A Fearful Thing
"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." — Hebrews 10:31
Who This Was Written To
Read the passage in full, and note the audience before you read the content.
"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. 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." (Hebrews 10:26–31)
"The Lord shall judge his people."
That was written to Christians. Not to unbelievers. To the church.
The Questions It Raises
How dare we say the sinner's prayer and then continue in sin?
How dare we claim we are going to heaven while living in what God calls abomination?
How many people who call themselves Christians are committing adultery, lying, stealing, cheating, dabbling in the occult, and an endless list besides — assuming the whole time that they will end up in heaven?
How can any of that be reconciled with the passage above?
Do we suppose our heavenly Father is so weak that He will simply be glad to get us into heaven no matter what we have done?
Willful Sin Despises the Cross
Here is why God takes it so seriously.
Every time we sin willfully after receiving Jesus as Savior, we are despising the sacrifice He made at Calvary.
Not merely breaking a rule. Treating as a light thing the death that purchased us.
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid." (Romans 6:1–2)
"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." (James 4:17)
Do we dare imagine the Father will overlook it because we are technically covered?
Not Condemnation — Sobriety
Do not misread this lesson as an attack on assurance. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1) is entirely true and it is your ground to stand on.
But there is a difference between assurance and presumption, and the difference is repentance. Assurance rests on Christ and hates sin. Presumption rests on a transaction and tolerates it.
The passage in Hebrews is not written to torment the tender-hearted. It is written to wake the casual.
If it frightens you, it may well be doing its work — and the appropriate response is not despair but confession, which God has promised to receive every time.
Point to Ponder
The difference between assurance and presumption is repentance. One rests on Christ and hates sin; the other rests on a transaction and tolerates it.
Verse to Remember
"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." — Hebrews 10:31
Question to Consider
What am I doing willfully, knowing it is sin, while assuming it does not really matter because I am forgiven?
Today's Practice
Read Hebrews 10:19–31 in full, aloud, twice.
Notice that the passage begins with enormous confidence — "having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus" — and ends with the most sobering warning in the letter. Both are for the same people. Hold them together.
Then answer one question in writing, plainly: what am I currently doing that I know to be sin?
Not what might be questionable. What you know.
Then deal with it today, in this order: confess it by name, ask forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ, remove yourself from it practically, and close the doorway in His name.
And do not leave this lesson in fear. Finish by reading Hebrews 10:19–23 again and standing on it.
Prayer
Father, You are holy, and I have been casual with You.
I have sinned willfully — knowing it was sin, knowing You had spoken, and doing it anyway — and I have leaned on the fact that I am forgiven as though that made it a small matter.
It is not a small matter. Every time I have done it I have treated the death of Your Son as a light thing. Forgive me for that above everything else.
Give me a right and sober fear of You. Not terror — I am Your child and You have told me not to live in that. But wake me from casualness.
I confess what I know to be sin. Cleanse me by the blood of Jesus Christ, and give me the resolve to leave it rather than manage it.
Let my assurance rest on Your Son and hate sin, rather than resting on a transaction and tolerating it. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
"The Lord shall judge his people." That was written to the church.