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Inciting Each Other to Pursue Christ Boldly
Hebrews 10:24-39
We all need encouragers. In Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian had companions, Faithful and Hopeful, who warned and encouraged him. Evangelist also, on occasion, came to incite them toward the Celestial City. On the other hand, you had Pliable, who returned alone to the City of Destruction because he ignored the warnings. In the Lord of the Rings, Frodo had friends like Samwise Gamgee, Gandalf, and others to help and protect him on the way to Mount Doom, inciting courage in him. On the other hand, you have Gollum. He was alone, obsessed with the ring, and succumbed to its call, becoming as twisted as it was. In the Bible we see Joshua and Caleb fighting, strengthened by Moses’ prayers; who in turn had Aaron and Hur’s support. When David was chased by Saul, Jonathan strengthened him. When all suspected Paul, Barnabas vouched for him. The same restored Mark after his failure. We all need encouragers to warn and incite us. But then again, you had Demas. Despite his encouragers, he forsook the faith. Why does this happen? What prevents it from happening? In this passage, we see a sober warning but also a provocation to godly pursuit, in two points. Firstly, willful rejection of Christ is a dreadful thing. Secondly, confident pursuit of Christ is a rewarding thing.
Firstly, willful rejection of Christ is a dreadful thing. After proving Christ’s superiority, the author incited his readers to faith, hope, and love. Draw near to God in faith! Hold firmly to the hope of heaven! Love by inciting others to Christ! In fact, the whole letter was meant to incite them. The author was like the Evangelist, Gandalf, and Barnabas. Why? He knew judgment day would come. He feared for them. So here, he warned them also to fear. First, we must fear a hardened heart’s willfulness. Verse 26 says, “For if we sin willfully after…we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins.” To be clear, true Christians will never harden their hearts or fall away. Once saved, always saved. We may fall into sin, but never out of grace. Fake believers are different. Their willfulness show they never truly believed. “For if we sin willfully.” Remember, Christ’s blood cleanses our conscience. And our conscience isn’t clean if our hearts keep sinning defiantly - meaning, without repentance. And such willful defiant sin is continuous. The phrase more literally reads - “for if we keep on sinning willfully.” So continual sin is a settled way of life. And he sins willfully despite knowing the gospel. “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth.” He’s a professed believer. He grew up or spent years in church. But knowledge without submission condemns. If you recall, the Lord in Matthew 11, condemned Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum as being guiltier of judgment than Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom. Why? They knew more. Young people, you know the gospel - that Jesus saves. But you must bring your sins to Jesus - forsaking them and knowing he forgives. But if you never come to him but continue willfully in sin, you’ll never want to stop sinning. And in the end, you’ll give in to unbelief and reject Christ. Be clear about this - a person can acknowledge the truth of the gospel, but still reject its power.
Remember that Herod Antipas? He heard the gospel gladly from John the Baptizer, but he still killed him. His life never changed, despite what he heard. In the end, there’s a willful rejection of Christ. But how does this happen? Verse 26, “for if we sin willfully,” starts with the word “for.” Meaning it follows verses 24-25 which describes the work of Christians to one another. We incite love and good works in each other, coming together to exhort each other to keep believing the gospel. Why? There’s coming judgment! Pliable was warned to press on, Demas had the company of missionaries; but a hardened heart ignores the church. That’s why many who end up rejecting Christ, start by leaving the church first. They leave the church long before leaving the faith. And it often starts with indifference to spiritual matters. William Secker, the puritan said, “Indifference in religion, is the first step to apostasy from religion.” When you keep yourself from worship, prayer, and fellowship - it shows indifference. That’s why verse 27 calls such a hardened person an enemy. Despite knowing what Christ has done, he tramples on Christ - treating Christ’s sacrifice and his shed blood as common and ordinary. Having no fear of spiritual blasphemy. So it’s really a fearful thing!
Further, we must fear the hardened heart’s fate. Verse 26 says there’s no sacrifice left for sins if we sin willfully. Well, if you reject Christ, there’s no other means of salvation. There’s no salvation in any other name under heaven. But instead what’s there? Verse 27 - “a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” This is the fate of God’s adversaries. And note - God’s anger is described as a devouring fire. And God has always used fire in judgment. Sodom and Gomorrah were engulfed by fire. Nadab and Abihu were consumed by fire. Korah was devoured by fire. And hell and Satan will be swallowed in a lake of fire. Why? Because God’s an all consuming fire. And to show how dreadful judgment is, the author compares it with Old Covenant judgment. Verse 28 refers to Deuteronomy 17:2-7. A person who rejects God to worship idols would be stoned. And those who stoned him were the 2 or 3 witnesses that saw him worship idols. There was no mercy or appeal. But what about the New Covenant? Surely, it must be more merciful, right? No. Verse 29 - “Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God!” If the Old Covenant was harsh, the New Covenant is much worse. Did you ever notice how the plagues of Revelation are far worse than the plagues of Egypt? Why? Greater apparent mercy is shown. So greater must be the wrath. You reject despite lavish grace? That means you’re really hardened in heart. What other fate can there be? That’s why Jesus spoke of weeping and gnashing of teeth in hell - where the worm will not die.
And that fate is so dreadful because of God. We must fear God’s resolute will. In verse 30, the author quotes Deuteronomy 32 - “Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.” God will take revenge on those who reject him. Yes, the God who preserves his people, will judge those among his people who reject him. As long as there’s a God’s in heaven, there’s eternal judgment in hell. If God’s limitless, his judgment is limitless. So don’t leave church, don’t give up the faith, don’t give in to your sin. It’s not worth it. Every fear is tamer than the fear of the living God. Now, this is why we incite people to follow Christ. The Deuteronomy law speaks of witnesses. Who are those close enough to see a person reject God? Family and close friends. These family members brought their children, siblings, parents to be stoned because they honored God more. Hebrews gives us the flip side. It shows our duty to close friends and family, to warn and encourage them, because we love them, and because we really know what God’s wrath is like. My question to close friends and family members - are you willing, out of loyalty to God, to bring a charge against those who sin willfully? “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Will you love them enough to incite them to follow Christ? It’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
But it’s also a wonderful thing to fall into the hands of the living God! We know God’s mercy. If God is your God, and Christ is your Savior - there’s no fear. In fact, there’s confidence. That’s the second point. Confident pursuit of Christ is a rewarding thing. While verse 31 says it’s dreadful to fall into the hands of a living God, verse 35 says there are great rewards if we place our confidence in God. So let us incite others to continue in bold faith. It says, “Cast (or throw) not away your confidence.” This word “confidence” or boldness is used elsewhere. Hebrews 4:16 - we can come boldly to God’s throne of grace. Why? We have a Great High Priest. Hebrews 10:19 - we have boldness to enter the holiest. Why? Christ’s our perfect sacrifice. And here - don’t throw away your boldness. Why? You’ll be greatly rewarded. He incited them to remain bold and faithful. In verse 32, he told them to remember the early days of the church. They endured “a great fight of afflictions.” Their suffering was like punches being rained down on them. And they suffered public humiliation, verse 33. They were made a gazing stock, a show for everyone to watch. Next Saturday (19 July) would be the 1961st anniversary of the burning of Rome. Nero blamed Christians for this fire. And he used the opportunity to persecute them. Some were crucified, some were thrown to wild beasts, and others were lit as human torches to light the city at night. They were entertainment. they didn’t reject Christ - their faith was bold. The apostles also showed this boldness. In Acts 4, Peter and John were hauled before the Sanhedrin. There, they spoke boldly. They preached there was no salvation in any other but Christ. Remember this message got Christ killed! But when the High Priest saw their boldness, he could only threaten and send them away, commanding them not to speak anymore. But they replied - “Which is right in God’s sight? Should we listen to you or to God?” When they returned to the church, they rejoiced and prayed for even more boldness. So what’s the reward for boldness? It’s bolder faith. Our Lord said this in Luke 6 - “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and…shall reproach you, and [reject] your name as evil, for [my] sake. Rejoice..in that day…leap for joy: for…your reward is great in heaven…” Bold faith begets bolder faith. This is why encouragers are needed, to incite up the weak, to provoke to love and good works. To incite them to a fighting spirit. And they did this out of love.
The author wanted them to remember joyfully their love. Verses 33-34 describe how some faced persecution, but others stood side by side with the persecuted ones. They had compassion on those in prison who’d lost their property and money. They probably visited them, brought food and bound their wounds. They even showed compassion to the author when he was in prison. That’s why he was able to incite them up to continue in bold faith and love. They showed solidarity with those who suffered. They didn’t shrink back from visiting them. And that’s how the Lord Jesus described genuine faith in Matthew 25 - “I was in prison, and you came to me.” “When did we do this to you Lord?” “When you did it to the least of my brethren.” Now, you can be sure, when they visited their suffering brethren, they ran the risk of being imprisoned themselves. And many of them were themselves persecuted because they showed bold love. But how did they take it? Verse 36 tells us that they joyfully accepted the plundering of their own goods. Why? Because they knew in themselves what they had in heaven was better and eternal. Paul experienced such sympathy from his friends Priscilla and Aquila. He said they’d laid down their own necks for his life. That’s bold faith, joyful bold love.
But this was the issue. He had to call them to remember all of these things. Why? They were struggling. They were fearful. Their faith was tested because their lives were in danger. This is why the author told them and us - look patiently at our hope. Verse 36 -“For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” The emphasis here is on the word “need.” Believers need to endure patiently. If you don’t, maybe you’re not saved. Because endurance and boldness are necessary proofs of salvation. We see this in Biblical history. Job was tested by the devil - but he continued to trust in God after losing his family, farm, and flesh. Joseph was tempted by Mrs Potiphar - but he wouldn’t betray his God and rotted in prison for years. Daniel defied the king, and was sent to the lion’s den for praying. Why did they do this? Because their hope was not in this world, but in Christ and heaven - just like these Jewish believers. That’s why the author reminded them to fear hardened hearts, to fear the fate of hardened hearts, and to fear the resolute God who takes vengeance on those who reject Christ. We see this in verses 37-38 - “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” That’s why we must incite one another to love and good works - to bold faith, joyful risking love, and patient hope. And the assurance is this in verse 39 - while there were false believers with hardened hearts - he preached to the believers, “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” How do we know? They pursue Christ and his reward. When the emperor Valens threatened Eusebius with confiscation of all his goods, torture, banishment, or even death, he answered boldly, “He needs not fear confiscation, who has nothing to lose; nor banishment, if heaven is his country; nor torments, when his body can be destroyed at one blow; nor death, which is the only way to set him at liberty from sin and sorrow.”
Dearly beloved, how do we apply this? How can newly installed officers, and new session for the year, and all of us apply this? Firstly, we must incite others to pursue Christ, especially close friends and family who are faltering. Why? We must fear for God’s vengeance on hardened hearts. And officers will have to navigate such family ties very gingerly. Because families ties and close friendships and such loyalties are complicated. But let me state the principle we all know to be true. Blood is not thicker than water. The waters of baptism - symbolizing Christ’s blood - are thicker than the ties of family. We must incite, provoke, rouse members to incite family and friends who’ve grown cold to Christ; to love them enough to warn them. Loving fiery words are needed. The alternative is lasting fiery wrath.
Secondly, we must incite each other to joyful love. There will come a time, which is now, where the world will be intolerant of the truths of Christ. Will we lovingly speak the truth to the lost, when it will cost us dearly? We pay a high price for plurality and prosperity in Singapore. And we restrain our mouths to keep our comfort. There’ll be those in our midst who have a fire to love others. To preach the gospel, to love the unborn, to speak out against woke ideology. Some members will discourage that and say - “don’t bring trouble to the church.” Why? What makes you exempt from the beast and antichrist? So we must love enough to incite these passions in those who have it. Why would you want to discourage love? Showing love is dangerous!
Thirdly, love includes supporting struggling brethren. We have it good here. But our brethren struggle. When I asked Pastor Slavik Murza how members of the Ukraine Evangelical Reformed Church were doing, he answered. “Men are afraid to walk to church and evangelize because of the draft. Some members have been drafted and we try to help them financially and by prayer. Many are disappointed and struggle with their faith. Many young people, especially boys over 18 have left our country. We have no more youth clubs. Our seminary lacks students and people who desire to serve. We can’t have conferences because few people will come due to the bombing. Our pastors must find jobs like teachers to avoid the draft. And this impacts their time and service in church. Pastors at the front are worse off. In Kharkiv, Odessa, and Kyiv, they must remain underground all night because of the bombing. Some travel to the west, away from the conflict, to rest for 1-2 weeks. Our economy is going down, unemployment and inflation are high, and businesses have folded. Till now, we have no hope for the future. If only people have strong hope in God - it helps us go on.”
Dearly beloved, why must we incite each other to pursue Christ? Our Lord loved sinners. That’s why he preached boldly. And he was progressively bolder. In the end, he was crucified. Why? To rescue, from God’s wrath, a people who believe, love, and hope enough to live for him and to encourage others to do the same. He loved by washing our feet, so we’d wash one another’s feet. He went through great struggling in Gethsemane, where his close friends wouldn’t even watch and pray, so we’d be vigilant toward our struggling brethren. And he was alone at the cross, so we’d never be alone. That’s why we must not be “of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”
1. Willful Rejection of Christ Is a Dreadful Thing
A. Fear a hardened heart’s willfulness
B. Fear the hardened heart’s fate
C. Fear God’s resolute will
2. Confident Pursuit of Christ Is a Rewarding Thing
A. Continue in bold faith
B. Remember your joyful love
C. Look patiently to our hope
Conversation for Change:
1. What’s our duty to those who’ve stayed away from church and are cold in their faith?
2. How can Christ be merciful and wrathful, savior and judge at the same time? How does this affect our preaching?
3. How boldly and faithfully have you lived in the midst of opposition? How has our prosperity affected our faithfulness?
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2025, Rev. Mark Chen
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