Written by Paul J Bucknell on November, 08, 2023

Hebrews 10:26-39 Your Great Confidence: The Perseverance of the Saints

Hebrews 10:26-39 contains the book’s fourth of five warnings. The warnings identify many pressures the Messianic Jews (i.e., Jewish believers) faced. The warnings caution believers to remain faithful and not give up their hope in Christ by returning to their past way of life.

At the end of chapter 10, we see many of the pressures they faced, challenging them to give up their faith in Christ. These warnings, however, like warning signs on a road, alert us to possible dangers ahead. The passage focuses on God’s promises, calling all to continue in their faith to retain their promised rewards.

Warnings also remind us of the great importance of our faith in Christ. Apart from Christ, we must meet judgment on our own. Our salvation is secured only through our faith in Christ. Faith in Christ is crucial. Without Him, we are lost, but with Him, we find great confidence and reward.

The author of Hebrews conveys a powerful warning in verses 26-31 before he builds up the confidence he desires to see in them (10:32-39). We are to maintain our faith in Jesus.

Our salvation is wholly wrapped up in our faith in Christ. With Jesus, we are hidden in His righteousness, but apart from Him, we face a terrible judgment. Perseverance in faith means we continue believing in Christ Jesus, no matter the circumstances we face.

1. Heed Dire Warnings (Heb 10:26-31)

“²⁶ For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb 10:26-31)

If the judgment was severe in the Old Testament, where it predicted the Messiah, what would happen to those in the New Testament who rejected Jesus the Messiah?

The author often highlights the Old Testament system’s inferiority, not because it is untrue or unhelpful, but to emphasize the importance of living faithfully to Christ and obeying His teachings. The people were tempted to revert to their old way of faith to avoid ill-treatment and rejection, but the author reminds them that Christ’s redemptive work requires greater duty and careful obedience.

Hebrews 10:26-28

These Hebraic Christians knew the Old Testament well. The Hebrews writings are filled with Old Testament words, figures, and allusions. Hebrews 10:26-28 explains who the warning is for—those who “go on sinning willfully.” It differentiates between those who rebelliously sin and those who sin by weakness.

³⁰ “But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. ³¹ Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.” (Numbers 15:30-31 NASB)

The willful sinner doesn’t believe God’s Word and takes no direction from it. They use their will to counter God’s purposes. Let’s look at three ways he highlights their mindset.

Unbelief (Hebrews 10:26a)

Hebrews repeatedly identifies a group of believers who have received the truth: “after receiving the knowledge of the truth” (10:26). This is true of all believers, of course, but differentiates them from the unbelieving Jewish people. It’s crucial to retain their faith. They know what Jesus has done; they know the truth. It would be dangerous to give up their faith now! Why turn back to shadows when they have seen the light? Starting in verse 26, he lists the dangers of abandoning their faith.

“For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and…” (Heb 6:4-8).

Despise truth; no sacrifice (Hebrews 10:26b)

“There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19).

Becomes God’s adversary (Hebrews 27-28)

There remains “a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.” (10:27)

“Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses” (28).

What connects these rigorous thoughts are the warnings. They know the truth and yet are contemplating a departure from them. However, rejecting the more magnificent and obvious truths found in Jesus the Messiah brings more significant consequences.

The Great Temptation (Heb 10:29-31)

²⁹ How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb 10:29-31)

A Severer Punishment (29)

Severer punishment. The punishment is much more threatening than those rejecting Old Testament truths. The author lists three ways some have rejected their faith in Christ.

When faced with threats to our livelihood, possessions, or loved ones, it is natural to question what truly matters in life. This moment can be significant in reaffirming our faith and determination to persevere. For some, difficult times reveal their lack of belief. They may only believe when it is convenient and give up when faced with testing. However, those who persist and endure strengthen their conviction that they belong to God. They remain confident that the rewards they will gain are immeasurably greater than what they may lose.

OFFENSES AGAINST THE CHRIST

This strong image, “Trampled under foot the Son of God” refers to despising the work of Christ on the cross.
“Regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant” means they turn their back on the faith by which they are justified by faith through the cleansing work of Christ’s blood.
“Insulted the Spirit of grace” (i.e., blasphemy) reveals how they openly ‘forget’ the great works and miracles God did among them through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32).

We should not confuse “willfully sinning” with sinning here and there or falling into sin. They openly trash the key parts of the Gospel. If they openly reject, they no longer believe.

SENTENCE FROM GOD

Apart from His mercy, we must face God’s vengeance, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” (Heb 10:30; Deut 32:35; Rom 12:19). If our sins are not forgiven, then we must, without Christ, face judgment.
“The Lord will judge His people.” We are tethered to our decisions. God knows and makes us accountable for our hearts and actions.
“The Living God” (Deut 5:26; Heb 3:12; 9:14) is a phrase associated with God as an active Judge. He is not dead and unresponsive, ignoring our evil. He both sentences offenders and judges them.

The sacrificial laws’ promise of forgiveness and mercy cannot be separated from God’s commands. Powerful exhortations, whether in the Old or New Testament, emphasize the inextricable link between the commands and Jesus’ sacrifice. The promises and judgments about our responses to Christ, the Messiah, are consistent in the Old and New Testaments.

“Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God” (Heb 3:12).

“For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived” (Deut 5:26)

A Post-modern Warning

Let’s contrast the post-modern mentality with a biblical perspective.

Post-modern viewpoint - unhitched speculation

Post-modernism maintains that all perspectives are valid but ignores the consequences.

unconstrained financial spending (no budgets; no accountability—the belief that it will all work out)
passionate immoral relabeling (e.g., marriage, gender, etc.)
the unleashing of violent actions
belief unattached to truth—they can believe what they want without any ramifications.

Not many people understand warnings. Warnings are built on the logical conclusion of consequences. If ….. happens, something bad will result. Many people today do not grasp logical consequences. They see life as a random set of circumstances, quite different from what God has stated. Those convinced of a person’s unrestricted right to do as they please find great difficulty in accepting what seems to be censorship. On the contrary, it is graciously calling them back to their senses before the reality of judgment sets in. This post-modern mindset uses delusion to seal people to their judgment.

A biblical viewpoint - responsible before God

God reveals His love as He warns people of the consequences of their decisions and beliefs. Everyone is accountable for their decisions—judgment. Because of our sins, only in Jesus Christ can we find forgiveness; we ought to repent and believe today!

What would you want? If someone saw you in great danger, would you want them to interject some warnings to protect you? Science is built upon testing that detects consequences. In some quarters, science faces serious challenges because people use it to teach what they hope rather than according to genuine factual consequences.

Please understand that these warnings come from the love of God, wanting all to repent; their lives are valuable. For this reason, the Old and New Testaments are filled with such warnings.

Each generation is tempted to return to their old faith, religion, and conveniences. For them, it was Judaism, their old faith. For us, we will, at times, hear strong, persuasive voices telling us of the foolishness of leaving the world for our faith in Christ. But we need to strengthen and hold onto our faith in Christ—without Him there is no hope.

Hope: “Knowing you have a better possession” (Heb 10:34).

2. Find Rewarding Confidence (10:32-39)

Six signs of past faithfulness! (10:32-34)

³² But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, ³³ partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. ³⁴ For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.

“But remember the former days” (10:32) marks off this section of their testimony. Those being tempted are not merely new unstable believers but those who have already made many difficult but faithful decisions. Six marvelous marks of Christ’s work in them.

“being enlightened”
“you endured a great conflict of sufferings”
“made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations”
“partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated”
“showed sympathy to the prisoners”
“accepted joyfully the seizure of your property”

Why should these believers persist in their faith? Verse 34 answers this question: “Knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one” (10:34). Faith is seeing the world beyond. People with faith are confident of God’s promises - better possessions that last forever, even if they can’t realize them now!

Contrast this with the lost world seen in the last half of Romans 1. People are filled with unbelief and despise truth: Open rejection, disobedience, the pursuit of other things, wild immorality, and foolishness (Rom 1:18-32).

Gaining Boldness - (shunning intimidation)

³⁵ Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. ³⁷ For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. ³⁸ But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. ³⁹ But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.” (Heb 10:35-39)

Confidence

When following Christ, we have great confidence, unlike fear and intimidation. The word confidence (Gr: paraseeah) means freedom in speaking; free and fearless confidence (4 times in Hebrews: (Heb 10:19; 3:6; 4:16; 10:35).

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus” (Heb 10:19; 3:6; 4:16; 10:35).

Bold confidence reminds us of Paul’s words in Romans 5.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations” (Rom 5:1-3).

Our faith, belief, and confidence all refer to the same trust in God’s salvation through Christ. He brings us into His presence, filling our souls with boldness to know God and endure hardships.

Confidence brings “great reward.” There are three characteristics of this needed endurance.

Timing: “in a very little while” (10:37), Jesus will return. Upon Jesus’ return, He will judge the wicked—the goats, and comfort, and reward the faithful sheep.
Belief: “My righteous one shall live by faith” (10:38). This phrase is mentioned four times in the Bible, the first being in Habakkuk 2:4. We are familiar with how it refers to receiving righteousness through faith in Christ. Still, here it refers to the faith needed to sustain and hold us through tribulations.
Warning: “If he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him” (10:38). Again, the Lord warns those tempted to reject Him. By observing our past faith, we gain extra hope, reminding us of His grace and promises to those with an enduring faith.

The perseverance of the saints (Hebrews 10:39)

“But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul” (Heb 10:39).

A genuine Christian’s faith persists holding on to the promises of Jesus Christ that enable them to face life’s hardships and provide a deep and ongoing hope in eternal life.

Summary

We endure hardship to remain faithful to our Faithful one, securing His great promises of salvation, deliverance, and rewards given to His own. “My righteous one shall live by faith.”

Faith in Christ is crucial. Without Him, we are lost, but with Him, we find great rewards.

Warnings remind us of the importance of our faith over life’s comforts and preferences.
Promises excite our hopes that God will reward us at Jesus’ return.
Perseverance in faith means we continue believing in Christ Jesus, no matter what we face.

Study Questions on Hebrews 10:26-39

Skim through the verses in Hebrews 10:26-39 and share five things you discover about the people being addressed.
How many warning sections are there in Hebrews? What is the purpose of these biblical warnings?
Who is the phrase in Hebrews 10:26 aimed toward? How do you know?
What does the passage, Numbers 15:30-31, contribute to the Old Testament mindset regarding the need to obey?
List five out of six signs of the Hebrew Christians’ past faithfulness from Hebrews 10:32-34.
How does Hebrews 10:34 speak about hope? List a situation where a Bible verse brought hope to you.
How might these Hebrew Christians throw away their confidence for salvation (Heb 10:35)?
How long do we need to endure? (Heb 10:26-37)
Read Hebrews 10:38-39 and indicate the place faith has in endurance.
What does this passage say about the teaching of the perseverance of the saints?
How should we think about those who leave the faith (10:38)?