People get the more fearful they become of falling. As you know, the older the people get, the more brittle their bones become. And the more likely it is to break something when they fall. Someone was just telling Roberta recently and one of our members of a bad fall that she had taken as she was bringing groceries into the house and bumped her head up against the car. And by the goodness of God, nothing was broken. I know of a friend of mine who accidentally fell into a bunch of cholla cactus. And that was not a very pleasant thing. So when we think of falling, there are I'm sure plenty of stories we can share or know about where people have hurt themselves in various ways. But there's one fall that we all should be fearful of. And that is the fall that is referred to here in Hebrews chapter 10 verses 30 and 31. It is falling into the hands of the living God. The writer says that it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And that is the fall that every man, woman and child here today should be terrified about. Well, as we look at our text today, we conclude the section of scripture from verse 26 through 31. It is the section where we are presented with perhaps the most solemn and fearful of all the warnings in the book of Hebrews, if not in the entire Bible. We have seen in our text and the verses just prior to this section, about the importance of faithful assembly, how we're not to give up meeting together or neglect the assembling of ourselves together. And it's important that we do not neglect active church attendance because the text goes on to show that is how we can encourage one another, how we're to consider one another, to encourage them toward love and good deeds. We need encouragement. We need it all the more as we are shown as the day, as we see the day approaching. As we see the day approaching and that day is the final day of judgment. And that is how verse 25 ends with that note of the final day approaching, the day of judgment. And you can see how easily it transitions into verse 26 and following, dealing with what happens to those who deliberately go on sinning after they've received a knowledge of the truth. What happens to people who know better? Who know about Jesus Christ? Who know that He has died on behalf of sinners? Who know that He has been our ransom? And yet, in spite of all that the Word of God teaches, in spite of all that is proclaimed in the Gospel, they willingly and deliberately turn their back upon God. It's as if they hold their fist into the face of the Almighty and say, I don't care. Yes, I know what the Bible teaches, but I don't care. I'm not afraid of you. And they deliberately go on sinning. And our text says that for those who do that, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin. What does remain is a fearful expectation of judgment. In the back of their minds, they know what is coming to them. They know what awaits them at the final day when they must stand before the Great Almighty, the Judge of Judges. And it troubles them. It's a nagging fear that someday seems to rise and cause them great alarm and other days seems to be just a dull pain in their conscience. And the warning is a warning that is given here against apostasy. And we have learned that in the New Testament apostasy is that deliberate defection and departure from the Christian faith. It is to fall away beyond recovery from that true faith and willingly abandon the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have seen that apostasy remains a real possibility today, just as much as it did when the writer to the Hebrews first wrote these words. And if any of you here today have been considering giving up in your Christian walk, if any of you have been tempted to just turn your back on God and the people of God and the church of God, then you of all people need to sit up and listen up to what God has to say to you today in this text. We all go through tremendous trials and temptations in life. And there are times that things don't seem to go our way. And we can become easily bitter and resentful toward God and think, well, if that's the way you're going to treat me, forget you, Lord. Forget Christianity. I'll just turn my back on you and try to solve things and work things out on my own. And that is the temptation that comes straight from the pit of hell. There is nothing that the evil one would want more for you to do than to give up in your walk with the Lord, to turn your back on Jesus Christ, to neglect persevering in the faith. And so this text is given to us today to encourage us, to exhort us to persevere in the faith, to press on, to fight the good fight of the faith. And one of the ways that God uses this text is to show us the dire consequences that await all who fall away, who apostatize. Verses 26 through 31 present us with a vivid description of the apostate's doom. Verses 26 and 27 give a description of their sin. Verses 28 and 29 give a justification for their punishment. And verses 30 and 31 establish the certainty of that judgment and the God of that judgment. And my friends, as you look at this text this morning, it's important for you to realize that this text was not given in anger, but it was given in love. It is not to be used like a big stick of fear to beat us into submission. Rather, it is given tenderly to warn of the dreadful reality that awaits all who fall away from the faith. This portion of Scripture was given to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is from God Himself. God is telling us that if we do this, we will get that. We can expect judgment if we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth. And so this morning we'll be taking a closer look at verses 30 and 31 as we conclude this section. And from this text we must see that we need to flee from the coming judgment. This should blow the trumpet of warning loud and clear in our ears. We need to flee from the coming judgment. Judgment is coming. You will be there that final day. We have the opportunity now today and in this life to avoid that final judgment that will come upon the apostates and upon all unbelievers. We need to flee the coming judgment and there are two reasons we see here in our text why we should do it. Number one is because God himself assumes responsibility for this judgment. God himself assumes responsibility for judgment. And secondly, because God's execution of judgment will be terrifying. It will be terrifying. But first, we need to flee the judgment because it's God himself who assumes responsibility for judgment. And we find this here in verse 30, in which we see three assertions. First, God warns of his judgment. Notice how verse 30 begins here in our text. The writer says, for we know him who said. This is an appeal to the knowledge of God. We know him who said. And then there are given two texts, two quotations from the book of Deuteronomy. chapter 32 that served to reinforce the certainty of the coming judgment. So the argument here is an appeal to what God has said in scripture. And these words come in Deuteronomy 32 from the Song of Moses, which was well known among the Jews because they would sing it regularly in their corporate worship services. And the same citation is found given by Paul in Romans 12 verse 19, which seems to suggest that this phrase or this statement must have circulated among the early Christians as one of those proverbial sayings. Vengeance is mine, I will repay. So the writer is saying, for we know him who said, And that means we know that it was God who said in Scripture. God is known both through what He says and through what He does. In Psalm 9 verse 16 it says that the Lord is known by the judgment He executes. He is known by that judgment He executes. But before God executes His judgment, He often gives plenty of warning. If you think back, even at the time of the flood, in the days of Noah, God gave plenty of warning to that generation as Noah built the ark. In 2 Peter, Noah is referred to as the preacher of righteousness. Whereas in 1 Peter 3, also references made to Noah and how he built this ark, and there was the warning. that God would bring about this ultimate destruction. No one will be able to accuse God at the final day that he didn't warn them or that they didn't know better. There will be no one with any excuse at the last day that will be able to claim total ignorance of the coming judgment. God himself assumes responsibility for his judgment And he does it in such a way that he first warns us of the coming judgment. So that's the first assertion. The second assertion we can make is that God claims sole ownership of vengeance. Look here at verse 30. The writer says, For we know him who said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay. Vengeance, that's an interesting word. What does vengeance mean? Well, vengeance is the rendering of justice, retribution, punishment, perhaps revenge. Webster's Dictionary defines vengeance as punishment inflicted in retaliation for an injury or offense. And in Numbers chapter 31 and verse 2, the Lord instructed Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites for Israel, for the Israelites. Vengeance belongs to God. And here in Numbers 31, he commissioned Moses as that instrument of God under the authority of God to inflict vengeance upon another tribe for the sake of the Israelites. Here in Hebrews 10.30, the King James says, Vengeance belongeth unto the Lord. The NIV says, It is mine to avenge. So, vengeance belongs to God by virtue of the fact that it is God's office. It is God's prerogative to inflict just punishment upon willful and determined sinners. Vengeance is something that belongs to God. And I think we see this. If you'll turn with me to Second Thessalonians, chapter one, verses six through eight mentioned is given of God's vengeance. Second Thessalonians, chapter one, verses six through eight. Here Paul says that God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, inflaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. will inflict vengeance. He will inflict vengeance upon the enemies of the Lord, and on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the Gospel. It is God's prerogative to exercise vengeance whenever and however upon whomever He pleases, because He is the Sovereign Lord. He is the Judge, and everything that He does is right and true and good. In Romans 12 verse 19, Paul exhorts his readers, Never take your own revenge, my friends, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. So people, there's no room for us to take personal vengeance upon another person because of some wrong that we suffer. We are not to take personal vengeance against evildoers. There's no support here in this text for vigilante groups. God has put into place that institution of civil government. It is at our disposal and we are to use the legitimate and legal channels of justice to bring about justice when we suffer injustice. We're not to take matters into our own hand and seek revenge, we are to use the authorities that exist, which are servants of God and ordained by God, for the furtherance of justice. We're not to sit around and allow injustice to triumph or evil to triumph. We are to take advantage of the means that God gives, those legal, lawful means, through the state, through the police, to bring about justice and see that punishment is brought upon the evildoers. That is what the Apostle Paul did when he was about to be turned over to the Jews after being arrested. He said, I am here before Caesar's court and to Caesar I appeal. He took advantage of the means, the lawful means for his protection and we are to do the same. That passage in Romans 12, 19 shows a very interesting connection between vengeance and the wrath of God. The exercise of God's wrath is the bringing about of vengeance. Never take your own revenge, beloved. but leave room for the wrath of God. Leave room for God's wrath. God's wrath and God's vengeance go hand in hand. God's wrath is that active manifestation of His hatred towards sin and evil. It is the holiness of God stirred into action against sin. That's the wrath of God. His wrath is that holy expression of His justice. It is the judicial wrath of a righteous judge. In fact, I would ask that you would turn with me to the Old Testament book of Nahum. Nahum, one of the minor prophets. Chapter 1 and verse 2. This is a text and a prophet we don't look at that often. Nahum comes right after the book of Micah, if that helps. Just before Habakkuk, one of those little three chapter books, Nahum chapter 1, look at verse 2. Here the prophet says, The Lord is a jealous and avenging God. The Lord is avenging and wrathful. The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries and keeps wrath for His enemies. So the outpouring of God's wrath comes from the jealous God who takes vengeance upon His enemies, who reserves His wrath for His enemies. And then we see something similar if you'll turn to Romans chapter 2 verses 5 through 8 with me. Romans chapter 2 and beginning at verse 5. Paul writes, but because of your hard and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. Wrath is being stored up for that final day, that day of wrath, that day when God's final judgment will be revealed. We look around today and we wonder, why is it that the wicked seem to prosper? Why is it that this unbeliever who denies God's existence, who is an atheist, seems to have good health, plenty of money, and has not a care or worry in the world, and here I am trying to serve God, and I'm going through all kinds of troubles, trials, and tribulations. That person is storing up wrath for themselves. It is like the waters behind a giant dam. that continue to be held back and held back and held back until the final day of judgment comes, and God breaks forth that dam, and the floodwaters of God's wrath come tumbling upon that person, overwhelming and astonishing them. God's wrath. is being poured out daily from heaven as Romans 1.18 shows. But it also is being reserved and held back for some when it all will come crashing down upon them at the final day. God claims sole ownership of His vengeance. He is not a God to be played with. He is not a God to be ignored. He is a God of vengeance. And He has sole ownership of that vengeance. As we look back at our text in Hebrews 10.30, the third assertion we can make is that the Lord will judge His people. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, and again, the Lord will judge His people. This is a quote taken from Deuteronomy 32 and verse 35, which the writer to the Hebrews uses to emphasize that such judgment is unavoidable and it is inescapable. No one will escape the judgment of God. Notice in this verse, it doesn't say the Lord might judge his people. It doesn't say the Lord should judge his people. It says the Lord will judge His people. He will judge His people. As sure as you're sitting here today, so you can be just as certain that God will exercise His judgment upon the apostates. Look at Hebrews 9 and verse 27. Here the writer says, and just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that to face judgment. To die once, and if a case can be made for the certainty of death, how it is appointed for man to die once, an equal case can be made for the certainty of judgment. It is appointed to die, it is appointed to face judgment. God has created all of us with a human conscience that we know about judgment. It is clear in Romans chapter 1 and verse 32 that those who do these things know they deserve punishment. It is clear here in Hebrews 10 and verse 27 that nothing remains but a fearful expectation of judgment. We know by virtue of our humanity, by virtue of being created in the image of a righteous God, we know it intuitively that judgment is coming. And you have God's word on it as well, by divine decree. And there are no other options, there are no other choices, whether you give your vote of approval to God's judgment or not. The Lord will judge his people. Judgment is coming. Now I would ask that you take a closer look at this verse, verse 30 here at the end of the verse and notice that it says the Lord will judge his people. These words have often been used as a warning to the ungodly, but their primary application is for the people of God. The Lord will judge his people. Even true believers need to be warned of giving up on the Lord and their walk with Him. Even true believers grow lazy in their Christian walk and they need to be admonished and they need to be reminded of what awaits those who turn their back upon the Lord and deliberately keep on sinning after they receive the knowledge of the truth. We all need to guard against neglecting the means of grace and drifting away from the Lord and apostatizing. The writer's concern here is with God's judgment upon the apostates who are within the Christian community. And it is quite possible that someone here this morning in this room is turning away from the Lord. First, it is a simple neglect. Then it becomes drifting. And before long you find yourself beginning to justify your thoughts and your behavior, though you know they are unbiblical and ungodly. And before you know it, you no longer join the people of God in worship. You've given up prayer. You've given up reading the Word of God. You've given up hanging around and fellowshipping with fellow believers because they make you feel guilty. And they're always telling you about what you should do. And you've exchanged your God for an idol. And you have apostatized. And if you continue, then at some point, God will turn you over. As he said in Hosea, Ephraim is joined to idols. Leave him alone. Don't go after him. I will no longer entreat him and urge him and seek to pull him back. Let him go. Let him drift out into the open sea of judgment. So we all need to guard ourselves against drifting away and encourage one another. If you see that I'm drifting and neglecting the means of grace, in love come to me and admonish me. And if I see you doing the same, accept it in the same spirit that it is given. We need to encourage one another, sharpen one another. I'm very thankful for the new men's group that we have and the small groups that are starting up. opportunities for us to encourage one another and all the more as we see the day approaching. The only people who are ready to stand in the final judgment are those who've made peace with the judge. Romans 5 verse 1 and following says, therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God. That hostility That alienation has been removed because of what Jesus Christ did almost 2,000 years ago in His righteous life and His sacrificial death. When we put our faith in Christ and what He has accomplished on our behalf, we are reckoned righteous before God with the righteousness of Christ. And we have that peace with God. We've been reconciled to God. Have you made your peace with God, my friend? Have you set aside that defiance and that rebellion and have you renounced your resistance against the Lord? Have you surrendered into those mighty hands of love? Christ came into the world and he suffered the judgment of God on the cross in our place so we can be delivered from the punishment of sin at the final judgment. So having been justified, we need to be sanctified. We need to grow in grace and fight the good fight and persevere in the faith. And these quotations here in Hebrews 10 and verse 30 have been given to emphasize how God himself is the one who takes responsibility for judgment. And those who have spurned his gospel, and those who have deserted the local fellowship, and have turned their backs on Christ, they are the ones who will come under this judgment. So let us flee from the coming judgment. Let us do it first of all because God assumes responsibility for the judgment, but secondly because God's execution of judgment will be terrifying. And this should be obvious as you look at verse 31 in our text. Here the writer says, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. This section ends with the writer's own response to the scriptures that he has just quoted. But it also is inspired by God. This statement affirms the magnitude of the sin of apostasy, the magnitude of the coming judgment from which there will be no escape. One of the greatest understatements ever made is found right here in Hebrews 10.31. Some Bibles say that it is a terrifying thing to fall into God's hands. Other Bibles say that it is a dreadful thing, or it is a fearful thing. And yet to say that falling into the hands of the living God is terrifying, dreadful, or fearful somehow just doesn't do justice to the reality of that experience. I mean to fall into a pit of live rattlesnakes is a fearful and dreadful thing. But it doesn't even begin to compare to the dreadfulness of falling into the hands of the living God. There is nothing in all of life that will be as frightening and as terrifying as falling into the hands of the God of vengeance. What does that mean to fall into the hands of the living God? Since God is a spirit and He doesn't have a body like men, He doesn't have physical hands, So the term hands is really a metaphor to symbolize falling into the power or the strength or into the authority of God. In Psalm 95 verse 5, We see it's falling into the power of God, where the psalmist says, The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Psalm 19 tells us, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the work of his hands. The power and strength of God in creating everything that exists. Similar ideas regarding the authority of God. can be found where Jesus said in Luke 23-46 from the cross, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Paul said in Acts 28-16, I was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, into the authority of the Romans for them to do with me as they will. So to fall into the hands of the living God describes the ultimate fate and condemnation of apostates who fall into the power and to the authority of God at the final judgment. And more than that, it includes the awesome power of God for inflicting punishment upon his enemies. To fall into the hands of the living God also describes the absolute helplessness of those who fall into those hands. Because God is referred to as the living God, it implies that he is the everlasting God, that he always lives, that he always will live. And those who fall into his hands will suffer everlasting punishment. There will be no escape from the hands of the living God. And that term fearful or dreadful communicates that sense of alarm and terror. It should strike up fear in our own hearts and minds as we even contemplate the possibility of falling into the hands of the living God. It will be dreadful because it will involve an immediate and personal encounter with God. In Nahum 1, 5 and 6, we're told that the mountains quake before Him. The hills melt away. The earth trembles at His presence. The world and all who live in it. Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure the fierce anger of God? His wrath is poured out like fire. And the rocks are shattered before him. Hebrews 12, 24 tells us our God is a consuming fire. And contrary to popular opinion, our God is not some old grandpa. He is not like some cosmic Santa Claus with a gray beard who just loves to do good things for everybody. He is the God Almighty, the living God, the God of vengeance. the God who has created all things. And there are people who think about hell and somehow they fool themselves into thinking that they're going to be able to handle it. But somehow, yeah, they know they're going to hell and they're just going to have to cope with it. And they try to get up their courage and give themselves confidence that somehow they're going to be able to deal with it. But at the final day, when they come face to face with the Almighty and Living God, all courage will melt away. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord. There will be no one with courage. There will be no defiance. The strongest sinner will melt away in fear at that personal, immediate, and physical encounter with the Almighty God. In His execution of wrath upon sinners, they will see that He is not some cream of wheat deity. they will see that he was far greater and more awesome and powerful than they had ever imagined. And they will condemn themselves for being a fool and playing the fool with the opportunities that were given to them to believe. How dreadful must be the wrath of God. And who better than someone like Jonathan Edwards to describe the dreadfulness of falling into God's hands. You're all familiar with that famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Edward says, How dreadful must be the wrath of such a being like God, who made the heavens and the earth by the word of his power. What must his wrath be, who rebukes the sea and it dries up, and who removes the mountains from their place? Falling into God's hands will be so dreadful and terrifying because His punishment will bring eternal misery and torment. Verse 27 in our text speaks of the fury of fire. There will not be any mitigation or lessening in the degree of this punishment. But God's wrath will be poured full strength upon the sinner. This punishment will never end. After the wicked in hell have spent millions of ages suffering God's unmitigated punishment, without a moment's rest, day or night, they will still have no hope of ever being released. Instead, they will know that they are not one second closer to the end of their torments than they were when they first began to suffer God's wrath. Edwards said, the damned in hell have two infinities to perpetually amaze them. One is an infinite God whose wrath they must bear, and the other is the infinite duration of their torment. My friends, can you see why it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God? It is a dreadful thing to fall into those hands because if you fall into those hands there is no hope for you. In Dante's Inferno he said that written over the corridor of hell are the words, abandon all hope those who enter here. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God and it is even more dreadful when you fall into those hands from the hands of loving parents, of godly fathers and mothers who raised you up to know about Christ and the gospel. Your damnation will be even greater because your responsibility will be greater. You have sinned against the light and you've known better. To be brought up in a home where Jesus Christ is praised and Father and Mother have impressed upon your hearts from infancy the importance of Christ and what He accomplished for sinners. That will be the most dreadful thing. It will be a dreadful thing to fall into those mighty hands when you fall also from the hands of a loving church, of elders and of friends who have exhorted and encouraged you, who have warned you of the coming wrath, and yet you've ignored it and you've neglected it. A church that has loved you and has prayed for you. what a dreadful thing it will be to fall into those awesome hands when it's from the hands of loving parents and a loving church. So my friends, I have to one day give an account before God for every sermon that I've ever preached. And that is going to be a very dreadful and frightening moment. But you will have to give an account before God for every sermon you've ever heard. and whether you've used that sermon to your advantage to bring you closer to God or whether you have put your fingers in your ear and have drifted further from God. That final day, I will have to look you in the eye before the judgment seat of Christ and have to attest to the faithfulness of my proclamation but also to bear witness against you if you deny these truths and reject the Savior that you know has been given from God in love. So I urge you and I encourage you with judgment-based seriousness, flee from the wrath to come and flee into the arms of Jesus Christ. You know, He is the one more than any other man who has fallen into the hands of the living God There at the cross, he cried out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? There at the cross, we see the greatest punishment against sin, the greatest vindication of the holy law of God. There at the cross, one man fell into those dreadful and terrifying hands, so we might be delivered from those hands and have everlasting life through faith in Christ. So may God help us all to believe in Jesus to look to Him, not only for our salvation, but for our sanctification, and believe in Him faithfully and follow Him throughout all the days of our life. May the Lord help us to do that. Let us pray. Father in Heaven, we thank You for Your Word. And Lord, we thank You that You have been faithful to our souls, and in the sending of Your Word, You have not held back the whole counsel of God, giving all that we need, both to be warned, exhorted, encouraged, to be corrected, to be rebuked, to be trained in righteousness, that we might be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Lord, I pray for those who are here today. I pray for us all that you would, by your grace, enable us to lay hold of Christ. And if there is anyone here this morning who is outside of your kingdom, who have not put their faith in the Lord Jesus. May your spirit come today and take them captive to be obedient to the gospel. They would understand that good news, the story of how God has punished sin in Christ, who became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God. Lord, we pray that you would help us to have a healthy fear, and to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God who works in us to will and to act according to His good purpose. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.