The FORECAST For RELIGIOUS UNBELIEF-II—Hebrews 10:26-31
The author of Hebrews laid out the unavoidable forecast for willful sin.
Religious unbelief(willful sin) warrants unavoidable forecast/merit(consequences).
What is the unavoidable forecast/merits(consequences) of Religious unbelief(willful sin)?
6 unavoidable forecasts/merits for Religious unbelief(willful sin) are...
The last time we were in Hebrews we discovered 2 unavoidable things in the forecast for religious unbelief were...
1. A FORFEITED REDEMPTION(:26)
2. An ULTIMATE FEAR(:27)
3—An unavoidable forecast for religious unbelief(willful sin) is...
FORFEITED MERCY(:28)
Explanation: (:28)
:28—“Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
In retrospect, any Jew who has denied the Law dies without mercy. The judgment is based on the testimony of at least 2 witnesses. The witnesses convict & the sentence is thereby set. Mercy has no place after judgment is rendered judicially.
Regarding the judicial death of one “without mercy,” it is an emotionless determined decision due to the attitude & resource of the reigning authority. It is accomplished because it is the ‘right thing to do” by said authority. Speaks to the decision of society as a whole.
Rom. 13:2-5—“Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, & those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, & you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.”
Likewise the Church is also to operate under such biblical practices of fairness...
1Tim. 5:19-20—“Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.”
The testimony of 2+ witnesses is a standard biblical practice(Deut. 17:6-7) which prevents judicial abuses—arising thru self-centered malicious, spiteful, & vengeful intentions. If the witnesses do not corroborate their witness, then legally there is no recourse but acquittal & dismissal.
Deut. 17:6-7—““Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, & afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.”
Evidence is undeniable & coldly(decisively) convicts...Because the objective standard has been established.
Argumentation:
*Num. 15:30-31—“‘But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the LORD, & he shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the LORD, & has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.’””
Deut. 13:6-11—““If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go & serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, & afterward the hand of all the people. And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. So all Israel shall hear & fear, & not again do such wickedness as this among you.”
Rom. 9:14-16—“What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, & I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.”
Js. 2:12-13—“So speak & so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Rom. 2:4-11—“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, & longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness & your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath & revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, & immortality; but to those who are self-seeking & do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation & wrath, tribulation & anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first & also of the Greek; but glory, honor, & peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first & also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”
Ps. 85:8-11—“I will hear what God the LORD will speak, For He will speak peace To His people & to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land. Mercy & truth have met together; Righteousness & peace have kissed. Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven.”
*Mat. 5:7—“Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.”
*Mat. 6:12-15—“And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom & the power & the glory forever. Amen. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Mat. 7:1-2—““Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; & with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
*Eph 2:1-7—“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses & sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh & of the mind, & were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), & raised us up together, & made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
1Jn. 4:8—“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
Without love there can be no mercy. God’s love is perfect & untainted by sin.
We will get as we give!
Illustration:
Legal Counter-suit/Suppose a thief breaks into your house & not only steals your money & valuables but also ransacks the place/You catch him in action he draws a gun & you shoot him in the hand/He sues you for damages because he can never use his hand again/But...He has FORFEITED MERCY
Application:
?What is the Forecast for Your MERCY?
?What is the merit of Willful Sin for you?
4—An unavoidable forecast for religious unbelief(willful sin) is...
EXPOSURE(:29)
Explanation: (:29)Revelation/The Ugly Truth
:29—“Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, & insulted the Spirit of grace?”
Any transgressor of the Law of Moses was rightly & judicially punished with the coldness & mercilessness his transgression deserved. Therefore it should be obvious that the one who despises the grace offered to him by faith in Christ, should receive a much severer “punishment.” Such a grace has been extended & it was obviously refused per the actions of :26.
Three such examples of ungratefulness of heart & thus crying out for “worse punishment” are listed...
Church members & associates who exhibit behaviors as those in :23-25 are in reality...
1)Trampling underfoot the Son of God,
2)Harboring an irreverent disregard for the blood of the covenant,
3)Openly insulting the Spirit of Grace. This is blasphemy of the Spirit which is unforgivable for all ages as detailed in:
Mat. 12:30-32—““He who is not with Me is against Me, & he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. “Therefore I say to you, every sin & blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”
1Jn. 5:16-17—“If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, & He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, & there is sin not leading to death.”
These are willfully chosen & practiced actions. They are not occasional sins entered into mistakenly. All three of these actions are accomplished by & resident in the person who willfully sins in opposition to the received knowledge of God’s truth(:26).
Again, their heart has led them to actions which refuse & thus oppose God’s grace in Christ:
1)Not “holding fast” one’s “confession.” This is a statement of one’s actual lack of trust in what we have stated to be our “hope.”
2)Lack of consideration & inattention to the spiritual walk of brothers & sisters in Christ.
3)Distancing, Desertion & Separation from the ever more urgent “assembly” of the saints.
A person can be “sanctified” & yet regard the blood of the covenant as unclean. One must ask how a person can be considered “sanctified” yet having been denied grace thru faith? This is of great doctrinal importance. Considering the audience, sanctification refers to one’s being Jewish, or rather the privileged & blessed recipients of God’s truth. They would be the ones illuminated by the seed falling in the wayside & among the stony places(Mat. 13:3-9 & :18-23). These both represent a heart that is hardened to the point of intellectual commitment but lives with heart-felt doubt, emptiness & the resulting uncommitment. This extends even to what was freely received intellectually & potentially salvific, & leaving open the possibility of mere emotional attachment.
This truth is akin to the doctrinal tests of 6:4-6.
There is a magnitude of difference between mistreatment of the slaves of the Master versus mistreatment of the only-begotten Son of the Master Himself(Mat. 21:35-44). This magnifies the Divinity & vital importance of Jesus.
Mat. 21:35-44—““And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, & stoned another. “Again he sent other servants, more than the first, & they did likewise to them. “Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ “But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him & seize his inheritance.’ “So they took him & cast him out of the vineyard & killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, & lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’S doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you & given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. “And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.””
“Worse/Sorer/Severer”—ceirwn—Adj.—1)Worse. Strong—More evil or aggravated (physically, mentally or morally). Used 11X.
“Punishment”— timwria—1) A rendering help; 2) Assistance; 3) Vengeance, punishment, penalty. Strong—Vindication, i.e. (by implication) A penalty. Used 1X.
“Suppose”—dokew—1) To be of opinion, think, suppose; 2) To seem, to be accounted, reputed; 3) It seems to me—3a) I think, judge: thus in question, 3b) It seems good to, pleased me, I determined. Refers to the subjective judgment, which may or may not conform to the fact. Strong—To think; by implication, To seem (truthfully or uncertainly).
“Thought worthy”—axiow—V.—1) To think meet, fit, right; 2) To judge worthy, deem, deserving. Strong—To deem entitled or fit. Used 7X.
“Trampled...under foot/Trodden under foot”—katapatew—V.—1) To tread down, trample under foot, to trample on; 2) metaph. To treat with rudeness & insult—2a) To spurn, treat with insulting neglect. Strong—To trample down; figuratively, To reject with disdain Used 5X.
“Counted”—hgeomai—V.—1) To lead; 2) To consider, deem, account, think. Strong—To lead, i.e. Command (with official authority); figuratively, To deem, i.e. Consider.
“Sanctified”—agiazw—V.-Aorist Passive Indicative 3rd Sing.—1) To render or acknowledge, or to be venerable or hallow; 2) To separate from profane things & dedicate to God—2a) Consecrate things to God, 2b) Dedicate people to God; 3) To purify—3a) To cleanse externally, 3b) To purify by expiation: free from the guilt of sin, 3c) To purify internally by renewing of the soul. Strong—To make holy, i.e. (ceremonially) Purify or consecrate; (mentally) To venerate.
“Common”—koinov—Adj.—1) Common; 2) Common i.e. Ordinary, belonging to generality—2a) by the Jews, Unhallowed, profane, Levitically unclean. Strong—Common, i.e. (literally) Shared by all or several, or (cer.) Profane. Used 12X.
“Insulted”—enubrizw—V.—1) To insult. Used 1X.
From—ubrizw—to exercise violence, i.e. abuse.
Argumentation:
Isa. 64:6—“But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.”
Isa. 59:2—“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”
Jn. 3:16-21—““For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, & men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. “But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.””
Rev. 3:17-22—To the Laodicean church—““Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, & have need of nothing’--& do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, & naked-- “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; & white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; & anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke & chasten. Therefore be zealous & repent. Behold, I stand at the door & knock. If anyone hears My voice & opens the door, I will come in to him & dine with him, & he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame & sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’””
Illustration:
Building contractor/Poor work & people are bilked out of hard-earned money/Investigation uncovers customers are wantonly overcharged for inferior products installed with no expertise—simply to pad the contractor’s pocket/Morning paper reveals the sham to everyone/EXPOSURE
Application:
?What is the Forecast for Your EXPOSURE?
?What is the merit of Willful Sin for you?
CONCLUSION:
(The FORECAST For WILLFUL SIN)
Action:
An unavoidable forecast/merit for religious unbelief(willful sin) is...
3. FORFEITED MERCY(:28)
4. EXPOSURE(:29)
1. FORFEITED REDEMPTION(:26)
2. ULTIMATE FEAR(:27)
Presented 01/29/2012am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
