Stern Warnings About Apostasy

February 26th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 10:26 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins…”

For the fourth time the author warns of apostasy in 10:26 (cf. 2:1-4; 3:6b-4:13; 5:11-6:8; 10:26-31), the deliberate rejection of Christ. Unbelievers have all rejected Christ, but not all are apostates. Apostates are those who, with a full understanding of Jesus Christ, reject His free offer of salvation. They willfully do so “after receiving the knowledge of the truth.” Sadly, for apostates “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” Once rejected, always rejected.

There are a number of examples in Scripture of apostates. Deuteronomy 13:13 says, “Some worthless men have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ whom you have not known.” These men were among the Israelites who saw God’s glory but who later rejected it. Likewise, 1 Samuel 15:11 says of God: “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” Saul was once a man who pledged his allegiance to God, but he rebelled against Him, causing Samuel to “cry out to the Lord all night.”

King Amaziah was another apostate in the OT. Second Chronicles 25:14-15 says, “Now after Amaziah came from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought the gods of the sons of Seir, set them up as his gods, bowed down before them and burned incense to them. Then the anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, ‘Why have you sought the gods of the people who have not delivered their own people from your hand?’ ” After this conspirators arose against Amaziah, and they killed him (v. 27).

Apostasy is a serious matter, for it is the ultimate rejection of Christ and the salvation He offers to all who will receive Him by faith. Consider Paul’s words: “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron” (1 Tim 4:1-2). Paul thus warned the Thessalonians, “Let no one in any way deceive you, for [the end] will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (2 Thess 2:3). Jesus spoke of this, saying, “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another” (Matt 24:10).

Some might propose that these passages promote the loss of salvation for true Christians, but the Apostle John clarifies that true salvation can never be lost, saying, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out so that it would be shown that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19). Clearly, those who fall away were never truly saved, though they were at among Christians in church (cf. Matt. 13:1-9, 18-23). True believers never fall away; only pretenders do.

Food For Thought
Evaluate your faith today to determine if you are indeed a Christian (cf. 2 Cor 13:5). Pretenders of the faith forsake the assembly of believers (Heb 10:25) and fall away from Christ by neglecting to commit to Him after hearing the word of truth (Heb 2:3). Persecution drives some away (Matt 24:9-10), some tolerate false teachers (Matt. 24:11), and others are overcome by worldly treasures and ambitions (Luke 8:13). Christians, however, bow before Christ and worship Him in Bible-believing, grace churches. They invite persecution and demand biblical preaching, being more concerned with spiritual treasures than worldly things. One other thing sets them apart from pretenders: they loathe sin. It sickens them to the point of repentance. And they not only demand it in their own lives but also in others who call themselves Christians.