Sermon: Fear God

All right, let's take the word and ask for the Lord's blessing upon it before we read it.

Father, we come before you this morning and we confess that we are dumb, we are blind, we are deaf. Apart from your working, you pour out your spirit. Even this morning stir within us that we might understand, that we might see, we might hear that your truth would have its way with us this morning.

We believe in the Holy Spirit. He work in Christ. Holy name we pray. Amen. Hebrews chapter 10 verses 26 through 31. This is the holy iner sufficient word of God

for if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains of sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment. The fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot, the son of God?

This profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and as outrage the spirit of grace. For we know him 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, the living God of the grass withers, the flower fades. The word of God is forever. Thanks be to God. Amen.

The book of Hebrews, we find four of these warning passages, not my favorite passages to preach, uh, not your favorite, no doubt to listen to, uh, but they are needed and that's why they're here. That's why we preach through books of the Bible. Uh, this is the fourth and this is the final. And all of them are aimed at conveying the same thing. This morning, I want us first to look at the warning that he is providing here,

and he gives us the warning in verse 26. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. That's the warning. Now, now, before we go too far, is what I want to do this morning. I wanna make clear that this warning can be wrongly understood. I remember, uh, hearing, uh, an antidote years ago about someone that was looking for, uh, wisdom from the scriptures. And so, uh,

just opening the Bible and their eyes falling upon a verse, that's not a good way to do it outside of context. And so the man flips his bible open and he reads Matthew 27, verse five. Judas went and hanged himself not being very pleased with that. He closes Bible, he opens it back up and he decides, I'm gonna try this again. And he owns, opens it up to Luke 10, verse 37. Go and do likewise.

Being a little perplexed, he closes his Bible and opens it again and he flips open to John 1327. What you are going to do, go and do it quickly. He read verse 26. It's one of those verses that if you just open your Bible and look at verse 26 as a Christian, it can undo you reading it out of context. Let me read to you just a few verses we've already covered in just this one half of one chapter of Hebrews. We could do this all morning going through the book of Hebrews.

We could do it all day or for a week going through the Bible, but just this one chapter, chapter 10, verse 10. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Verse 12 of chapter 10. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, chapter 10, verse 14, for by a single offering, he is perfected for all time. Those who are being sanctified,

chapter 10, verse 17, I will remember their sins and their lost and lawless deeds. Know more verse 18. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Verse 22, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith with our heart, sprinkle clean from an eagle, evil conscience from those verses, just those verses this morning from one half of one chapter, it's clear, absolutely clear

that Christ's atoning death for sinners is sufficient for all our sins. There's never a day he will say, well, I paid for all of those sins except this one that I didn't pay for. There will never be a day that his atonement for sins is not sufficient and it will somehow come to an end in eternity. Never such a day. There's never a day that his atonement for sins will lose its efficacy or power. No, his sacrifice for sin is sufficient.

It's eternal and it's securing. So how do we make sense of this warning in verse 26,

when the original language, there's a word that is put all the way to the front of that sentence. It's put there as a way of making it emphatic in your e s v Bibles. It is that word deliberate doesn't quite work in English. But if I was going to do this in English, I might say something like, disgusting that you eat that way. It's, it's my disgust. That is the emphasis that put it at the beginning. The warning here is what about what he calls deliberately

sinning? What does the writer have in mind? Isn't all of our sin deliberate? Well, yes and no. I had, um, one of you actually asking me about this this week. Let me tease it out for you a little bit. As humans by nature, you and I, we, we have wills. We're, we're never forced. We're never coerced into doing anything. I, I chose to eat oatmeal this morning and not to eat the cookies that my son baked last night. Now, last night I chose to eat cookies. Uh,

I always choose what I do. Now I may be influence my olfactory sensory neurons were firing last night while that smell was wafting through the house. His influence, but I chose, it was my decision.

Part of the blessing of the new covenant is what he has told us over and over in this book. He's quoted from Jeremiah 31 multiple times as he is speaking to the Christian, that great promise, this is my covenant that I will make with them after those days declares the Lord. I will put my law on their hearts and write them on our minds. That is in Christ. Now you and I, we have the law written upon our minds. We have it written upon our hearts so that we are now actually able to exercise

our will to choose good. That's a real possibility for you and I. Now in Christ we can choose good. We deliberately can seek to do good works. As the writer just mentioned number verse 24, we can deliberately tried to hold fast. As he just mentioned in verse 23, he says, those who go on sinning deliberately, he is warning about willful disregard for God. It is deliberate ongoing rejection of God that he has in view Now still,

I understand that might scare us as you're thinking about that as a Christian

think, well isn't that true of me? Because all of us in moments choose sin over God.

Paul wrestles with this in Romans seven famous text where he says, for I do not understand my own actions, for I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. He he chose that sin, but deep down he hated it. What's happening whether de use Pauline language as flesh has trumped his spirit, as Jesus will say to the disciples, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. That there's a battle, a true battle. But notice it's a battle where willfully

engage in this battle deliberately trying to live in communion with Christ for the glory of Christ. Now every Christian falls in moments, every Christian falls for seasons,

but every Christian falls while they're battling with sin that that's not what he's talking about here.

He's warning about those who are continuing deliberately headed in the opposite direction from Christ. They've turned their backs upon what they know. They've turned their backs upon what they understand in an extreme way. They have made the opposite commitment deliberately.

The great example of this, the great illustration of this in scripture is, is the difference between Peter and Judas,

both Peter and Judas, that they both deny Christ.

Judas denies Christ. Peter denies Christ. Peter denies Christ. Judas denies Christ. Peter is convicted of a sin after the rooster. Christ, Judas is convicted of his sin and tries to return the silver.

Peter confesses that he is a sinner. Judas confesses that he is a sinner.

But there's quite a difference. Peter battled. He battled. He, he turned down the road of repentance and faith. He, he turned to Christ. Whereas Judas knowingly and he doggedly turned down the opposite road apostasy. He willfully committed himself, toss, descending deliberately against Christ. Though he knew better for the writer of Hebrews says here about apostates verse 26, they've received it but they don't care. He says they have knowledge of the truth. He says, but they refuse it.

They deliberately choose to reject Christ.

Hear me clearly. It is not the Christian who struggles with this or that sin that he has in view.

It's not the Christian that has this or that besetting sin that he has in view.

Peter was not forsaken. It's those who have wholly rejected Christ in the church. Remember the context from last week. Do not forsake the weekly fellowship of the saints. They have wholly rejected Christ and his church. They do not hold fast. They knowingly chose the road to destruction, warning us.

Don't go down that path. Don't recover.

This is the grounds in which we excommunicate people church. It's not those who slip into this or that sin it. It's not even those that are wrestling with habitual sin and they're fighting against it and repent and confess and uh, they've fallen into it again and they repent and they confess. That's all of us. It's those that have made a habit and pursuit and they've loudly and knowingly disregarding or disregarding Christ.

But the discipline, even excommunication, it's aimed at seeing them repent. That's the goal because of what the writer of Hebrews says is on the horizon, because of what he brings to our attention here, those who reject Christ find that there is judgment as the author makes very clear here, he says, A fury of fire that he says will consume. What is that fury of fire is God himself. God says of himself in Deuteronomy 4 24,

for the Lord your God is a consuming fire. The warning is very real because judgment and hell are very real. Why? Because God is very real. That's the warning.

Second, look at the logic of the writer here. It's an argument from the lesser to the greater. In verses 28 and 29, in the Old Testament law, one received justice, received judgment. If it was shown, they violated the law by what was called a high handed sin, where they were deliberately seeking to throw off the authority of God and his law. They show contempt for God and his law. And so the logic of verse 29, how much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who is

trampled underfoot, the son of God and his profane, the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and is outrage the spirit of grace. He lists three offenses here. They're rejecting Christ. They're rejecting Christ's work and they're rejecting Christ's spirit. If in the Old Testament they showed contempt for God in his law and they were judged this harshly, how much more will those be judged harshly that have shown contempt for God

and is Christ? That's his question.

They're rejecting Christ if trampled him. Underfoot the son of God. Why? Because they have knowledge of who he is. They know that he's good. They know that he's loving. They know that he's merciful descenders. They know that he is kind. They know of him and they despise him.

Instead of bowing at his feet, they stamp their feet upon him, despise him. They reject Christ's work. They have profane the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified. He uses sanctified here in the same sense that Paul does in one Corinthians seven about the child of a, a believing Christian, that that child is sanctified. That is that they are set apart. He's not talking about their personal salvation, whether they are saved.

Rather he is speaking about the fact that they are distinct. They're different. They're set apart. How? Because they're in the midst of all the blessings that Christ is secured.

They've enjoyed those benefits and he's saying this person, this apostate, they reject Christ's work. Though they have enjoyed the benefits of Christ's work. They've sat under the word of Christ. They've heard the prayers of God's people. They've sung songs to Christ. They've enjoyed the fellowship of the redeemed of Christ. They've even come and sat at the table of Christ.

They've had all of those benefits.

They don't care.

They reject Christ. They reject Christ's work and they reject Christ's spirit outrage. He says the spirit of grace. This echoes Jesus' teaching about the unforgivable sin Blas of me, of the Holy Spirit as he called it, the unforgivable sin. Again, what he has in view here is apostasy. That willful obstinate rejection of Jesus when one has true knowledge and evidence to the contrary, that was the sin of the, the Pharisees.

They knew that this is in a sin, that a Christian commits it. It's not a sin that happens with a slip of the tongue. It is as Bob Vink said, a denial that contradicts the conviction of the mind, the illumination of the conscience and the intuitions of the heart and the author's. Logic again is this, if the penalty was great for setting aside the law of Moses, how much more severe must it be for setting aside the Christ,

the son of God,

the one that we previously confessed?

Again, for those that are of tender conscience be very clear. If you fear you have fallen into apostasy, you haven't fallen into apostasy.

If you worry that you've committed the unpardonable sin you, you haven't committed the unpardonable sin.

Apostates aren't forgiven because they are unwilling to be forgiven. Don't desire it.

Which leads to our final point. The Lord, judges or judges, he quotes twice from Deuteronomy 32, depress us home. He says, vengeance is mine. I will repay. And the Lord would judge his people. And then in that culminating statement in verse 31, he says, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The the Lord. Judges,

we don't like that.

Doesn't sit well in our day.

We live in a day in which we like to define or maybe better stated, we like to redefine everything postmodernism opened up the door to me. Having my truth, you having your truth so that all ethics and morality are just contextually or culturally created or suggested or no absolutes. Of course. The fact that there are no absolutes. Everything is up for grabs, redefinition, redesign including God.

If God exists though it is an impossibility that we define him. That's an impossibility. If he exists, he must exist apart from us. If he is of our making, our definition, then he is not God. We are God

I am who I am. I exist. He says to Moses, he is as the author says here, the living God. We don't get to define God as God. He is very clear. He judges because he is holy, because he is righteous, because he's good. He must be just

so he judges and hence the author's powerful statement. And that that kind of closing summary, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God fearful because he must and he will judge

judgment for every deeded, evil deeded we have done

for every good deeded that we have left undone

for every idle word that we have spoken

for. Every wrong desire and wrong affection

for every misplaced thought,

every single one judged

judgment that is irreversible of all

everlasting,

a kind of eternal living death

because his eternal separation from goodness and the mercy and the love of this living God,

it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

As John Owen said, the man who is lost forever is nothing in God. That he cannot appeal into nothing in the law or gospel which he can plead for himself, which is the state of all willful apostates.

And the writer is pressing this home,

the horror.

It is a horror being in such hands forever. It is such a horror that it can't be comprehended,

but he warns us.

'cause it doesn't have to be that way for you. For me, it doesn't have to be that way.

Lemme read you another passage about the hands of the Lord. John 10

sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them outta my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the fathers.

Same hands, same hands. Either a w***e that is beyond comprehension or a blessing that is beyond comprehension.

The best movie of all time. Ben, her Ben, her this galley slave is on a raft with this Roman general after they have fought this battle and have been set adrift and are all by themselves. And Ben Hurst stands there with this chain around the Roman general and he holds him tight and he sees a sail on the horizon and

he's squinting and trying to see what, what sail is that

The Roman general will say to Ben, her, if it's Roman, that's good news for me. Bad news for you. Slave,

same sail, same hands.

Some it's fearful for others that is joyful. Here's what every single one of us in this room has to realize. We all end up in those hands,

every single one of us. Same hands. The difference, just like the Roman general in Benhur, it's all about relation.

Are they the hands of an enemy?

Are they the hands of a friend?

Wonder if you sit here this morning, each of you individually, sit here this morning.

Every child in this room, as you sit here this morning,

a man, woman, as you sit here this morning,

you know that those same hands that it is fearful to fall into are pierced, hands pierced and they're pierced for sinners.

Do you know those hands,

saving hands,

blood that flowed from those hands is sufficient atone for any s sin. And all of a sudden those hands become lovely place of rest and security and safety. Instead of a threat,

they become a treasure.

He said in them, you have eternal life. And he promises those in them will never perish.

He offer a second encouragement this morning, this to the Christian,

we must continue to preach, must continue to teach. We must continue to talk about that. It's fearful to fall into the hands of this God.

We have to maintain a biblical view of God's judgment to come. Too many have fought that by denying hell and God's wrath, moral would be saved from it.

You see this over and over and over in church history. But listen, sinners will never ever value the cross until they know what the cross saves them from.

Never. The weight of sin does not properly fall upon people that have a Santa Claus view of God. No, he is not a God of our making. Our sin is not slight. The penalty is not tame. Hell is scary and offensive meant to be. It should be.

We serve no one by denying it. Third, because judgment is real, real. Keep offering

salvation to everyone and anyone.

Keep at it.

Never think anybody is too foregone. You keep sharing and you keep praying. Good news for all of you that have been praying and witnessing, uh, your neighbors or friends or that child of yours as a grown adult and has gone astray now you you, you don't give up hope.

I remember once reading someone commenting upon the thief on the crawls, thinking about what it must have been for a family member of that thief on the crawl. So believing family member believer in God, the family member, knowing that thief to have always been a thief, to be a robber and to be a liar and, and though not wanting to see their family member, no doubt crucified. They also, there was a sense in which they, they thought, well,

this is deserving. He's just been a scoundrel his days. He's a threat to society. He's a threat to our family.

And then imagine the surprise of this family member that appears in heaven someday.

And there's the thief. You here.

What are you doing here? Yeah, I'm here you. Yeah.

How, oh, with that family member didn't know is that one moment with the Lord Jesus Christ,

that thief looks to Christ in faith and says, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Jesus says, today you will be with me in paradise

and say the absolute worst of sinners moment.

We're gonna be surprised by some of the people we see in glory.

You never give up hope. You never stop praying. You never stop sharing. You're not the judge of people's eternal salvation. No, he is the writer of Hebrews is very, very clear. The Lord will judge his people. So you keep sharing.

Finally amazed. Christian,

ah, this should stagger you.

Amazed I should be following in the hands of this living God

gonna close this morning with, uh, just a glorious hymn that we didn't. Awesome is the place

Such a great hymn because it reminds you and I not to take this for granted, this grace that you and I received that from the same hands that we were to receive judgment. Those same hands received piercings so that you and I would not receive judgment. And I love that stanza, especially it's, it's a weird stanza in that psalm. It just kind of sticks out as a sore thumb because it doesn't rhyme. And I think purposefully,

while all our hearts and all our songs join to admire the feast, each of us cries with thankful tongue. Lord, why was I a guest?

It just sticks out like a sore thumb. That, that that word guest,

because you and I are to feel that sense. I stick out like a sore thumb.

I don't belong here. I don't deserve this.

I know the wretched sinner I am

Ah, And reminded, ah, I do belong here.

Those hands were pierced for me.

Sweet and awesome is the place,

the glorious Christ, that he extends mercy to sinners.

Pray. You know that today. Pray.

Father, we do exalt you or Jesus. We exalt you spirit. We exalt you are one triune God.

And we're thankful that you are a God who upholds justice.

But, and we even say it, we are even more thankful for a God who dispenses mercy.

And even this morning as those gathered together in this place,

if we are covered over by the blood of your son, your hands are a refuge and a secure place for us

and a blessing to be your people. We pray all this in the strong name of Christ.