I believe what the Savior said about God's sovereignty. That it gives a man the will to choose to believe. But where the two meet I don't know nor claim to understand. I only know what happened to this man.

Well, I recall the day when I cried out to Him. I said, please help me, Jesus, I'm drowning in my sin. It was a desperate situation I'd found myself in. But His loving grace saved this child that was lost. And He did it all at the cross.

When you accept His gift of love, you don't have to do it twice. Jesus was the Father's perfect sacrifice. Not like those priests that do it over again. Once and for all your sins are washed. He did it all at the cross.

In the loving arms of Jesus, that's the place where I will be. When life on earth is over, reach my final destiny. Safe from the lake of fire throughout eternity. For my sins He paid the cost. And He did it all at the cross.

When you accept His gift of love, you don't have to do it twice. Jesus was the Father's perfect sacrifice. Not like those priests that do it over again. Once and for all your sins are washed. He did it all at the cross.

I'm here to tell you Jesus did it all at the cross. Thank you Ray for that good song. I've been thinking as I've been going through the book of Hebrews, I need to have Ray do that song about the priests that do it over again. He did it anyway, thanks Ray. Appreciate that, it's a good appropriate song and a message about the truth of the sufficiency of the one-time death of Christ on the cross.

And that's why we're here, that's what we believe, that's what unites us. That's the message that God has given us to bring to the world. And that is the truth that really is at the center of everything.

Well, we're continuing our study in the book of Hebrews this morning and perhaps the harshest warning passage of the entire epistle. This is really a stunning text, a terrifying truth and one that should make us think about the dire consequences of rejecting Jesus Christ.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the people that I meet in the course of my life. God has given me what I see as a gift and a privilege of meeting a lot of diverse and interesting people through the various endeavors and situations that he puts me in. God arranges meetings and relationships and opportunities to witness for him, to tell people about Jesus.

And if we are looking for those opportunities, if we're praying for those situations and for people and chances to make the gospel clear, I believe we'll see them more and more. I've had many different circumstances vocationally, recreationally, in the last 20 years or so since I've been saved. I worked in the field as a trapper for many years, and that brought me into contact with many different types of people; from farmers and ranchers to the public in general and woodsmen, to trappers and biologists and DNR folks. Every day I was meeting interesting people.

And those days I also spent a lot of time fishing on Lake Superior, and this brought me into contact with a whole other group of individuals, including Pastor Krenz. 

Opportunities. Opportunities that God provides for us. Presently, my wife and I find ourselves immersed in this foodie movement through our farm, and again, a diverse group of interesting people. Through our farm, we come into contact with people that we have never met. We would have never met otherwise; people we would never have had access to, who all have a common passion for local, sustainable, healthy food, but may have nothing else in common with us.

I've met, as I've shared with some of you recently, some very interesting people lately at the farmer's markets. And as I've talked with them, shared with them, gotten to know them, I find some interesting stories; lives lived, hardships suffered, pain endured. And what has struck me most lately is that all of them have a common need. They're all searching for peace.

I've gotten to know one guy who sings and plays guitar at one of the markets, and as far as I can tell, he lives in his van or in a tent and sometimes at a friend's house. He's an old hippie. He told me this last week that he used to be a Baptist, then he became a Unitarian. Now he's just anti-authority, as best I can tell. He's a smart guy, a talented musician. I noticed over the last several weeks that he sings a lot of songs about heaven, about making it to the other side, about finding Jesus. And there's some songs mixed in there about not really caring about these things.

He's a rough guy, a blasphemous guy at times, like so many that we meet. But you know what the truth is that keeps wrenching my guts and breaking my heart? Is that Jesus Christ died for that man and for all others that I talk to and the ones that I come to know. And God offers him grace and salvation and confidence and assurance and peace through faith in Jesus.

But at least so far, he doesn't want that Jesus. He likes to tell stories and jokes and sing songs about the Jesus who loves everyone, the God who accepts all men, who will not judge, who doesn't require anything to let you into his heaven. A Jesus who is corrupt like men. 

There's a lot of talk about finding Jesus, but what Jesus? In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul writes, "I fear". He says, "I fear, lest somehow as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you may well put up with it."

There is another Jesus, my friends. Lots of other Jesuses, creations of the minds of men. A Jesus who will accept their sin, their unbelief. But there's only one Savior, one true Jesus, the biblical Jesus. 

And as we as believers in him, as ambassadors for Christ, go out into this world with the word of reconciliation, the gospel truth, the good news of salvation from sin and death and hell through faith alone in Christ alone, as we seek those opportunities, those arranged meetings and relationships, we must make clear who Jesus is. 

We must make clear the need of man, and we must present every man with a choice, an opportunity to come to the true Jesus in faith; to believe him and not to draw back, not to seek out their own Jesus.

This man I mentioned sings one song that always strikes me. The song speaks of leaving the city and hustle and bustle, going to the country and building a house and having lots of kids and living off the land. And the last line in the chorus is this: "And try to find Jesus on your own." 

My brothers and sisters, we can't. They can't find Jesus on their own. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing a message about Jesus. A man must hear the gospel, and then he must choose to believe. Paul said, we beg you, we beseech you: Be reconciled to God. And this is our heart for people, a love placed there by the Holy Spirit, a love for all men to come to the truth, to hear the good news message of salvation in Jesus alone, and to believe, to endure through faith as the author of Hebrews says in the last verse of our text this morning: to believe to the saving of the soul.

And this is a choice that each and every man faces, from the religious man, the pillar of the community, to the rebellious old hippie. It makes no difference. Jesus died for both men. And both men need to hear the gospel clearly and plainly. And both men have to make a choice: to believe or to reject Jesus Christ. Not their own Jesus, but the Jesus of the Bible, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. And that, my friends, is what our text is all about this morning.

Will you believe to the saving of the soul, or will you continue in the willful sin of unbelief? Let's look at our text together in Hebrews 10:26. 

"For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 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, and insulted the Spirit of grace?"

For we know him who said, "If vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. For you had compassion on me and my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith, but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. 

But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul." 

I have three points for you this morning: No other sacrifice, nothing but fear, and no reason to perish. 

What we see again in our text is the pattern of the book of Hebrews. The author is concerned really primarily with two groups of people in the fellowship. First, the believers who were under pressure of persecution from the legalistic Jews, from their family, from their loved ones, their co-workers, and the culture from which they came. He wants them to know and to be encouraged that they made the right choice in believing Jesus, in leaving Judaism, leaving the temple and the worship there. 

And so, we see an amazing amount of doctrine from a Jewish perspective concerning who Jesus is, what He has done, how He's better, how He's the completion, the fulfillment of all the old, and that this is found in His new covenant in His blood. I believe this is the author's primary intent in the epistle: to sure up the faith of the believers and encourage them concerning Christ and the new covenant. 

But he also has a heart, and I believe a great fear, for those who had become part of the fellowship but had not gone on to faith in Christ. They had identified with the believers, they had become companions of them, it says. They had left Judaism, but now under pressure, they were leaning, is what the words say. They were leaning back toward the old covenant and their familiar religion and culture, and some had even quit coming to church, as we see back in verse 25. It is these he addresses with the warning in our text and even down into verse 32 and following.

The author knew that there were those in the congregation who were not truly believers, and he fears for them. And he wants them to hold fast to the confession they had made. He wants their profession of faith in Christ to become their possession. They needed to endure the hardships and pressures and persecutions and understand that they must go on to perfection through faith in Christ.

And that is why we see that following the tremendous sections of doctrine and teaching and encouragement about Jesus, there are always warnings: to believe Him and not turn away, not go back, not to continue in the willful sin of unbelief.

Well, it's important to note the word "willful" in our first verse, or "willfully." The Greek has it, to go on or continue sinning willfully. This verse often causes confusion as to what the willful sin is, and sometimes people become concerned that they could commit some specific or horrible sin and disqualify themselves from salvation. But this whole idea is completely foreign to our context.

Listen to Weist's words on this verse: "This willful sin must be defined in its context. It will not do to ignore the historical background of this book and its analysis and then put an arbitrary meaning upon the words. That is not exegesis, namely, taking out of the text what is there, but that is eisegesis, putting into the text what is not there. The sin which the book warns against is that of a Jew of the first century who left the temple sacrifices, identified himself with the visible church, and made a profession of faith in Messiah as high priest, then renouncing that profession and returning to the temple sacrifices."

This is the same warning we saw back in 2:1, remember, not to drift away or drift past this harbor of grace. In 3:7 and 8, he warned talking about hardening your heart against the Holy Spirit. In chapter 4, not mixing the hearing of the gospel with faith. In chapter 6, as falling away and crucifying again the Lord Jesus Christ. And here in chapter 10, as a willful sin of unbelief. 

And it's analyzed in 10:29 as a three-fold sin against the three persons of the triune God. The author says, after we have come to the knowledge of the truth. Now this is important because it speaks to a man who has the true knowledge. The word is epinosis, and it means a full and complete knowledge. They had a full understanding; they knew the gospel.

That is what distinguishes these Hebrews from the normal, unbelieving man. They knew, they had full knowledge, they had been illuminated, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, set apart for blessing by the hearing and understanding of the truth about Jesus Christ. They had even professed faith, but they had not truly trusted Him. This is unique in one sense to these people in this time, and that's important for us to understand. 

But in principle, there's application for a man today who has heard, who has been taught, has perhaps sat in a church like this for years, knows the truth, associates himself with the truth and the believers, but has not believed Jesus. The warning is this, my friends: If you continue in willful unbelief, if you choose to reject Jesus and His one-time sacrifice for sins, there no longer remains a sacrifice.

There's no other way for a man to be saved. Jesus will not do. You can try to find Jesus on your own. You can create a Jesus that fits your needs and soothes your soul and allows you to persist in your sin. But that Jesus cannot save you. And that Jesus will lead you only to judgment and perdition.

Because if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. The willful sin here is to choose to go back to the religion, to choose to go back to your own self-righteousness and turn away from Jesus Christ, to reject Him.

Now, let me be quick to point out that we, as long as we have breath and life and opportunity, should plead with men to no longer persist in unbelief, but to believe Jesus. And if a man turns to Him in faith, like Pastor talked about this morning, if he turns to Him in faith, no matter how long he has persisted in unbelief and rebellion, if a man chooses to believe Jesus like that thief on the cross, he will be saved.

But here in our text, the author speaks specifically to these Hebrews who were at a point of apostasy, of having and knowing, even professing to believe the truth, and then willfully choosing to reject that truth, to reject Jesus and turn back to Judaism. And that's why this warning is so severe.

So we see that if a man chooses to reject Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible, the gospel of salvation, then there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. There's no other way to God. And this was so appropriate because they were sacrificing in the temple still at this time. And He's saying, that sacrifice is not going to save you.

Well next, we see that for that man, nothing remains but fear. Verse 26 again: "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 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, and insulted the Spirit of grace?"

For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

What powerful words these are for these Jewish readers. He's trying to warn them. He's trying to frighten them, convince them of the truth of wrath and judgment for the man who turns away from, rejects God's only way of salvation. And He makes a powerful argument here in verse 28.

He talks about Moses' law and how if there were two or three witnesses against you in breaking that law, then there would be judgment. And then He says in verse 29, how much worse is it to reject Jesus? How much worse is it to spurn God, the one who gave His Son? How much worse is it to count Jesus' blood as common and to reject the drawing of the Holy Spirit?

You see, these people were very familiar with the law of Moses. And the truth is that the one who rejects the law of Moses, and there are two or three witnesses against him, he dies without mercy. This is not true for every transgression under the law of Moses, but most likely refers to the same sin in question here, that of apostasy, turning fully and finally from God with full knowledge to serve other gods. 

It's most likely a reference to Deuteronomy 17. Turn back to Deuteronomy 17 with me and let's read that passage, beginning in verse 2. 

Deuteronomy 17:2: "If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God in transgressing His covenant, who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the hosts of heaven which I have not commanded, and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. 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, and afterward the hands of all the people, so you shall put away the evil from among you."

They understood justice under this system, especially concerning apostasy. Now look at what he says next in our text in verse 29 of how much worse punishment. Under Moses' law, if there were two or three witnesses against a man for apostasy, for leaving God and turning from Him and worshipping other gods, he was stoned and killed without mercy. 

Now there's a new and better covenant in Christ's blood, a fulfillment of the old, of the pictures, of the shadows, a completion of God's salvation plan and the sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world in His death, burial and resurrection. 

Now notice who the three witnesses are in verse 29 against the man who would reject Jesus. First, he says, trampling the Son of God underfoot. This is a sin against God who gave His only begotten Son as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of man. 

Then it says, counted the blood of the covenant by which He was set apart a common thing. This is a sin against Jesus who shed His blood on Calvary. He says the word counted refers to a conscious judgment, a deliberate weighing of the facts. It implies a deliberate, contemptuous rejection of the messianic sacrifice of the Son of God. The idea is that the person considers the blood of Jesus as no special thing, just common, as much as the blood of those thieves on the crosses beside Him who shed their blood as well. 

And then he says, insulting the Spirit of grace. This refers to the pre-salvation work of the Holy Spirit who had drawn these Hebrews, who had enlightened them concerning the truth of the gospel, who had brought them all the way to the point of faith. The literal idea here is taking them by the hand and guiding them along, bringing them to an epinosis, a complete knowledge. 

Now here we see a very important biblical truth. Jesus said no man can come to the Father unless the Spirit draws him. And how true this is. But equally true is that no man can come to the Father unless that man makes a willful choice to receive that drawing, to believe the message of truth in the gospel concerning Jesus and His one-time sacrifice for that man's sins. The Spirit must draw a man, must illuminate the gospel truth, but that man must also believe by choice, by his own volition. 

And that's abundantly clear here in our text, because the Spirit had done an amazing work in these people, had blessed them in so many ways, had brought them all the way to faith in Christ, and now they had to make a choice. 

So we see that the new covenant has three witnesses against the apostate, the man who has full knowledge and understanding of the gospel and chooses to turn away and serve other gods. And those witnesses are not mere men, not sinners, but they are the three persons of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Of how much worse punishment do you suppose will He be thought worthy? Not just stoning, not just physical death. Jesus said, do not fear the one who can kill the body, but fear Him who can kill the body and cast the soul into hell. And that's the message here: fear. If you reject Jesus, if you turn away and go back to religion, go back to your own self-righteousness, you better fear. There's nothing in this life for you but fear.

And this is what I see in men. Men who do not know Jesus, fear. Fear of death, fear of hell. No peace, my friends, no rest. Because they know in their hearts that vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord, and the Lord will judge righteously. It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Now these words speak of the holy and righteous judge, the God of the universe. And falling into His hands here is a fearful thing because this judgment is for the man who rejects Jesus, who continues in the willful sin of unbelief. 

But it makes me think of the glorious contrast of Deuteronomy 33:27, which says the eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. It's good to fall into those arms, to lean on the everlasting arms. And this is the choice presented here. A man having heard the truth of the gospel of the salvation provided only through the death and resurrection of Christ has a choice to reject and fall into the hands of judgment of the eternal God, the one who loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die for me, for my sins, in my place. 

But I can reject Him and suffer judgment, and I should fear, or I can receive Him, believe Him, and fall into the everlasting arms of my loving Father, safe and secure forever. This is a choice that every man has. 

And my friends, what we see in the appeal of the author in the rest of our text is that there is no reason to perish. Look at verse 32 with me, please: 

"But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle, both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. For you had compassion on me and my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven." 

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith, but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. 

Look at verse 39, such an encouraging verse: "But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul." 

Now, again, we need to understand that the writer is talking to an entire congregation here. Some were true believers, some were mere professors. He doesn't even know which ones are which. But what he does know is that the need was to hold fast to Christ, to remain under persecution, to continue to suffer, looking to the reward and the soon coming of Christ. 

Those who continued, they would be shown to be true believers in Jesus Christ. Those who shrank away, turned away from Christ, would be shown to have only been professors and not possessors of saving faith in Jesus. This is the consistent teaching of the New Testament; believers continue. Trials and tribulations and persecutions turn believers to Jesus in dependence on Him, in trust in Him, a desperate need for Him. 

But trials and persecutions often turn mere professors away from Christ, looking for relief from their troubles. This is the picture that Jesus describes of the stony soil in Matthew 13. He says, "He who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles." 

This is also what we saw in chapters 3 and 4 of this epistle. Believers, those who mix faith with the hearing of the gospel, continue. They do not turn away and apostatize. Perhaps the clearest, most succinct statement in the Bible on this is 1 John 2:19. It says, "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 they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us." 

The author here, after his harsh warning, brings encouragement to his readers, some of which were believers, some were in danger of turning back. And he says, "Think. Meditate. Roll it over in your mind. Think specifically about each and every event that happened, how you heard the word, how you professed faith, came into the fellowship with the body of Christ, how you ministered to those who suffered, became their companions, even the one in bonds."

Verse 34 should not say, "me in my chains," but a better reading is, "those who are in chains," or "those who are in bonds." He reminds them of all that they had been through by way of trial and pressure and even public mocking—that's what the word "spectacle" means—that they had been publicly mocked by the Jews for leaving the temple and coming into the church. 

And he says, "Think acutely about these events, these experiences, and think about how good it was to be part of this fellowship and to come to Christ this way." And then he says, "Now don't go back. Don't throw it all away. Don't cast away your confidence, which has great reward." 

And he calls them to endurance, to do the will of God. What's the will of God? We have some clear scriptures on that in the New Testament. John 6, Jesus said, "This is the work or the will of God that you believe on the one whom he sent." 1 John 3:23, John also writes, "This is his commandment, new covenant commandment, that you believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another." 

God's will for us is to believe, to trust fully, to wholly depend on Jesus Christ one day, one moment at a time. And if we continue in this, if we endure this way, we will receive the great reward that is coming. 

And that's what the author makes clear with this quote of Habakkuk 2:3-4 here. He says, "It's just a little while, yet a little while. And he who's coming will come, and he'll not tarry anymore. Now live by faith." 

The just live by faith. Just trust him, believe him, look to him through all the hardships of everyday life. But he who draws back, he who turns away, my soul has no pleasure in him, God says. This is the distinction between the believer and the unbeliever. 

The just live by faith. But the mere professor will draw back. His lack of faith will be made manifest, usually by trials. If a man knows the truth, if he understands the gospel the way that these Hebrews did, and he turns from Jesus, goes back to religion, that man has no relationship with God. He has no saving faith.

Now please notice the encouraging contrast at the end of our text, verse 39. He says, "But we, but we." The author here puts the pronoun in the emphatic position, identifying himself with those true believers in this group. And he says, "We, we are not of those who draw back to perdition. That's not who we are. We are of those who believe to the saving of the soul." 

That's the message. That's the exhortation, the purpose of the warning and the call. Don't draw back, don't turn from Jesus, but believe to the saving of your soul. That's the promise. There's no reason for any man to reject Jesus Christ. There's no reason for any man to refuse salvation, to draw back to perdition. There's no reason for man to perish, because Jesus died for every man.

And Jesus offers salvation to every man, if he will only believe to the saving of his soul. This is the grace of God. This is the offer of salvation in Christ. This is the good news message of the gospel that we bring to the world, to each and every man. 

And I'm convinced, my friends, that this is why we live. This is why we're left here, to interact with others, to meet people, to build relationships through work or hobbies or whatever. This is our purpose, our calling, our commission, to in the natural course of our lives, bring men to Jesus by the preaching of the gospel. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we're so thankful for Your Word, Your truth. Even a harsh warning passage like this has such hope, such opportunity. Thank You for Your grace, Your mercy, that we can just come to You, that every man is a sinner the same, in need of a Savior, and that each man can hear the truth about Jesus, this good news, and just come to Him in faith and believe and have salvation forever. 

Help us now to live in thankfulness for Your grace, to live for You and live holy lives by Your power and life in us, that we might be a witness to others. And help us to take this message to every man we meet. We thank You in Jesus' name.