WHAT IS WILLFUL
SIN?
Some people are troubled by the words, “If we
deliberately sin after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no
sacrifice for sins remains, but only a fearful expectation of judgment
and
raging fire, that will devour the enemies of God.” (Heb. 10:26-27). It
is easy
for those who have a tender conscience to be tormented by a fear that
they may
be guilty of such sin, and thus to try to explain those words away.
However,
because God wants us to take His Word seriously we need to look closely
at what
is being said.
Because none of us are perfect, these words
can seem
intimidating. Life often places us in situations in which it is hard to
know
what is right and what is wrong. And, we often make mistakes. When that
happens
it is important for us to confess our sin to God, and trust in His
promise of
forgiveness in Christ. Even if we are not sure that what we did was
wrong,
because even our “righteousnesses are as
filthy rags”
we should look to God for forgiveness anyway (Isaiah 64:6). However, I
do not
believe that is what Hebrews 10:26-27 is talking about. Instead it is
talking
about sins that called for the death penalty under the Law of Moses
(Heb.
The purpose of Hebrews 10:26-27 is not to
tell us how to be saved, but to call those who are guilty of such sin
to repentance. And, it calls them to repentance by making it clear that
there is no forgiveness
without repentance. The Bible makes it clear that if they repent there
is forgiveness (Romans 5:20). But as long as they are sinning willfuly
they need to repent. Now I am sure that many who are reading this have
heard of
someone who outwardly seemed to be a sincere Christian, but was
secretly guilty
of adultery. There are many in our age who brazenly
defend their immorality by claiming that they were born that way. And,
the
purpose of Hebrews 10:26-27 is to save those people from eternal
damnation by
letting them know that God is not about to let the Gospel be perverted
into an
excuse for them to keep on sinning.
Therefore, Hebrews 10:26-27 is God’s warning
to the person who has heard the Gospel, but has never really placed his faith in Christ because he heard it with an unrepentant
heart. He may attend church regularly and even profess to believe in
Christ, but the fact that he is sinning willfully with no desire to
change tells us that he does not really want to be delivered from sin.
On the contrary, he expects Christ to help him sin and get away with
sin, and that is not going to happen. In such a
case, those who tell that person that he is saved because he once
prayed a
prayer only harden him in his sin. Christ is no fool who is going to
allow His
sacrifice to be perverted into an excuse for evildoing (Heb.