In his 30th message through the Book of Hebrews, Jay Rabon tackles what he calls perhaps the greatest warning passage in the entire sermon-epistle — Hebrews 10:26-31. Written to a Jewish Christian church in Rome that was wavering under persecution and tempted to drift back toward Judaism, the Book of Hebrews has been, week after week, a book that "oozes grace and is shot through with warning and judgment." Jay is careful from the outset to make clear that this passage is not written to produce doubt, despair, or anxiety in the heart of a born-again believer. Salvation is an act of God — He purposes it, initiates it, and brings it to completion, as the golden chain of Romans 8:29-30 and the words of Jesus in John 10:27-28 make abundantly clear.

The passage, Jay explains, is specifically aimed at the reality of apostasy — the deliberate, willful, compulsion-free rejection of Christ and His Gospel by those who have come to a knowledge of the truth but do not possess genuine, saving faith. He identifies three signs of the apostate from verses 28-29: trampling the Son of God underfoot, profaning the blood of the covenant, and outraging the Spirit of grace. For the true Christian, however, sin humbles, convicts, grieves, and ultimately motivates — driving the believer back to Christ, the only Savior. As Proverbs 24:16 reminds us, the righteous fall seven times and rise again.

Jay closes with a powerful illustration of a king who steps down from his throne to absorb the just punishment meant for his beloved daughter, drawing the congregation to the cross — the exact point where the wrath and love of God meet. The wrath described in this passage is not meant to produce despair for those who are in Christ, because that wrath has been fully satisfied by Jesus on the cross. There is, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1), and the Gospel stands as the declaration that justice has been satisfied, sin atoned for, and heaven's gates thrown open wide.

Transcript

Well, believe it or not, this morning Marks and I counted it up three or four to five to six times. But this morning Marks, I think our 30th message from the book of Hebrews. Thirty messages in the Book of Hebrews. And I like to count words. A 6900 word sermon. There. Pastor David preached in letter form to the Jewish church, Rome. Many believe that this is the Jewish church in Rome. It's, it's about the mid-60s. It's right before the fall of the temple. The preacher and I would argue Apollos, and I'd be glad to sit down and talk with many of you about the reason. I believe Apollos is the preacher and the, the writer of this sermon. But others believe Paul might be the writer in this sermon, which is fine too. The thing about it is it's officially not noted who the writer is, but we know it's inspired by the Holy Spirit.

So the preacher wrote the sermon to the church in Rome, this Jewish, this church of Jewish Christians because they were wavering in their faith due to growing persecution and some were contemplating returning back to Judaism, turning away from Christ and remember turning back to that law and that sacrificial system which we talk so much about. Right. The Book of Hebrews is a great way for us to learn about the Old Testament. Now get this. This preacher wrote to that church, that Hebrew church from the Hebrew Scriptures, right? Remember over a hundred references to Old Testament scriptures in the Book of Hebrews. So he's writing to this church using the Old Testament, or they would call it the Hebrew Scriptures to show them from the Hebrew Scriptures that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah, that Jesus Christ is our great high king, that he's our great Davidic king. You remember we've talked about this, like Dr. Carey said in chapter 10 and back a little bit, that Christ offered himself as a once and for all time perfect sacrifice for sins to initiate and fulfill the new covenant and simultaneously bring the old covenant to fulfillment or conclusion. So that is what Christ has done.

This book of Hebrews, as we have heard week after week, is filled with good news. It's filled with good news from beginning to end. It begins with good news. If you look at the end, it ends with good news. It is a book that oozes grace and it is a book that is shot through with warning and judgment. We don't talk about it as much because there's fewer verses, but it oozes with grace. That song we just sang, I just love that song. It oozes with grace and it is shot through with warning and judgment. In fact, if you're taking notes, there are five major warning passages in the book or the sermon to the Hebrews. And what is the reason that this pastor has included these warning passages? Well, he's emphasizing vigilance. Remember perseverance and the consequences of spiritual neglect.

A couple of weeks ago, when I preached, I shared what Charles Spurgeon's view was of the whole Book of Hebrews. Does anybody remember what Charles Spurgeon said we should write on the front of our Bibles in relation to the Book of Hebrews? He said we should write hold fast. Hold fast on the front of our Bibles that that's what we should do. And the Book of Hebrews helps us with this. In fact, Spurgeon's quote is good for all time when he said,

"we live in such a changeful age that we need all to be exhorted, to be rooted and grounded, confirmed and established in the. And where do we find truth in God's word?"

So that's Spurgeon. So if you think about that, it probably doesn't do any of us anything bad to write hold fast, at least mentally, on the front of our Bibles as we think about this chapter, this. This Book of Hebrews.

All right, so the first warning, if you're taking notes, appeared in chapter two. And I actually preached on that. And it was a warning against drifting away by failing to hold fast to the Gospel. That was the first warning that the preacher shared with the church. The second warning came in chapter three, where the preacher exhorted his readers that they must not turn away from God with an evil, unbelieving heart. And Brian Rhodes preached a beautiful sermon there. He and I partnered on that. Then chapter six, where Pastor David preaches a similar warning, is there where we read of the dire consequences of apostasy, which we'll talk a little bit more about today. That was in chapter six. And now we come to the fourth warning found in Hebrews, chapter 10, verses 26 through 31. And listen, folks, this is perhaps where we find the greatest warning of the entire sermon epistle.

And why is that? Why is this the greatest warning? It's because it hits at the heart of what we struggle with most as Christians. And what is it that we struggle with most as Christians? Thank you, Tony. Tony can preach this for me. The thing that we struggle with most is. Is sin. These words that we read are terrifying words, especially since we know that no Christian is perfect. The most faithful still to some degree persist in sin because we have a fallen nature. And here's the thing, brothers and sisters. Satan himself has used this passage to confound and perplex honest souls whose sensitive consciences accused them of failure to walk with God as they should. Satan wants to use this passage to accuse you, Christian brother or sister, of failure to walk with God as the way you should. Many have been felt to made to fear or that they are guilty of the willful sin that is talked about here.

But let's get straight right before we go into the passage. The writer here is not writing to cause doubt. He's not writing to cause despair for the person who has been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Does everybody hear you? Hear me? This passage that he is writing is not meant to cause doubt or despair or anxiety for the person who who loves Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their life. This passage is not a warning to born again Christians that they or we can lose or forfeit our salvation. There is a great stream in Christianity that does believe and they use this passage that people can lose their salvation. But Brad shared this so well a couple weeks ago. Salvation is an act of God, right? It's an act of God. He purposes it in your life. He initiates it and he is the one who will bring it to completion. Romans chapter 8, verses 29, 30 great verses. This is called the golden chain. Listen, these verses right here is called the golden chain. And what is the golden chain? Says

"for those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he predestined. He also called. And those he called, he also what? Justified. And those he justified, he also what?" - Romans 8:29-30

For folks who believe, and these are good folks who. Folks who believe that a born again Christian that's an act of God can lose or forfeit their faith. Then they have to say that there will be some justified Christians who will not be glorified. The chain is broken and it says nothing about what we do. So just keep that in mind. That chain gets broken. Well, Ephesians 2:4 says we are what all dead in our sins and trespasses, but it's God's grace who made us alive in Christ. Second Philippians 1:6 says that what? That he who began a good work in us will what? He will complete it. We don't complete it. And again it's back to Brad's preaching. One of the greatest verses on this is John, chapter 10, 27, 28. This is our Lord and Savior. This is what he says.

"My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand." - John 10:27-28

That's what our Savior says about the certainty of salvation that's born of God. Now listen, this is what this passage is about. It's not to bring despair or anxiety to a born again Christian. It's not written to say that a Christian can lose their faith. This is what the passage is about. It is about the spiritual consequences of apostasy and that is the deliberate rejection of Christ and his Gospel. That is what the passage is about. But to who it applies to. It only applies to those who who have come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ, even a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but do not possess salvific faith. They have a knowledge of Christ. They have a knowledge of Christ's ways, but do not possess salvific faith.

He is preaching to a church. A church may be similar to our church, a church which is made up of professing Christians. But the fact is, not everybody in every church who professes faith actually possesses faith. And this is an important distinction between the visible church and the invisible church. And I'll get out of the weeds in just a second. An important distinction between the visible and the invisible church. The visible church is the church external. It is the physical earthly institution composed of everybody who professes Christ, who may even attend services, who may even take communion. But it contains a mix of true believers and non believers whom Christians or people in the church cannot fully distinguish. So churches are mixed between believers, possessors and professors. Whereas the individual church is the true universal spiritual body that have genuinely saved individuals across past, present and future eras. It consists exclusively of the redeemed, united to Christ by faith. This is the testimony of Scripture. If you look over at first John 2, 19, 20, I think we had that. This is John talking about folks that were in ministry with the apostles. And what does John say? John says

"they went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been appointed by the Holy One and you have all knowledge." - 1 John 2:19-20

So when John says they go out from them, it shows that none belong to them. They might have appeared to be believers, but they ultimately left the ministry. It's what they did. And that was. That's a sign of apostasy. It's the unwillingness to continue to associate with believers. Well, then Jesus, too, let's go back to our Lord and Savior, what he says in chapter Matthew, chapter 7, verse 21 and 23, where he said,

"not everyone who says to me, lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of the Father in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, and do mighty works in your name? ... And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." - Matthew 7:21-23

These are things that these folks did or do. But then what does the Lord say? So this is the testimony of Scripture, where it says, not everyone who professes faith actually possesses faith. So as we study this passage this morning, let us. Let's do it soberly. But let us be profoundly grateful for the praise, with thanksgiving, for the salvation that we do have in Christ, our great Lord and King.

So, heavenly Father, Lord, we do. We just thank you for the opportunity to be here together in worship. Lord, we thank you. We just thank you for your word. Well, I thank you for a church like our church, that when we just preach right through your word, Lord, and we tackle tough passages, Lord, and we preach the word as you intended it, and, Lord, we just take these passages head on. And so that's what we'll do this morning. Your name, we pray. Amen.

So the first thing we talk about, apostasy, is the sin of apostasy. And so let's look at verses 26 and 27 of Hebrews, chapter 10. Let's read it together, if you don't mind. Let's read together. Here we go for if. Now listen, all sin in itself is deliberate, right? In a certain respect, all sin is delivered. But as you're taking notes here and looking at this passage, the preacher here is talking about a specific type of sin. So you remember, we're talking about apostasy. So it's a specific type of sin. That Greek word for deliberately is hekousias. So secousios is the word for deliberately, which only occurs twice in the New Testament here in 1st Peter 5, 2, where it means to sin without compulsion. So think about that a second. So he's saying to this church, if we continue to sin without compulsion. And what does compulsion mean to sin without compulsion? It means deliberate, willful sinning sinning that is chosen, that is cherished and continued in spite of the clear warning and full knowledge of the truth. It is a conscious, sustained rejection of God's authority and grace.

This is sin without compulsion. These are people who have received the knowledge of the truth. That's what the Scripture says. They know what God has done in Christ. Their acquaintance with Christian teaching is more than superficial. And yet there is no heart change. They have received the knowledge of truth, and yet there is no heart change. Despite this knowledge, there persists a spiritual attitude of rejection, deliberate, continual sin. And so the author rightly says, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins for them. They have rejected the once for all sacrifice of Christ. And we've already seen in the book of Hebrews there is no other sacrifice than Jesus Christ. So think about that a second. When youre reading these passages or you're talking with other folks about this passage, he's talking about deliberate, willful sin without compulsion. In that case, it's the person who cherishes the sin, who continues the sin, who thinks nothing of doing the sin and has no change. And their heart.

Well, if that is the case for the apostate who cherishes the sin, what about us? What about the faith of the Christian? What about our faith? And what does sin do to us? Well, I have three things to share here. The first thing is, I think sin humbles us, right? Sin humbles us. Paul talked about this in Romans, chapter seven. You remember what he said, that tongue twister in chapter seven, verse 15. He said that he does not do the things he wants to do, but the things that he hates. He does not do the things that he wants to do. He does the things that he hates. What Paul is talking about is the human condition, the chronic situation where we know the right thing to do, but we struggle to do it sometimes. Am I the only one? Does anybody else here today? We know the right thing and, you know, we could be going along good. That's me. I'm going along good. I'm having a good day. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, something comes out of my mouth when I'm talking with Laura and I'm like, why? Where did it come from?

You know, surely we would be like Paul, right? I think when he said, wretched man that I am, wretched woman that I am, who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, for who? Jesus Christ, our Lord, who rescues us from that body of death. Look over at David in Psalm 51. That's a great psalm, too, where David humbly cries out to the Lord. Well, if it humbles us. And then I think sin also convicts us and it grieves us. Or it grieves us and it convicts us. Because when we sin, we have sinned against the God who has saved us, who has adopted us as his own, and it leads us to repentance. I just love this verse in 2nd Corinthians 7:10. It's such a great verse.

"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces." - 2 Corinthians 7:10

You know who? I thought about that. I bet. Maybe I'll think about the same thing. You know who? Two people came to my mind when I read that. When I read that verse, two people in the Bible come to my mind. Peter and Judas. Can you see that? Godly grief leads to repentance without regret. Worldly grief leads to despair and produces death. Think about Peter and Judas for a second. Well, look, sin. It humbles us. It convicts us and grieves us and leads us to repentance. Hallelujah. And I. And I think here, this is. I think it also motivates us. This. This verse is actually Proverbs 24. It's Proverbs 24:16. I'm glad because I have. But this is a great verse. It says,

"for the righteous fall seven times and rises again. But the wicked stumble in times of calamity. Some translations say the wicked stumble into destruction." - Proverbs 24:16

So listen, which one falls? Who? The righteous. Well, they both fall. Who falls more? Who falls more? The righteous. How many times the righteous fall? What's the difference? He gets back up. In the power of the Holy Spirit. The righteous who is just nothing more than the saved sinner. The sinner saved by grace, the righteous gets back up. Listen, brothers and sisters, surely when we are overwhelmed with failure, we cling more tenaciously than ever to the fact that Jesus Christ is the only Savior and his sacrifice, the only means of deliverance from judgment and sin. The difference between the apostate, the Christian regarding sin, well, that's the sin of the apostate.

Let's look at the signs of the apostate real fast. Let's look at verses 28 and 29, and let's read those together again. Here we go. Anyone who has said. He shows you right there. There's three signs of apostasy, he shows you right in those verses. And that first sign is that the person who's trampled the Son of God under foot, that's the first thing this is a person who disregards, who rejects and treats with contempt Christ's salvific work and spurns Christ's right to govern life. This person provides lip service to Christian truth, but it lives as he or she pleases, even adopting the world's values and standards. And as one poet has described it, that we have, I think we have, it says

"he lived for. For himself and himself alone. For himself and none beside. Just as if Jesus had never lived and as if he had never died."

Trampled the Son of God underfoot. The second sign is profane the blood of the covenant. Look at that in verse 29, he profaned the blood of the covenant. This reverse the pastor's referring back to Leviticus 10. Wherever they treat something set apart for God as ordinary unclean, this person, the apostate views nothing special about the blood of Jesus Christ. It is just a common thing, having no more value than the blood of any other man. Since the blood of Christ is the means by which believers are sanctified in the new covenant, to profane the blood of Christ is to spit on the very means of God's cleansing and redemption. This is a person who might take communion, but when they look at the cup, all they see is juice. They trample the Son of God underfoot. They profane the blood of the covenant.

And then that third one is they have outraged the Spirit of grace. You know, the work of the Holy Spirit is primarily to draw attention to Jesus Christ and to give glory to him. When somebody rejects Jesus, they insult the Holy Spirit by rejecting the Holy Spirit's testimony. This verse here is the equivalent of blaspheming the Holy spirit in Matthew 12, 31 and 32. The sin of the apostate. It's without compulsion, it's cherished, it's continual. It's a rejection of Christ even after having knowledge of what he's done. The signs of the apostle of apostasy is the trampling of the Son of God underfoot, disparaging the blood of the covenant and outraging the Holy Spirit.

So what are the consequences of apostasy? Well, let's read verse 30 and 31 together. Let's read out loud. For we know him who said, And again the Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing fall in the hands of living God. Well, while we were in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, on vacation, 105 degrees every day at 8am in the morning, no cool water. All the cool water had dried up. But we were at. I was at the Walmart Shopping. And you know, I saw this T shirt Peg. I saw this T shirt there at the Walmart. And you know, I was working on this part of this sermon. I said, this is timely. It is timely. God is love T shirt. Oh, this is a good time to see a shirt like this. Well, it is true, right? God is love. But brothers and sisters, it feels like. It just feels like to me, I could be the only one. I could be wrong. It feels like to me that our culture has come to focus on this attribute of God to the exclusion of all others. Does that feel like to you to. Sometimes, I mean, just, you know, have you ever seen a T shirt down at the Walmart that said, God is holy, holy, holy? Have you ever seen one that said God is just? No, but you get the.

And you know, God is love. But here's what happens. And it's not just love as an attribute. When we come to focus on any of the attributes of God to the exclusion of others, what are we doing? We're setting up or creating an image of God that's in our felt needs. And what does that become? An idol. We have created or create an idol that is not the God of the Bible. As long as we all understand that that is not the God of the Bible. When God reveals himself, he do. He does so holistically. His attributes are not pieces of the pie. That is God. He is all of his attributes all of the time, in full measure. I mean, this is what God says about himself now. I mean, this is God talking about himself in Exodus 34, 6 and 7. So here's what he says about himself.

"The Lord, The Lord, a God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will be no means clear. The guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation." - Exodus 34:6-7

So God himself says that he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. And that's what we see here in these verses in verse 30 and in verse 27, verse 30. And Hebrews 10 says,

"for we know him who said, vengeance is mine, I will repay. And again the Lord will judge his people." - Hebrews 10:30

Verse 27 tells us in relation to apostasy, that those who deliberately reject God have a fearful expectation of judgment, of experiencing the wrath of God. And these are the most sobering words, I think, in this passage, to understand that the God of the Bible is all of his attributes holistically. And I think it should really lead us, and many of you already do. Mark encourages us, but it really should lead us to be even more vigilant, to pray for our loved ones, to pray for our friends and family, and to not give up. I'm talking about praying for those who don't know the Lord. Right? And to not give up. In fact, David will share more with us. But Dr. Yuan, who we're going to see in November, he was not saved for many years of his life and had many struggles, but the one thing that his mom did not give up doing was praying for him. And she's going to share. I can't wait for you all to hear what she said. So it's sobering. But I would challenge each one of us to rechallenge ourselves, to pray for our loved ones who are not saved. Don't give up.

But listen. This. This is where it turns. This, this wrath of God that this pastor has shared, that those who were unsaved, specifically here, the apostate faces. That wrath of God is not meant to give us reason for despair or anxiety. Because that same wrath of God. Listen. Has been satisfied by Christ on the cross. The wrath of God has been satisfied by Christ on the cross. And if you are in Christ, then that wrath has been satisfied. There are very few praise songs that talk about the wrath of God. Let me tell you, they're hard to find. You can find all kinds of praise songs that talk about the love of God. But did you notice we sang one of the three today? There's this one in Christ Alone. And then there's man of Sorrows. And then there's one by another group, verse 2. Till on the cross that Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied.

Listen to this. The Presbyterian Church wanted to include this song in their hymnal selection. And why not? It's one of the most popular praise hymns in the world. And they wrote Keith Getty. So Getty and Townsend, they are the authors. And they said, we'd like to include this song in our hymnal. This is back in 2013. But they said, we want to make a change in the lyrics. And they. And they said, okay, what is the change you want to make in the lyrics? Well, the Presbyterian Church. And this is not a thing against the Presbyterian Church. This is all of us. But they wanted to change the lyrics. Till on the cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. To on the cross that Jesus died, the love of God was Magnified. They wanted to change the words to the love of God is magnified. The chairperson of that committee said

"the primarily about the God's anger would have a negative effect on the hymnal's ability to form the faith of coming generations."

So they said to leave in these words that on the cross where Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied would have a negative effect on forming faith. Well, Gideon Townsend appreciated the opportunity to have their song included, but they wrote back and declined to change the lyrics. And I have just a couple of slides from a Gospel Coalition article where they talk about it. And the first one is this where they said

"we wanted to explore the scope of the gospel message in one song. As people in the pew sing in Christ alone, we pray they understand the many attributes of God, his sovereign power, grace, love, justice and wrath."

They go on to say,

"and we shouldn't turn away from exploring his wrath because through understanding God's righteous anger towards sin, we understand his desire for justice and peace."

And they finally said,

"while we may think it severe, we desperately need God's wrath, a holy and just response to evil, to restore the broken world in which we live now."

Now listen, one of the things they didn't necessarily address in there that I want to address for us is that wrath is not an attribute of God. Wrath is not an attribute of God. God is what? He's holy, he's just, he's love. God is not wrath, but his wrath is the rightful expression of his holy love and justice confronting wickedness or sin. He's not wrath, but it's part of his holy love and justice. And think about this. This wickedness did not exist prior to the fall. This is what I think is so cool here. Before the foundation of the earth was even laid, the triune God communed what? In perfect love and joy, holiness in peace. There was no expression of wrath because there was no sin. Can you imagine? It's hard for us to just put grab our hands around that because we're so stained with sin that there was a time where the triune God was able just to commune in that. But listen, it was because of that same perfect love, the same perfect love that before the foundation of the world was laid that God the Son covenanted with God the Father to come here and bear God's wrath against sin. That also was before the foundation of the world. Christ came in Love to drink the cup. Three verses where we. Where we see that Matthew 20:22, John 18:11 and Matthew 26:39, John 18:11 Jesus said to Peter,

"put your sword in its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup that my Father has given me?" - John 18:11

Matthew 26:39. Jesus is in the garden. He's pleading. He's saying,

"if it possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." - Matthew 26:39

He is in the garden. He is in agony. He has that cup in his hand. And when he looks into that cup, what do you think he sees? Yes, the wrath, horror, death. Your heart, My heart. He looks into the cup and he still drinks it. Anyway. Jesus satisfied the wrath of God by willingly bearing the punishment for humanity's sins, acting as a propitiation, as Brad shared a couple of weeks ago, so that God's justice and love can both be upheld. His justice and love can both be upheld. You know, and I struggle with that sometimes. How was that? How is that? That his justice and his love could both be be upheld by Christ dying on a cross. And I heard this story that really helped me and that I would like to bring our message to conclusion with today.

So there was a king. He was the most loving and just king in ever the land. It come to his attention one day that someone was stealing from his treasury. Someone is stealing from his treasury. And so the king issues a decree. He says, when it is found out who the person is who is stealing from my treasury, they will receive 10 lashes. Well, he issued the decree, but the criminal was not caught. In fact, they continued to steal from his treasury. And so the king said, when they're caught, they will receive 20 lashes. They continued to steal. Then he said, they will receive 30 lashes. They continued to steal. And finally he said, when the criminal is caught, there will be a sentence of 40 lashes. Well, you know, the problem with that is that 40 lashes is a death sentence. So when this person was to be caught, they would receive a sentence of 40 lashes.

We'll come to find out it was none other than the king's beloved daughter who was stealing from the treasury. So question began to ripple through the kingdom. Some thought that the king would forgive her, but how would he be just? Some thought he would issue the sentence or stay the sentence. Well, some thought he would follow through with the sentence. I'm sorry, but then how would he be loving? So he can forgive her, but how could he be just? He could issue the sentence, but how could he be loving? So finally he decided that the Sentence had to be carried out because it was just. The decree had to stand. And on the day that his daughter was to be punished, she was brought out. She was marched up to a podium. She was bent over on that podium, the back of her shirt ripped open. And just as the executioner began to raise his fist and the whip to issue the first lash, what did the king do? He said, stop. Stop.

He got down from his throne, he took off his shirt, he bent over his daughter's body, he wrapped his arms around his daughter and he said, now hit her. Hit her. The executioner said, but king. He said, but, King, the lashes will fall on you. The king said, the sentence is just. The sentence must stand. Now hit her. Forty lashes fell on the king and he died. The king was perfectly just, right. Payment had to be made. The king was perfectly loving, right. He took the punishment upon himself.

And that's what Christ has done for you and for me. Listen. We stood rightly convicted. The penalty for our sin, death. But the king of the universe stepped down from his throne in love, you remember? In love. He stepped down from his throne, he ripped off his shirt, he wrapped his arms around you, and he said, now hit her. Now hit him. The cross of Christ. The exact point where wrath and love meet. The exact point where the love of God satisfies the wrath of God to redeem the people of God. And now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Romans 8:1. Fear not, Christ says to you, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. Brothers and sisters, the Gospel tells us, rebellious people, that God is reconciled, that justice is satisfied, that sin has been atoned for. The judgment of the guilty revoked. Condemnation of the sinner canceled. The curse of the law blotted out the gates of hell, closed. The portals of heaven open wide. The power of sin defeated the guilty conscience, healed the broken heart, comforted the sorrow and misery of the fall undone. Amen. And amen.

Sermons

When Truth is Rejected - Hebrews 10:26-31 - September 13, 2026 - Jay Rabon