Hebrews 10:26-27 (Deliberate Sinning is an Expectation of Judgment)

 

Hebrews 10:26-27

 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

To be a Christian is to put one's trust in the saving blood of Jesus Christ. The Messiah died as the substitute for all believer's, and He took on the wrath of God which we all, as sinners, rightly deserve (1 John 2:2). There's no act or work that anyone can do to save themselves from God's wrath. All someone can do to inherit the gift of salvation is believe that Jesus already paid the price for their sins. It is written, "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

So, if all someone has to do to inherit salvation is believe in Jesus and what He did, does that mean people can do whatever they want after they are saved? No. It is not right for children of light to continue walking in darkness.

If I say I put my trust in God, that means I believe Jesus is Lord over all. If, however, I don't honor God's lordship over me, I might not actually be saved. Jesus is Lord, and lords have commands for their subjects. To say I believe God is who He says He is, means I should respect His position of authority over me. If I follow my Lord's commands, I show my faith in Him. This is one reason why it is written, "faith without works is dead" (James 2:14-26). A dead faith does not save.

It is not possible for someone to lose their salvation (Romans 8:29-30), but it is possible for someone to feign their faith in Christ, pretend they are a Christian or even deceive themselves. The Bible speaks that this world is full of false believers who "will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves" (2 Peter 2:1b). There are also people who say they are Christians, and then walk away from their faith, but these people were never really Christians (1 John 2:19). There are even people who think they are saved to the point of going before God saying, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and in Your name drive out demons and in Your name perform many miracles?" and God will look at them and say, "‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!" (Matthew 7:22-23).

I state this as a warning. If you claim to be a believer in Christ, and yet you continue to practice and even enjoy what you know to be sin, you should be discouraged in your actions. It's true that those who are saved do continue to sin (1 John 1:8), but it is also true that those who make a practice of sinning are lawless and wicked (1 John 3:4). Paul wrote to those in Rome, "Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Romans 6:1-2). The world is under the curse of sin, and it wants us to keep sinning. This is why John writes to his followers, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever" (1 John 2:15-17).

The world longs for you to live in your sin,
but you can fight your sinful desires by trusting God's word.

Sinning is following the desires of our sinful natures, our flesh. The desires of the flesh are at war against what Christ desires (Galatians 5:17). For someone to knowingly give in to the desires of the flesh and still believe they are a Christian is self deception. Living this way is described as "trampling the Son of God" and insulting the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29). A terrible punishment awaits those who do this. Galatians chapter 5 verses 19 to 21 reads, "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Delighting in sin is wicked, and all the wicked go to the realm of the dead (Psalm 9:17). Don't test this, because to be proven wrong is to burn in hell forever (Matthew 25:46).

Be of sober mind. God did not breathe these words in vain. "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God" (Hebrews 10:26-27). If you have received salvation in Christ, then stay away from your sin and anything that may cause you to sin. 

What should we, as believers, do now that we are saved? Jesus said it best. We have been made well by being released from God's wrath, so we must stop practicing our sin or something worse may happen to us (John 5:14).

Sources

• The Bible (New International Version)
• OpenBibleInfo: Jesus Saves from Sin
• Ligonier: Can a Christian Lose Salvation?
• Bible Reasons: False Converts
• OpenBibleInfo: False Preachers
• OpenBibleInfo: Eternal Damnation in Hell

Is there a Bad Time to do Good Things? (Is it all in the Timing?)

Maybe you've been in a situation like this: You're talking with someone who you know is not a believer, and you think to yourself, "I'd like to start talking with this guy about Jesus, so I can witness to them, but I'm concerned I might bring up Jesus at the wrong time and come off the wrong way." If you've been in that situation like I have, you've probably wondered if the good that you do is only as good as its timing. Is the difference between doing something good and doing something bad really all in the timing?

From a Biblical perspective there is a clear indication that some good things believers do are based on their timing. For example, God commanded the Israelites to honor the Sabbath day by not doing any work on it (Exodus 20:8-11). Just as God rested on the seventh day of creation, so too did He command His creation to rest at the end of the week. If God's followers rested everyday of the week, that laziness would be sin for them, because one who is lazy " in his work is brother to one who destroys" (Proverbs 18:9). Since God's followers were commanded, however, to work for six days and then rest on the seventh, those who honor this command are dilligent souls that are fully satisfied (Proverbs 13:4b).

As the wisdom of Ecclesiastes says, "There is a time for everything" (3:1a). So, is witnessing for Christ something that is also dependent on its timing? It may seem that way, considering that the wisdom of Ecclesiastes says there is "a time to be silent and a time to speak" (3:7b).

No matter what a Christian's timing, though, Christians should
keep in mind their time on earth is running out. In Ephesians it is written
"make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil" (5:16).

When Jesus told His disciples to begin doing the good work of witnessing for His namesake, He told them to go to "all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20). With this great commission, Jesus did not give any time constraints on witnessing. From this command, it appears witnessing for Jesus is encouraged at all times all the way up until the very end of time.

The disciples who heard this command knew its meaning, and the book of Acts tells how they took advantage of nearly every moment to witness. In Acts chapter 8 there is a story where the disciple Philip is led by an angel to an Ethiopian reading the book of Isaiah. Philip, without introduction, asks the Ethopian if he understands what verses he is reading, and then he explains those verses to the Ethopian. It is written, "Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus" (Acts 8:35). In no time at all, Philip brings him and the Ethiopian's impromptu conversation directly to the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As they are travelling, the Ethiopian comes across some water and tells Philip, "Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?" (Acts 8:36). Philip then baptizes him right there and then. That's rather quick timing. It might be that the good Philip did was dependent on his timing, but one thing is certain that this good story would not have happened if Philip wasted his time and did not witness.

A depiction of Philip and the Ethiopian

Sometimes the good we do is dependent on our timing, but when it comes to witnessing, that does not seem to be the case. Many times what makes doing something good into something bad is not a matter of timing but motivation. When Judas sinned by saying that Mary should not have poured perfume on Jesus' feet but rather should have sold it and given the money to the poor, the sin behind his words was not in his timing but in his prideful motives (John 12:1-8). Even so, what can be done with evil motivations, God can still use for good (as seen in Genesis 50:20).

How then should believers witness? Since our hope is in Jesus Christ, we should be very bold; bold enough that we can come before the God of all creation without shame (2 Corinthians 3:12). Paul, a very bold witness for Christ, summed up his hope for witnessing this way, "that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should" (Colossians 4:3-4). Paul also told the believers listening to him, "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone" (Colosians 4:5-6). Concerning timing, Christians should make the most of every opportunity they have to witness. 

One final word on witnessing: Peter writes this to followers of Christ like us, "In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil" (1 Peter 3:15-17).

Sources

• The Bible (New International Version)
• What does the Bible say about the Sabbath?
• What does the Bible say about Witnessing?

Titus 3:9-11 (Avoid Foolish Controversies and Warn Divisive People)

 

Titus 3:9-11

But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.

Times in the U.S. right now are contentious, and this is likely due to our upcoming presidential elections. When it comes to these elections, people who want to talk about them should feel encouraged to do so keeping in mind what Paul wrote, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" (Ephesians 4:29). If two people want to talk about the upcoming election in the U.S. and can do so carefully in a way that builds up others and benefits all those who listen, then those two people should feel assured in doing so.

Conversations on modern politics more often than not, though, do not stay within the realm of just opinion. Rather, these conversations can stretch to matters of Christian beliefs and Biblical values. For example, two current election conversation topics that can arise could be the issue of abortion, and the matter of speaking foul language. The Bible is clear that the act of abortion and the act of speaking disrespectfully are sins. Psalm 119 verses 13 says God forms everyone in their mother's womb and Proverbs 6 verse 17 says God hates "hands that shed innocent blood". It is also written, "Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place" (Ephesians 5:4). If a believer says either that abortion is okay or that speaking foully is not that bad, what they are saying is Biblically controversial.

So, what does the Bible say believers should do when they encouter someone bringing up controversy about God's law? For an answer to that, believers can look at the book of Titus in chapter 3 verses 9 to 11.

Firstly, according to these verses, believers should avoid foolish controversy on what is and isn't sinful. Paul writes to his fellow believers, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone," and one way to do that is to not talk about controversial things (Romans 12:18). This verse in Titus also says Christians should not quarrel. As it is written, "It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling," which means that a wise believer does their best to avoid quarreling with others (Proverbs 20:3). In addition to this, this verse in Titus also says believers should not argue in anger with others. This is "because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires" (James 1:20).

Sometimes a believer is put in a position where they believe they must speak on such controversy and can do so in a way that is not quarrelsome or argumentative. That believer would do well to remember that Paul says Christians should "warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time" (Titus 9:10a). Scripture is clear that believers who know what is right should not be impartial, when talking about Biblical truths. It is written, "To show partiality in judging is not good: Whoever says to the guilty, 'You are innocent,' will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations. But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come on them" (Proverbs 24:23-25). This is why believers should warn other believers about the sin they may see other believers committing or endorsing. The second warning is in case the first warning does not bring a sinful believer to repentance.

Believers who do warn a divisive person should know, though, that after they warn that person twice they should "have nothing to do with them" (Titus 9:10b). It might seem unloving for a believer to talk with someone and then cease their conversation with them, based on how that person responded to their warnings. Believers, though, should take heart in leaving divisive people, knowing that God has done the same in the past. In the book of Ezekiel it is written that God warned the people of Israel to flee from worshipping other gods, but they would not listen to God's warnings. Because of this, God said to them, "Although they [the Israelites] shout in my ears, I will not listen to them" (Ezekiel 8:18b). Biblically speaking, sometimes the best thing to do is not have anything to do with foolish people.

Lastly, a believer who does all of these things should feel assured that what they have done was good, even if it may not seem like it. A believer's assurance on this comes from where Paul writes, "You may be sure that such people [who hear warnings and do not repent] are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned" (Titus 9:11). Not everyone who hears Biblical truth will accept it, and believers should remember this. In fact it is written that God allows some people to believe falsely about God's law "so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness" (2 Thessalonians 2:12). 

Knowing that people who don't believe Biblical truth will be condemned is sobering, and it encourages me all the more to speak up for what the Bible says. It is good and beautiful, when sinners call upon the name of the Lord and are saved. Of course, to quote Paul, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" (Romans 10:14). My fellow believers, it's not easy speaking about what's written in the Bible, as the world considers the Bible to be controversial. We should not be ashamed of speaking Biblical truth, "because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16). My fellow believers, don't be afraid to speak the truth, because it is the truth that sets people free (John 8:32b).

Let my words be life

Let my words be truth

I don't wanna say a word

Unless it points the world back to You

- Hawk Nelson

Sources

• The Bible (New International Version)
• Open Bible Info: Abortion
• Open Bible Info: Foull Language
• Hawk Nelson: Words

Was the Bible all Made Up? (Just a Fairy Tale?)

There are many arguments against the perfect and authoritative nature of the Bible, but there is one argument that I have noticed holds alot of weight with non-believers. I know people who see evidence that the earthly locations in the Bible are real places, they can see evidence that people mentioned in the Bible lived and walked the earth and they can see evidence that many events recorded in Scripture historically took place, and yet they still do not believe the Bible is a real historical account. The notion of talking snakes (Genesis chapter 3), talking donkeys (Numbers 22:21-39) and dragon like creatures (Job chapter 41) existing on earth is a stumbling block to most people's sense of rationality. So when non-believers encounter these things in Scripture, they dismiss them and argue that the Bible is nothing more than a well crafted and convincing fairy tale.

This prop photo was created by Scottie, a 57 year old gay man,
who posts other photos like this on his website.

For these non-believers, textual arguments from Scripture do not matter much to them. They believe they can simply dismiss any claims the Bible makes about itself, such as 2 Timothy 3:16 where it is written, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." They tend to believe arguments from Scripture for Scripture are founded on circular reasoning, which is defined as "a logical fallacy in which the reasoner begins with what they are trying to end with." These non-believers are looking for evidence of the Bible's fidelity outside of the Bible, and it is sound for them to do so. It is true that there are many works of fition centered around historic places and set during historic events, such as the story of Peter Pan. In that fairy tale a boy who can fly visits children in London during the beginning of the 20th century. None of Peter Pan is historically true, even though the story takes place during historic time periods at historic locations. Applying this argument to the Bible follows like this: Just because the stories of the Bible took place during real history does not mean the Bible is histroically true. This argument needs to be sound or else people should believe Spider-Man is a real person simply because there are stories that says he lives in the real city of New York during the 20th and 21st centuries. Truth is, the Bible is historically true and is not a made up story; a point I hope to illustrate with the rest of this post.

If the Bible were a made up fairy tale, that people believe simply because it has a ring of truth to it, is there perhaps a real life fairy tale that people believed which one could compare to the Bible? Can one examine a group of people's devotion to a fairy tale versus people's devotion to the stories in the Bible? Yes, one can, because there is such a real life fairy tale that many people believed.

In the year 1917 in the suburban town of Cottingley, Bradford in England two teenage cousins (Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths) took photographs of themselves with fairies they encounted in their backyard. These photos attracted the attention of Sherlock Holmes mystery writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He had the photographs inspected by physicists in hopes that they would be genuine photos of fairies. Many scientists and reporters examined the photos, and believed the photos had to be real because the facial expressions the two cousins made in the photos looked so earnest. With more photos from the cousins and more credible people examining them, these fairy photos maintained consistent popularity all the way to the year 1921 (four years from when the first photo was taken). Even afterwards in the 60s and 70s, there were still scientists and reporters examining the photos and the cousins' story that they had seen and interacted with real fairies. The end consensus on the photos was that they could possibly be real but simply could not be verified. This changed, though, in the the year 1983, when both cousins confessed that they made up the whole thing. Those two cousins with a few cutout drawings and some well crafted photography convinced a large amount of knowledgeable adults that fairies really existed. Many people believed their life altering claims, based on their photos and their personal accounts, but in the end all these claims were recanted by the cousins themselves.

Two of the photographs created by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths

Compare the waining devotion these two cousins had to their convincing real life fairy tale to the devotion James, the real life brother of Jesus, had to the stories in the Bible. When James was young, he was not a firm believer that his brother was God in flesh and Lord over all. It was not until he saw His brother resurrected that James believed the stories about Jesus. In response to this James, who was an official in the Jewish temple, claimed that Christians did not have to follow Jewish laws in order to have peace with God. He claimed that all people had to do to be made right with their Creator was to believe in the death and resurrection of his brother, Jesus. For these claims, the Jewish leaders made threats on James' life. They told him that all he had to do to keep his life was renounce these stories about Jesus being God and coming back from the dead, so that Jame could remain steadfast to Jewish law. James could not deny the story of Jesus' resurrection, so the Jewish leaders killed him. There are two accounts of how James was martyred. One is that the Jewish leaders stoned him. Another is that James was thrown from the top of the Jewish temple. In both accounts neither the stoning nor throwing James from the temple kills him. Because of this, the Jewish leaders go to the dying body of James again and ask him to renounce his claims about Jesus' life and death sanctifiying Gentiles (non-Jews) before the Lord of all creation. Even on the verge of death, James stood firm in his beliefs. For this, James, the brother of Jesus, was beaten to death by the Jewish leaders who once revered him. Now, neither of these accounts of James' martyr come from the Bible. In fact these accounts come from the respected historians Josephus and Eusebius.

An Orthodox Icon of James, the brother of Jesus.

So, what's the difference between the real life fairy tale of two cousins and their camera and the stories for which James, the brother of Jesus, became a martyr? The difference is in how devoted the people spreading the story were to what they were saying. The two cousins renounced their claims, despite their concinvicing photographic evidence and the scholars who favored their claims. James, who had no photographs of the resurrected Jesus nor did he have scholars from that day supporting his claims, died for his beliefs. James, like the early followers of the Bible's stories, was more devout to what he believed than the two cousins who fabricated their convincing photographs. Sometimes the fidelity of a story can be seen in how zealous the people spreading that story are, and nothing shows someone's zeal for a story more than them dying for it. No one threatened the two cousins to denounce their fairy tale, but even unto death James, the brother of Jesus, would not deny the truth about Jesus Christ, Lord of all.

A photo of the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, a possible location for Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
Written on the tomb's door is "He is not here, for He is risen."

I am sure this post will fail to convince many non-believers that the stories of the Bible are real. I do not need to worry about this, though, as only God can open up peoples' eyes to see the truth or their ears to hear His words (Matthew 13:15). More than believing in talking snakes and dragons, the real stumbling block non-believers have with Scripture is believing the reality that Jesus was crucified for their sins (1 Corinthians 1:23).

In this world full of fakes, fabrications and even fairy tales I should have nothing to do with silly myths, but should rather train myself in Godliness (1 Timothy 4:7). I need to fix my eyes on Jesus, focusing on the Joy He considered in the opposition He faced, so that I "will not grow weary and lose heart" when I face similar opposition for my beleifs (Hebrews 12:2-3). Since the world hated Jesus, so will it hate me if I continue to tell the stories of Jesus Christ (John 15:18). I take heart knowing that the truth I proclaim angers the world to the point that it wants to kill me, because I know that "for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).

Sources

• The Bible (New International Version)
• Scottie The Book (Created Prop Photo)
• Wikipedia: Circular Reasoning
• Answers in Genesis: How do we Know the Bible is True?
• Wikipedia: The Cottingley Fairies
• Christianity Today: The Death of James the brother of Jesus
• Open Bible Info: What does the Bible say about Fairy Tales