Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11 Chapter 11 is an exhortation. The writer of Hebrews exhorts these Jewish Christians to have faith and uses the example of faithful Old Testament people as an example to them. The section actually continues all the way through 12:13. Christians often say they walk by faith rather than by sight. We believe in Jesus, whom we cannot see with our eyes. We believe in Heaven, which we will never see on this earth. In contrast, the Jew had things he could see. He had a temple. He had a synagogue. He had animal sacrifices. They were tempted to give up what they could not see (Jesus) for what they could see (Jewish ritual). The writer of Hebrews sought to convince them that the Old Testament heroes of God lived by faith and their faith is what pleased God.Believing in God, Father and Son, whom they could not see, and believing in Heaven, was something the Old Testament heroes had done. Therefore, they should follow in the steps of these great men and women and live by faith. The chapter starts with a prologue or introduction in the first three verses. Then it gives examples of faith. Then in 13-16 there is an interlude where he talks of believers as pilgrims looking forward to something better in the future. Then there are more examples. Finally, verses 32-40 are the conclusion. Each example is begun by the words “by faith”. The writer does this to focus his readers on the importance of faith even in difficult circumstances, and to give overwhelming evidence that it has always been necessary to live by faith and not ritual. Prologue 11:1-3 The writer defines faith as a certain belief. He says it two ways: first, it is the assurance of things hoped for and second, it is the conviction of things not seen. Faith is not wishing the outcome will be good. It is a believing for certain that God has a future for us that is great. For example, I heard a teenager at an church event once say something to the order of “you may as well believe. If you are right, it will be great. If you are not, you haven’t lost anything”. That is not Biblical faith. In his case it was hedging his bets. He thought if he said the right words, God would save him, if there is a God who saves. That, of course, is not the kind of faith God looks for. He wants the kind of faith that is absolutely certain that he exists and saves those who come to him through faith in Christ. It has always been that way. Verse 2 says the people of old were commended for their faith. The were saved by faith, as we are, not by their ritual. The failures of Israel that resulted in punishment were failures of belief. They did not believe God would give them victory, so they shrunk back, they did not believe God would protect them and made treaties with other nations that displeased God, the did not believe God was the only god and worshipped idols. But those who believed were saved. Their victories and deliverances occurred when they had faith. To illustrate the requirement of faith, the writer points to the creation. We believe that God created the universe by his word, making something out of nothing. Creation was ex nihilo, Latin for “from nothing”. We were not there. We did not see it. But we believe it because God said it was so in his word. Probably, none of these Jews doubted that God created the universe. They took that fact for granted. They were not there to see the act of creating but they saw the resulting creation and Scripture told them it came from God. So, the writer starts there, to show them they had faith in things not seen. Examples of Faith 11:4-12 Abel, Adam’s son, had faith. (4) He was the second generation of humankind. But he was the first generation that did not see God personally. His parents, Adam and Eve, saw God face to face in the Garden of Eden. Their belief in God did not require faith. They had sight. But He, Able, without seeing, believed God would honor the correct sacrifice, so he offered it. Because he believed, he offered the better sacrifice. By offering a blood sacrifice, he acknowledged his sin and believed God provided a way, through sacrifice, to obtain forgiveness. Cain, in contrast, sought to be accepted by his work. But faith, rather than works, leads to salvation. Because he offered the better sacrifice, Able obtained righteousness. His brother killed him in jealousy, but he still speaks. He speaks because his story is recorded in Scripture (Genesis 4), commending him for having faith to please God. He is a living testimony to the fact that faith is credited to us as righteousness. Enoch had faith to such an extent that God took him to himself without death.(Genesis 5:21-23) The Bible says Enoch “walked with God”. He had an intimate relationship with God. God commended his great faith by taking him without death. Verse 6 is an interjection to drive home the point. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. This would jolt those who believed they could return to Judaism and please God with ritual. God told them this even in the Old Testament, of course. In Hosea 6:6, God said “for I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Empty ritual is not pleasing to God and never has been. If you want to draw near to God, you must believe he exists and rewards those who seek him. That prayer you hear in movies “God, if you exist, do this for me” is not the prayer that pleases God. James drove this home in another way. He told us to pray for wisdom. But he added this warning. He said “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8) Noah also had great faith. When God warned him the flood was coming, he believed God even though there was no evidence. There was no rain or flood when he began the ark. (Genesis 6) That is great faith. Abraham was similar. God told him to leave his homeland and to to a place God would give him. (12) Abraham did not know where that would be. God directed him to Canaan. Even then, Abraham never possessed the land. He lived in tents among the Canaanites. He was an alien in the land God gave him. God’s promise was not fully realized for centuries. How could Abraham do all that? He believed God for more than an earthly place to dwell. He looked beyond that to the heavenly city, where he would dwell in the presence of God forever. This city is designed and built by God. Jesus also promised a heavenly dwelling to the disciples. In John 14:1-3, he said: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” So, we also need the faith of Abraham to look beyond our present circumstances to the dwelling place Jesus prepares for us. Sarah (Abraham’s wife) did not believe. In fact, she laughed at Gods promise of a son. But Abraham believed and, through his faith, she received the ability to have a son. Sarah got to enjoy having a son. But Abraham not only had the joy of a son, but the joy of seeing his faith rewarded, and the favor of God.

ENCOURAGED TO ENDURE

Encouragement 10:32-39 Here the writer makes a switch from strong warning to encouragement and reassurance. First, he tells them to remember how they used to be when they first heard the gospel, understood it and believed it. He said “when your were enlightened”. The NIV says “when you received the light. Remember back in 6:4, he said “it is impossible for those who have once been enlightened...if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance.” They would have that phrase in mind as this letter was read to them. In chapter 6, he warned them not to leave after they were enlightened. Here he encourages them to recover the spirit they had when they were first enlightened. What spirit did they have? They suffered but they endured. (32) LIfe was not always easy for Christians in the Roman Empire. Periodic persecutions occurred even before it got really bad. Jewish converts also faced persecution from other Jews. Acts 5 tells us of the high priest and the Sadducees arresting the apostles and putting them in prison. (Acts 5:17) Acts 7 tells us the Sanhedrin arrested Stephen and had him stoned to death. Paul (Saul) was there and approved. (Acts 8:1) Then Paul went n a rampage. Acts 8:3 says he was ravaging the church, going house to house, arresting men and women, and putting them in prison for converting. Acts 9:1 says she made threats of murder against the apostles. Paul was on his way to arrest Christians in Damascus when he was converted. (Acts 9) Then the Jews sought to kill Paul. Acts 12 tells us King Herod had James and other believers killed. He had Peter arrested. The Roman government periodically persecuted Christians even in the early years. Here the writer mentions being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction (33) Paul told the Corinthians the apostles had become a spectacle to the world. (1 Corinthians 4:9) He said they were hungry, thirsty, poorly dressed, buffeted and homeless, reviled, persecuted, slandered, and treated like the scum of the world. (1 Cor. 4:10-13) Jews considered converted Jews to be apostate. Romans considered them to be pagans. Sometimes their property was confiscated. (34) But despite this persecution, these Hebrew Christians endured, stood with those who were persecuted, had compassion on those in prison for their faith (34), and joyfully accepted the plundering of their property. The reason they accepted the plundering of their property is that they has a better and permanent, or abiding, possession. They knew they had eternal life and a place in God’s kingdom. In chapter 11, the writer will say the same thing about Abraham: “he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God”. (11:10) This reflects Jesus’ teaching. He said not to build up treasures on earth. Those treasures can be destroyed. Rather, build up treasures in heaven which are permanent. (Matthew 6:19-20) So, in verse 35, he says they now need that same endurance. They had confidence or boldness. When they have done God’s will, they will receive their promised reward of eternal life. I would personally add that trials reveal who we are. Persecution reveals the true believers. For example, my college in the 70s was anti-Christian. Professors ridiculed believers, often having them stand up and declare themselves. Many students pestered and made fun of Christians. One guy in my dorm would get into step with me as I walked to our noon time Bible study off campus and make fun of me all the way. We were not allowed to hold any meetings or events in campus facilities for several years. That caused many to leave the faith or hide their beliefs. They did not want to stand up for Christ. Some could not stand up to the intellectual challenge and left he faith. Some just could not face up to peer pressure. But others rose up and fought the good fight. The stood up to professors, they witnessed, they attended Bible studies, they took the abuse of fellow students with grace and ministered to hurting kids. The trial made some and broke some. Remember that Jesus said “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33) He told the church in Sardis “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” (Revelation 3:5) James wrote about this. He wrote “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4). And this was a guy who knew about trials and persecution. As the brother of Christ, he had seem him executed by the Romans at the urging of the Jews. He then saw the Jewish persecution of the early church, from the stoning of Stephen to the driving of many Jewish Christians out of Jerusalem. He himself was eventually executed by the Jews. So the writer of Hebrews says you used to be like this, enduring and rejoicing, so get back to that. And to further encourage them, he again reached back into the Old Testament. This time, in verses 37-38, he cited Isaiah 26:20 and Habakkuk 2:3-4 (in the Septuagint) by combining them, which encouraged the Israelites to keep the faith until the Lord comes and not shrink back. They are not to be those who shrink back and are destroyed, but those who keep the faith and are saved. Habakkuk was written in the context of the coming invasion of Babylon. The Israelites were to keep their faith in God in the face of invasion, defeat and exile. Since these Jewish Christians faced persecution from another invader, this reference was meaningful to them. There is a tendency for Christians to withdraw and conceal themselves in times of persecution. Many Christians today only circulate in Christian circles. They live in the same neighborhoods, socialize only with fellow church members, buy from Christian vendors and avoid non-believers. But remember what the early church did when Peter and John were arrested in the first persecution? Read Acts 4:23-31. They claimed God’s sovereignty, submitted themselves to his will and prayed for boldness to preach even more. Sometimes it is good for us to look back at how we were when we were first saved. We had enthusiasm. We had joy. If you have lost that, it is time to get it back. I remember one summer in college, back in my home church, a girl came to Sunday School who had just been saved. She was over the top in her excitement and enthusiasm. That actually bothered some of the people there. They wanted her to tone it down. I, on the other hand, felt convicted. I wanted that enthusiasm. In verse 39 of Hebrews 10, the writer gives a good testimony to them. He said we are of those who shrink back and are destroyed. Instead, we are those who have faith and eternal life. I think you are the same here in my class. I pray that you will persevere. Next week, we will begin to study the “faith chapter”, Hebrews 11. It will define faith, then give us many great examples of those who had faith in the Old Testament. Godspeed.

The Consequence of Rejecting Christ

The Consequence of Rejecting Christ Hebrews 10:26-31 These verses may, at first, seem to be a jarring and abrupt change of topic. He was just speaking of the need to meet together and encourage each other rather than neglecting the fellowship. But remember that the writer of Hebrews was encouraging mostly Jewish believers to stay in the church following Jesus and not abandon the faith to return to Judaism. He equates absence from the fellowship with rejecting Christ for something else. In his case, that something else was Judaism. In our times, it may mean rejecting Christ for your parents‘ religion, your culture, your friends, or your immorality. Remember, John said “They went out from us, but they were 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 all are not of us.” (1 John 2:19) So, John was saying that those who leave the fellowship do so because they are not “of us”, they do not belong to the body of Christ. They are not saved. There are those people who will hear the gospel, indicate they believe it, and hang around for a while. Then they leave. They may stay on the church roll, but they quit attending. And that shows us they were not truly converted and part of the body. The writer of Hebrews is saying the same thing, and then he expresses what will happen to those. So when, in verse 26, the writer of Hebrews writes about those who sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, he is speaking of those who heard the gospel, but rejected it. They heard the truth. They may have acted like they believed the truth for a while. But they rejected it. They “kept on sinning deliberately”. The sin is apostasy. For those people, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. The only effective sacrifice for sins is the death of Christ. They only way you get the benefit of his sacrifice is to believe in him and receive him as the savior. There is no other way. So, if the Jew returns to Judaism, the Jewish sacrifices do not save him. No matter what religion you embrace when you reject Christ, whether a religion with a name or belief in your own good works, it will not save you. Instead, verse 27 tells us there is only a fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire. You can dabble in whatever religion or philosophy you want, but the end of that is judgment and hell. In verses 28-29, the writer makes an illustration to prove his point by arguing from the lesser to the greater. In verse 28, he points out that one who broke the law of Moses could incur the death penalty. This might be a reference to Numbers 15, which distinguishes between intentional sin and unintentional sin. An unintentional sin could be atoned for b the sacrifice of an animal. But one who intentionally reviled the Lord incurred the penalty of death. In this argument, the intentional sin under the old covenant is the lesser. The greater is set out in verse 29. He said how much worse punishment would one get spurned the Son of God, who profaned the blood of the covenant, (the blood of Christ shed for us), and outraged the Holy Spirit? That person certainly not only dies, but is punished by eternity in Hell. I believe this is the same idea Jesus expressed when he said one who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. The context of that statement in Matthew 12 is that of the Pharisees rejecting Christ and attributing his miracles to the power of Satan. Rejecting Christ leads to eternal damnation. This is a greater punishment than physical death. In 30-31, the writer points out that God will indeed judge humanity, he will punish those who reject him and it is his right to do so. It is most fearful to fall into his hands without the blood of Christ bringing deliverance from judgment. This passage is a presentation of the Gospel. He has already written of the need for a sacrifice for sin. Sin separates men and women from God. It brings death. The only way to end that separation and find eternal life is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as our high priest and mediator. Those who follow Christ enter into the presence of God for eternity. Those who do not enter into judgment and punishment. Commit your life to Christ and live. Do not walk away and suffer eternal punishment.

WHAT TO DO WITH ANXIETY

Despite the fact that Jesus says not to worry, we find ourselves worrying. What do you do when you find yourself worrying? Give your anxiety to God. Peter wrote “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) Admit your anxiety to God. You might call this confession. Repent of your lack of trust. Or, if your anxiety is caused by your unwillingness to accept his provision for you, repent of that. The previous verse, 1 Peter 5:6, says “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand that he me may lift you up in due time.” Admit that God knows best and accept his will. Paul wrote a similar thought. He wrote “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) So first, rather than worrying, ask God (“prayer and petition”) to provide what you need. Second, give thanks for what you have. This is similar to Peter telling us to humble ourselves. Accept what God has provided and thank him for it. What is the result? God will answer your prayer with peace and he will guard your heart and mind from further worry. As a side note, may I suggest that you do not throw up a prayer while driving or doing something else, but that you sit someplace, alone and quiet, and really talk to God. So, we give our anxiety to God, we repent of our lack of trust, we ask for what we need and we thank God for what he has given us. Lastly, replace your anxious thoughts with good thoughts. Paul completed his thought with this: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about these things.” (Philippians 4:7) My wife took this verse to heart when she suffered from anxiety attacks. When an attack began, she thought of all of the good things in her life, the good memories she had, the things she loved and cherished. The anxiety attacks went away. I later put this into practice myself. During one of the most difficult years of my life, when I faced losing every possession, I came home at night to a wife that loved me and two small daughters that yelled “daddy!” and ran to me when I walked in the door. Then, on top of all that, God gave us a new baby. And I would tell myself, if I can hang on to this, and nothing else, I will still be a rich man. God does not want you to have anxiety. He wants you to obey him, trust him and thank him. He promises, in return, provision for your needs and peace of heart and mind. It sounds like a good deal to me. Take him up on it.

Anxiety v. Faith

Anxiety v. Faith

Anxiety is the opposite of faith. In Matthew 6:25, Jesus said "do not be anxious for your life".  This is an instruction, which should inspire us to obey. But,  Jesus explained why we should not be anxious or worry. 

First, he says God has the ability, the power, to provide for our physical needs. He proves that by feeding and clothing the birds and flowers. 

Second, God wants to provide for us. Jesus said we are more valuable to God than birds or flowers. (26) he is our "heavenly Father". He wants to care for us as a good father wants to care for his sons and daughters. My earthly father went without things so that I could have new school clothes when I Anxiety is the opposite of faith. In Matthew 6:25, Jesus said "do not be anxious for your life".  This is an instruction, which should inspire us to obey. But,  Jesus explained why we should not be anxious or worry. 

First, he says God has the ability, the power, to provide for our physical needs. He proves that by feeding and clothing the birds and flowers. 

Second, God wants to provide for us. Jesus said we are more valuable to God than birds or flowers. (26) he is our "heavenly Father". He wants to care for us as a good father wants to care for his sons and daughters. My earthly father went without things so that I could have new school clothes when I was young. He started saving for my college expenses with his first paycheck after college. Our Heavenly Father loves us this same way. He started saving for my college expenses with his first paycheck after college. Our Heavenly Father loves us this same way. 

Third, God knows what we need. (32) since he knows all things, including the future, he knows our needs better than we do. We often want things for the wrong, selfish reasons. God loves us enough not to give us the wrong things. But he knows the things we truly need and will provide them. You have the word of Jesus on this. 

What do you have? God provided it. Every good gift comes from your Heavenly Father. (James 1:16) 

Our job is not to worry, but to live for God. Jesus said don't worry, seek God's kingdom and righteousness and he will provide your physical needs. (6:33)

When you worry, you declare that you do not believe Jesus. You accuse Jesus of lying about the character of the Father. 

When you worry, you declare that you either do not believe God has the power to provide, or you do not believe God has the desire to provide. Neither is true. Worry profanes the character of God.  

Trust God. Don't just believe in God; believe God. 

Stop worrying and start trusting today.

HOLD FAST TO YOUR CONFESSION - HEBREWS 10

In all things, we should hold fast the confession of our hope. Our hope is our belief in our future deliverance into God’s presence for eternity through the death and resurrection of Christ.. And “hope” in Hebrews does not mean a wish, but a certainty of belief and expectation.  In fact, Hebrews 11:1 defines it for us. It says “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” We do not see God, nor do we see our deliverance, but we believe and it is the certainty of it is what gives us the strength to survive the problems of life.

1 Peter 1:3-4 says that God caused us to be born again to a living hope. He defined that hope for us as “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.

The writer of Hebrews said we should not only hold fast to the confession of our hope, but should do it without wavering. What is wavering? It is going back and forth between faith and doubt. Here is an example. Sometimes when I go to the park, I walk on one of those balance beams. The object is to walk about 10 feet on the narrow edge of a piece of wood. I prefer the ones close to the ground because I do not have good balance. So I get on there and start walking across. I lean to the left, then correct it. I lean to the right and correct it. If I keep at it, I make it to the end without falling off. In contrast, a gymnast gets up on the beam and walks straight down it without losing balance. That, I think, is the idea the New International Version tried to capture with the word “unswerving”.

Many in the church walk the balance beam of faith the way I walk the one in the park. They have moments of faith, then lots of moments of doubt. They may get to the end in faith, but it is not pretty. Aspire to the the gymnast. Do not waver. Hold fast to your confession.  

We do not waver in proclaiming and believing that Jesus is the Son of God who lived a sinless life, died on the cross to pay for our sins, was buried and raised on the third day. He ascended to heaven and sits at God’s right hand. He will come and take us to be with him. No matter what happens to us, that is our confession.

I know you are assailed on all sides by non-believers and doubters. They question the authenticity of the Bible, the deity of Christ, the exclusiveness of Christ’s salvation and the sovereignty of God. Do not waver. Hold fast. (23) We do not do this because we are strong. We do it because God is faithful. It is not about the strength we have, but the faithfulness he has. He will do what he promised. Believe him and trust him.

Not only do we draw near to God in faith, and hold fast to our confession, we encourage each other. (24) He says consider how to stir up each other for love and good works. That is what I am doing when I push you to love and serve. We all need a little push sometimes. So, do not gossip and criticize. Instead, encourage. When the conversation turns bad, do not join in. Instead, say “let’s find a way to love this person. Let’s extend grace to them. Let’s do something good for somebody.” This love and good works set us apart from the rest of the world. It defines us as the body of Christ. Jesus said “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

We, in our Bible study class, have rejoiced together in happy moments, cried together in disappointments and losses. We have sat together in funerals and weddings. We have consoled each other, counseled each other, encouraged each other, instructed, rebuked, hugged, patted, and most of all, prayed with and for each other. That is what the writer is writing about. May we do it more and more. We can say we love each other, but good works are the tangible expressions of such love.

In verse 25, he tells us not to neglect meeting together. It is important for us to meet together for fellowship and worship.

I love the quote from Benjamin Franklin when this country’s founding fathers met to declare independence from England. He said “if we do not hang together, we will surely hang separately”. All we have as Christians is Christ and each other. But that is a lot. You can only do so much on your own. But you can do much more with others. Your faith, your prayers, your work are all magnified when you meet together.

God gave us the church. He gave us the fellowship of believers. He intended for us to live together for him.

Note his statement that some have developed the habit of neglecting to meet together. (25) Sadly, that practice continues. You can look at our class roll and quickly see it. We cannot encourage you if you are not here, and you cannot encourage us. I can also assure you that your failure to meet with your brothers and sisters in Christ will lead to greater failures. Your prayer life, your Bible study, your holiness all will decline. You need the encouragement of the body of Christ to live for Christ.

We should do all this even more so as “the day” draws near. The “day” is the day Christ returns. We do not know when Jesus will return, but every day brings us closer to that day. It is also a fact that, if Christ does not return first, we will die. That will end our time of work and service. So, we need to encourage each other more and more to do these things as the time grows shorter.

I would like to accomplish some great things for God. I would like to teach through the Bible, Lord wiling. I want to lead others to Christ and to grow in Christ. I want to minister to people in need. I want to make a difference for Christ. And I know that every day brings my time closer to the end. So, it is important to push ahead. And we need the encouragement of others to do it.

The Consequence of Rejecting Christ
Hebrews 10:26-31

These verses may, at first, seem to be a jarring and abrupt change of topic. He was just speaking of the need to meet together and encourage each other rather than neglecting the fellowship. But remember that the writer of Hebrews was encouraging mostly Jewish believers to stay in the church following Jesus and not abandon the faith to return to Judaism. He equates absence from the fellowship with rejecting Christ for something else. In his case, that something else was Judaism. In our times, it may mean rejecting Christ for your parents‘ religion, your culture, your friends, or your immorality. Remember, John said “They went out from us, but they were 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 all are not of us.” (1 John 2:19) So, John was saying that those who leave the fellowship do so because they are not “of us”, they do not belong to the body of Christ. They are not saved.  There are those people who will hear the gospel, indicate they believe it, and hang around for a while. Then they leave. They may stay on the church roll, but they quit attending. And that shows us they were not truly converted and part of the body. The writer of Hebrews is saying the same thing, and then he expresses what will happen to those.

So when, in verse 26, he writes about those who sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, he is speaking of those who heard the gospel, but rejected it. They heard the truth. They may have acted like they believed the truth for a while. But they rejected it. They “kept on sinning deliberately”.

For those people, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. The only effective sacrifice for sins is the death of Christ. They only way you get the benefit of his sacrifice is to believe in him and receive him as the savior. There is no other way. So, if the Jew returns to Judaism, the Jewish sacrifices do not save him. No matter what religion you embrace when you reject Christ, whether a religion with a name or belief in your own good works, it will not save you.

Instead, verse 27 tells us there is only a fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire. You can dabble in whatever religion or philosophy you want, but the end of that is judgment and hell.

In verses 28-29, the writer makes an illustration to prove his point by arguing from the lesser to the greater. In verse 28, he points out that one who broke the law of Moses could incur the death penalty. This might be a reference to Numbers 15, which distinguishes between intentional sin and unintentional sin. An unintentional sin could be atoned for b the sacrifice of an animal. But one who intentionally reviled the Lord incurred the penalty of death.

In this argument, the intentional sin under the old covenant is the lesser. The greater is set out in verse 29. He said how much worse punishment would one get spurned the Son of God, who profaned the blood of the covenant, (the blood of Christ shed for us), and outraged the Holy Spirit? That person certainly not only dies, but is punished by eternity in Hell.  

I believe this is the same idea Jesus expressed when he said one who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. The context of that statement in Matthew 12 is that of the Pharisees rejecting Christ and attributing his miracles to the power of Satan. Rejecting Christ leads to eternal damnation. This is a greater punishment than physical death.

In 30-31, the writer points out that God will indeed judge humanity, he will punish those who reject him and it is his right to do so. It is most fearful to fall into his hands without the blood of Christ bringing deliverance from judgment.

This passage is a presentation of the Gospel. He has already written of the need for a sacrifice for sin. Sin separates men and women from God. It brings death. The only way to end that separation and find eternal life is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as our high priest and mediator. Those who follow Christ enter into the presence of God for eternity. Those who do not enter into judgment and punishment. Commit your life to Christ and live. Do not walk away and suffer eternal punishment.