28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
The apostle now, in verses 28 and 29, moved from a lesser to greater argument. Verse 28 shows how God judged Israel during the exodus by alluding to Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15. If God judged people under the Mosaic Covenant, how much more greatly will people be judged under the New Covenant. It deserves greater judgment because of its greater revelation.
28 Anyone who has rejected [despised] Moses’ law
To discard Moses is to reject the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. It is to rebel against what God has said. The word “rejected” means rendered inoperative. A person who renders God’s Word ineffective has committed a serious offense (Deut 17:2–7, LXX). This is the rejection of the law as a whole.
dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
This is the lesser argument; the greater argument is in the next verse. This is part of the greater-than argument of the entire book of Hebrews. Since violation of the Mosaic law was a desecration, it is a much greater defilement to despise the New Covenant. Both have their respective discipline.
“Dies without mercy” is not the eternal, second death of the lost. God cannot give “mercy” without people believing in Christ’s death for their sin. Note the reference to Hebrews 10:29 on this. If an Israelite rejected the Mosaic law in view of two or three witnesses, Scripture demanded he be put to physical death.
The thrust of this verse is that the Mosaic law demanded the physical death of those who violated Scripture. The cause ranged from picking up sticks on the Sabbath day to idolatry and murder. The issue in the Pentateuch was not salvation but despising God’s Word.
PRINCIPLE:
Christians will lose reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ for tampering with truth.
APPLICATION:
The argument of Hebrews 10:28 refers to the practice in the Old Testament whereby people were put to death for idolatry and murder. By analogy, the New Covenant believer who violates the doctrine of the sacrificial death of Christ subjects himself to severe discipline from God. Premature death of the believer may be an option (Acts 5:1–11; 1 Co 11:28–31; 1 Jn 5:16). It could also mean that the believer will lose his rewards in heaven.
The following context indicates that those who minimize the death of Christ will be disciplined, and some will be rewarded, in “the Day of the Lord” (He 10:35–36). Those who “endure” will receive rewards. Christians need to have confidence when He comes (1 Jn 2:28). The works of those who not honor the Lord will be burned, but the work that honors Him will be rewarded (1 Co 3:13–15). The “loss” is loss of reward. Loss of reward has eternal implications.
The coming “Day of the Lord” is God’s wrath executed during the Great Tribulation. It is also the time when believers will appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ in heaven (2 Co 5:9–10; Ro 14:10–12). This a time of examination for appropriate rewards.
If a non-Christian rejects Christ’s sacrifice as the only way, then from God’s standard there is no other way of salvation. The believer who minimizes the finality of the death of Christ will face the same analogy as the Old Testament believer—temporal discipline. This may be premature physical death (Ac 5:1–11; 1 Co 11:28–31; 1 Jn 5:16). They will have to answer for this sin at the Judgment Seat of Christ for Christians (2 Co 5:9–10; Ro 14:10–12). This is what the “Day” of Hebrews 10:25 was all about. This judgment has to do with reward, not punishment. These Christians will jeopardize their eternal rewards.
It is clear that the book of Hebrews was written to believers (He 3:1, 6, 12, 14; 5:12; 6:4, 5, 10; 10:10, 14, 29). These verses cannot possibly apply to unbelievers. Every warning in Hebrews was written to Christians. The problem was that Jewish Christians were about to return to Judaism.
What would cause you to lose your salvation?? I know a person that was raised baptist and assume that he accepted Christ as his saviour. But, he is now a very prominent figure in the local JW hall. HE married a devout JW and has raised 5 children from the ground up inJW doctrine. Has he lost his salvation?? this has always troubled me…. I know that only God judges the heart …. but, these are questions that I have. What causes you to lose salvation?? I guess what are “The. Causes” that result in loss of salvation. Thanks!!
Karla, there is almost no way to answer your question because the issue revolves around experiential issues. Many people have professed salvation but were never Christians in the first place. Many people in the pastorate accept Christ after being in the pastorate. There is a possibility that he was a genuine Christian in the first place but went into reversionism like the believers in the book of Hebrews. If the latter is the case then he is subject to discipline for adopting false doctrine. My guess is that he “went out from us because he was not of us” (1 Jn 2:19). https://versebyversecommentary.com/1-john/1-john-219/
Karla,
After much study I have come to my conclusions about losing your salvation. It is not a widely accepted belief in the christian community. Here is one verse that can help explain what I have come to understand.
Teaching #1
You can never lose you salvation once you get saved. No matter what you do.
Teaching #2
If you get saved and turn from God you can lose your salvation.
We will not take this from the perspective where I am not to judge a person to see if they are or are not saved. We will let God be the judge of that. But what we will look at is can you lose your salvation after you are saved. Can Satan take your salvation? No. Can anyone pluck you out of His Hands? No. However, God does honor free will as He has since creation, consider Adam and Eve. The Godhead created man in their image, which meant they gave them freewill which in turn became their greatest liability. Knowing that they would choose to walk down their own path and get lost, a plan was put in place to seek them out and get them back through Jesus Christ. I will present verses that are straightforward with their meaning and you be the judge.
Hebrews 6:4-6
4For in the case of those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly
gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit
5and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come
6and then fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they
crucify again to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame.
1. Those who were enlightened (John 16:8)
-they had been brought under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and are made
aware of their sin.
2. They have tasted of the heavenly gift (John 6:51)
-that gift is Jesus.
3. Partakers of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:5-6)
-they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.
4. Tasted the good word of God
-they have gone past the milk of the word (1 Peter2:2)
5. And the powers of the age to come
-these are the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12: 8-10)
The first verse speaks of a nonbeliever who has been shown his true state as a sinner and separated from God. As with everyone this is when a choice is made whether or not to receive Jesus and “taste the heavenly gift”. From this point on the author is referring to believers who make the choice to repent of their sins and turn to God for salvation. This is pretty clear because a nonbeliever cannot become a “partaker of the Holy Spirit”. In fact, a nonbeliever can neither come to an understanding of scripture nor walk in the gifts of the Spirit since these too are a work of the Holy Spirit. Hence, the author is referring to a believer, but more specifically a mature believer. Looking more closely at the passage, the author describes a believer that has grown past the “milk of the word (1 Peter 2:2)” and has now tasted the good word of God. Paul, when writing to the believers in Corinthians, referred to them as infants and gave them “milk to drink, not solid food (1Cor. 3:2)” because they would not be able to eat it. The greek word (G1089) in the passage of Hebrews is translated; to take food and eat, and also, to take nourishment. It is the same verb use in Acts 10:10 when Peter became “very hungry and would of eaten…but fell into a trance.” The author makes it clear the believer has come to a place of maturity therefore understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit and the scriptures. Lastly, the believer described walks in the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are referred to as the powers of the age to come. In other words the believer is operating in one or more of the gifts of the Spirit and manifesting them in their life. These 5 experiences a believer must have first before he can commit the “sin leading to death (1John 5:16).” It is this sin that John says not to pray for because “it is impossible for them to renewed to repentance again (Hebrews 6:6)” once they have fallen away which means that they fell from where they were.
Christopher, I suggest you further study the issue. Go here for two studies: https://versebyversecommentary.com/articles/doctrine/eternal-security-2/ Also, you may want to go to my studies on Hebrews 6, all of them.