Heb. 10:26–39 Warnings against Shrinking Back. The author warns of the impending judgment upon those who willfully reject the faith. Yet his purpose is to exhort the readers in their faith, a faith that he affirms based on their past perseverance.
Heb. 10:26–27 sinning deliberately. Willfully sinning and refusing to repent. after receiving. The author refers especially to people within the Christian community, who have thus heard the truth. The fact that they “go on sinning deliberately even after receiving knowledge of the truth” indicates that the people in view are not (and never were) genuine believers; that is, these are people who have never genuinely embraced the gospel in a way that has resulted in a life of faith, obedience, and the bearing of fruit. no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. This could refer to the inability of willful, unrepentant sinners to be restored (see 6:4–6), or more likely to the fact that there is no place for them to turn for forgiveness outside of Christ's sacrifice—which they have rejected. judgment. All people face judgment (see 9:27–28), and apart from Christ's sacrifice his adversaries receive eternal damnation. These verses, then, function as a means used by God to call genuine Christians to faith, obedience, and perseverance; and, if there is no evidence of fruit in one's life, to challenge such people to give fearful consideration as to whether they are in fact genuine believers.
Heb. 10:28–29 These verses argue from the lesser to the greater (cf. 2:1–4; 9:14). In the Mosaic law, the death penalty comes upon those who blaspheme God or who worship other deities (e.g., Lev. 24:13–16; Deut. 17:2–7), so in the superior new covenant the expectation of judgment would be even stronger. How much worse punishment … will be deserved by the one who … ? The description that follows is of a person who has deliberately, consciously, and persistently deserted “the living God” (cf. Heb. 3:12; 10:31; 12:22), renouncing Christ and the community of faith (6:4–8). It is a description of outright apostasy, involving a person who has done three specific things: (1) spurned the Son of God, (2) profaned the blood of the covenant, and (3) outraged the Spirit of grace. Such rejection of the knowledge of the truth (10:26) through willful disobedience is tantamount to trampling upon God's Son, reckoning his blood to be defiled, and insulting the Spirit who has offered such grace; the one who does this deserves eternal judgment (v. 27). Some have argued that the statement by which he was sanctified (Gk. hagiazo, “set apart,” “sanctify”
indicates that the person in view here was a true believer. Given the immediate context, it seems most likely that “he was sanctified” should be understood in the sense of someone who had been “set apart” or identified as an active participant in the Christian community of believers, but who has subsequently committed apostasy by renouncing his identification with other believers, by denying the “knowledge of the truth” that he had heard, and by repudiating the work and the person of Christ himself. Such a person's apostasy is thus evidence that his identification with the Christian community was only superficial and that he was not a genuine believer. Another view is that the author is confident that the grave warning in these verses will be the means by which those who are truly elect will be braced to persevere in faith and obedience, and so to be saved (see note on 6:4–8).
Heb. 10:30–31 The living God (cf. 3:12; 9:14; 12:22) is here portrayed through two citations from Deut. 32:35–36 as the heavenly judge, who will judge even his own people.
Heb. 10:32–34 recall the former days. Having severely warned his audience, the author reminds them of the previous evidence of their faith in persevering amid suffering (see 6:9–12). enlightened. See note on 6:4. The sufferings he lists include public reproach (cf. 11:26; 13:13), imprisonments, associating with those in prison (cf. 13:3), and the plundering of their possessions. Officially sanctioned persecution seems likely here, especially regarding imprisonments. The author lauds their endurance, their compassion, and their confidence in their future, eternal better possession.
Heb. 10:35–36 Given his readers' previous perseverance through persecution (vv. 32–34), the author encourages continuing confidence (3:6; 4:16; 10:19). They are to exercise endurance (see 12:1), by practicing God's will (13:21), with the goal of inheriting the promised salvation (4:1; 6:12; 8:6; 9:15).
Heb. 10:37–38 The quote from Hab. 2:3–4 encourages perseverance; it announces that the wait for the end will be short, that faith is required from the righteous, and that “shrinking back” invites God's displeasure; and this displeasure, as the next verse clarifies, means final judgment.
Heb. 10:39 The author reasserts his confidence in the readers, associating himself with them (we). To shrink back invites divine displeasure (see v. 38) unto destruction (cf. vv. 26–27), but faith results in salvation, i.e., preservation of the soul (“life”
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Hebrews - David W. Chapman
Ph.D., University of Cambridge
Associate Professor of New Testament and Biblical Archaeology, Covenant Theological Seminary
New Testament Editor
Thomas R. Schreiner
Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary
James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
General Editor
Wayne Grudem
Ph.D., University of Cambridge
Research Professor of Bible and Theology, Phoenix Seminary