Hebrews 10:26 says, “For when we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins.” What does this mean?
What does the phrase “There no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins” mean? Some may say, “If I sin willfully after I have received the knowledge of the truth, I will not be saved. It is true that God sent His Son to die for me, to bear my sins so that I would be saved through believing in His Son. But if I sin willfully, according to Hebrews 10:26, there is no longer a sacrifice for sin, and I cannot be saved. This is mentioned not only in verse 26 but also in verse 27, which says, ‘But a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fervor of fire, which is to consume the adversaries.’ If I sin willfully, I can wait for only two things: one is the judgment, and the other is the fervor of fire which consumes the adversaries. This is hell and perdition. Since according to the Bible if I sin willfully, there remains no longer a sacrifice for sins, the ending for me is judgment and the fervor of fire which consumes the adversaries. Therefore, I cannot be saved.” Those who think in this way think that this passage is for Christians and that if a Christian sins willfully, he cannot be saved. We have to look into this portion of the Word carefully to find out if the ones who sin willfully are Christians or other people. We must also consider the meaning of sinning willfully and see if this refers to sin in general or to some particular sin.
“When we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth,” the result, according to the Bible, is “a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fervor of fire, which is to consume the adversaries.” The people mentioned here are different from those in Hebrews 6:4, “who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift.” The “truth” spoken of in Hebrews 10:26 is the redemption accomplished once for all by the Lord Jesus Christ. There are certain people who know about the death of the Lord Jesus, the shedding of His blood, and the purpose of His body being broken. They know that man can enter into the Holy of Holies through the blood of the Lord Jesus and be accepted by God; they also know that the work of redemption has been completed forever, and the sacrifice has been offered once for all. There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins for this kind of people, who sin willfully after they have known these truths.
For a moment, let us assume that this portion refers to a Christian who, after receiving the knowledge of the truth and understanding all the doctrines mentioned above, falls into temptation and lies, steals, or goes to places where he should not go. Since he knows that these things are wrong and continues to do them, he sins willfully and cannot be saved. If this is true, I wonder if anyone is saved at all. In Romans 7 Paul said, “For what I will, this I do not practice; but what I hate, this I do....For I do not do the good which I will; but the evil which I do not will, this I practice.... Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” (vv. 15, 19, 24). Does this not show that Paul clearly knew that he should do good but did not do good and instead did the things he hated? In the presence of the maid, Peter denied the Lord three times; he lied (Matt. 26:69-75). Did Peter not know that lying was sin? With this in mind, to “sin willfully” must not mean to sin while knowing that such an act is a sin. This can also be proved in an indirect way. Let us read Hebrews 10:26-29: “For when we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fervor of fire, which is to consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without compassion on the testimony of two or three witnesses. By how much do you think he will be thought worthy of worse punishment who has trampled underfoot the Son of God and has considered the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”
What is the meaning of “sin willfully” in verse 26? To sin willfully is to commit the three acts spoken of in verse 29: (1) to trample underfoot the Son of God, (2) to consider the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and (3) to insult the Spirit of grace. In summary, this is to reject salvation. Even though a person has heard God’s Word which says that Jesus is the Son of God, he says that Jesus is a bastard. Even though he has heard God’s Word which says that the blood of Jesus was shed for the remission of sins, and that this blood is precious as the blood of the Lamb without blemish, he says that Jesus died as a martyr and that His blood is as common as anyone else’s. Even though he has heard God’s Word which says that the Holy Spirit brings man to repentance and gives eternal life, he says, “I do not believe God will impart the accomplished work of Jesus Christ to me; I do not believe that man can be born again.” For this kind of people, the Bible declares, “There no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins.”
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