Hebrews Chapter Ten, Sinning Willfully

Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

 

Like my previous post addressing the topic of Hebrews 6:4-8, I had also written a sequel, contending with Hebrews 10:26-31, which may be found here.

In the previous verses the writer commends to the Hebrew Christians what they ought to be doing. They were to draw near, assured in their faith. Their hearts were sprinkled from an evil or guilty conscience, and they had washed in the water of the word. They were to hold fast their confession without wavering, reminding them that He (God) who promised was faithful. They were told to consider each other, to the end of stirring up Christian charity or love, resulting in good works, rather than dead works, which were to be repented from. Finally, they were not to forsake assembling as a body of believers, but to encourage one another, and more frequently in light of the soon return of our Lord, Hebrews 10:22-25.

 

Before advancing to verse 26, let’s consider what had come before. In fact, it is imperative, utterly vital to do so. Why? Because each verse does not exist in a vacuum: it is the natural, logical result of the message declared prior to its utterance. Verse 26 cannot be wrested from its position in Hebrews anymore than any other text in Scripture. Sound exegesis demands unity for the tenor of Biblical revelation. We know from Peter that certain portions of the Bible can be hard to understand, 2 Peter 3:16. Peter also cautions that, from these hard things untrained and unstable people twist the passage, to their own destruction. The KJV uses the word “wrest” rather than twist (NKJV). The Greek word employed in 2 Peter is “strebloo” and means, “to wrench, to torture (by the rack), fig. to pervert.” It is used once in the New Testament here in 2 Peter. Twisting then, implies a violent wrenching, distorting the actual meaning of Scripture, resulting in the destruction of its intended conveyance, and the ruin of the hearers, deceived as it were by a false interpretation.

 

Beginning with verse 26, let us pause at the word, “for.” The writer wants to arrest the attention of his readership, warning that once we receive the knowledge of the truth but continue to willfully sin, there is no other sacrifice to be made for us. In Numbers 15:30, 31 we read, “But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity (guilt) shall be upon him,” KJV.

 

One item we may take away from this verse: the writer desires that we no longer rush headlong into what he considers “willful sin” any longer once the we receive the knowledge of the truth. Oxford defines willful simply as, “stubborn and determined.” The Greek for the term is, “hekousios,” and has an equally simple translation of, “voluntarily or willingly.”

 

The apostle Paul tackled this subject brilliantly, writing, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” Romans 6:1, 2. This is the ancient church heresy of license. By license, I simply mean that, by definition of this doctrine, Christians are sinless or incapable of sin, and therefore may indulge in wanton hedonism because we have been set at liberty. But the saints aren’t set at liberty to commit sin. Though if we do, God is ready to forgive and cleanse us through Jesus Christ, 1 John 1:9. No, Paul tells us that we who are dead to sin ought not to live in it anymore. Living in sin is a seemingly modern phrase, usually depicting an unmarried man and woman living together, but it is older and far broader in its scope.

 

Living in sin suggests we have made our home there. We don’t lapse; we don’t visit. Like Lot went to Sodom to live there, so do Christians who follow this ideology. The possible doctrine of sinless perfection resulting in license might have been derived from 1 John 3:9. The KJV (and NKJV) render the verse, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” The NASB extrapolates a little, rendering the verse, “No one who is born of God practices sin.” One who is truly begotten from above, born again by faith in the Son of God, remains in an unrepentant lifestyle of sin. 1 John 3:9, like our current verse, is wrested out of context for the misuse of unstable teachers, who understand, “neither what they say nor the things which they affirm,” 1 Timothy 1:7.

 

The author describes those who have received only, “the knowledge of the truth.” In a parable our Lord related, He taught us, “Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved,” Luke 8:12, Matthew 13:19. The passage in Matthew sheds a little more light on Luke’s account. Matthew further records Jesus saying of this parable, “When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart; this is what was sown along the path,” RSV.

 

To receive the knowledge of the truth is not enough. Mental assent is not the same as faith, though mental assent, brought by evidential conviction and the Holy Spirit’s leading, is a necessary step toward faith. Paul tells us, “faith comes by hearing,” Romans 10:17. The message of the gospel must be preached. But in the recipient, it must be understood, as we learn in the parable Christ related. If it is rightly understood, understanding blossoms into faith, as we confess our love for the God who went to the cross on our behalf. This is why a Christian would not willingly set up his residence in sin; living in sin, knowing full well that said sin is what sent our Lord to die on our behalf is despicably insulting. It is the “faith” of Barabbas, who was released in Jesus’ stead, while our Lord suffered at Calvary. Barabbas didn’t believe; no, he was grateful perhaps that Jesus would die and he would not, so he could return to his old life and resume living it. Is this how we view Jesus Christ? Is He only a “get out of Hell free” card? If you think that believing in Christ is just a magic formula for you to dodge God’s judgment while you continue to indulge every sinful vice, you have not received the “love of the truth.”

 

Paul writes of those deluded by the Antichrist’s coming, stating that they are, “among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness,” 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. Jesus Christ IS the truth, John 14:6. Pilate’s flippant, cynical question of, “what is truth?” (John 18:38) was answered in Christ. God’s person, His kingdom and man’s purpose and destiny are answered in Christ. He is the truth; there is no other way to God apart from Jesus, Acts 4:12. The people Paul describes in the latter days make several fatal errors. They perish, not because they did not receive the knowledge of the truth, but because they did not receive the love of it. And again, Jesus Christ IS the truth. God sent the Son as the world’s Light and Savior. We have neither apart from Him. For that reason God gave them over to strong delusion. Is this only an end times delusion? Not at all. In Romans 1:24 we read that, because man rejected the witness of God in the created order and willfully substituted Him with lesser gods, He gave them over to uncleanness in the lust of their hearts. Romans 1:25 informs us that mankind universally exchanged the truth of God for the lie—the same language Paul employs in the above passage in Thessalonians. The ultimate expression of worshipping the creature (or a created thing, including self-deification) arrives in the Man of Sin: the Antichrist.

 

The strong delusion compels the complicit sinner to believe the lie, being condemned for two reasons. One: they did not believe the truth, synonymous with having a love of it. Two: they rather had pleasure in unrighteousness. The Greek word for “unrighteousness” is, “adikia.” It means, “literally unrightness, a condition of not being right, whether with God, according to the standard of His holiness and righteousness, or with man, according to the standard of what man knows according to his conscience.” Here is a compelling reason for why one would continue to sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth. Willful rejection of the truth means we prefer pleasure in unrigheousness: we all recognize a standard exists in which we fail God’s measure for what is right, and likewise even fail the measure of human conscience for what is right. We sacrifice both on the altar of pleasure, where much of humanity deigns to worship.

 

The severity of the author’s tone, already witnessed at least once earlier in the epistle, is meant to clarify a Christian’s position. If the Hebrew Christians were backsliding into Mosaic Law, then temple sacrifice would likewise result. The writer cautions them that obedience to the Law’s precepts at this point reveals a lack of understanding as to what the gospel means, and the supreme sufficiency of Jesus’ sacrifice on their behalf. Sinning willfully indicates that one has not believed and accepted and began to practice the knowledge of the truth. Rather, evidence and action showcase wanton rebellion against it, as it was since the days of Cain, when he refused to bring a lamb as God instructed, Hebrews 11:4, Genesis 4:3, 5. As the narrative goes on, we will find the author contrasting those who “believe to the saving of the soul” against those who, “draw back to perdition,” or destruction, Hebrews 10:39. God willing, we will continue exploring this passage.