A WORD FOR TODAY, March 14, 2025
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, March 14, 2025
“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries. A man who disregards Moses’ law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think he will be judged worthy of who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance belongs to me. I will repay,’ says the Lord. Again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:26-31, WEB
I like to do word studies in the Bible. This means choosing a word in a concordance and reading the scriptures listed for it. I will often look for the number of times a word is used in a particular book, or look for the different ways the word is used in the Old and New Testament. Seeing those words in different contexts can help clarify the meaning. A lexicon can make the study even more interesting as you learn the many different ways Greek and Hebrew words can be translated. Those different translations can help broaden the understanding of the text.
I once focused on the word “apostasy” which led me to today’s passage. It is a hard one, interpreted in many different ways by many different experts. Who is the writer of Hebrews addressing? Who are the apostates? What is this judgment? Can we, who have had faith, become an enemy of God again?
I had an online friend who had been a passionate, active Christian. He was devoted and zealous, often deeply involved in the study of the scriptures. Unfortunately, he discovered what he considered discrepancies between what he believed and what he read in the Bible. His experience of Christianity did not fit into his understanding of the faith. He saw contradictions that bothered him. “How can it be both this way and that way?” He asked solid, intelligent questions, but the answers never satisfied him. He lost his faith and rejected Jesus. He rejected Christianity and all religion. He considered himself an agnostic on some days, willing to admit that there could be something, but he just did not know what it was. Some days, which came more and more frequently at the end of our friendship, he rejected everything to do with faith, including many people who cared for him. Sadly, we haven’t talked for many years.
I don’t know what happened, or will happen, to my friend. Today’s passage does not offer much hope. All I know is that it is up to God, and I have to believe He is always faithful. We can reject what Christ has done. I don’t know how anyone who has known the grace of Jesus and the hope that comes from faith in Him can reject the Gospel, but we can reject Jesus Christ, even if we have experienced and embraced His amazing grace.
We find comfort in the fact that God can do the impossible, and though hell is real for those who reject Him, we can hope that God can overcome even our unfaithfulness. It is fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God, but there is always hope.
It is appropriate for us to think through a difficult text like this one during Lent, and to consider the problem of apostacy in the Church. Our prayer life and devotions are often focused on self, reflecting on our sinfulness and repentance, not on the faith of others. However, since we are spending more time in prayer, we can take a few moments to pray for those who were once faithful but have fallen away. We are all just a doubt or question away from apostacy ourselves. Though we have faith, we can become lost in the cares or temptations of the world. It is not up to us to judge their place in God’s kingdom even if they have seemingly rejected Jesus so completely that they are not even willing to have Christians in their lives. God can do the impossible, He can change their life and faith. It is our calling to pray and seek God’s hand in their life. Condemned or not, it is our responsibility to love them. God will do what God will do. Our job is to believe and trust, living hope for what can be through God’s mercy and grace.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org