Contemptuous to God

Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God…It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:26-31 NLT

From the text, the writer of Hebrews provides a stern warning to Christians who are contemptuous to God. God will not tolerate us, believers, who will disrespect Him by continually “sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth” (Hebrews 10:26). Once we receive knowledge from God’s Word, we must stay with it and not drift away from it. Here is the previous admonition: “So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1). When we drift away from God’s Word, we will start to doubt God. The writer of Hebrews cited the event that took place in the life of the Israelites after they were freed from Egyptian bondage. “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness. There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years. So I was angry with them, and I said, ‘Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them’” (Hebrews 3:8-10). Once doubt sets in, we will become hardened to listen to God and His Word. We will not live the way we are supposed to be, growing into maturity. “There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk…still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong” (Hebrews 5:11-14). This continual pattern of disrespect will lead to disparaging God and His Word. This action of loathing God’s Word is seen in our willful violation by not living a godly life. David realized this that even if He offers sacrifices to God and still continue to live in sin, those sacrifices will not be accepted. “You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering” (Psalm 51:16). God does not want us to be a disgrace in His Name and His church. He wants us to affirm the hope that is found in Christ and be an encouragement to other believers (see Hebrews 10:23-25). He will not take lightly the contemptuous acts for “it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). We need to return to God and His Word for He desires a “a broken spirit” and He promised that He will “not reject a broken and repentant heart” (Psalms 51:17).

Blessings,