Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

Text:

I asked in the bulletin last week if you are ever afraid of God. Of the responses I received back, some said yes, some said no, some explained their response as to why they either do or don’t, and I think I can truly see the viewpoint of each response. I think a worthwhile question to ask, though, is, ?Should we fear God??

On the one hand, God is certainly worthy to be feared. But on the other hand, God has removed the reason we should fear Him. The reason we should fear Him is that we have all sinned against Him. But Christ died for our sin. So anyone who trusts in Christ has a relationship with God not defined by fear, but love. But God hasn’t changed. He is still the Almighty Ruler of all things. He is holy. He is the Judge of all people. So any who do not know Christ as Savior have good reason to fear the wrath of God.

Read Hebrews 10:26-31

The world around us has a problem with God. I’m sure we can all agree with that statement. I don’t think that comes as a shock to any of us. All you have to do is hear the latest news and be reminded of how much of the world is in blatant rebellion against God.

Every issue of morality and immorality ultimately comes down to what we believe about God. Is the issue of abortion really about a woman’s right to choose? No, it’s about God’s right to give and take away life. Is the issue of homosexuality really about how people are born with certain sexual preferences, or about equal rights? No, it’s about following or rejecting God’s plan for sexuality and marriage. Is murder, or rape, or molestation ultimately about respecting people and doing no harm, or are these things about God’s authority, who tells us how to live and how not to live? We see so much sin in the world because people have rejected the God of the Bible.

But I wonder how many people who confess Christ have a problem with God as well. We love to worship a God who is loving. But are we willing to worship a God is who full of wrath? It’s not just those outside the church who sin because of an incorrect understanding of God, but we also sin because we often believe wrong things about God as well. Our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). This description of God means that He is full of wrath, and that in His wrath He destroys and keeps on destroying. He is a jealous God. He is a God who judges and consumes His enemies (v. 30). God will hold people accountable for their sins. Nobody will get away with anything. We can’t trick God.

And this is a good thing! It’s only bad news for those who are against God. For those who trust God, it means we can stop seeking revenge. God will repay. Our job is to share the gospel with the world so that they might not experience God’s wrath (v. 31). God is powerful. And He is a God to be feared. Anyone who doesn’t have their sins covered by the blood of Jesus will experience God’s wrath.

I say all this about God not to scare any of us who know Jesus as Savior, because there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, but so that we would be in awe of a God bigger, and more powerful, and more awesome than we can possibly imagine, and that we would worship the one, true, living God.

And yet, this passage instructs us to consider the ramifications of turning from God (v. 26-27). In studying Hebrews, we’ve talked before about whether it’s possible for a genuine believer in Christ to fall away and lose their salvation. The answer is no. The Bible is abundantly clear that once a person truly knows Christ, their sins are forgiven. Because salvation doesn’t depend on our efforts, but on God’s keeping us for Himself.

Yet it is possible for someone who looks like a believer, someone who talks like a believer, or someone who does many of the things that believers do, to not be a genuine believer. It is possible for such a person to fall away. So the constant warning in the book of Hebrews is to not drift away! And the constant command in the book is to draw near to God! But if someone has heard the Truth, confesses to have received it, but then continues to live a life characterized by sin, or goes back to living such a life, they have misunderstood both God and the gospel. The gospel is not a license to sin, it is liberation unto righteousness!

Part of the point of this text is that we make sure we’re not drifting away from the faith. But the point is not to question our salvation every time we sin. The text says talks about the person who sins in a certain way (v. 26). It’s talking about the person who deliberately sins, with the attitude, ?God, I know you want me to do this, but I’m going to do things my way instead.? And this is his constant attitude. He’s not repentant of this attitude (v. 28-29). He tramples on the Son of God, meaning he doesn’t treat Jesus as Savior, but as his inferior. He profanes the blood of the covenant which supposedly sanctified him. He doesn’t consider Christ’s blood as precious, but as common, or even as something disgusting and unnecessary. He shows by his lifestyle that he never truly embraced Christ as Savior and Lord. For this person, not for the genuine believer, but for the one who only cares about fire insurance, who doesn’t long to be transformed by the grace of God, or to be used to the glory of God, but only cares about his own personal gain, for this person, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, because they consistently discard the only sacrifice for sin, Jesus Christ.

So our application for us this morning, is to make sure we’re not that person. Ask yourself these questions. Do you use grace as a reason to sin? Do you worship God as long as He meets your expectations? Or do you long to know Him more, love Him more, and see Him glorify Himself more and more in your life? Come to God surrendering to Him, not trying to force Him into some small box that we think He should fit into, but trusting Him, and following Him wherever He leads.