Paul warned his readers that, if they sinned willfully, having received the knowledge (epignosis – G1922) of the truth, there no longer remained a sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:26). Instead, one has only an expectation of the judgment of God upon his enemies (Hebrews 10:26-27). What Paul was referring to in this verse was the same as what he claimed in Hebrews 10:25. So, if believers forsook their vindication and reward at the coming of Christ (verse-25), by returning to their former life (in the context of Paul’s letter, that would be Judaism), then all they had left was a sense of fear at Christ’s coming judgment (verse-27). In other words, they are without a sacrifice for their sins in Judaism (verse-26). Jesus is the only sacrifice God accepts for sin, and to accept Jesus is to abandon unbelief (Judaism).
Many scholars believe this sin could be committed only by first century believing Jews, but this isn’t true. Anyone who is a believer, knowing full well what the truth is, but still rejects Jesus in order to return to his form lifestyle without Christ, that one commits the same sin of the believing Jews in the first century who abandoned their faith. I see no difference in either situation—first century Jewish believers or modern believers who abandon their faith. The whole matter revolves around receiving the knowledge of the truth. This is not simply knowledge (gnosis in the Greek); Paul speaks of epignosis (G1922), which means precise or correct knowledge.[1] One can have false knowledge (gnosis), but it is impossible for him to have false epignosis (knowledge). If our knowledge is correct or precise, it cannot be false, and the one who leaves this behind knows full well what he is doing.
By no means should we understand Paul to say this one commits an unpardonable sin. Rather, it is a sin that cannot go unpunished, unless the sinner returns to Christ. David committed the so-called unpardonable sin by having Uriah killed on the battlefield in order to cover his own sin with Bathsheba. There was no sacrifice for murder under the Law of Moses. The murderer was to die for his sin under the testimony of two or three witnesses (Hebrews 10:28). Nevertheless, David pleaded for mercy, and mercy was granted, but he was punished in that the sword never departed from his family (2Samuel 12:7-13; cf. Deuteronomy 17:2-7). The “unpardonable” sin (so called) cannot be pardoned or forgiven outright. The sinner in this case must be disciplined.
When believers in the first century returned to Judaism, they knew full well that the sacrificial system under the Levitical priesthood couldn’t help them for their sins. They could only look for and await God’s judgment (the Roman armies coming against Jerusalem), unless they returned and pleaded for mercy under Jesus.
Specifically, Paul doesn’t say what kind of punishment wayward believers would receive, but he does quote from the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32 (Hebrews 10:30): “Vengeance belongs to me, I will recompense, says the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people” (Deuteronomy 32:35-36). In this context, those who had deserted the Lord in the first century AD would suffer his judgment upon Jerusalem and the Temple along with the unbelievers, many of whom were responsible for persecuting the saints, who preached the Gospel of Christ. In other words, those who abandon Christ had to endure the wrath of God poured out upon the Jews cir. 66-70 AD. Their punishment would be a physical matter, not a spiritual one that takes place after death, as some assume to be the case.
We must read the Scriptures in the context in which they were written and not bring assumed data to the table (cf. 2John 1:9; 1Corinthians 4:6) to be read **into** the text. Paul quoted from the Song of Moses, and Moses wrote his song to show Israel what would happen to the Jews in their latter days (Deuteronomy 31:29). God’s vengeance would be poured out upon them in their (i.e. the Jews’) latter days (Hebrews 1:2). Jesus spoke of this time as the end of the age (Matthew 13:39-40, 49; 24:3, 29-31; 28:20), which he defined as a time of his coming and a time of judgment. Moreover, Jesus claimed that time would occur in that very generation in which he lived (Matthew 16:27-28; 23:34-36; 24:34-35). Therefore, we must conclude that whatever punishment those believing Jews who apostatized deserved, their judgment would have fallen upon them during the Jew’s war with Rome, cir. 66-70 AD.
Paul concluded his argument at this point by saying how fearful a thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Some use Paul’s words to point to a horrific punishment due the sinner after death, but, once more, this is not what the text says. If we stick to the context of the text (cp. 2John 1:9; 1Corinthians 4:6), we would understand that there is mercy in the hand of the Lord, as David concluded when he sinned (2Samuel 24:1, 10-15). Therefore, we can believe, if David found mercy in God’s wrath, we can do no less than assume a merciful judgment upon wayward believers (Hebrews 10:31).
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[1] See Thayer’s Greek Lexicon for New Testament Words for epignosis (G1922).
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