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Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as the ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION ( ESV ). Hebrews 10:26-31 read as follows:
"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 spurned 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."
The phrase "by which he was sanctified," in verse 29, has a cross-reference to Hebrews 9:13, 14, which read as follows:
"13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."
Considering Hebrews 9:14 together with Hebrews 10:29, the phrase "the blood of the covenant," in this latter passage from the Holy Bible, is a reference to the blood of Christ.
The Greek word ( Greek [ 37 ] ) for the word "sanctified," in verse 29 ( above ), is defined as follows:
"to make holy, i.e. (cer.) purify or consecrate." [ See ABINGDON'S STRONG'S EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE, STRONG, JAMES, S.T.D., LL.D., ABINGDON PRESS, NASHVILLE, Copyright, 1890, by JAMES STRONG, MADISON, N.J., ( A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek/New Testament with their Renderings in the King James Version, p. 5. ). ]
Moreover, this same Greek word is also defined as follows:
". . . b. to purify by expiation, free from the guilt of sin: 1 Co. vi.11 ; Eph. v.26 ; Heb. x. 10, 14, 29. . . ." [ See THE NEW THAYER'S GREEK - ENGLISH LEXICON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT: WITH INDEX, Thayer, Joseph Henry, D.D., HENDRICKSON PUBLISHERS, PEABODY, MASSACHUSETTS 01961-3473, Copyright 1979, 1981 by Jay P. Green, Sr., p. 6. ]
Since one is sanctified by the blood of Christ, the following question arises, namely: how does one come in contact with the blood of Christ?
A person comes in contact with the blood of Christ when he or she is baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ, by immersion in water, for the remission of his or her sins ( see Matthew 16:16, Acts 2:38; 8:26-40 ( especially verses 36-39, for example ), Romans 6:1-4 ( especially verses 3 and 4, for example ), Hebrews 10:19-25 ( especially verse 22, for example ), and 1 Peter 1:1, 2, for example ). We see the absurdity, then, of the false claim that baptism is not necessary for salvation. Specifically, if one has not been baptized, then he or she has not been sanctified, and if one has not been sanctified, then he or she has not been made holy or freed from the guilt of his or her past sins ( see Mark 16:16, Romans 3:25 ( KJV, for example ); 6:23, Hebrews 12:14, and Revelation 1:5; 2:10, for example ). See also Psalm 119:65-73, 142, 151, Matthew 10:32; 11:15; 28:18-20 ( especially verse 18, for example ), Luke 13:3, John 1:1, 14; 3:16, 17; 5:26, 27; 7:16; 8:26; 10:30; 14:6; 17:1, 3, 17, Romans 1:20 ( see Romans 1:20 ( KJV, for example; with center-column references, for example ) to get the equivalent translation for the word "Godhead" ), Galatians 3:26, 27, Colossians 2:8, 9 ( KJV, for example ), 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, Titus 1:1, 2, and 1 John 5:6-8, for example. Please study the Holy Bible ( which is God's word - see 2 Timothy 2:15, for example ).
If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:
<rewillis1_1@juno.com>
<Russell E. Willis>
