Hi Public Hermit, actually, both the context and the verb tense tell us that the sin of rejecting the Lord is a continual one in this case (just like it is today for many in our churches).
Hebrews 10
26 If we 'go on' sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.
If someone continues to reject Jesus as their Lord and Savior, after receiving a full knowledge and understanding of who He really is, then their sin becomes (in a very real sense) unpardonable
(because they can become hardened against the truth, and in doing so, be lost, forever, since His sacrifice/His blood that they continue to reject is their only hope for salvation). This reminds me of a similar passage from Hebrews (and the OT),
Hebrews 3
15 Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me in the rebellion.
I believe that the "we" in v26 is a far more generalized "we" than the "we" that is found in v39. One is inclusive (of all) .. v26, while the other is exclusive (of believers/believers to be), alone .. v39. I believe that the context (even of v39 alone) bears this out for us as it literally means, "
~we~ are not of shrinking back .. but of faith"), though I admit
(as you did earlier) to not being absolutely certain about what is meant, so I keep an open mind and continue in "learning mode" throughout several portions of this Book!
The "language" that we find
(by which I mean, the way that things are put) in the Book of Hebrews is often problematic such that it makes coming to a proper/correct exegesis difficult, which is why I'm glad that we have the rest of the Holy Writ to lean on
I will need to respectfully disagree with you here as well, because I think that what is being taught is for this age, not for the 1st Century Church alone.
After all, Gentile churches have been/will continue to be loaded with both
wheat ~and~
tares (
sons of the kingdom and
sons of the devil, respectively ..
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). The
tares are perpetual unbelievers who join and become part of the visible church
(because they are interested in receiving the blessings that it AND God have to offer them), but they never believe, never come to true, saving faith. They are those who recognize and want the ~blessings~ that God has to offer them, both directly and through the church, but they don't want Him
Therefore, the Jewish ~almost~ Christians in the 1st Century Church are just like Gentile ~almost~ Christians have been in the church ever since. IOW, it's not really about them picking one sacrifice over the other, rather, it's about them rejecting Jesus Christ by refusing to believe in Him as their Lord and Savior ..
John 3:18.
I will happily agree to disagree with you about part or all of this however (for the reasons I mentioned above).
God bless you!
--David
p.s. - here is a (somewhat frightening) Biblical example of tares in the church, those who claim and who may even believe themselves to be Christians (and who may even appear to be super-Christians to others in their churches), but they ~never~ were .. true/saved believers, that is.
Matthew 7
22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I ~never~ knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
.