Wheat and Tares

    In Hebrews 10 there are verses that are similar to and just as mysterious as the verses we have been examining in Hebrews 6. Hebrews 10:26 warns:

     This verse speaks of willful sins being committed for which there can be no forgiveness.

     But every sin is willful. When David committed fornication with Bathsheba, it was willful sin. He certainly did not lose his salvation. How then can it be that willful sin places a person in such a position that there is "no more sacrifice for sins," that is, because of that willful sin, there is no possibility of forgiveness.

     The scribes of Mark 3 willfully accused Jesus of being under the authority of Satan rather than the Holy Spirit. In that very narrow context, they blasphemed the Holy Spirit and for that sin, Jesus said there is no forgiveness. That is the only sin that we have been aware of that carried that warning.

     However, Hebrews 10:26 speaks about a willful sin which places the sinner in a position of no possibility of forgiveness. Is this also speaking about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? The context does not appear to indicate that sin. But what sin can be in view?

They apply only to individuals in the local congregation at the end of the church age.

    The solution to these Hebrews 10 verses is similar to the solution to the difficult verses we have been examining in Hebrews 6. We will discover that these verses do not apply to the season of the church age. They apply only to individuals in the local congregations at the end of the church age. When we understand this application, the entire passage comes into precise focus.

Assembling of Ourselves

    We will begin the study of these verses by carefully examining Hebrews 10:24-25. There we read:

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

    Immediately, we should take note of the fact that God is giving us a time clue. Verse 25 declares, "as ye see the day approaching." Long ago we learned that Bible phrases like "the day" and "that day" ordinarily point towards Judgment Day, the period of God’s final wrath on the unsaved. We know that Judgment Day is in view in this verse because when we read a little further, we discover that God declares in Hebrews 10, verses 30 and 31:

...Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

     Since Judgment Day follows after the end of the church age, we can be sure that this passage is speaking about the end of the church age. As we further examine these verses, this truth will be increasingly evident.

    Returning to Hebrews 10, verses 24 and 25, we read a very curious comment. Verse 25 declares:

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner is...

     This is indeed curious language. One would think that it would be more logical to say, "not forsaking the assembling of the congregation" or "not forsaking the assembling of the church." Why does God use the strange language, "assembling of ourselves"? As we have already noted, God is focusing on the time when Judgment Day is very near. We understand this by the phrase, "so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

     Another curiosity is the usage of the Greek word episynagogen which is translated "assembling together." This Greek word is used in only one other instance in the Bible. That citation is II Thessalonians 2:1, where we read:

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.

    The phrase "gathering together" in this verse is translated from the same Greek word episynagogen. When we look at the context of II Thessalonians 2:1, we know who is assembling or gathering together. This passage is speaking of those individuals who are gathering together to meet Christ at his coming. The only people who are ready to meet Christ at his coming are true believers. Churches will not be ready to meet Christ. Whole congregations are not ready to meet Christ. Even if Christ had come before the church age was over, only a remnant of the congregation would have been ready to meet Him.

    The point God is making is that the Greek word episynagogen emphasizes the gathering together of individuals. It is not in any way looking at a body of people who are all members of one local congregation.

    This agrees with the usage of the same Greek word, episynagogen, which we find in Hebrews 10:25, where God emphasizes that individuals are in view as indicated by the usage of the word "ourselves." Thus, a body of people, like a local congregation, cannot be in view in Hebrews 10:25 any more than a local congregation could be in view in II Thessalonians 2:1.

    We might recall that Jesus points to the individuality of those who are raptured. In Luke 17:34-37, God underscores again and again that, "one shall be taken, and the other shall be left." Thus, we see that the focus of Hebrews 10:25 is not on a congregation. It is on individuals.

    In the book "The End of the Church Age and After," we learned from the Bible that the season of the final harvest came after the church age was finished. It is a season when the task of harvesting has been assigned to individuals, not to local congregations. Assembling of ourselves together as individuals means that there is no membership and no spiritual overseers who exercise spiritual rule over the true believers. No outward actions are required, for example, no water baptisms, no confessions of faith, no observances of communion services, no church membership, no promises to uphold the doctrines of a local congregation. It is simply individuals gathering together to exhort one another (the word "exhort" would be better translated "comfort").

    The number of people gathering together may be as small as one individual who is in fellowship with God. We read in I John 1:3:

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

As we have learned, a key word is “ourselves.”

    It could be that a number of like-minded people will assemble together. As we have learned, a key word is "ourselves." The focus is on individuals,

For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.

    What could be the meaning of willful sin? As we learned earlier, all sin is willful. We surely know that Jesus came to save willful sinners. He certainly did not come to save "good" people. But these verses are speaking of someone who has committed willful sin for which there is no forgiveness. How can this be? We already mentioned that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is unforgivable sin. But to our knowledge, that sin was committed only by the scribes who wanted Jesus killed, and it is not in any way in view in these verses of Hebrews 10. There must be another answer.

The Willful Sin of Refusing to Leave the Local Church

     Indeed, there is. We must remember the sad fact that at the end of the church age, all over the world, the Holy Spirit left the congregations. God has abandoned the churches and Satan now rules in them. However, at the same time, God commands the true believers to flee from the churches, if they have not already been driven out. They are to come out of the churches, which have become a spiritual Babylon, because they are ruled over by Satan who is typified by the king of Babylon.

    Then this question can be asked: If an individual willfully disobeys the command to forsake the local congregation, and he continues to be a part of that congregation, can he possibly find or expect any forgiveness from God? The sad and terrible answer has to be, absolutely not.

    The reason there cannot be forgiveness is that God is no longer present in that congregation to forgive. No longer can God’s mercy be found in that congregation. Now God is showing mercy only to individuals outside of the local congregation.

    Hebrews 10:26 indicates that these individuals have received the knowledge of the truth. That is, they own a Bible and know it is the Word of God. They have learned about many teachings from the Bible. They have knowledge but that knowledge has not produced obedience. They know many Biblical truths but they have never become saved. Unfortunately for them, God is finished with that congregation and He is no longer present within it to save.

    This agrees with the phrase, "there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins," in verse 26. Thus, if an individual willfully disobeys the command

to forsake the local congregation, he is no longer in an environment where salvation and forgiveness are possible.

    Obviously, the alternative to salvation is God’s judgment. This is clearly emphasized by the following verses of Hebrews 10, verses 27 and 28, where God says:

But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses.

    These verses should frighten church members to the core of their being. These verses are not speaking of the wicked who are out in the world. They are speaking of respectable, decent, moral, apparently godly men and women and children, pastors, and elders, and deacons, and seminary professors who willfully disobey God’s command to leave the local church.

God’s Mechanism to Separate the Wheat from the Tares

    As we learned earlier, this command is the mechanism by which God, at the present time, is separating the wheat form the tares. In these verses, God emphasizes that there is no middle position. If we willfully disobey the command to come out of the church, we are left without mercy. We are left with the certainty of eternal damnation.

To be in a place where there is no possibility of God’s mercy has to be terrible beyond belief.

     No mercy! How awful! How terrible! God is a merciful God. To be in a place where there is no possibility of God’s mercy has to be terrible beyond belief. Even in the most wicked situations in the world, there is the possibility of God’s mercy. But in any local congregation, however holy and pure the members may think they are, there is no longer any possibility of mercy. How dreadful!

    The excuses that may be offered to justify remaining in the church will not help at all. One can argue, "how do I know the time has come to leave," or "how can I be sure that every local church has been included in God’s judgment," or "don’t we still have a very godly and qualified pastor who faithfully preaches the Word," etc. But none of that will help the situation. No longer will God be merciful to those who willfully disobey the command to come out.

    Hebrews 10, verse 29, further emphasizes the enormous seriousness of willfully disobeying God’s command. There we read:

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?

    Three dreadful explanation of the enormity of this sin are set forth in the following (from Hebrews 10:29).

    1. “who hath trodden under foot of Son of God”

    2. “hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing”

    3. “and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace”

     We have learned that willful sin is the sin of disobeying God’s command to come out of the church. How can God make these terrible accusations because of one willful sin? He can do so because disobedience to this command is like the tip of an iceberg. This disobedience reveals the sad fact that this individual has not become saved. He has been sanctified or set apart in the same sense that the unsaved spouse is sanctified by the saved spouse (I Corinthians 7:14). He has been a member of the divine institution called a church, so he has been set apart from the world in that he could hear the Gospel and be in the company of those in the church, which included true believers. He has enjoyed many of God’s blessings because of his association with the church. However, his willful disobedience of this command demonstrates his rebellion against God. He is despising the true Gospel and effectively claiming that he is wiser than God.

    The phrase, "hath trodden under foot the Son of God," is language of a victory. By their disobedience to the command to leave the congregation, effectively, they are insisting they have won. By their "do-it yourself" gospel, they have achieved a salvation in a way that is pleasing to them. They believe their local congregation has triumphed and is secure all the way to the last day. Effectively, they are saying, "who really needs the Bible when we have these fine doctrines and practices that our church teaches."

    Moreover, do you recall the words of Matthew 5:13, where God says:

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

     To trod under foot the Son of God thus means to consider Christ as good for nothing or worthless. What a horrible indictment!

    The phrase "the blood of the covenant" refers to the Lord Jesus who is the very essence of the covenant (the law) of God. But these church members are declaring, effectively, that Christ and his covenant of grace is unholy. They have their own kind of gospel, and they insist that God is wrong to tell people to leave their churches. They insist that it is a sinful act, and therefore, if God commands it, He is unholy; He is guilty of sin.

    Finally, by the phrase, "and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace," God declares that they desire to hurt, to reproach, to bring shame on God the Holy Spirit who by His grace has brought salvation. All of the statements of verse 29 emphasize the arrogant rebellion of those who are not trembling before the Word of God.

Effectively, the command to come out of the local congregation puts each and every individual in that congregation on trial.

    Effectively, the command to come out of the local congregation puts each and every individual in that congregation on trial. In this trial, God is revealing all those who have never surrendered to God. They have never had broken and contrite hearts. They are confessing members of that church because they trust the pastor or the confessions of the church. However, in actuality, they spurn the Gospel, and they are in complete rebellion against the true Gospel. And now they are in an environment where there is no possibility of salvation. They are tares being bound in preparation for burning.