A Fearful Thing
A FEARFUL THING
HEBREWS 10:26-31
The writer warns of judgment that will come to those who deliberately reject the faith.
We return to the thought of the danger of apostasy. In mind is the person who has come to understand what the truth is, but who nevertheless has chosen to sin deliberately (10:26). Such a person has rejected Christ, desecrated the covenant blood and insulted the Holy Spirit (10:29). It is idle for such a one to think that there stands before them anything other than certain and fearful judgment.
It is one of the heresies of our times that this truth is not only rejected but regarded as sub-Christian. People may know only the truth that “God is love” that they have forgotten such complementary truths as “God is light” (1 John 1:5) and “our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). In the process they have distorted even what they hold to, for they have confused love and sentimentality. The God of modern humanity is a morally flabby god, a little god who does not greatly mind if his worshipers go astray.
But the God of the Bible is a great God and One who loves—really loves—his people. He is infinitely concerned for their welfare and hates everything that makes them less than the best that they can be. True love opposes every evil in the beloved. This thought is in mind throughout this passage when the writer speaks in terms of “a fearful prospect of judgment,” of “a fury of fire” (10:27), and of what “a fearful thing” (10:31) it is to fall into the hands of the living God. The fact is that we are not irresponsible children playing at life. We are responsible people, each of us given one life to live. We are to live it as those who will one day be called on to give an account of ourselves. This is not meant to strike terror into us, but we are foolish—and more—if we do not see that life is too serious a business for trifling with. Flippancy will not be enough when we stand before God and give an account of what we have done with his good gifts.