Take your Bibles and turn to Hebrews chapter 10.
So I'm thankful that we're a part of a church that has chosen to preach through books of the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter.
One of the most difficult things about it is you run across certain passages that you think, if we were actually preaching a topical series on how to love your mom very well and how to have a good day, this would be one of the passages you would just want to skip.
You wouldn't want to actually read this passage and preach on it.
But since we've been working our way through the book of Hebrews, we land on chapter 10, verse 26 through 31, which it would be a really sad day if a pastor came up and started the sermon with a joke, with a passage like this.
So kind of with a heavy heart, we can read this in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 26 says,
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has outraged the spirit of grace?
For we know him who said, vengeance is mine, I will repay.
And again, the Lord will judge his people.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Just join me in prayer.
Father, we just, after even just reading this so many times and reading it out loud now to your people,
I feel very weak and unprepared, insufficient to preach on such a message.
But I know that all those who stand in this pulpit do so by their, by your grace, Lord, and not by their merit.
And so, Lord, I just ask that you would apply your word through your spirit to each individual's heart as you see fit.
And Lord, help us to walk away with a holy fear of you today, but also a deep, deep gratitude for the grace that we have been saved by in Christ.
So, Lord, be our teacher and be honored in this time.
In Jesus' name, amen.
So, with such a text, just so you know, I don't really manuscript a lot up here.
I don't really write out every single word I'm going to say because the more papers I have stacked up, the more stressful it feels to me.
So, I usually condense things and then I print front and back so I don't have a ton of pages up here.
I usually, it's like four pages.
This is six pages.
I'm not saying that to go, oh, gosh, we're going to be late for lunch, but like just mainly because I wanted to make sure I was working through this rightly.
And I hope it lands in the right place.
But remember, the book of Hebrews is written to an audience that has moved out of Judaism into believing in Jesus as the Messiah and embracing the new covenant, embracing the gospel.
Many of them have done that, but many of them are still on defense.
Many of them are still trying to decide whether this Messiah thing is real and whether or not Jesus is the bringer of a superior covenant, that he is the true high priest, etc.
And then many are maybe hearing this and wanting to remain in Judaism and saying, no, you need to come back.
You need to come back to the law of Moses.
You need to come back to the Levitical priesthood.
And so all kind of different people could be hearing this letter.
But today it's a picture of the very scary sin of apostasy, meaning someone that's taken on some outward form of Christianity.
They look like a believer.
They've talked like a believer.
They bought the T-shirts.
They listened to the music.
They went back to the church.
And then in the long run, they end up renouncing the faith and walking away.
And this is very heavy for me.
Many of you are aware that a pastor that I've respected for many years and have really benefited a lot from his sermons, his books,
Josh Harris was Joshua Harris.
One of the most well-known books that he wrote was I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which was like very enlightening to me coming out of a unbelieving lifestyle of just dating around and doing what I wanted to do.
So I wept and I was in mourning for like the first two weeks after that actually came out.
And I really hope and pray that men are pursuing him to bring him back into the faith.
But it just reminded me that many people start well, it seems like they start well, and they don't finish well.
And the chances are that some people in this room today have started and won't finish with a crowd this big.
What you think you believe and confess today, you may not in the future.
As a young believer, the year 2001 or two, I should say.
No, it was 2001.
It was my senior prom at Duluth High School in Garnett.
I had been a believer for maybe five or six months, probably.
And I was very zealous to reach all my crazy friends for Jesus.
Because I would talk about it with them, and a lot of them just didn't want to hang out with me anymore.
Other ones were just like, yeah, that's cool, whatever.
You're still our friend.
Let's just keep talking about fishing and deer hunting and sports and things like that.
But let's not talk about Jesus.
But I was very zealous for evangelism in a good way.
But I also was kind of a bull in a china closet.
I didn't really know what I was doing.
I was just trying to model what I thought was effective evangelism tactics.
Which was really get them saved quick.
Get them to pray a prayer.
Get them to come to church.
Get them baptized.
And then like, we're good.
That's kind of like what I really thought.
So we have to be, one lesson out of this is be very careful how you evangelize.
And be very careful you don't just produce false converts.
And today, I would have sat down with this same young man I'm about to mention.
After I had shared the gospel with him amply and really made sure he understood it,
I probably would have spent two weeks trying to talk him out of following Jesus.
Meaning, following Jesus is difficult.
You have to take up your cross.
People could hate you.
You could lose your friends.
Take him to Matthew 10 or Luke 14.
Get him to weigh the cost of following Christ.
And if the spirit was at work in him, I wouldn't be able to talk him out of it.
Or else, he would just walk away and be like, you know what?
I prefer my sin and my friends more.
But the first guy that I really was intentional with, to share the gospel with, was a guy named John.
He was still a senior in high school.
He was a junior.
I was a senior.
And he was kind of a football player at Duluth.
He was kind of a big sob story, kind of a big soft guy.
And we went to prom that night.
He went with one of my good friends.
And that same night, she dumped him, like on prom night.
So, bad scenario already.
And so, he is just a mess outside, like 3 a.m., tailgating on the back of my truck.
And I go and sit down with him.
And I really desire to show this guy that Jesus cares about him.
I really do.
But I began talking to him about God, about the Lord.
And he was like, yeah, yeah, uh-huh.
Like, I'm all on board.
And just a process began where I started talking to him more and more over the next few weeks and months.
And he prayed the sinner's prayer with me.
He came to my church.
And he came forward and, you know, got introduced to the church.
And then he started coming around our youth ministry because technically we were still in high school.
And, you know, all of a sudden I see him start talking to all the girls there.
And he was very flirty, hanging out.
And I kind of saw what was going on.
And I just said, hey, buddy, I just don't think it's a good idea for you to, like, be trying to reengage in another relationship.
And he was like, oh, I'm not doing that.
And then maybe two months later, he was in a serious relationship with one of them.
And later on, she broke up with him saying, I don't even know if he's actually a real Christian or not.
I just kind of dove into this really quickly with him.
And when she broke up with him, he came to me and said, this has all been like a load of bull.
And Jesus is not real.
You told me if I followed Christ, I would be satisfied and I'm not satisfied.
And pretty much walked away from the Lord.
And ever since then, even today, still not following Jesus.
I think all of us, I could tell you a lot more stories, but that was just impactful because that was the first guy I thought I had led to the Lord.
And I learned so much from that.
You know, and if you look around, many people will not finish well.
It's just a fact.
And I want us to be very careful because we definitely believe that as followers of Jesus, we're supposed to use discernment.
We're supposed to like help some kind of in a helpful way, be able to see where somebody is.
Discern where this person may be spiritually so we can help them.
But be careful that you don't cast the final judgment on someone, meaning I don't think that person is a believer or she's not a believer or he's not a believer.
Be very careful of that language.
And if you're going to even make that statement, please be a part of the process of bringing that person to Jesus.
Just don't say it in a condescending way.
We need to understand that we're supposed to discern, but only God alone knows at the end of the day.
But this is a very heavy subject, and it has to do with the just judgment of God.
And we often think that people are only motivated by the love of God.
People are only motivated by the grace of God.
And those are great motivations.
But in this passage, this writer is also saying that the judgment of God is a great motivation to flee toward Jesus.
A great motivation.
And it warns of the impending judgment upon those people who come around the church, hang out with believers, hear the gospel message, get kind of immersed in truthful knowledge,
appear on the surface to be a believer, but then in the day they reject the faith and walk away.
But he also uses this to exhort the real believers he's writing to, which he affirms based on their perseverance that comes in the next few verses.
The next part of this is about their perseverance under trial.
So really just walking through this by asking two different questions.
But number one, for whom is there no longer any sacrifice for sins?
For whom is there no longer any sacrifice for sins?
And I'm taking this in different parts of the verses, but verse 26, we see,
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth,
and go to verse 27, he mentions adversaries.
And then verse 29,
Who has trampled underfoot the Son of God,
and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified,
and has outraged the Spirit of grace.
So first, in verse 26, we see that
the person that had no longer a sacrifice for sins
is someone who goes on sinning deliberately,
or willfully continuing in sin.
Which begs the question,
you may say,
well, I'm pretty darn sure I'm a true believer.
Like, I really believe that Jesus has saved me,
and I'm born again.
Is this saying that I can't sin as a believer?
Because any sin you commit as a believer is a deliberate sin.
You know, we sin out of our desires.
And so, what is this referring to you?
The quick answer is,
no, I truly believe is not referring to those who truly love Christ.
I don't think he has those people in mind.
He's not talking about those who are being saved,
and being transformed in the image of Christ,
for a couple reasons.
But one, the grammar talks about the present conscious action,
going on sinning,
a deliberate or willful show.
So, it's not just one particular isolated sin,
or moment of sin,
that this person has in mind.
He's talking about
an extensive, habitual lifestyle,
where someone lives in this type of attitude
all the time.
Woefully and gladly sinning against
the sacrifice of Jesus.
Because they have this ongoing love,
growing love,
for sinning against the Lord's grace.
Until they become like Esau,
and they cannot repent.
That's in chapter 12, verse 16.
So, it's not really referring to just
one particular isolated moment of sin,
but the extent of it,
and the willingness of it.
I only have three places for you to look
outside of Hebrews today,
but two of them are in 1 John.
But hold your hand in Hebrews, please,
and look at 1 John.
Turn to your right.
1 John, chapter 1.
So, even though true believers,
even myself,
have gone through seasons
where we were kind of in rebellion against God,
even as a child of God.
But, if you read Hebrews 12,
we see that God disciplines those whom He loves.
He doesn't allow them to go on long
in that season of rebellion.
He brings them to their senses.
But in 1 John,
most of you know that it's a book
partly written to help people discern
whether or not they are a true believer
or a false convert.
And so He's saying, you know,
people that are true believers
live and act and talk like this.
And then those over here
look and act and talk like this
and they're not.
So, He's asking us to examine ourselves
to build up our confidence.
But in 1 John, chapter 1, verse 5,
this is what He says.
This is the message we have heard from Him
and proclaim to you
that God is light
and in Him there is no darkness at all.
If we say we have fellowship with Him
while we walk in darkness,
we lie and do not practice the truth.
But if we walk in the light
as He is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another
and the blood of Jesus
cleanses us from all sin.
If we say we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves
and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say we have not sinned,
we make Him a liar
and His Word is not in us.
So, it's asking you
to kind of step back and look.
It's saying God is light
and in Him there is no darkness at all.
So, if you are living in darkness,
walking in darkness,
practicing sin and darkness,
you cannot say that you have fellowship with God.
It's just an impossibility
because God is light.
And he's not referring to this
that Christians never sinned
because look, look real closely.
In the same passage,
John reminds us
that when we do sin as believers,
God has provided a way of forgiveness, right?
The blood of Jesus' Son
cleanses us from all sin.
So, we base our confession of sin
on the truth that God is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins.
So, he's not talking about
when a believer,
through sanctification,
goes back to sin temporarily.
Rather, those that go on
sinning deliberately
after receiving the knowledge of the truth
is saying that they are not
and probably never were
genuine believers to begin with.
They never fully, wholly embraced
the gospel of Jesus.
And their life didn't result
in a way that produced faith
and obedience
and love toward Christ.
In other words,
the faith they claimed in Christ
didn't hold water.
It didn't last.
It didn't persevere.
It wasn't real.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians
that he believed that there was
divisions among them
and factions among them,
false teaching coming among them.
And this is what he said,
For there must be factions among you
in order that those who are genuine
among you may be recognized.
So, those who are the true believers
will continue to kind of hold their ground.
the result of false converts,
again, they renounce the faith
and leave the community of believers
and return to their idols
and their former way of life.
And since you're in verse John,
just go to chapter 2
and look at verse 19.
This is a picture of that.
They went out from us,
but they were not of us.
For if they had been of us,
they would have continued with us.
But they went out,
that it might become plain
that they were not of us.
But you have been anointed by the Holy One
and you have all knowledge.
I write to you,
not because you do not know the truth,
but because you know it
and because no lie is of the truth.
So, he's saying they left us
because they were never really a part of us
to begin with.
And they left so it would be plain to everyone else
that they were never a part of us.
So, just beware that
it's not referring to just a believer
who sins.
Because when a believer sins,
we confess it.
We don't deny it, we confess it.
We walk in the light,
confessing our sin to God.
We are broken and heartbroken over our sin.
We don't rejoice in it at all.
I thought about using this illustration.
I'm just going to go ahead and use it.
It kind of is silly.
You laugh at first,
but then it really makes sense later.
Because to be born again
is a spiritual miracle.
It's a miracle.
It's not something that's like
in the natural process.
So, let's say that
before you were a true believer,
you were like a fish.
And you lived in the water.
That was your natural habitat.
You had scales,
and you had gills,
and you breathed in the water.
And then a miracle happened,
and you're turned into a human being
from a fish.
And now,
your natural habitat is land,
and you have nostrils
that you breathe air with.
And so,
even though that transformation
has happened,
as a human being,
you can still get in the water.
You can go get in the water
and swim,
but you cannot live in the water.
Like,
you have to come out of it
or you will die.
So,
it's kind of a picture of
a true believer.
We can temporarily
rebel against God
and go against His design for us,
but we cannot remain there.
The Spirit drives you crazy.
He will not allow you
to enjoy your position longer,
and the Father will discipline you,
lovingly discipline you,
back to repentance.
So,
that's the first thing we see
in our question is,
for whom is there no longer
any sacrifice for sins?
First off,
they go on sinning deliberately.
They live in it.
They walk in it.
They practice it.
They love it.
The second thing we see
in verse 27,
God refers to them
as adversaries,
and His fire will consume them.
So,
God is just not buddy-buddy
with people like this.
He's not some weak
old man in the sky
beckoning them
to just come back,
and He can't do anything about it.
He looks at sinners
as an adversary.
We are His enemies
until we become His friends
through Christ.
It's just the teaching
of God's Word.
He's talking about people
in the long haul
that will reject God
and remain His opponents,
living against Him
and called apostate.
So,
they've rejected
God's offering of peace
through the gospel
and have turned around
and walked away
and spat on those terms
so God calls them
an enemy.
And the fact that
they're still walking around
and breathing
and haven't perished
is God's mercy
toward them.
Thirdly,
underneath that same question,
for whom is there
no longer a sacrifice
for sins.
Verse 29,
the ones who trample
underfoot the Son of God.
Doesn't that language
just like make you
nauseous to think about?
Those who have trampled
the Son of God
underfoot,
the one who laid down
His life for them
to be received
as a substitute
for them,
instead of receiving
Jesus with joy
and gratitude
for salvation,
they took a quick pause.
They got some religion.
They got some teaching.
They kind of cleaned up
their outward life
a little bit.
They made some buddies
in the church.
They hung out
with the saints
and thought,
these are nice people.
I don't have a friend group.
These are nice people.
I'll hang out with them.
And then,
eventually,
they stepped back
into their idolatry.
The term trampled
underfoot
is an ancient
Near Eastern gesture
that shows
pure hatred
and contempt
for someone.
And they would literally
walk on someone
or walk on something
that belonged to
that person
to show
their utter scorn.
And this is what
sinners do.
Instead of falling
on their face
before the Son of God,
in humility
and gratitude,
instead
of weeping
at that precious gift,
they turn around
and just spit on it
and choose
to trample
the blood
of Jesus,
the Son of God.
It's dangerous.
It's very dangerous.
And a helpful
thing I've heard
is these people
were never really
a part of,
like,
the vine.
They were a parasite
on the vine.
If you want to think
of it that way.
They were there
receiving all the blessings
that come through
the community of faith,
through the gospel,
all the outward
blessings of that.
But at the end of the day,
they weren't really
a part of it.
Fourthly,
under this,
there's just two more.
For whom is there
no longer a sacrifice
for sins?
Those who have,
in verse 29,
profaned
the blood
of the covenant.
Meaning that
they've regarded
the blood of Jesus
as something common
and ordinary.
Nothing special
about it.
Nothing precious
about it.
They profaned it
instead of loving it.
They looked at that
of the cup
of the new covenant,
the blood of Jesus,
and just said,
that's nice.
No thank you.
And they go on sinning.
So,
if you look,
it says,
by which he was sanctified.
This is a tougher
interpretation.
But after looking at it,
I won't say that
I'm 100% right.
Some say it refers
to Jesus,
how Jesus,
his blood
was sanctified.
But I kind of think
it actually refers
to a different
meaning of the word.
It really just means
a set apart.
That's not really helpful.
But,
so isn't this sanctified
a term for those
who are truly saved?
Isn't it a term
that we use
for believers
who are being transformed
into the image
of Christ?
Yes,
that's typically
how we use
that language.
It is the testimony
of Scripture
and the writer
of Hebrews
that all those
who are truly born again,
truly saved,
are sanctified.
If you just rewind,
look at,
if you're not back in Hebrews,
go back to Hebrews.
Sorry,
but if you go back
to Hebrews chapter 10
where we're at
and look at verse 14
and it says,
for by a single offering
he has perfected
for all time
those being sanctified.
So that
is a picture
of eternally saved,
eternal security,
us who are saved
that we're currently
being sanctified.
But because of the work
of Jesus,
we're already perfect
in the eyes of God.
So we're the already
but not yet.
We're pressing into
what we already are.
We're cleansing out
the old leaven
and becoming a new lump,
Paul's language.
So that's the same word.
But I don't,
I think that one of them
in verse 14
proves for eternal perfection
and verse 14
proves toward
the guilt of apostasy.
What is mentioned
in verse 29 then
is what we might call
fruitless
sanctification.
Someone has,
again,
some religious affiliations,
some outward
purification.
Again,
they quit partying.
They kind of clean up
their outward life
a little bit.
They become,
quote,
better people.
They buy Christian
t-shirts
and Christian music
and they appear
to be all in.
But eventually,
again,
something happens
that pushes them away.
If you've ever been
a part of leading
someone to Christ,
just pray
for that first
year
for them
hardcore
because
it usually
is that first trial
or that first temptation
that breaks them.
And if they press
through that,
like still trusting Christ,
still praising Christ,
that's a good sign.
And we have to,
again,
just be careful
about how we
share the gospel
with people.
But I really believe
this term sanctified here
means that
they looked set apart
in an outward form
with God's people.
Example,
in Old Testament Israel,
the people,
the nation of Israel
was sanctified.
They were set apart
for God's purposes.
But we know
within that nation
there were still
many of them
that didn't belong
to the true God.
Not all sons of Abraham
are true sons, right?
So there's this one
outward form
of sanctification.
They were set apart
as a people
to look different,
act different,
and be different
than the rest
of the nations.
But even inside
that nation
there were still
those who didn't believe.
And I really think
that that's how
he's referring to it.
I'm hoping to debate
on that.
But I really think
that's what he's trying
to say.
That it had this
outward form
of being set apart.
But fifthly,
verse 29,
and lastly,
it says,
they outraged
the Spirit
of grace,
meaning the Holy Spirit,
the gracious Spirit
that came to them
when they were
around the church,
around other believers,
and they heard
the gospel message
telling them
to repent
and believe in Jesus
and be saved.
They heard that
and instead of
receiving that message,
they ultimately
rejected it.
Instead of falling
on their knees
and gratitude,
they took a lot
of saliva
and spat
on the gospel terms
brought to them
by the Holy Spirit.
And he's not
going away like this.
He's going away
outraged.
How dare they?
Infuriated
that they rejected
such a gracious
message
that he brought them.
The mercy of God
can influence
unbelievers
to a certain degree.
That's why I use
the term
totally depraved
and not utterly
depraved.
There's still
the common grace
of God
that's at work
even among
unbelievers.
So the Spirit
can have that
kind of influence
on them,
but eventually
they begin to turn
that grace
into license
and using it
to justify
their love
of sinning
and eventually
they throw it away
altogether.
They insulted
the Spirit
and he is furious.
So
the Spirit
will either do
one or two things.
If by chance
God decides
to be gracious
towards you,
the Spirit
will kick down
the door.
Thankfully.
For many of us
he did that.
We were once
stiff-necked
and stubborn
and God said
enough
and he invaded
our hearts
and saved us.
grace.
It's a picture
of the ultimate
grace.
The other thing
you can do
is just leave you
to yourself
and just go away
to which you
will be hardened
and further hardened
to where you
don't care anymore.
And the only message
that could have saved you
you've just
totally abandoned.
And that's judgment.
That's just judgment
if God decides
to do that.
And earlier
in the letter
you're still
in Hebrews
but look at
chapter 6
we already
went over this
but this is
another warning
about
using similar
language
chapter 6
verse 4
and the writer
of Hebrews
says
and I want you
to think about
two things
think about
the story
of Judas
and think about
Peter
and the difference
between the two.
both were around
Jesus
both heard Jesus
both claimed
to be followers
of Jesus
one of them
persevered
and the other
one didn't.
Alright
so Hebrews 6
verse 4
for it is impossible
in the case
of those
who have once
been enlightened
who have tasted
the heavenly gift
and have shared
in the Holy Spirit
and have tasted
the goodness
of the Word of God
and the powers
of the age to come
and then have
fallen away
to restore
them again
to repentance
since they are
crucifying once again
the Son of God
they're trampling
the Son of God
to their own harm
and holding him
up to contempt
for the land
has drunk
the rain
that often falls
on it
and it produces
a crop useful
to those
whose sake
it was cultivated
receives a blessing
from God
but if it bears
thorns
and thistles
it is worthless
and near to being
cursed
and his end
is to be burned
alright
so look at that
that language
it asks the question
like so where are you
with this
have you come around
the church
and received
some truthful knowledge
you learned some
cool theology
that made you look
smarter than other people
you gotten a scoop
of Jesus
and hoping that
he would just like
make your life
a little better
have you tasted
the goodness of God
and his gifts
and instead of
swallowing them
you ultimately
spat them out
you had your fill
of it
and what kind
of ground
are you
the word of God
the knowledge
of God
has fallen on you
and are you
producing a crop
or are you
producing thorns
because one
receives a curse
and one receives
a blessing
and again
look at the next
verse
he says
right
though
we speak
in this way
yet in your
case beloved
we feel sure
of better things
things that belong
to salvation
so he's saying
right there
what I just
mentioned
those people
didn't belong
to the things
that actually
had salvation
it wasn't real
why is there
no longer
a sacrifice
for those sins
why
why is it
impossible
to bring them
back to repentance
because guys
like they have
they have
heard it all
they have hardened
their hearts
towards it
they've rejected
it
they've rejected
the only message
that can save them
there's nothing else
there's nowhere else
to go
if they've turned
away from Christ
and blasphemed
the Holy Spirit
there's no other
shelter for them
to flee to
we've
it's kind of like
they're flirting
with the gospel
they're flirting
with Jesus
instead of actually
coming toward him
so when you're
sharing with people
and those of you
who are here
they're just kind of
like been sort of
floating around
for a while
hearing some good
knowledge
hearing about the gospel
just beware
like don't harden
your heart
like come
and come to
Jesus
and come now
it's not anything
to be played
with or trifled
with
so I believe
that again
most of you here
I could say
the same thing
that I feel sure
are better things
for most of you
the things that
actually pertain
to real salvation
this is number two
second question
the rest of our
passage
number two
what awaits
those
who trample
the son of God
what awaits
those who trample
the son of God
the beginning
of verse 27
the second part
says but a fearful
expectation
of judgment
and a fury
of fire
that will consume
the adversaries
for we know
we know him
who said
vengeance is mine
I will repay
and again
the Lord
will judge
his people
it is a fearful
thing to fall
into the hands
of the living God
in verse 28
it says
anyone who has
set aside
the law
of Moses
dies without mercy
in the evidence
of two or three
witnesses
how much worse
punishment
do you think
will be deserved
by the one
who does this
so in the
Mosaic law
the death penalty
was given
on the testimony
of two or three
witnesses
for idolatry
for those who
had false gods
for those who
blasphemed God
it was the death penalty
they were stoned
to death
Deuteronomy 17
talks about that
and he's saying
if that was
terrible
that sounds terrible
for them to reject
this
you know
good at the time
but now
inferior covenant
how much worse
punishment
will you face
for actually
trampling the
Son of God
underfoot
it'll be
infinitely worse
much greater
judgment
we will be judged
in proportion
to the amount
of like
and the amount
of knowledge
that we've received
of the truth
it's a testimony
of scripture
so
beware
God has bore witness
of such a sinner
treating his son
with such contempt
he sees it
he sees it in public
he sees it in private
it says
something much worse
is to await
such people
and it says
first
a fearful
a fearful judgment
a terrible judgment
from a just
righteous
holy judge
a legal picture
that those
who have rebelled
against God
and broken
his law
are going
to face
this judgment
unless
they come
to Christ
and earlier
in Hebrews
it says
it is a point
for man
to die once
and then
to face
judgment
Hebrews 9
27
so
as much
as the love
of God
has propelled
him
the grace
of God
to send
Christ
as we talked
about earlier
because of his
great mercy
right
sent Christ
to die
on our
behalf
at the same
time
God has been
devoted to
destroying his
enemies
he's putting out
terms of peace
for people to come
to him
through Christ
but eventually
that time
will end
and he is going
to punish
and annihilate
all sin
and wickedness
from the earth
we know
the wages
of sin
is death
we have earned
death
because of our
sin
myself
in you
there's a
payday
coming
for sin
and no one
will escape
it
all those
who thought
they had
the last
laugh
on God
he says
vengeance
is mine
and I will
repay
and his wrath
is coming
unstoppable
think about
John the
Baptist
in Matthew
3
where he says
flee from
the wrath
to come
like flee
from it
and flee
to the
Savior
there's
so many
other
passages
I could
have
turned
to you
but I
chose
just one
and then
that's
the only
passage
I have
left
for you
but
Zephaniah
chapter 1
verse 14
is talking
about the
judgment day
called the
day of the
Lord
I just want
you to hear
some of this
language
Zephaniah
chapter 1
verse 14
says
the great
day of the
Lord
is near
near
and hastening
fast
the
sound
of the
day
of the
Lord
is bitter
the
mighty
man
cries
aloud
there
a day
of
wrath
is that
day
a day
of
distress
and
anguish
a day
of ruin
and devastation
a day
of darkness
and gloom
a day
of clouds
and thick
darkness
a day
of trumpet
blasts
and battle
cry
against the
fortified
cities
against the
lofty
embattlements
and now
this is God
talking
he says
I will bring
distress
on mankind
so they
shall walk
like the
blind
because they
have sinned
against the
Lord
their blood
will be poured
out like dust
and their
flesh
like dung
neither
their silver
nor their
gold
will be able
to deliver
them on the
day of the
wrath of the
Lord
and the
fire of his
jealousy
all the
earth
shall be
consumed
for a
full and
sudden end
he will make
to all the
inhabitants
of the
earth
we can read
a lot more
of that
but that's
enough
you know
if that
doesn't
break you
and give you
a holy
fear
of God
jealous
in the
fire
of his
jealousy
because he
deserves
your life
he deserves
your love
and affection
and he is
zealous
for it
it is a
fearful thing
to fall
into the
hands
of the
living
God
those
who
trample
the
son
of
God
reckon
his
blood
to be
defiled
and have
rejected
and insulted
the spirit
of grace
it's a
fearful
thing
and you
see
in that
same
area
back in
Hebrews
that God
is a
zealous
judge
so
earthly
judges
can kind
of pass
out
sentences
almost
mechanically
the law
says this
you need
to do
that
God
is a
language
here
paints
an
emotional
picture
of God's
wrath
he's a
fury
of fire
literally
a zeal
of fire
or a
fiery
passion
so God
isn't just
slightly
irritated
or a little
upset
he is
zealous
about
destroying
all those
who have
rejected
him
as the
king
he is
called
the
righteous
judge
his
judgment
will be
just
and it
says
this
righteous
judge's
fire
consumes
the
adversaries
swallowing
them up
in the
flames
of legal
and just
passionate
judgment
so
consume
doesn't
mean
that he's
just
going to
annihilate
sinners
meaning
that
we're
just
going
to be
like
ceased
to
exist
erased
from
existence
it
means
that
he's
going
to
consume
them
into
an
excruciating
agony
forever
justice
will be
done
and
God's
holy
anger
will be
satisfied
and
even
us
as
believers
we face
a
judgment
too
it's
a
different
judgment
but
we face
judgment
answering
for how
we've
lived
and
answering
for
how
we've
stewarded
what
God
has
given
us
will
be
spared
all
right
and I
just
want to
conclude
with
this
so
if
you
feel
like
you're
in
that
group
of
like
man
I
have
been
trampling
the
son
of
God
and
that's
kind
of
how
I
feel
like
I
don't
really
think
this
is
a
real
thing
or
you
may
have
someone
that
you
know
is
like
that
you're
more
of
a
false
convert
I
would
say
that
you're
in
the
greatest
of
danger
why
again
because
the
grace
of
God
is
I
to
us
we
don't
really
think
it's
good
news
anymore
it's
old
news
boring
news
too
much
light
so
listen
those
who
are
born
of
God
can't
just
walk
up
to
Jesus
hanging
on
the
cross
and
say
I'm
really
glad
that
you're
hanging
there
dying
for
me
and
I
know
it
was
your
dying
wish
that
I
would
just
go
and
sin
no
more
but
I
have
this
one
need
I
fulfilled
by
me
sinning
so
forgive
me
as I
plunge
this
sword
a little
deeper
into
your
side
and
I'm
really
glad
that
your
blood
forgives
me
those
who
are
truly
born
of
God
cannot
think
like
that
we
cannot
we
see
the
blood
of
Jesus
as
precious
if
that's
how
you
think
Romans
6
the
Bible
is
very
aware
of
you
what
shall
we
say
then
are
we
to
continue
in
sin
that
grace
may
abound
by
no
means
how
can
we
who
had
died
to
sin
still
live
in
it
your
sin
killed
Christ
and
it
actually
says
in
Romans
3
8
if
you
actually
think
that
that's
how
you
can
live
it
says
that
your
condemnation
is
just
Romans
3
verse
8
your
condemnation
is
just
so
if
you
feel
the
weight
of
that
and
that
really
disturbs
you
come
to
Christ
like
while
you
can
like
repent
now
and
turn
to
Jesus
while
there
is
still
hope
see
that
is
grace
if
you
feel
actually
aware
that
that's
you
and
there
are
some
on
the
fence
here
again
you
kind
of
sat
around
and
you
stood
over
the
gospel
you
kind
of
like
okay
I've
gotten
used
to
hearing
the
gospel
now
and
I
like
my
Christian
friends
but
I
still
don't
really
know
Jesus
he
waits
to
be
gracious
to
you
and
to
true
believers
here
I
know
this
may
sound
like
wow
there's
been
a lot
of
that
but
you
should
never
grow
bored
of
hearing
what
the
cross
spared
you
should
never
grow
bored
at
hearing
about
the
grace
of
God
it's
not
I'm
so
glad
that
that's
not
going
to
happen
to
me
well
technically
it's
still
you
still
deserve
it
but
and
remember
that
and
see
the
blood
of
Jesus
as
precious
that
you
were
ransomed
from
your
futile
ways
not
with
perishable
things
like
silver
and
gold
but
by
the
precious
blood
of
Jesus
like
that
of
a
lamb
without
blemish
or
spot
last
minute
I
decided
to
use
this
and
I
kind
of
close
with
this
Spurgeon
talking
to
believers
he
said
Christian
what
do
you
have
to
do
with
sin
has
it
not
cost
you
enough
already
what
man
have
you
forgotten
the
times
of
your
conviction
if
you
have
I
have
not
burnt
child
will
you
play
with
the
fire
again
when
you
have
already
been
ripped
to
pieces
by
the
lion
will
you
step
a
second
time
into
his
den
have
you
not
had
enough
of
the
old
serpent
did he
not
poison
all
your
veins
once
we
should
be
sick
of
this
stuff
it's
foolishness
for us
to go
back
to our
former
way
and even
try to
dabble
around
with
habitual
sin
so it's
a time
for us
to confess
that there's
something
that has
been
just
eating
at you
and
calling
you
to come
back
to your
former
way
of
life
like
get
it
out
in
the
open
confess
it
to a
brother
or sister
and then
go before
the
Lord
and ask
him
in
Christ
you've
been
given
the
spirit
of
God
the
law
of
God
is
written
on
your
heart
and by
the
grace
of
God
you
can
drive
that
sin
out
of
your
life
so
beware
let's
not
trample
the
son
of
God
under
foot
let's
worship
him
instead
so
let's
pray
together