March 27
Punishment for Insulting the
Spirit of Grace (Part 1)
Of
how much sorer punishment, suppose
ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and
hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? (Heb. 10:29)
There seems to be a contrast between the words
“punishment” and “grace”. Hebrews says that there is a punishment for rejecting
what the blood of Jesus has done and insulting the Spirit of grace. But isn’t grace to be received
freely? Why must one feel threatened with punishment if all that God has done
was through grace?
This appears to contradict what John tells us about
God’s love: “There is no fear in love:
but perfect love casteth out fear, because
fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
(1 John 4:18; American Standard Version). It may help us more when we look at a
passage in the 12th chapter of Hebrews:
Follow
peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Looking diligently lest any man fail of
the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and
thereby many be defiled
(Heb. 12:14-15)
When we interpret Scripture with Scripture we come
to a better understanding of God’s methods and His mode of bringing about
punishment. We see from the above passage that it is possible for us to fail,
or fall short of God’s grace. God’s mode of punishment is to allow the
circumstances in one’s life that His grace would have protected them from to
take place (James 4:6-7; 1 Pet. 5:5-9).
Paul said, “I
do not frustrate the grace of God”
(Gal. 2:21a) This means that grace can be frustrated, or rather, as the
Strong’s dictionary defines the word, grace can be “set aside, disesteemed,
neutralized, violated, cast off, despised, disannulled, brought to nought,” and
“rejected.”
To “despite” means “to treat contemptuously” and “to
insult with malice, hatred, or spite.” Basically, when one does this they are
pushing the Spirit of grace away from them. Therefore, God is not issuing
threats in order to force compliance through fear. He is simply warning of the
natural and spiritual consequences that come from forsaking Christ and
despising His grace.
Visit our web page: www.vindicatinggod.org
Visit our church's web page: www.cvbibleteachingcenter.org
To learn more about God's mode and method of punishment consider purchasing our book, "How? A look at God's Character in light of Biblical passages that are inconsistent with love"
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