Useful Bible Studies > Hebrews Commentary > chapter 10
We like to study each verse of the Bible separately. But sometimes that method is not right. Each verse belongs in a longer passage. And sometimes we must understand the whole passage before we can understand the separate verses.
Hebrews 10:26 has caused difficulties for many people. The problem is that every Christian sometimes does wrong things on purpose. And that situation is what the verse seems to describe. That is why we need to look at the whole passage. Clearly, the author does not think that all Christians have lost their relationship with God.
We will find our explanation in Hebrews 10:29. There the author will explain what these people have done. But in Hebrews 10:26 the author just explains their attitude. On purpose they decided to do something that they knew to be very wrong. They have acted as if the most holy things are completely without value. And they intended to do that.
People’s attitudes matter very much to God. And that is especially true when they do wrong things. God allowed people to offer animals as sacrifices (gifts to God) when they did not do those wrong things on purpose (Numbers 15:22-29). But God did not accept sacrifices when a person decided on purpose to oppose God. If someone hated God so much, they could only expect punishment (Numbers 15:30-31).
Like everybody else, Christians do evil things. Their behaviour becomes even worse when they do those things on purpose. They ought to know what God’s law says about those things. So they should be humble, and they should confess their evil deeds to God. And when they do that, God promises to forgive (1 John 1:8-10).
Next part: When God shows no mercy (Hebrews 10:27-28)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.