051. What is meant by Hebrews 10:26—"If we sin willfully after that we have received the knowled...

What is meant by Hebrews 10:26—"If we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins"? Does it mean that if anyone sins knowingly after he has received the knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any hope of pardon or salvation for him?

No, it means nothing of the kind. The words translated “sin willfully” mean to sin willingly, voluntarily, of one’s own accord. Such sin is in contrast with the sins committed inconsiderately, or from ignorance, or from weakness. One may sin knowingly without sinning willfully. He may know that what he is doing is wrong, and yet he does it not voluntarily (not willingly, not of his own accord) but under the compulsion of temptation that is too strong for him. The word translated “willfully” is the same word used in 1 Peter 5:2, where the contrast is drawn between the one who does his work by constraint and the one who does it of his own glad choice. There are many who sin knowingly but who do not sin willfully in this sense.

If one, after receiving a knowledge of the truth, deliberately and of his own choice chooses to sin rather than to obey God, there remains no more sacrifice for sins for him, only a fearful looking for of judgment, a fierceness of fire. Such an one will have no desire to repent. The fact that one has a desire to repent proves of itself that he has not sinned in this way. No one described in Hebrews 10:26 will be seeking light and desiring to come back to God. The very fact that a person asks such a question as this shows that he is not the person described in Hebrews 10:26.