Lamoille Valley Grace Brethren Church
April 19, 2026

      • Isaiah 12:5LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

  • Forever
  • Revelation Song

      • Deuteronomy 17:1–7LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • 2 Corinthians 9:6–7NASB95

  • Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 17:1-7
    Kid’s Time:
    Proposition: We are warned what will happen if anyone who rejects the so great salvation provided for us in Christ.
    Interrogative: What will happen if someone who has full knowledge of the truth about Jesus Christ willfully and finally rejects Him? Did they Lose their salvation? Were they saved to begin with? Have I rejected Jesus for any other way to God?
    Jeff Foxworthy, You might be a redneck if…You might be a redneck if you mow your lawn and find a car. You might be a redneck if your dog and your wallet are both on a chain. You might be a redneck if your school fight song was “Dueling Banjos.” You might be a redneck if your belt buckle weighs more than three pounds. You might be a redneck if you’ve ever been accused of lying through your tooth. You might be a redneck if you think fast food is hitting a deer at 65 mph.
    Transitional Statement: 3 Devastating Results of rejecting God’s salvation.
    An Exposition of Hebrews Chapter 52: Apostasy (Heb. 10:25–27)

    “Search me, O God: reveal me to myself. If I am deceived, undeceive me ere it be eternally too late. Enable me to measure myself faithfully by Thy Word, so that I may discover whether or no my heart has been renewed, whether I have abandoned every course of self-will and truly surrendered to Thee; whether I have so repented that I hate all sin, and fervently long to be free from its power, loathe myself and seek diligently to deny myself; whether my faith is that which overcomes the world (

    I. The Reality of Rejecting Christ

    A. Its Condition

    Hebrews 10:26 NASB95
    26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth,…
    Go on sinning willfully—settled state of sin. The word willful is the very first word of the sentence which means if has the emphasis. The writer is referring to apostates. An apostate is someone who has made a profession of faith (false profession) but then renounces their faith at sometime after that profession.
    Hebrews: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Characteristics of Apostasy

    Here is possibly the clearest and most concise scriptural definition of apostasy—receiving knowledge of the truth, that is, the gospel, but willfully remaining in sin. An apostate has seen and heard the truth—he knows it well—but he willfully rejects it.

    Apostasy has two major characteristics: knowledge of the truth of the gospel and willful rejection of it.

    How do I know if I am apostate?
    Are you in a settled, comfortable state of unbelief in Jesus as your Savior even though you know what the Bible teaches about Him and the salvation He has provided?
    George Zeller: The true believer should show signs of the spiritual life within them. You should believe the Word of God is absolutely true. You should have a hunger for the Word of God. You should be a person of prayer. You should love your brothers and sisters in Christ. You should obey the Word of God. You should not continue in sin but live a righteous life. You should not enjoy living in sin. You should perform good works (not to get saved but doing good things is an evidence that you are saved). You should confess Christ freely. You should continue in the faith until the end.

    B. Its Consequence

    1. No Salvation Posible

    Hebrews 10:26 NASB95
    26 …there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
    Because the apostate rejects Christ and because Christ is the fulfillment of the sacrificial system as both the final sacrifice which cleanses the conscience from sin and the Great High Priest who offered the perfect sacrifice, they are left without a sacrifice for sins.
     Hebrews 10:26–27      Facebook +4
    The Apostate's Choice: If the traveler walks onto that bridge, realizes it is the only way, but then decides to turn back and dismantle the bridge behind them, they are not just "choosing another route." There are no other bridges.
    The Lesson: By rejecting the final bridge, they are left standing on the edge of the abyss with no way across. There "no longer remains a sacrifice" because they have rejected the only one that worked. Ligonier Ministries +1
     Wisdom International +1
    The Refusal: If the prisoner tears up the pardon, they cannot go back to the court and ask for the old, temporary stays of execution (the shadow sacrifices) that used to buy them a few weeks of time. Those old laws have been superseded and retired by the final pardon.
    The Result: By rejecting the ultimate and final legal remedy, the prisoner is left with nothing but the "fearful expectation of judgment". YouTube +5
     First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi +3
    The Rejection: If the patient receives the knowledge of this cure but then deliberately throws it away and insults the doctor, they cannot go back to the old, ineffective treatments. Those treatments no longer exist as an option because the "medical system" has moved past them to the final cure.
    The Lesson: To reject the perfect cure is to choose the disease.

    2. Judgement Expected

    Hebrews 10:27 NASB95
    27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.
    If an apostate rejects Christ sacrifice for sin, the only thing left is judgment. They of course don’t believe in hell because they reject God and His Word, but that will not stop the reality of the lake of fire from consuming them.

    II. The Severity of Rejecting Christ

    A. Lesser Severity

    Hebrews 10:28 NASB95
    28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
    He is using an illustration from the OT as an argument from the lesser to the greater. If the inferior covenant given by Moses required merciless judgment, then what will the greater light of the new covenant require?
    Like Korah and his rebellion.
    Numbers 16:1–33 NASB95
    1 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action, 2 and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown. 3 They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 4 When Moses heard this, he fell on his face; 5 and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. 6 “Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company, 7 and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!” 8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi, 9 is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; 10 and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for the priesthood also? 11 “Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord; but as for Aaron, who is he that you grumble against him?” 12 Then Moses sent a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. 13 “Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? 14 “Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!” 15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not regard their offering! I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” 16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company be present before the Lord tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron. 17 “Each of you take his firepan and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.” 18 So they each took his own censer and put fire on it, and laid incense on it; and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. 19 Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation. 20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” 22 But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?” 23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’ ” 25 Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, 26 and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, or you will be swept away in all their sin.” 27 So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and their sons and their little ones. 28 Moses said, “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing. 29 “If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 “But if the Lord brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord.” 31 As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.

    B. Greater Severity

    Hebrews 10:29 NASB95
    29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
    Since Jesus is greater than Moses and His High Priestly ministry is greater than that of the law of Moses, then to reject Christ and His sacrifice is far more deserving of judgement.
    Many people think that the God of the OT is strict and vengeful but the God of the NT is softer and more loving, like they are almost 2 separate God’s. But God is the same yesterday as He is today. He is just as merciful to the tender of heart in the OT as He is in the NT and God is just as wrathful upon rebellious sinners in the NT as He was in the OT (or maybe even more so).
    Those who have more light have a greater responsibility before God. Those who have seen, heard, and touched the Lord Jesus while He was here on this earth and still reject Him will deserve a far stricter judgement than those who reject the Messiah before He came.
    Matthew 11:20–24 NASB95
    20 Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 “Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 24 “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”
    If you are here today and you have made a nominal profession of faith but you have never repented of your sin and never really believed that Jesus died in your place, then you need to know that you are in grave danger. I cannot read your heart, no one can, but if you still refuse to repent and believe with the knowledge that you now have about Jesus, you will be held to a greater standard and have a more severe judgement because you have rejected the one person who can cleanse your conscience and save you. You have trampled God’s precious Son under your foot and treated Him as worthless, you have considered the blood of Jesus as unclean as a Jew would consider the blood of a pig as unfit for sacrifice, and you said by your action that the Holy Spirit wrote this inspired account of Jesus is lier.
    2 Peter 1:10 NASB95
    10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;

    III. The Certainty of Judgement

    A. Personal Certainty

    Hebrews 10:30 NASB95
    30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
    A quote from the OT:
    Deuteronomy 32:35 NASB95
    35 ‘Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.’
    Jesus is the judge. He is qualified as God and man to judge perfectly and accurately. Here is what He said about His judgement.
    Matthew 7:21–23 NASB95
    21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

    B. Helpless Certainty

    Hebrews 10:31 NASB95
    31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
    Fall — This means they are helpless before God. They are incapable of resisting God at this point. Many people think they will plead their case when they die and be able to twist God into knots with their superior ability to argue, but they are sadly mistaken. Their mouths will be shut as they stand in front of the Ancient of Days. His purity and goodness, that they have scorned, burn every drop of defiance from them.
    Revelation 20:7–15 NASB95
    7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
    The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary Fourth Warning Passage (10:26–31) Homer Kent. “May those whose understanding of God’s truth has never been clear find instruction in this solemn warning and flee from the day of vengeance to the Son of God, whose blood shed at Calvary provides the only perfect sacrifice.”
    So, what should we do?
    2 Corinthians 13:5 NASB95
    5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?
    What is the test? Have you chosen to turn away from a life of sin and pursue Jesus Christ? Have you believed in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross for you? Have you died to yourself that you might live for Jesus Christ? Have you been born from above and now consider yourself a child of heaven?
    If you can say yes to those questions, do you now see evidence of the Holy Spirit of Christ at work in you? Do you see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control in some measure in your life? Are you regularly broken by and hate the sin in your life? Do you hate what God hates and love what God loves? Are you seeing victory over sin through the power of the Holy Spirit even if it might be in small increments? These are evidences of being born again and they help give us assurance of salvation.
    This is not something to take lightly. Your eternal destiny hangs in the balance. So be sure.
    Let me leave with some encouragement. For those who are truly born again, Romans tells us,
    Romans 8:1 NASB95
    1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
    Be sure that you are in Christ Jesus.
    The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary Fourth Warning Passage (10:26–31)

    May those whose understanding of God’s truth has never been clear find instruction in this solemn warning and flee from the day of vengeance to the Son of God, whose blood shed at Calvary provides the only perfect sacrifice.

      • Hebrews 10:26LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:26LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:27LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:28LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:29LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Matthew 11:20–24LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • 2 Peter 1:10LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:30LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Deuteronomy 32:35LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Matthew 7:21–23LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Hebrews 10:31LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Revelation 20:7–15LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • 2 Corinthians 13:5LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

      • Romans 8:1LGCYSTNDRDBBLSB

  • I Surrender All
  • Our God
Lamoille Valley Grace Brethren Church
pastorethan@lvgbc.net
8028883339
http://www.lvgbc.net
26 members