| No More Sacrifice for Sin? |
by David A. DePra |
| For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge |
| of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. (Heb 10:26) |
| Paul is here describing a sin for which there is no sacrifice. He |
| says, "If we sin -- willfully -- AFTER having received the knowledge |
| of the Truth -- then there is no sacrifice for that sin." In other words, |
| Paul is saying that there is a condition which exists outside of the |
| sacrifice of Jesus Christ. |
| This is a verse which upsets many Christians, because it |
| seems to be saying that if you deliberately do something which |
| you know is wrong, then your sin cannot be covered by the Blood |
| of Jesus. But such a line of reasoning is the product of not |
| grasping the gospel of grace. It is error. |
| Why? Well, think about it. Did Jesus die for only sins of |
| ignorance? In other words, if I sin, knowing it is wrong, then does |
| it mean that the Redemption doesn't apply to me? Nonsense. |
| If Jesus didn't die for deliberate sin, then He didn't die for sin at all. |
| Of course, someone might reason that since this verse is |
| applicable to Christians, that it does mean deliberate sin falls |
| outside of the Blood, since a "real" Christian would never sin |
| deliberately after knowing the Truth. How about that? |
| This is likewise wrong. You and I commit acts of sin everyday. |
| In thought, word, and deed. And even though we do not sit down |
| and conspire to commit these sins, and probably don't want to |
| sin, we do sin because we choose to sin. Sin doesn't merely |
| happen to us. Somewhere along the line we have to make the |
| choice to yield ourselves to the suggestion. |
| Is sinning like that "deliberate" sin? And is it sin we commit |
| "after receiving the knowledge of the Truth?" Only God knows the |
| heart. But if we try to probe inwardly, and figure all out all of our |
| motives, we are going to end up standing on ground we have no |
| business standing on. It will get us nowhere but confused. |
| This verse isn't talking about any particular "act of sin." It is not |
| talking about DOING anything when it talks about sin. The sin it is |
| talking about is the sin of UNBELIEF. |
| THE sin of the New Covenant is the deliberate refusal to come |
| under the Redemption of Jesus Christ -- in favor of coming under |
| a righteousness by works. THAT is the sin Paul is here alluding |
| to. He is saying, "If we sin willfully -- by refusing the grace of God |
| in Jesus -- then there is no alternative for us. There is only ONE |
| sacrifice for sin. If we have received the knowledge of it, we dare |
| not reject it by adhering to a religion of righteousness by works." |
| In effect, what we see here is a description of what Jesus called |
| '"the sin which has no forgiveness." There is only one sin which |
| God cannot forgive: The refusal of His forgiveness. If we willfully |
| and ultimately commit that sin, then there remains for us no other |
| sacrifice for our sin. |
| Paul confirms that this is what he is saying later, in verse 10:29. |
| He tells us what this sin is. He says, |
| Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought |
| worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath |
| counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, |
| an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? |
| Clearly, if I trod under foot the Son of God, by saying that His |
| Blood is NOT sufficient to cover all my sins -- past, present, and |
| future -- then I am counting His sacrifice as an unholy thing. I am |
| doing "spite" to the Spirit of grace. |
| This is obviously serious business. Paul is telling us in this |
| verse that we have no business letting our sin come between us |
| and God. We have no business believing that we too unworthy |
| to be covered by the Blood of Christ. It never depended upon our |
| worthiness. It depended on Christ. And over and over again, |
| throughout the Bible, God makes this clear. He tells us to stop |
| basing things on our works. Everything is dependent upon the |
| finished work of Jesus Christ. * |