Hebrews 10:26-27 “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”
Deliberate 1. done consciously and intentionally; not impulsive.
The writer of Hebrews rather bluntly lays out the future a sinner can expect if they are redeemed and then continue to deliberately go on sinning in the face of God’s miraculous grace. Grace is unmerited or undeserved favor. Sin cannot exist in the presence of God, who has no falseness or lack in Him. It is out of ignorance that people sin to begin with; and continued ignorance once they know of their sin and continue on in it. It can be nothing short of amazing that people shun the reading of God’s word which can sustain them through the truth written within. Knowing the truth and acting on it are two very different things; just like hearing God’s word preached and immediately forgetting what was said. God is patient. He created us so He knows what He is dealing with; a stiff necked people with a propensity for self-destruction.
The beginning of chapter ten speaks of how there is no longer any sacrifice needed, as there was in Old Testament times. Then there was a blood sacrifice required each year to cleanse each individual of their sins. Once Christ came onto the scene, the emphasis shifted off annual animal sacrifices to one sacrifice meant for all for all time. Christ’s blood was necessary to cleanse all of mankind, like bleach removes all stains from a dirtied white garment. No repeated sacrifice would ever be needed again if you embrace God’s salvation. If you don’t, you’re still bound up in your sin and have no hope of being cleansed.
I don’t have to experience a lake of fire to know that it’s an experience I do not want to go through. I have a pretty vivid imagination and with all the computer generated special effects we see in movies today, it isn’t all that difficult to see in my mind’s eye a person flailing about in a fiery lake. Not a place I want to be. There is a benefit however to having this image burned in our minds. It can lead us to take perhaps a little more seriously the fate of many around us and spur us on to attempt to introduce them to our Savior. We don’t need to bludgeon them with the gospel; Jesus never did. In love and mercy we are to extend our hand to them as a means of showing them truth. Kindness, mercy, grace extended minus judgment is a way to reveal God to others. Avoid continued sin, let God live through you and reach outward rather than inward as you strive to be more like Christ.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!
