If We Deliberately Keep On Sinning

If We Deliberately Keep On Sinning

Scripture: Hebrews 10: 19-39

Story: Michael De Rosa tells this story:

Two elderly, excited Southern women were sitting together in the front pew of church listening to a fiery preacher.

When this preacher condemned the sin of stealing, these two ladies cried out at the tops of their lungs, "AMEN, BROTHER!"When the preacher condemned the sin of lust, they yelled again, "PREACH IT, REVEREND!"

And when the preacher condemned the sin of lying, they jumped to their feet and screamed, "RIGHT ON, BROTHER! TELL IT LIKE IT IS... AMEN!"

But when the preacher condemned the sin of gossip, the two got very quiet. One turned to the other and said, "He’s quit preaching and now he’s meddlin’."

vs 26: “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 judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”

This passage of scripture is not a passage that speaks of the dangers of continual sin for those who do not believe, or have not been saved. We already know that those who are not saved and continue to sin, that their sin costs. It leads to an eternity of separation from God, and their punishment is eternal. Rather this is a passage that is fair warning to the Christian, the believer, who continues to deliberately sin. It is an encouragement for those who call themselves Christian to be aware of the consequences of continuing to sin.

A Christian is one who has believed that God sent Jesus to die, once for all, as a sacrifice for ALL sin. They are a person who has acknowledged that they indeed are sinful ... that sin, which is a deliberate breaking of one of God’s commands, exists in their lives and they recognize that this sin has a cost ... and that cost is eternal damnation ... an eternal separation from God and all he has for them.

A Christian is one who recognizes that sin is death ... and they have taken a step of faith of believing that Jesus paid the price for their sin, and they have accepted this as fact ... brought their sin to Jesus willingly, asking Jesus to forgive them, and for Him to take the sin out of their life, cleansing them, making them clean and pure, and then giving their life over to Jesus to control and direct under the power of the Holy Spirit ... the Spirit of Truth that Jesus left us when he ascended to sit at the right hand of God. (John 14:16)

A Christian is one who has decided to follow Jesus and his commands in their daily walking of life. They are committed to the reality that they no longer desire to live a life where sin exists, but rather are committed to living life under the guidance and direction of God and His Word faithfully, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is a living reality for those of us who work at the church all week long to hear the stories of people who struggle with sin. The continuance of sin in their lives has consequences, and it is these consequences that the person continues to struggle with day by day.

What is so sad, is the numbers of those same people who at one time or another had given their lives over to Jesus and who at one time could call themselves Christian.

Sadly, many of these still believe that they are Christians ... and yet they continue to deliberately sin. Why? Because they have come to a place in their lives where they believe that God’s grace, which is a free gift to all who will come under it, is still available to them every time they sin ... and they use it as a license to sin. They believe that even if they knowingly sin, they can claim 1 John 1:9 and God will forgive them their sin again, and again, and again, and again. This is the doctrine of “cheap grace”, and it is a false doctrine.

Is it really true?? NO! Vs. 26 reminds us that “if we continually deliberately keep on sinning that there is no sacrifice left for sin ... only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire ... that consumes the enemies of God.”

A person who continually keeps sinning, even with the Holy Spirit crying out to them to not do it, get to a place where sin no longer is fearful to them, where they no longer want to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and block him out at their convenience ... where they no longer allow the seriousness of sin to register in their hearts and their minds ... and the end result is simple ... they are considered to be enemies of God. They have lost the ability to fear, or to be convicted ... they no longer think of the fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire.