⁴ What if some people fall away from the faith? It won’t be possible to bring them back. It is true that they have seen the light. They have tasted the heavenly gift. They have shared in the Holy Spirit. ⁵ They have tasted the good things of God’s word. They have tasted the powers of the age to come. ⁶ But they have fallen away from the faith. So it won’t be possible to bring them back. They won’t be able to turn away from their sins. They are losing everything. That’s because they are nailing the Son of God to the cross all over again. They are bringing shame on him in front of everyone. ⁷ Some land drinks the rain that falls on it. It produces a crop that is useful to those who farm the land. That land receives God’s blessing. ⁸ But other land produces only thorns and weeds. That land isn’t worth anything. It is in danger of coming under God’s curse. In the end, it will be burned.

²⁶ What if we keep sinning on purpose? What if we do it even after we know the truth? Then there is no offering for our sins. ²⁷ All we can do is to wait in fear for God to judge. His blazing fire will burn up his enemies. ²⁸ Suppose someone did not obey the law of Moses. And suppose two or three witnesses made charges against them. That person would die without mercy. ²⁹ People who deserve even more punishment include those who have hated the Son of God. They include people who have said no to him. They include people who have treated as unholy the blood of the covenant that makes them holy. They also include people who have disrespected the Holy Spirit who brings God’s grace. Don’t you think people like this should be punished more than anyone else? ³⁰ We know the God who said, “I am the God who judges people. I will pay them back.” (Deuteronomy 32:35) Scripture also says, “The Lord will judge his people.” (Deuteronomy 32:36; Psalm 135:14) ³¹ It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

A Warning and an Appeal

¹⁴ Try your best to live in peace with everyone. Try hard to be holy. Without holiness no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ Be sure that no one misses out on God’s grace. See to it that a bitter plant doesn’t grow up. If it does, it will cause trouble. And it will make many people impure. ¹⁶ See to it that no one commits sexual sins. See to it that no one is godless like Esau. He sold the rights to what he would receive as the oldest son. He sold them for a single meal. ¹⁷ As you know, after that he wanted to receive his father’s blessing. But he was turned away. With tears he tried to get the blessing. But he couldn’t change what he had done.