Warning Passages of Hebrews are Self-Tests!

It has been three months since we examined the warning passage in Hebrews 6:4-8. The passage at hand is Hebrews 10:26-31. Both passages are similar in how they address apostasy, falling away from the faith. They both speak of professing Christians. They warn of the seriousness of apostasy. They declare the impossibility of repentance. They speak of God’s judgment. They are convicting - a specialty of the Word of God.

I believe the Epistle to Hebrews is not just a series of warning passages but messages of hope. The warnings are tools for self-examination. Consider 2 Corinthians 13:5, Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! Let’s take a few moments to understand how these terrifying warnings were designed by God to address one’s spiritual condition. The Word of God is an instrument which can destroy and heal.

After much prayer, I propose that the warning passages are addressed to the reader. There are many readers and God meets them where they are spiritually. Consider the warning passages as self-tests for the following types of people faced with apostasy: a regenerate (born again) Christian who could lose salvation; a professing Christian who is unregenerate; a regenerate Christian who is a candidate for discipline and/or future loss of reward; and a regenerate Christian being warned of the dangers of apostasy.

First, consider a regenerate Christian who could lose salvation. This is an untenable position based on Scripture passages which declare salvation as a gift of grace not a reward for good works. Proper interpretation demands an understanding which is compatible with clear passages. Scripture never contradicts itself. This warning passage is serious and should not be taken lightly. Yet, it must not be made to say more than what is intended by the Holy Spirit. A key to the warning passages in Hebrews is the distinction between salvation which is a gift and rewards which are based on faithful service. There are many verses listed on the website which refute the possibility of losing salvation. Let me list two passages declared by Jesus, John 6:40, For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. John 10:27-28, My 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 out of my hand. These warning passages should not make a wayward believer comfortable but seriously uncomfortable as will be noted shortly.

Second, there is the possibility that a professing Christian is unregenerate. Zane Hodges, . . . the warning is against mere profession of faith short of salvation, or tasting but not really partaking of salvation. Judas was identified by Jesus as such a person, John 6:70, Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” There is a difference between knowing the truth and experiencing the truth but not submitting to the truth. The warning passages of Hebrews should be a warning to those who have attached themselves to Christianity but have not been grafted in by Christ. There is a sacrifice for sin and He is our Savior and Lord.

Third, the reader may be a regenerate Christian suffering discipline and/or future loss of reward. Warren Wiersbe, What should a believer do who has drifted away into spiritual doubt and dullness and is deliberately despising God’s Word? He should turn to God for mercy and forgiveness. There is no other sacrifice for sin, but the sacrifice Christ made is sufficient for all our sins. Thomas Kem Oberholtzer, Even a casual reading of the passage reveals that a judgment is in view . . . that the judgment is of true believers, in which disobedience may result in divine discipline in this life and in loss of future rewards in the millennium. The passage motivates Christians to live according to Scripture and to experience life to the fullest in the present and in the coming kingdom.

Fourth, the self-test is good fit for a regenerate Christian being warned of the dangers of apostasy. It is a hypothetical warning designed to turn the wayward Christian back to faith and trust in Christ. The construction of the sentence in Hebrews 10:26 is equivalent to a third class condition. It is a hypothetical argument concerning Christians which would result in condemnation if one did apostasize. This is a call to repentance not a proclamation of condemnation since there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Take time to read 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 which clearly states the need to do a self-test.

One of the most powerful sermons ever preached was entitled Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. R Kent Hughes made an appropriate comment, Jonathan Edwards gave his people a whiff of the sulphurs of Hell that they might deeply inhale the fragrances of grace. That is what a self-test is all about. The grace of heaven must take priority over the stench of hell. The Bible is a super Swiss Army knife with multiple blades. One can convict an apostate. Another can draw the unregenerate to faith in Christ alone. Also, there is one that can turn a professor into a possessor. And of course, one can remind the believer to take faith in Christ seriously.

Warren Wiersbe rightly declares, It is a fearful thing to fall into the Lord’s hands for chastening, but it is a wonderful thing to fall into His hands for cleansing and restoration. Join me in the study of God’s Word under the Books of the Bible tab. It is better to self-test now than to get a damning diagnosis later.

There is hope despite the pandemic!

My blog for July 9, 2021, was titled, A Christian Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. As the pandemic has continued, I have been deeply concerned about how I should be praying. It is easier to know that our society has spiritual needs than to know how to make a positive impact. Do we who have the truth, live the truth? This time is a wake-up call for Christians. The longer this pandemic continues, the more we should strive to represent Christ to a hurting world.

As I continued my study of Hebrews this week, I was greatly encouraged by Hebrews 10:23-25, Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. I believe these verses give application to the previous blog.

Christians alone have secure hope in the midst of the pandemic. Consider the words of R. Kent Hughes, So many people live on so little, surviving in this world, just putting one foot in front of the other as they depend on unsubstantiated, ungrounded "hope." . . . But the Christian's hope has substance! The hope that our text commends here in verse 23 is a conscious reference back to the writer's statement in 6:19, 20—"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf." Our hope is only as secure as the faithfulness of God who sent His Son to make payment for our sins, the Son who died, rose again and sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high, interceding for us. Yes, we have secure hope.

We not only have hope but we are given instructions for times like these. First, the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to encourage one another in the Body of Christ to love and good works. He emphasizes the importance of meeting together. I believe it is appropriate to reach out in love and good works to those outside His body, as well. In this pandemic, it is easy to say it is safer to stay home. That’s probably the thought of the Hebrews who were trying to avoid persecution. Donald Hagner reminds us of the importance of being together, The way in which the readers can manifest their concern for one another is through active participation in fellowship, on the one hand, and through mutual encouragement, on the other. Christians need each other, and especially in trying circumstances. God has not made us independent but interdependent. We need each other even more than ever in the midst of this pandemic.

Also, the writer of Hebrews gives instruction to anticipate the Lord’s return. Read Ray Stedman’s quote which pictures our present condition, The empire seethed with unrest and premonitions of disaster. These frightening omens were not viewed as signs of God’s inability to control his world, as many interpret similar events today. Rather, they were indications that God was working out his predicted purposes just as Jesus, the prophets and the apostles had foretold . . . It is now apparent as we look back over the centuries that it has been the will of God to have each generation feel that it is living in the very last days of civilization. Each century has found the church fearing the cataclysms of its own time as the last to come. Yet, inexorably, each passing century has moved the world nearer the final end. This sense of imminence is God’s device to keep believers expectant and full of hope in the midst of the world’s darkness.

I fear too many Christians have accepted the position of unbelievers, hope based on circumstances not on the promises of God. May we hold fast our confession and proclaim our hope to a world in desperate need. Join the study of Hebrews under the Books of the Bible tab, and keep looking up!

A Review of the Superior Work of Jesus Christ

The longest section of Hebrews is 4:14-10:18. Our study of this section has just concluded. I selected the following verses which are representative of God’s grace to us through His Son. Take some time to savor them and give thanks to Christ Who is our life.

A superior confession (4:14-16)

Hebrews 4:14, Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Hebrews 4:15, For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Superior qualifications (5:1-10)

Hebrews 5:5, So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”

Hebrews 5:8-9, Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

A warning to keep moving forward (5:11-6:20)

Hebrews 5:13-14, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Hebrews 6:19-20, We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

The superior priestly order of Christ (7:1-28)

Hebrews 7:25, . . . he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 7:26-27, For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

The superiority of the New Covenant (8:1-10:18)

Hebrews 8:10-12, For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.

Hebrews 9:11-12, But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:27-28, And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Hebrews 10:12-14, But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

I hope you will continue the study of Hebrews as the writer focuses on application. Join us under the Books of the Bible tab. This is the day to live what we believe.