"Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. For you have not come to a mountain that may be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word should be spoken to them. For they could not bear the command, 'IF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT WILL BE STONED.' And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, 'I AM FULL OF FEAR AND TREMBLING.' But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, 'YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.' And this expression, 'Yet once more,' denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire."Within these sixteen verses are five statements that indicate this passage is a warning against apostasy. The first statement is found in verse 14b. What the writer is saying is simply this: Pursue salvation; do not stop short only to be lost. There are two contrasting responses to the gospel. One response is to take possession of salvation (cf. Heb. 6:9; the NASB rendering, "accompany" is echo, εκω—middle voice, which means, “to possess for one’s self”). The other response is to turn away from salvation. Here the writer is clearly concerned that some may not press forward (pursue) and obtain (by faith) that sanctification (salvation) without which they are lost. The second statement is in verse 15a. This statement might be somewhat difficult to interpret, if not for the context of verses 14-16. However, given the context, it is apparent that coming "short of the grace of God" means failure to enter into salvation. The third statement is in verse 16. Here, "godless" (bebelos, βεβηλος) means "irreligious." The writer is clearly describing apostasy. Even the illustration of Esau is of one who had something within reach, but turned from it. The fourth statement occurs in verse 25a and is an admonition about refusing Him who warns from heaven. Paraiteomai (παραιτεομαι, translated "refuse") indicates a decisive rejection of God's warning of judgment. The fifth statement, which is found in verse 25b, describes those who "turn away from" God. Unlike some of the other apostasy passages in Hebrews, this one contains no statements which might easily be misconstrued to refer to true believers. It is simply a summary statement of the theme that runs through the entire book. It is a sobering message: Do no trade your opportunity for a bowl of soup or you will be very sorry!
Borrowed and revised from Sam A. Smith's The Biblical Doctrine of Apostasy.