Introduction

Introduction.  The warning passages of Hebrews provide stern warnings and positive encouragement for all Christians to persevere in faith and in the Christian life.  They are often misunderstood as warnings about the possibility of losing salvation or as tests for whether a person is truly saved, but properly understood, they are warnings that true believers may might fail in the Christian life resulting in disinheritance from rewards and loss of rulership with Christ.

The Original Audience.  The book has been labelled "Hebrews" because the audience was composed of Jewish Christians.  That the audience is Jewish is obvious from the extensive Old Testament quotations (from Genesis, the Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Habakkuk) and the discussion of topics such as sacrifices, the tabernacle, the Old and New Covenants and the faith of the Old Testament heros.  That the readers are genuine believers is indicated by the use of the word "brethren" (Heb. 2:11; 3:1, 12; 10:19; 13:22) and the word "we" in several of the warnings (Heb. 2:1; 3:6, 14; 6:3; 10:26; 12:25) and of justified people (Heb. 4:15; 8:1; 10:10; 11:3; 12:20; 12:28; 13:6, 14).

At the time of the book's writing, Jews who had converted to Christianity were under intense persecution from the Roman government and from their families.  They were in danger of slipping back into Judiasm in order to regain the acceptance of their families and avoid the persecution of the Roman government.  This letter continually urges these Jewish believers to consider the greatness of Christ and the inhertance they would deny by turning.

The Warnings.  The author of Hebrews beautifully portrays the majesty and work of Christ and warns believers not to ignore their reward and inheritance He has offered them.  The first and fifth warnings bracket the main content of the book with "how shall we escape?" (Heb. 2:3; 12:25, the same Greek root ekpheugo is used for escape).  In between these two warnings the work of Christ is portrayed as surpassing and replacing the Mosiac Law and, as more of the greatness of Christ is revealed, the warnings become progressively more severe.

Each section of the book exalts Christ in some area and inserts a warning based on that aspect of Christ.  This article will examine each warning in five areas; 1) The context of the passage regarding the superiority of Christ, 2) The sin or possible problem the author speaks against, 3) the warning and consequence of the sin, 4) an exhortation and encouragement, and finally 5) Old Testament examples and New Testament cross references.  This format has been chosen so that the warning passage can be seen in light of the flow of the book.

"Salvation" in the book of Hebrews.  It is important to note that the author of Hebrews does not use the word salvation in the way that most Christians do today. Hebrews 9:27-28 says that the salvation he is addressing does involve the forgiveness of sins, but will come in the future.  This future salvation is a judgment (v. 27) and involves an future inheritance (Heb. 1:14; 2:3).  This is similiar to Paul's use in Romans 5:1, 10 where a believer has been "justified" and "reconciled," but in the future he "shall be saved."  Understanding that the author of Hebrews uses the "salvation" as in the present life and as a future reward that can be lost is vital to understanding the book as a whole and the specific warning passages.