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NASB | Hebrews 10:26 ¶ For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Hebrews 10:26 ¶ For if we go on willfully and deliberately sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice [to atone] for our sins [that is, no further offering to anticipate], |
Bible Question: What exactly does this passage mean? |
Bible Answer: Dr. Phill, I would express both some agreement and some disagreement with the answer you received from, Ed. In agreement I would say that for anybody to go on unrepentantly sinning in a willful fashion would be to place themselves in damnation. In disagreement both I and historical reformed theology would suggest that their behavior and ultimate fate demonstrates that they were never a "truly saved" individual. I think the author of Hebrews would agree with me on this assertion and I would direct you to Hebrews chapter 3 to demonstrate this. Hebrews 3:13,14 But encourage one another day after day, as long a it is still called "today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end. Let me point out a number of parallels with the passage you asked about. 1. Both have an exhortation that we push each other to not sin and both are grounded in ultimate consequences. In the passage I quoted it presses us to encourage one another so that we are not hardened by sin and then it gives a FOR clause. In the clause there is a fatal consequence of us not being united to Christ. I will talk more of that one later but for now, the parallel. In Hebrews 10 we see a command to stimulate each other to love and good deeds in the midst of assembling together and then the FOR clause. After this it expresses the contrast as to go on sinning willfully. In this chapter again there is a ultimate fatal consequence of not being covered by the sacrifice of Christ. 2. Another parallel: In both passages they are encouraging us to not only not sin, but also to hold fast to our confession concerning Christ. In chapter 10 this is in verse 23. In chapter three you will see this in both verse 12 and in the FOR clause of verse 14 itself. So I see a very strong parallel between the flow of thought in these two passages. Now lets look closely at Hebrews 3:14. It states that we "Have become participants in Christ" IF... This is very important that we see how this is structured. We have PAST TENSE, (its actually a perfect tense) become partakers of Christ IF we hold fast the beginning of our assurance until the end. So he says that a past event really occurred if a future even is true. Namely we have past tense actually become united to Christ, if we go on holding fast to Christ in the future. So I argue, that in the mind of the author of Hebrews anybody who abandons Christ is demonstrating that they were never partakers of Christ to begin with. I think he has a consistent reasoning in chapter ten. Yes, to go on willfully sinning and rejecting his plea to hold fast to our confession of Christ(notice these two things are contrasts of each other), to do this would be to eternally jepordize our souls, but more than that, it is to show that we were never truly united to Christ in the first place. There are other places we could go to show this is the consistent testimony of scripture but I am more concerned to show you that the author of Hebrews himself is thinking this way. We must indeed hold fast to Christ and fight against sin in order to be saved, but all who truly belong to Christ will actually do so because God himself is working in them to bring it about. Philippians 2:12,13 ...work out your salvation in with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. This is the paradox of life as a Christian. We labor with all our might to take hold of holiness but it is only because of God that we first desire to, second strive to, and finally succeed in doing so. It is all of God, and because it is all of God, it is certain. In Christ, Beja |