<p>This is one of several verses in the New Testament which proves extremely unsettling to many earnest, conscientious Christians. They reason this way: I am faced with a temptation to sin. I know it is wrong. I know I shouldn't do it, and yet I go ahead and do it anyway. I deliberately disobey. It seems to me that I am sinning willfully. Therefore, it sounds from this verse as though I have lost my salvation.</p><p>The problem arises because they take the verse out of its context and make it say something it was never intended to say. The context has to do with the sin of apostasy - the sin of one who professes to be a believer for a while, but who subsequently repudiates the Christian faith and usually identifies himself with some system that opposes Christ. The apostate is described in verse 29: he has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has done despite to the Spirit of grace. He shows by his bitter turning against Christ that he was never born again.</p><p>Suppose that a man hears the Gospel and develops warm feelings toward the Christian faith. He leaves his ancestral religion and adopts the Christian label without being genuinely converted. But then persecution begins, and he has second thoughts about being known as a Christian. Finally he decides to go back to his old religion. But it isn't that easy. Suppose "that before the leaders are willing to take the turncoat back, they have a little ceremony that he must go through. They take the blood of a pig and sprinkle it on the floor. Then they say, "That blood represents the blood of Christ. If you want to return to your parents' religion, you must walk over it." And so he does. In effect, he is trampling under foot the Son of God and counting His blood as an unholy thing. That man is an apostate. He has committed the willful sin.</p><p>A true believer cannot commit this willful sin. He may commit other acts of sin when he knows it is wrong. He may deliberately violate his conscience. This is serious in God's eyes, and we must not say anything that would excuse it. But still he can find forgiveness by confessing and forsaking his sin. Not so with the apostate. For him the verdict is that there remains no more sacrifice for sins (verse 26b), and it is impossible to renew him again to repentance (<span class="scriptRef" ref="heb+6:6">Hebrews 6:6</span>). </p><p> </p>

With reverence, humor and skill, William MacDonald wove a daily devotional tapestry that challenges the reader to think deeply and Biblically, and apply God's Word to their lives.

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." (Hebrews 10:26-27)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="heb+10:19-31">Hebrews 10:19-31</span></span></p><p>The Bible is a veritable mine of information on the fact of God's faithfulness. More than 4,000 years ago He said: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease"  (<span class="scriptRef" ref="ge+8:22">Genesis 8:22</span>). Every year furnishes us with fresh evidence that He has not gone back on His Word. In  <span class="scriptRef" ref="ge+15:13-14">Genesis 15:13-14</span>God declared to Abraham: "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and ill-treated four hundred years. But  afterwards they will come out with great possessions." Did that happen?  <span class="scriptRef" ref="ex+12:41">Exodus 12:41</span> says: "At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord's divisions left Egypt." The prophet Isaiah predicted that a virgin should conceive and bear a son whose name would be Immanuel  (<span class="scriptRef" ref="isa+7:14">Isaiah 7:14</span>). Centuries later the prediction came to pass. In  <span class="scriptRef" ref="ga+4:4">Galatians 4:4</span> we read: "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman ." I wish I had the space to take you through the pages of Scripture and show you how faithful God has been to His Word. But you have a Bible for yourself; study it. Read it to know God. It is absolutely imperative that we who live in an age when unfaithfulness abounds, should acquaint ourselves with the fact of God's faithfulness. This is the basis of our confidence in Him. And this is why the Bible fairly bulges with this great and gripping truth. The more of God's truth we pack into our souls, the better equipped we are for the road that lies ahead.</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">Gracious and loving Father, the more I learn about Your nature and character the more I want to know. Just these glimpses I am getting set my soul on fire to know You more intimately. Take me deeper, dear Lord. In Jesus' Name. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="mal+3:7">Malachi 3:7</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+103:17">Psalm 103:17</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+102:27">Psalm 102:27</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="jas+1:1-17">James 1:1-17</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did the Lord declare to Israel?</li><li>How did James put it?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." (v. 23)

<p> <sup class="verse-number">26</sup> For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,</p>

For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

Hebrews 10:26

 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

In 1604, King James I of England authorized that a new translation of the Bible into English be started. It was finished in 1611, just 85 years after the first translation of the New Testament into English appeared (Tyndale, 1526). The Authorized Version, or King James Version, quickly became the standard for English-speaking Protestants. Its flowing language and prose rhythm has had a profound influence on the literature of the past 400 years. The King James Version present on the Bible Gateway matches the 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States.

OT: Masoretic Text, some LXX and Vulgate influence.
NT: Textus Receptus, similar to the Byzantine text-type; some readings derived from the Vulgate.
Apocrypha: Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate.

Hebrews 10:26 KJV

Hebrews 10:26 KJV

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