How lovely God is Pt 4: In the hands of a living God
Hebrews 10:26-31 26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Context
No one is really sure who wrote the book of Hebrews, but one thing is sure: It is extremely relevant to our modern 21st Century culture. Whoever the author was, he was deeply concerned about a group of believers tempted to drift away from Christ. Most scholars agree that Hebrews was written to a community of Jewish Christians facing hardship, social ostracism, and possibly persecution under the Roman Empire (Heb. 10:32–34). They were weary, discouraged, and some were tempted to return to the familiarity of the synagogue, to the rituals of the Mosaic law, or even to compromise with the surrounding culture. That certainly is relevant today, as many, maybe most of the people in the West have turned away from God towards the secular culture. The letter repeatedly exhorts them, and us, not to give up but to hold fast to Christ, who is superior to angels, Moses, priests, sacrifices, and covenants (Heb. 1:1–4; 3:1–6; 4:14–16; 8:6).
Against this backdrop, the phrase “in the hands of a living God” becomes a thunderclap. God is not static or tame; He is living, active, and holy. His hands can uphold in mercy or crush in judgment. Hebrews 10:26–31 shows us both sides of that reality, and like the 1st Century readers, we 21st Century readers should pay attention.
If we deliberately keep on sinning
The historical background matters here. For Jewish Christians, “receiving the knowledge of the truth” meant recognizing that Jesus was the Messiah foretold in the Scriptures. They had embraced Him, been baptized, and gathered in His name. To then deliberately keep sinning was not about minor missteps but about an open-eyed, willful turning away. The Greek construction, signals continuous, intentional action. This echoes the Old Testament distinction between unintentional sins, which could be covered by sacrifice (Lev. 4), and defiant sins (“with a high hand,” Num. 15:30–31), which led to being cut off from Israel. The audience of Hebrews would have heard this echo and felt the weight.
The pastoral concern here is clear. Sin is deceitful (Heb. 3:13). It hardens the heart. It dulls the conscience. Deliberate sin turns grace into license, which Paul flatly rejects in Romans 6:1–4.
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
The warning presses us to examine whether we are resisting God’s Spirit, excusing patterns of rebellion, or minimizing sin as though it were harmless.
Contextually, this was not theoretical. Some in the community had already stopped gathering (Heb. 10:25), perhaps because of fear of persecution or desire for cultural acceptance. To abandon Christ for safety or convenience was not merely weakness—it was dangerous rebellion. Thus, we understand that sin is not neutral. To keep on sinning deliberately is to walk a path that leads away from the living God, into hands not of mercy but of judgment.
No sacrifice is left
The historical context sharpens this point. For Jews, sacrifices had always provided a means of forgiveness. But Hebrews has already emphasized that the blood of bulls and goats could never truly take away sins (Heb. 10:4). Those offerings pointed forward to Christ, the once-for-all sacrifice (Heb. 10:10, 14). If He is rejected, there is no other provision. This was revolutionary—and offensive. To many Jews, the temple still stood in Jerusalem when Hebrews was written (before AD 70). Some may have been tempted to retreat to its rituals for security. But the writer insists: if you turn from Christ, those sacrifices are empty shadows. There is no other offering left.
For us today, the temptation may not be to return to temple sacrifices, but to seek other substitutes—self-justification, moral performance, spiritual relativism, or empty religion. The warning is the same: Christ alone saves. To reject Him leaves no backup plan.
For those who have treated the covenant as unholy
A covenant is an agreement between two parties, in this case between God and His people. In the New Covenant, God promises to forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned toward Him. Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant, and His death on the cross is the basis of the promise (Luke 22:20).
31“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
But is a person turns away from God by rejecting Jesus, he or she is in for a rough road. The covenant language here is crucial. In the Old Testament, covenant-breakers faced curses (Deut. 28). In the new covenant, the stakes are higher because the covenant was ratified by Christ’s own blood. To reject it is not merely legal disobedience—it is personal betrayal of divine love. Thus, Hebrews cites Deuteronomy 32:35–36: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay… The Lord will judge his people.” God defends His covenant honor. The warning is not primarily against outsiders but against those who have tasted covenant grace and then scorned it.
It is a dreadful thing
In the Old Testament, “falling into God’s hands” could mean mercy (2 Sam. 24:14) or judgment (Deut. 32:39). The phrase “living God” appears repeatedly in Hebrews (3:12; 9:14; 12:22), contrasting Him with dead idols. He is not inert; He acts. For the faithful, His hands are refuge. Jesus promised, “No one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:29). For the rebellious, His hands are dreadful, because they are inescapable. There is no appeal court beyond God.
Here, the historical audience again comes into focus. Facing persecution, some believers may have been tempted to avoid suffering by renouncing Christ. Hebrews reminds them: the greater danger is not what humans can do but what it means to stand before the living God in rebellion (Luke 12:4–5). This dual truth keeps the church balanced. We must not trivialize sin under the guise of grace. But we must also not despair as if God delights in judgment. The same living God who judges is the God who saves, whose pierced hands reach out still.
What about me?
Hebrews 10:26–31 warns us about the danger of deliberate sin, the finality of Christ’s sacrifice, the sacredness of the covenant, and the dread of facing God’s judgment. It insists that grace is not cheap, and covenant love is not to be treated lightly.
But the wider message of Hebrews is not despair—it is perseverance. Immediately after this passage, the writer recalls the community’s past faithfulness (Heb. 10:32–34) and urges them not to shrink back but to live by faith (Heb. 10:38–39). The warning is real, but so is the encouragement.
“In the hands of a living God” can mean terror or security, depending on our response. For those who persist in rebellion, it is dreadful. For those who cling to Christ, it is life itself. The hands that judge are the hands that were pierced; the living God is also the saving God. And that is the hope to which Hebrews relentlessly calls us: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23).
But all of this is head knowledge. When we are in the midst of struggle, we don’t want to be told some theological truth; we want relief. And it is all too obvious that trouble has come our way when we are persecuted by an oppressor. The trouble is that we can’t actually see our Savior. No one alive today has ever seen Jesus, but that doesn’t mean He can’t help.
If you are having a hard time, don’t run away. Rather run to Jesus. If you sit in your quiet place, or lay in your bed and complain to Jesus about the things happening it is still called prayer. Consider…
24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24)
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (Romans 8:26)
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
There are many, many other verses showing how much God loves you. He will help you through your struggle if you just let Him.