Hebrews 10:28-39 | The punishment under the old covenant vs. the punishment under the new covenant

Hebrews 10 and the Theme of Old Covenant and New Covenant Punishment

All right, if you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Hebrews chapter 10. We will consider verses 28 through 39. Hebrews chapter 10, 28 through 39. Our dear God, we love you. And Lord, we just ask that you meet with us.

You have met with us as we sung to you, as we read your word. Lord, we ask that you meet with us as we walk through your word, verse by verse, that you will use this, Lord, to grow us who are Christians in holiness and to grant repentance and faith to those who are not.

In Christ's name, amen. All right, so we're coming to the end of the book, of the chapter 10 of the book. So that means we got three chapters to go, right? We're nearing to the end, right? So it's a little over a year.

We've taken some breaks here and there to bring in some stuff to apply as a foundation, right? And I don't know about you, but I've gained great insight as walking through this book, an understanding of theology that I didn't have as I was entering into this book.

A lot of misconceptions about what this book actually teaches. And when you walk through it, that's not it. That's not what it teaches, right? And I was talking earlier about reading these great saints, reading Calvin, reading Knox, reading all these guys who wrote these commentaries.

And we love these guys, right? But there's areas where they missed it, right? I mean, no one got it right. We don't worship Calvin. We don't worship Knox. We don't worship Luther. But they had great insights.

What we hold above everything is the word of God. And we wanna walk through the word of God and we wanna hear the argument that the writer is laying out. And whenever we get to chapter 10, verse 28, we don't wanna forget what chapter one, verse one says.

That we wanna take all that was said before and apply it to our text, right? I think that's the correct way of doing it. And I hope you see that that's what I've been doing in the interpretation. And though I've been using Calvin, I've been using commentaries, you know, sometimes to show you where they were wrong, right?

Let's face it, right? But we love these guys, but we love the word of God. And I've enjoyed walking through and I'm going to enjoy the next three chapters. And I hope you will too. Our theme for this Lord's day is the punishment under the old covenant versus the punishment under the new covenant.

I know a lot of people say, well, I'm so glad I'm not living under the old covenant. Well, we'll see. So the one thing that we know for sure from this portion of scripture is that rather it's the old covenant or it's the new covenant.

There was and is, was meaning for old, is meaning for new, punishment for disobedience, right? You disobey, you will be punished. I hope if you're a parent that that's something that's displayed in your house, right?

Had a conversation this week with a guy that I buy leather from is a Jewish man. And we're just talking about the different ways we believe things. And he was speaking about how he has a best friend who he was his best man at his wedding, who is a Mormon.

And he said, this Jewish man who's practice, practicing Jew said that he just believes that, no matter what religion you are, that we're ultimately worshiping the same God and we'll end up in the same place.

He is a rabbinical Jew. And I said, well, you know, I love you, brother. And I value our friendship, but I 100 disagree with you. And I started preaching to him how Jesus is the long awaited Messiah.

He lived a life we could not live and he died the death that we deserve. And these commandments that him and all these other religions are trying to practice to earn favor with God, that Jesus kept those commandments.

And because he has, I don't have to keep these to earn favor with God. And I explained to him how the Jewish people are or were God's own covenant, earthly kingdom people. But that the church is God's new covenant, heavenly kingdom people.

Well, he listened to me as much as he could before he let me go. Luckily still friends, right? He messaged me afterwards. You know, I have to tell the truth no matter what, but there's ways you can tell the truth and be respectful.

But this guy left the conversation knowing that as Christians, we believe that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah who lived a life that no one else could and who took the punishment and death that we deserve.

Amen.

The Punishment Under the Old Covenant

In our outline today, we will notice the punishment and the actions of those under the old covenant as well as those under the new covenant. So point number one, the punishment under the old covenant versus the punishment under the new covenant.

And point number two, those under the old covenant versus those under the new covenant. And as we transition, let's look back at verse 26 and 27 of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 10. We exegetically walked through this last week.

It says, for if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume the adversary.

Now I know that we're Baptists and we don't like to talk, but I'm gonna ask a question and please give me a response. What was that sin? Unbelief. The book of Hebrews speaks against one sin and it's the sin of unbelief.

Right?

The writer of Hebrews exegetically, like systematically walks through reasons.

For our faith,.

Why we should believe in Jesus. He breaks it down that Jesus is superior and Jesus is sufficient. He is superior, meaning the supremacy of Jesus. He's greater than everything. And this sacrifice that he made is sufficient that it covers everything.

It covers all your sins. And that the one thing it speaks against is unbelief. It's not believing Jesus is greater than everything. It's not believing that Jesus' sacrifice has covered all things. And he exhorts them to have faith in Jesus, to enter into that veil through Jesus by drawing near to him and to hope in our confession,.

To know that we have been saved.

Because of what he has done.

We believe in him.

We've been baptized into him.

And then he speaks about our ministry,.

Us Christians, you, me, all of us. When we gather together,.

As Christians, if you become a Christian today,.

You are a minister.

How?

It tells us by encouraging one another, stirring one another up to love and good works. And we do that by coming together on the Lord's day. And that's why it's so important for us to meet together. We don't wanna take one element away from what God has given us, the preaching of the word, the Lord's supper, the fellowship and the prayer, nor do we wanna take a minister away from the congregation.

Yes, of course, there's reasons to miss. If you watch my podcast this week, if you're sick, all right? The guy that I was speaking with, he said, you are the leper. You need to say, unclean, unclean. You know, you're sick.

You don't need to be here.

We get that. There's reasons for not being able to make it. But if there's any way at all for you to make it,.

You need to make it.

I mean, just picture. If you were expecting to come to church and you get here and I wasn't here, I didn't unlock the doors. I didn't straighten things up, right? Now I want you to know something else.

There's moments when I don't wanna be here. I'm tired, but I know I have a ministry here.

What is it? It's to love and to stir one another up to love and good works. When I'm standing behind this pulpit,.

You know what I'm doing?

I'm being a part of that body. And when I'm up here speaking, I'm the mouth. When Pastor Kyle's speaking, I'm an ear. Next week, Josh is speaking. Be here for that.

Guess what I'm gonna be?

I'm gonna be an ear.

We'll sit under the word, all right? And I'm gonna encourage you to love and to stir one another up to love and good works, all right? That's our ministry as we gather together. It's so important for us to be here.

When we can, point number one, the punishment under the old covenant versus the punishment under the new covenant. Hebrews 10, beginning in verse 28, we'll read to verse 31. 28, anyone who sets aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who tramples underfoot the son of God who has and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has outraged the spirit of grace?

For we know him who said, vengeance is mine, I will repay. And again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Our writer seems to be arguing from the lesser to the greater, from the earthly to the heavenly, from the old covenant to the new covenant, from Moses to Christ, from the punishment under the old covenant to the punishment under the new covenant.

In the law of Moses, the death penalty comes upon those who blaspheme or worship other deities, right? Turn with me, if you will, to Leviticus chapter 24. We'll read verses 13 through 16. Leviticus 24, 13 through 16.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, bring out of the camp the one who cursed and let all those who heard him lay their hands on his head and let all the congregation stone him and speak to the people of Israel saying, whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.

Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death and all the congregation shall stone him, the sojourner as well as the native. When he blasphemes, the name shall be put to death. You glad we don't practice that one?

Would anyone here be alive?

Turn to, excuse me, Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 17. I just want you to see how serious the Lord takes these things. Beginning in verse one, we'll read a verse seven. Deuteronomy 17, verse one through seven.

You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep in which is a blemish, any defect, whatever, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God. If there is found among you with any of your towns that the Lord your God has given you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God and transgression his covenant.

So the transgression would be offering something.

That's unclean.

And has gone and served other gods and worshiped them or the sun or the moon or any of the host of heavens, which is forbidding. This could be speaking of like Zodiac stuff. And it's told you and your heart, and it's told to you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently of it.

And if it's true and certain of such, an abomination has been done in Israel, then you shall bring out to the gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and you shall stone that man or that woman to death with stones.

On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, the one is to die shall be put to death. A person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. The hand of the witness shall be first against him and put him to death and afterwards the hands of all the people.

So you shall purge the evil from your midst. The writer seems to be making a connection here between setting aside the law of Moses and trampling underfoot the son of God, which would be a defect sacrifice, something that's unclean.

You sacrifice after Christ has made the sacrifice it is defect, it's unclean, you're in sin. And our text setting aside the law of Moses points to the blaspheme of God or worship, or I mean, blaspheme of God or the worship of deities or making an unclean sacrifice.

If this is a one for one comparison, so if a one for one comparison is being made here, which I believe it is, or even worse, then we can say that trampling underfoot the son of God is the blaspheme of God or the worship of other deities or making an unclean sacrifice.

I would say it's all of the above though. In case of the context, the forbidden worship that's been seen in Hebrews is the worship, the old covenant worship and regulations. So when they would go back to worship in Deuteronomy, they're talking about worshiping the sun, worshiping the moon, worshiping the stars.

He's saying, when you go back to the temple to offer sacrifices, same thing, same thing. By going back to the old way, they are committing the sin of blasphemy, blaspheme. They are cursing Christ, worshiping the temple and trusting in an unclean sacrifice.

Imagine that. So the Old Testament, you are not to curse God. You are not to worship other deities, sun, moon and stars, and you are not to offer an unclean sacrifice. By them going back, it doesn't say that they're cursing God, they're cursing Christ, right?

Jesus is God, correct? They're worshiping the temple. They're trusting in the temple, not Christ. And so by offering that unclean sacrifice. So under the old covenant, this sin was unto death. Let's read verse 28 of chapter 10.

Anyone who sets aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. Leviticus 24, 16, whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death and all the congregation shall stone him.

He is not playing here. He is correlating what's the Old Testament with the New Testament, meaning that Jesus has come in the same ways when you would do these things against Yohei Vahei, God,.

When he would do these things against him.

And the New Covenant, when you go back and you're doing these ritual things that you have under the Old Covenant, when you apply them into the New Covenant, you're blaspheming God by rejecting his son.

And the same punishment is deserved but worse. And we'll get to that. So Old Covenant, earthly people, earthly blessings, earthly curses, right? Earthly people, the Jews, earthly blessings, do these laws stay, live in the land?

Earthly curses, break these laws, be removed from the land. And these certain curses right here, if you commit them, you are to be stoned to death. So if you curse God, worship idols, or offer an unclean sacrifice, you are to be stoned.

Under the New Covenant, going back to the temple and offering sacrifices was equal or worse to the Old Covenant blaspheme. Verse 29 of Hebrews chapter 10. How much worse. So he's saying that, you know, those things in the Old Covenant were bad, but how much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who tramples underfoot the son of God, who has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and was outraged by the spirit of grace.

The New Covenant and the Greater Punishment for Rejecting Christ

So under the New Covenant, there are those, under the New Covenant, there are those that are in the New Covenant, and there are those that are not, right? So this church is a New Covenant church, all right?

There's people in here that are in the New Covenant, right? And there could be people in here who have not entered that covenant, right? There's definitely, we're living in the New Covenant era, the New Covenant, Jesus has come, the whole world is called to believe in him, but the whole world does not believe in him, right?

So in order to enter the New Covenant, you must be born again. We're born into this world. So you say, why being born again? Because we're born into this world and we're under the federal headship of Adam.

So we need to remove this federal headship of Adam and we need to be under a new federal headship,.

Which is Christ.

So those that are born, are born under the federal headship of Adam. I'll use my children, right? I just had a newborn. He is born, born under the federal headship of Adam. He needs to be born again. He needs to be born again so that his federal head is Christ.

Right now he's represented by Adam, he needs to be represented by Christ. And so if you're here today and you are a Christian, you are under the federal headship of Christ. But if you're not a Christian, you're under the federal headship of Adam.

And what happened to Adam will happen to you. As so goes the king, as goes the king, so goes the kingdom. So just like the Old Covenant age, all Jews were required to worship God. All those born in the New Covenant age, remember I just kind of laid it out, are required to worship God.

So all those that are in the Old Covenant, all the Jews are required to worship God. In the New Covenant, everyone, all men, everyone that's born is required to worship God. Old Covenant, just the Jews, New Covenant, every single person.

How do we do this? By looking to the Messiah, looking to the Messiah. The New Covenant, heavenly people, heavenly blessings, spiritual curses. So under the New Covenant, there's heavenly people. Remember I talked about this as I opened up.

Heavenly blessings and spiritual curses. The punishment under the New Covenant for those who reject Jesus is not only physical death. First Covenant was physical death. New Covenant is not only physical death, though it is physical death, but it's also spiritual death in hell.

Go back and look at verse 26 and 27. For if we go on sinning deliberately, after receiving the knowledge of truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. What's the sin? Unbelief. If you go on unbelieving after receiving the knowledge of truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.

The temple is destroyed, you cannot sacrifice for sins. But a fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume the adversary. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 10. This is Jesus speaking.

Matthew chapter 10, look at verse 28 with me. Matthew 10, verse 28. And do you, I mean, and do not fear those, I mean, excuse me, do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both body and soul and body in hell.

So think about what we just heard under the Old Covenant. If you commit a certain sin, you were put to death. Yep, they were stoned. Jesus is saying, don't fear those who can just destroy your body, who can just stone you.

Don't fear those, but fear him who can destroy both your body and your soul and throw them into hell. Don't fear man, fear God. And a lot of people, they don't like talking about fear and God. I just wanna give you a quick little illustration.

I want you to imagine you're in a small little rowboat. You're in the middle of the ocean and a big giant well, 15 feet in front of you, jumps up. Do you fear? Yeah, you're in fear. You make the wrong move, you can die.

All right, we're talking about a God that created this big old beast of a well and planted him in the sea, the ocean. You know, how big is this well? All right, well, how big is this ocean? All right, well, how big is this earth?

God created all things. Don't tell me you're not to fear God. God created the things that by which we fear. The Bible talks about the seraphims that are in heaven and they have six wings. And with two wings, they cover their face.

And with two wings, they cover their feet. And with two wings, they fly. And they look to one another and reminding each other how holy, holy, holy this God is, is that sits on the throne. He is holy, holy, holy.

He is separated, he is something other. And if one of these six winged angels was to walk in this room, as Paul Washer says, you would fall down like a dead man and worship that angel.

You would worship what worships God all day long.

In fear and trembling. The only thing that keeps us.

From being able to approach God.

Without covering our faces with makeup wings.

Is Jesus Christ.

He has taken upon himself the punishment we deserve. We can go boldly to God. Angels cannot, but don't tell me he doesn't deserve fear. He can destroy both body and soul in hell. Only the Christian can come to him without fear in that way of fear of punishment.

No one else can.

Misusing the name of God or making an unclean sacrifice or worshiping a false God under the old covenant brought death, but rejecting Jesus, trampling underfoot the son of God, profaning the blood of the covenant brings both death of the body and torment of the soul.

Look at verses 30 and 31 of Hebrews 10. For we know him who said, vengeance is mine.

I will repay.

And again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. As we transition, I want to give you two interpretations for the words by which he was sanctified that we saw in verse 29 here in our text.

This could be speaking of the son of God. I want to read that one more time. Verse 29, how much worse punishment do you think will be deserved the one who tramples underfoot the son of God who has profaned the blood of the covenant, right here, by which he was sanctified?

So the question is, is who is the he who was sanctified? And if he's sanctified, how can he lose that sanctification, right? This is a big question. So here in our text, this could be speaking, the he who was sanctified could be speaking of the son of God.

The word son of God is the nearest and to seated. So this could be speaking of the son of God. Now, if that's true, I don't believe it is, but if that's true, it has to be in the same idea of him being made perfect, which kind of goes with the context.

Him being made perfect, he was complete, meaning that our salvation is complete in him. In order to approach God, we come through Jesus, right? Because of what he has done for us. And to kind of follow off that argument, if you go back and you listen to last week's verse, you'll get a clear presentation of it.

So to be honest, I believe this is speaking about some kind of a transitioning between the covenants. The word sanctified in the Greek is hagiazo, hagiazo. So I'm gonna give you different ways you can interpret it depending on the context.

It can mean to render or acknowledge or hollow, to separate from profane things, or to dedicate to God, consecrate things to God, or dedicate people to God, to purify, to cleanse from the guilt of sin, to purify eternally by renewing of the soul.

So those are the different ways it can be interpreted, but it depends on the context on which one you choose. Now, because of the context, as I've been walking through it, I believe it's speaking of to separate from profane things.

And here's why.

The new covenant came to separate us from the old covenant, which in time became a profane thing. God no longer require this worship that they were performing. He sent his son, Jesus Christ, who lived a life we couldn't live and took upon himself the punishment.

So when he's talking about who sanctified you, who has come to separate you from a profane thing, you're going back performing the duties under that old covenant. So by way of the context, that's what I believe.

You can disagree, we can debate. You know, I love debate, but I'm going to move forward. Point number two, those under the old covenant versus those under the new covenant. And we're going to consider verses 32 to 39.

And right here, the writer points out the terrible persecution they are undergoing. It says that after they were enlightened, meaning they heard the truth of the gospel, they began to experience reproach and affliction.

Some were put in prison, and those that weren't had compassion on those that were. So I'm going to talk about prison at this time. So prison at this time is not prison in our time, right? So for believing in Christ, for moving into the new covenant era, for worshiping God the way God has set up and established through his son, people were put into prison.

All right? Now prison at this time, they did not clothe you and they did not feed you. If you needed to be clothed and you needed to be fed, people that you knew would have to come and give you clothes and give you food.

So if you got put in prison, they would come, bring you clothes and bring you food. But here's the thing. They knew the ones coming to bring clothes and food were other Christians. So by the Christians going to take care of the ones that were in prison that needed clothes and needed food, they themselves took the risk of being put into prison, needing clothes and needing food.

So when he commends them of taking care of those that are in prison, they're taking a big risk of doing so. It's not like today. I mean, it could be in the future, something near to this. We don't know.

But at this time, when you were put in a prison, especially if you were a Christian, those that were bringing you clothes and food were more likely to be a Christian and they were taking a risk of being put into prison.

So a true believer, a true believer knew that they were just pilgrims passing through and that life was not their lasting possession. So let's read that and you'll kind of get the idea of what I just said.

It'll kind of put it into place. Chapter 10, verse 32 through 34. The writer says, but recall the former days when after you were enlightened, remember this is you have been given truth. You endured a harsh struggles with suffering, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction and even sometimes being partnered with those who so mistreated.

For you had compassion on those in prison and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property since you knew that you yourself had a better possession and an abiding one. So what was their better possession?

Heaven.

They knew that this was not it. They knew that it was no longer earthly blessings that since Christ comes, there is an eternal heavenly blessing. And that's what the New Testament writers are out to bring to mind to them and to us.

They, these people, they saw the troubles of the earthly versus the gracious gifts of God in the heavenly. Now let's read verse 35, but let's just read 35a. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence.

So what is their confidence that he's speaking about? Again, remember earlier I said, we cannot forget what we read previously when we are interpreting the text before us. So if you go back to verse 19, it tells you their confidence.

Verse 19 of the same chapter. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh.

So Jesus, through his crucifixion, he has opened for us the curtain to God, the gateway he has opened for us where we can be in the presence of God. And we should have confidence of this because of what he has done.

And so the writer is telling him not to throw away their confidence, that our confidence is to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus. He's saying, don't throw that away. Now, let's read 35 and 36, but have that in mind, because as you're reading this, for some reason people forget what things mean.

So remember what our confidence is. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. Verse 36, for you have need of endurance so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised.

All right, so what is the will of God for them and us? And what is the great reward? The will of God for them and us is to rest in Christ. We enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus Christ. And our great reward is to enter through the holy place, which Jesus, the holy places, which is heaven through the torn flesh of Jesus.

All right, verse 37, right here in verse 37, this is something that you can quickly overlook. 37 is quoted from Isaiah chapter 26, verse 20. So let's just read verse 37, and we'll come back and look at the context.

Verse 37, for yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay. So that is quoted from Isaiah chapter 26. Turn there if you will. We'll look at verse 19 through 21. Now pay close attention here as to what's being said.

This is something that I know we've gone over throughout five, six, seven weeks. Listen to Isaiah, listen. Your dead shall live. Their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust awake and sing for joy, for your due is the due of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.

What's it speaking about? The resurrection of the body. Verse 20, come my people, enter your chambers and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. This is speaking of judgment.

For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the bloodshed on it and will no more cover its slain. So the prophet Isaiah points out four things, the resurrection of the dead, that there's going to be a second coming of Jesus.

It says that the Lord is coming to execute judgment and a judgment. Three things, excuse me. The resurrection of the dead, which is the resurrection of our bodies, that the Lord is coming to execute a judgment.

And I would just separate those two, that the Lord is coming, speaking of the Lord Jesus, and a judgment is going to take place, right? Now let's read in totality, verses 37 through 39 of Hebrew chapter 10.

For yet a little while, and the coming one will come. So in the context, our writer is speaking of Jesus coming. Isaiah said, the Lord, Yahweh, Yohei Vahev, is coming. The coming one will come and will not delay.

But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed. But of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

So right here, we see the difference between those of the old covenant versus those under the new covenant. Those that were under the new covenant, but were shrinking, but were going back to the temple, were going back to the old covenant, were shrinking back.