29 - Heb_10:26-39
CHAPTER X X I X.
WARNING AGAINST APOSTASY.* (*Compare Lecture 13 of my first volume on Hebrews.) Hebrews 10:26-39. THE apostle now confirms the preceding exhortation, first by a severe and solemn warning against apostasy, and then by an affectionate and hope-inspiring remembrance of their past sufferings, and by the assurance of his confidence in their sincere faith. Before considering the awful words of warning which the apostle addresses here to professing believers, it may be useful to refer briefly to some misconceptions which prevent some readers of Scripture from receiving in a meek and docile spirit solemn admonitions of the Holy Ghost, such as the present.
(1.) There is an undue and one-sided haste to be happy and in the enjoyment of comfort. We are apt to forget that God’s great object is to bring us and keep us nigh unto Himself, and that our true and only blessedness is in communion with the living God. In our present state, all Scripture consolation must contain exhortation. We must eat the sweet Pashcal Lamb with bitter herbs of repentance and self-abasement. The man who received the gospel immediately and with joy was right, both in at once accepting the message and in rejoicing. Thus did Saul of Tarsus, and the Ethiopian, and many others, who brought forth fruit with patience. But herein consisted the untrue and defective character of his immediate joy, that it was not out of a broken heart and in godly sorrow; and thus there is a morbid tendency, even among true believers, to take joy and calm as a "robbery," prematurely, superficially, and of their own power. It is to be feared that many who have never come truly to Jesus are resting in false security.
(2.) There is a one-sided and unscriptural forgetfulness of the actual position of the believer (or professing believer), as a man who is still on the road, in the battle; who has still the responsibility of trading with the talent entrusted, of watching for the return of the Master. Now there are many bye-paths, dangers, precipices on the road, and we must persevere to the end. Only they who overcome and are faithful unto death shall be crowned. It is not spiritual, but carnal, to take the blessed and solemn doctrines of our election in Christ and of the perseverance of the saints, given us as a cordial for fainting hours, and as the inmost and ultimate secret of the soul in its dealings with God, and place them on the common and daily road of our duties and trials, instead of the precepts and warnings of the divine Word. It is not merely that God keeps us through these warnings and commandments, but the attitude of soul which neglects and hurries over these portions of Scripture is not child-like, humble, and sincere. The attempts to explain away the fearful warnings of Scripture against apostasy are rooted in a very morbid and dangerous state of mind. A precipice is a precipice, and it is folly to deny it. "If we live after the flesh," says the apostle, "we shall die." Now, to keep people from falling over a precipice, we do not put up a slender and graceful hedge of flowers, but the strongest barrier we can; and piercing spikes or cutting pieces of glass to prevent calamities. But even this is only the surface of the matter. Our walk with God and our perseverance to the end are great and solemn realities. We are dealing with the living God, and only life with God, and in God, and unto God, can be of any avail here. He who brought us out of Egypt is now guiding us; and if we follow Him, and follow Him to the end, we shall enter into the final rest.
(3.) We must bear in mind that God in the gospel, and in the outward Church,* deals with mankind, and not merely with the "elect," known only unto Him. The revelation of God in Christ places the whole world, unto which it is sent, in a peculiar position. It places professing Christians, whether they be genuine or not, in a position of most solemn responsibility. God alone can judge the heart. A man professing faith in Christ, and spiritual enjoyment of the truth, may be a hypocrite, or self-deceived, or in a state of temporary declension and apparent death. The Word, the message of God in Scripture, and through the ministry, places the same truth before all; the character of God; the only salvation in Christ Jesus; the necessity and evidence of the renewal of the heart; the final perdition of ungodly men. The apostle, seeing the danger in which the Hebrews were, places before them the awful position of those who, having professed the knowledge and enjoyment of the great and glorious salvation by the blood of Christ, turn away from the Saviour, and choose to live deliberately and continuously without the love and obedience of Christ. For such there is no more sacrifice for sin, and the wrath of God, which abideth on every one that believeth not on the Son of God, must fall with more fearful severity on those who, having been brought into contact with the love of God in Christ - how near a contact we cannot judge, but very near according to their own profession - have forsaken the Lord and His service. (*The doctrine of the visible Church has of late years been much overlooked by many, who are anxious to bring prominently forward the spiritual Church of the regenerate and true believer. But the position of professing Christians, of those who as children of believers or otherwise have been brought up in the Christian Church, is one of special privilege and responsibility. It is true, that if the fishes are bad, their having been in the net will not save them ultimately; but their being in the net places them in a special relationship to God and the Lord Jesus Christ, both at present and in the future judgment. The nations of Christendom, it must be admitted by all, stand in a different position from heathen nations; and what is true of the nation, is true of the individual. Whether he believes or not, the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost has been declared unto him and pronounced upon him.) The doctrine of the whole Word of God is, that the blood of Christ, the Son of God, cleanseth from all sin. Even in the Old Testament the expressions describing the guilt and aggravated character of the sins which Jehovah is ready to forgive are exceedingly strong and large, so that none should despair, but turn in trustful repentance unto Him who delights to pardon abundantly. But the New Testament expressions could not be more distinct and emphatic to show, that through the blood of Christ there is forgiveness for sin, sins, all sins, without distinction and limitation. If it were not so, who of us could have any peace or hope? Ours are not merely sins of ignorance and weakness, but sins against light, and against that grace which is given to us, and which is sufficient to overcome sin.
It is evident that the apostle refers here to the voluntary and determined choice of leading a sinful and God-estranged life, which choice is made by those who, having known to some extent, and having professed to have experienced the grace of Christ, turn away from the one and only Name in which we can be saved. If under the law of Moses death without mercy was the immediate recompense of the willful transgressor, how much more fearful will be the punishment of him who has treated the Son of God with contempt, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, which for awhile he esteemed precious, an unholy thing, and has turned away the gracious Spirit under whose teaching and influence he has been? We know the holy and righteous indignation of the Almighty, who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." The Lord will judge His people.*(*The quotations are from the book ofDeuteronomy 32:35-36(comparePsalms 135:14), announcing a special judgment on the apostate. The apostle quotes the passage inRomans 12:19in the same way, from the Hebrew, and not the LXX.)
Christ’s sheep shall never perish; all God’s children shall be kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation. It is by these stern and solemn warnings that the elect are kept. We know both from Scripture and sad experience, that even true Christians are not exempt from the danger of serious and protracted departure from the truth and love of God. And lastly, we know that men who were thought to be living and faithful members of the Church have fallen, at first into apathy and worldliness, then into heresy and sin, lastly into most bitter and fanatical opposition of Christ’s gospel and flock. The apostolic epistles themselves, especially those last written, contain most melancholy and heart-stirring descriptions of apostates. Such wretched men belonged to the visible church, to the outward great house, and as such they must be judged.*(*1 John 2:19; 2 Peter 2;Jude 1:10-16. The expression, "fall into the hands of the living God," used by humble and penitent David (2 Samuel 24:14), refers there to the divine compassion which characterizes His judgment on His people. Here it refers to the omnipotence and punitive justice of God.) The warning is necessary, for the actual condition of the Church embraces false professors. It is necessary and salutary for all, for young and weak believers as well as for the most experienced. It is above all true; for the gospel reveals to us the living and holy God, the earnestness and jealousy, as well as the tenderness of divine love.
It is the humble and true believer who marks these warnings and lays them to heart. It is he who says, "Lord, is it I?" And though sometimes he is betrayed into a despondency, in which a subtle unbelief turns away from the grace of the Lord Jesus, yet God comforts His people, and shows unto those who write bitter things against themselves, that His thoughts are thoughts of peace concerning them. Blessed are all who tremble at God’s Word. The believer beholds the precipice of apostasy, and clings close to God. He sees the divine justice and the fire of God’s jealousy, and he prays to be delivered from all worldly affections and idols. He sees the way before him, and instead of resting on the enchanted ground, he forgets the things that are behind, and presses on toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. He does not boast that he has left the city of Destruction and spread out the fact of his conversion as a tent to rest in, but the pearly gates of the heavenly Jerusalem stand before the eyes of his heart, and from beyond the gates he hears the voice, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life."
Mark now the bearing of our passage on the mere professor of Christianity.
If we follow our deceitful and sluggish hearts, we neither rejoice in God’s promises, nor tremble at His threatenings. The world knows not the sweetness of divine love, nor does it stand in awe before God’s wrath. And professing Christians also may forget that our God is a consuming fire, and that we must either serve Him with all our heart, or depart from Him as evildoers.
God sends now the message of peace; but this message rests on the full manifestation, and not upon a change, of His character. And hence the gospel brings to him who, in fear and trembling, and with faith, accepts it, salvation, blood-bought and wrought into us by a total and central renewal of our hearts; whereas it brings to him who rejects it a fuller disclosure of God’s wrath, and a sterner announcement of everlasting perdition.*(*It is worthy of notice, that the passages announcing the doctrine of everlasting punishment are chiefly in the New Testament.) The brighter light, the greater darkness; the greater blessing, the more fearful curse. It is written, "He that believeth shall be saved;" but it is likewise written, "He that believeth not shall be damned." It is written, "Blessed are all that trust in Jesus;" but it is also written, "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema." It is written, "In my Father’s house are many mansions;" but it is also written, that unbelievers have their portion in the burning lake. Capernaum was lifted up to heaven, because Jesus had come to them; but it shall be cast into hell, because they rejected Jesus. The wrath of God is removed from all who believe in Jesus; but does it not remain on all who reject Jesus? Is not their rejection of Jesus the crowning sin of all sin?
He who, being taught the gospel, remains impenitent, unbelieving, worldly, rejects God. First, the Father; for He sent Jesus. The Father has no other message, no other channel of grace. In not accepting Christ as the Saviour, the Father’s gift is despised. But the unbeliever, or the formalist, rejects also Jesus. He counts the blood of the Son of God an unholy, common, lifeless, powerless thing. By this blood sinners are cleansed, sanctified, brought nigh to worship, love, and serve God in liberty of spirit and peace of conscience. But he who, knowing of this precious blood, is without prayer, without holiness, without peace, is he not sinning against the blood of Christ? And lastly, the unbeliever does despite to the Spirit of grace. For the Spirit is constantly witnessing of the love of the Father in Jesus, of the grace of Jesus in His blood.
Now, if under the dispensation of Moses the holiness of God’s good and loving law was vindicated, how much more will they be thought guilty who neglect the eternal gospel of the divine love, the new covenant sealed with the blood of the Son of God? No sacrifice for sins is on the path of unbelief; turning away from Jesus, there remains nothing but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. This warning has a bearing on all who are under the gospel dispensation. God has declared His name, He has revealed Himself in Christ Jesus. And by this revelation shall all men unto whom it is sent be judged.
Now there is a very common, though unexpressed, misconception, that the gospel, instead of revealing, modifies the divine character; that in the gospel God is represented as a less holy, awful, and jealous God, than in the Old Testament Scripture. People imagine that in the gospel there is nothing but grace and forgiveness, whether they believe it or not; whether they repent and are renewed or not. Now there could not be a more radical misunderstanding of God’s Word. The gospel reveals the righteousness of God from faith to faith, because the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men; and to deliver us from this wrath God has sent His Son, and through His death provides righteousness for all who turn unto God in repentance and faith. The very salvation of God, the death of Jesus, reveals to us more clearly than the law of Moses, that God is just, and that even in the person of His own beloved Son, made a substitute for sinners, divine justice must be vindicated. The gospel-revelation is therefore the revelation of God, the only true and living God, of whom we read in Moses and the prophets. There is but One, and our God is a consuming fire. In the book of Revelation, given by the Lord Jesus Himself in His heavenly glory to the beloved disciple, we can read - and blessed are they that read with reverential fear and unfeigned faith - that while believers, who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, who have overcome, shall be united with their adorable Lord and Redeemer in everlasting joy and glory, the justice, holiness, and truth of God shall be made manifest in fearful judgment on all who do not submit themselves to His one and blessed gospel. In preaching therefore to the world we must present both sides - life and death, glory and judgment - the marriage feast, and the wrath of the Lamb.
There is next the dangerous condition of the lukewarm Christian. Through the deceitfulness of sin, through spiritual sloth or pride, through the allurements of the world, through the subtlety of Satan, a Christian falls into a careless condition, in which his spiritual perceptions, affections, and energies are blunted. Prayer becomes a form, and Christ mourns over a lukewarm Laodicean. The most subtle and dangerous temptation for such a one is to fancy that he is safe in his present condition; that he may safely remain in his present departure from his first love; that it is not absolutely necessary for him to go out and weep bitterly; to repent and to do the first works.
What reason has such a one to believe that he is a true disciple, seeing that perseverance is the test of true discipleship? Does he not remember that many received the Word with joy, and yet did not endure, but fell away? Why does Jesus command us to remember Lot’s wife, who was lost because her whole heart had not left Sodom, and she turned back? Do we not read of Demas, who, after being first a disciple, forsook the apostle, and became enamoured again of this present world? But I will change my voice; for I am speaking to the Lord’s people, beloved even during their faithlessness. Then tell me, Was it not better with you in the days of your first love? Was it not better with you when you rested on Christ Himself, when at the throne of God you poured out your heart, and the peaceful answer of God comforted you? Or what unfaithfulness have you found in God that you have forsaken Him? Or where is the bill of divorcement that God gave you, saying that He would no longer love and cherish you, and be your daily guide and blessing?
Return unto the Lord! When the soul awakes from its slumber and returns to the Saviour, a sweet and peaceful light rises within, truthful and trusty, and he beholds the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord. The past and the future are illumined; for Jesus is with him, the light of life. Then, as the apostle proceeds here, we call to remembrance the former days, and look forward to the coming of Christ. When we are brought back into the current of life (not while on the shore of worldliness and unbelief), we remember, even as we feel again, our first faith and joy, and the afflictions and tests we were then enabled to endure. We hear a voice saying, "I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals." And then the soul is able to praise God, who made the outgoings of the morning to rejoice.
We remember our first confession, "Thou art the Christ;" and the first salutation of the Saviour, "Blessed art thou." Jesus says again to us, "Feed my lambs," and "Follow thou Me." And then the end also appears approaching, Jesus Himself returning with His glorified saints. The believers in Judaea, who at first found favour with the people on account of the evident presence of the Spirit of God among them, soon became the object of persecution. Their faith was tested. In the death of Stephen, the death of James, the brother of John, the imprisonment of Peter, the whole congregation suffered, and had to endure a great fight of afflictions; they were made a gazing- stock; they became companions of them that suffered for the sake of Christ. Paul himself had been pre-eminently the prisoner of the Lord; before the whole world he bore imprisonment and reproach, because of his testimony. The apostle reminds them of the grace which had been given unto them to bear their cross, and to sacrifice ease, honour, and possessions for the sake of the gospel and the hope. It is to encourage them to persevere to the end, that after the seed time in tears they may reap the harvest of joy.
Having thus reminded them in the tone of affectionate recognition of their first zeal, he concludes with the threefold exhortation: Cast not away your confidence; be patient; live by faith.
1. God hath given you in Jesus a joyous, child like confidence, that you can call Him Abba, and rest peacefully in the love of the Saviour. You trust Him, who is able to keep that which you have committed to Him, your all, unto that day. This confidence itself is the earnest of the future inheritance. Faith is the forerunner of sight. As you trust, so you will receive.
2. You have need of patience; this is the time of waiting, of watching, of conflict, of sorrow; many difficulties and temptations surround you. But learn to be patient. Impatience is the result of ignorance, but you know why and for whom you have to wait. It is the result of pride, but you are to learn of the meek One, who was lowly in heart. Impatience arises out of an unbelieving and desponding heart; but through the Scripture you obtain patience and comfort, and hope is kept alive. Impatience arises from under valuing the importance of the present; but you know that you are now doing the will of God, and that your present exercises of faith and your present sufferings are appointed by Him, who values and rewards them. The duties of our earthly life may often appear irksome and trifling; but as a faithful sentinel knows that his monotonous work is an act of obedience to him who has appointed him, and will release him at the right time; as dutiful children and pupils persevere with tasks which seem sometimes uninteresting and unimportant, exercising thereby faith in beloved parents and teachers, so will the Christian cherish patience and cheerfulness in fulfilling the Master’s will. The necessity, importance, and blessedness of patience are brought constantly before us by the Lord Himself and by His apostles. Jesus speaks of our bringing forth fruit with patience, and of our possessing our souls in patience during great trials and painful delays. From His heavenly throne He notices and commends the patience of Ephesus and Thyatira; and to Philadelphia He says, "Thou has kept the Word of my patience." The beloved disciple, who calls himself companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, exclaims twice in the book of Revelation, "Here is the patience of the saints." The apostle Paul associates patience with hope, with comfort of the Scriptures, with the God of patience and consolation, with meekness and long-suffering, with tribulation, of which it is to be the blessed result. In the epistle of James patience is represented as the fruit of faith’s trial, as that which perfects the Christian character, as the attitude of the believer who waits for the Saviour, as the exemplary quality of Job and the prophets.*(*Romans 5:3; Romans 15:4-5; James 1 and 5)
Quiet submission and persevering continuance in well-doing under difficulties and conflict is that will of God, according to which Christ’s members are to follow the Master in His humility and suffering. When Jesus comes, they who have thus done the will of the Father will bear away triumphantly the prize of their high calling, (Hebrews 10:36.)
3. Meanwhile ours is the life of faith. Jesus will come. As it is written in the prophet: "Yet a little while" - how very, very little!1 and He, whose name is the coming One, will come. Now the just live by faith; but if anyone draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.2(1The reference is toIsaiah 26:20, andHabakkuk 2:3-4. In the former passage, the LXX. translate a small moment