatological Day, a day of judgment but also salvation; a day when God will deliver the cosmos from its enslavement to death, when God will save both humans and animals (cf. Psalm 36:6). It is the day when God will release the people from oppression and destroy their enemies (Isaish 26:20-21). The people of God wait for that day, and we must wait in faith. We must persevere until the “Day” comes, and God is the one who is coming (Hebrews 9:28—our high priest will appear to save us).
Habakkuk 2:4, “the just shall live by faith,” is an important text among New Testament writers. Paul cites it at the beginning of Romans (1:17; see also Galatians 3:11). The righteous live by faith. It may mean that people are justified by faith, but in Habakkuk and in Hebrews it means more like, “the righteous will persevere through faith” or persevere in faith. We wait in faith for the coming of the “Day” when the promises of God are fully realized.
Those who live by faith don’t “shrink back.” In Habakkuk there are two classes of people: the arrogant and the righteous. The arrogant have no need for God and thus shrink back from the life of faith. But the righteous live by faith. The choice is clear: shrink back (abandon the Messiah) or faith (trust in and allegiance to the Messiah). The preacher is confident that his audience is not among those who shrink back and are thus lost, but among those who have faith and are thus saved. He is confident that they will follow the example of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 rather than example of the wilderness generation that did not enter God’s rest due to their unbelief (lack of faith).