26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Hebrews 10:26-31
Due to the existence of sin in our world, God responds accordingly with warnings of judgment, wrath and an all-consuming fire of a righteous and just God. He does so with the full intent of waking us from the slumber of idleness and blessed comfort. We have become common with God, building ideologies that receive Him in part and rejects Him in part. The lack of tribulation in our western world has incubated us from the development of perseverance and character. We have come to expect a life of ease and it has attributed to our lazy view of sin and the effects of it in our lives. Believers today are soft. We appease ourselves with a message of grace not realizing its dependency on a God who judges those who refuse it. The writer of Hebrews broaches this subject with boldness refusing to silence the imagery of a God who is wrathful.
It is important to note the message of God’s grace emanating throughout this entire book. Page after page the writer is celebrating the sacrifice and propitiation made for our sins. It draws vivid word pictures of the victories we now possess through the Son of God who paid the ultimate price. At the same time, it tackles the difficult subject of those who use grace as a means to live flippant lives. It warns us, with fervency, to be mindful of the realities that befall us when we continue on in sin. The book of Hebrews also warns against motivational theology, a perspective based on the assumption that the only way to motivate is with news that is good. The promise of salvation is further enhanced by the warning of consequences. We only see the benefit of salvation, in part, when it is not viewed on the landscape of sin which brings God’s wrath and judgment.