Understanding 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,”— What is this willful sin?

The verse under consideration is—

“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,”

The New Living Translation says— “Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the Truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.”

How many times have we heard this verse thrown carelessly from some pulpits— carelessly because it is usually preached as a threat for God’s punishment on those who commit acts of sin such as stealing or eating too much after becoming a Christian. Beloved, nothing could be further from the Truth! As if the one who is misinterpreting the verse has not sinned since he became a Christian, plenty times even!

Think about it — the same religious leaders who threaten the flock with God’s punishment for “sinning willfully” after they became born-again, these are the same people who are fond of conducting altar calls where they ask churchgoers who have “backslided” by committing acts of sin or by not coming to church for a while to come and “re-dedicate” their lives to Christ. Yet they preach that there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins for such people. The question now is—

Why are you calling on people who have “sinned willfully” after they became born-again to come and partake of Christ’s sacrifice during such altar calls? Do you not say that there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins for them because of the same sins? That is akin to telling someone that a ship has sailed and simultaneously telling him to to come and board the same ship. Beloved, let’s take our blessed brains to church. When you take a text out of its context, you are left with a con. So let’s see the context of this oft misinterpreted “sin willfully” that Hebrews 10:26 speaks of—

“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,”

Let’s see what it means to “sin willfully.” I usually don’t use almost entire chapters of the Bible in these pieces, but it is important for us to see for ourselves in the word what this wilful sin is that God’s word is talking about. Even more important is for us to know what 'the knowledge of the Truth" is seeing as to receive then reject it is tied to the definition of sinning wilfully. We find these in their context in Hebrews 10. The chapter explains in detail Christ’s sacrifice for us and its effect on all who receive Him. And against this backdrop is where we find the true meaning of “sin willfully.” Here goes— Hebrews 10:

“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. 2 If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.

3 But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. 4 For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God,

“You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer. 6 You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin.

7 Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”

8 First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). 9 Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. 10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 13 There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. 14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says,

16

“This is the new covenant I will make

with my people on that day,[c] says the Lord:

I will put my laws in their hearts,

and I will write them on their minds.”

17 Then he says,

“I will never again remember

their sins and lawless deeds.”

18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.

19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the Truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. 27 There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. 28 For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.”

And there it is, beloved of God. Under the Law, the one who sins shall surely die. But for we who have “received the knowledge of the Truth” (Christ Himself is the Truth) aka everything outlined in Hebrews 1-25 above, we are not under Law but under Grace where our sins and iniquities — past, present and future — God NO LONGER REMEMBERS because—

“…our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time.” Hebrews 10:12.

Christ, the above verse and and everything that Christ accomplished at the cross for usis the “knowledge of the Truth” beloved. Let’s take our blessed brains to church— the only reason why God does not remember our sins is because we who believe Jesus still commit sins here and there. Shocker.

To “sin willfully” in the context of Hebrews 10:26 does NOT refer to stealing, planting different crops on the same land, wishing that you had the type of your neighbour’s house (coveting) or getting on the wrong side of the Law of Moses which we who believe are dead to. Beloved, to sin wilfully is to—

“…have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.”

Recall the oft misinterpreted verse says—

“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,”

“The knowledge of the Truth (Christ Himself) is outlined for us in Hebrews 10–

• It is the sacrifice of Christ that made us holy, not our useless attempts at being sinless: “For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.” Verse 10.
• Our sins- past, present and future- have been wiped away with Christ's single sacrifice for sins-- “But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time.” Verse 12.
• Based on the blood of the New Covenant, God does not remember our sins and lawless deeds (Hebrews 10:17.)

These and so much more Grace (unmerited favour) is the knowledge of the Truth— the knowledge of Christ and His finished work in making the sinner who believes holy, perfect, righteous and free from the imputation, guilt and penalty of sin. Everything is unqualified and untainted by human effort aka the arm of flesh; all without terms and conditions such as “don’t sin, or else…”

To to sin wilfully is to reject Christ’s sacrifice in making the sinner who believes righteous before God and going about in search of one’s own righteousness by human striving at being sins-free— after receiving the knowledge of the Truth who is Jesus Christ, and what He has done to save the world. To sin willfully is defined by that horrid and antichrist interpretation of Hebrews 10:26 that says that if you commit an act of sin after you become born-again, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins for you. That is the willful sin that Hebrews 10:26 speaks of. It entails rejecting the sacrifice of Jesus for one’s own righteousnesses and human attempts at being sins-free aka obeying the law in order to be godly after having knowledge that Christ the Truth suffered and died for this purpose, hence —

“…if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the Truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.”

Beloved, no matter how much you try to keep the law, it cannot make any acceptable to God— only Christ’s sacrifice suffices for righteousness before God and an acquittal from punishment—

20 “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. 21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” Romans 3.

But pride in self/human effort for the attainment of good (be like God) will not let man agree with God. Beloved, let’s not be found on such ground— disagreeing with and even challenging God with that horrid interpretation of “sin willfully” which puts confidence in the flesh for being sins-free. This brings to mind the question asked by God Himself in Amos 3–

“Can two walk together unless they are agreed?”

See what God's word says about man’s non-existent good and his useless willpower that he relies on for being sins-free and doing good deeds in Romans 7:18, a truth that Paul experienced:

“For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it."

God's word says human effort (the arm of flesh) will fail, is powerless and cannot. But as he did to Eve in Eden, Satan appeals to Pride in the arm of flesh (human effort at obedience or achieving good aka "be like God") that will fail and causes man to think:

"No, I can. God must be wrong. I still have some good in me. I can produce good, keep the law and resist temptation to commit sin by my will-power. I can and I must do works to be godly aka "be like God" or (as it was with Judas) to prove to God that I am truly sorry for my sins and can make amends.”

Unfortunately, many among those who try to be sins-free/godly by human striving in order to get into God’s good books are unaware that their self-driven righteous deeds aka self-righteousnesses, including those attempts at curbing sins in order to be sins-free, Isaiah 64:6 describes them as being thus in His sight—

“We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight."

Beloved, understand that those same sins that you struggle with, even the ones in Revelation 21:8 which some "men of God" threaten the flock with hell for—

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

—even those sins, because He loves you and I so, God sent His only begotten Son to save us from even the vilest sins and the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; to cause us to "not perish but have everlasting life." This is why He gave His life for you and I—

"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." Titus 2:14.

How can Christ sacrifice His life for you and I because of our sins and then someone will come and be telling us that because we have sins, His sacrifice for those same sins is void in our lives? Saviour from sins is His job description. Even after we became born-again, He is the only reason why we are not wallowing in sins and calamity—

12 "So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. 13 We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously." I Corinthians 10.

If God was not filtering and screening…

Beloved, of yourself, you do not need Grace to be present before you commit heinous sins. All that you need to be is YOURSELF— apart from God’s mercy/Grace which is the “skeleton” that is keeping man of himself from collapsing into the helpless mass of sins-ridden flesh that man is of himself. God’s merciful and restraining hand is what is keeping those who think they can avoid committing sins by clenching their teeth from experiencing the vagaries of Time and Chance as well as Satan’s sifting— like boastful Peter before he fell flat on his face three times.

The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how favourable circumstances make many boast that “I can never do that,” like Peter before he fell flat on his face…three times. So let he that is standing take heed lest he fall… like Peter with his denials. So much to say here. Paul addressed this truth in Romans 1 where a group who “suppress the truth” of righteousness by faith (verses 16-19) devolved into sin after “God lifted off His restraining hand…” —

“24 This is why God lifted off His restraining hand and let them have full expression of their sinful and shameful desires…”

If God lifted off His restraining hand that restrains us from devolving into committing heinous sins and let us rely on our human effort and will-power at keeping the law or doing good works to prove our faith or for whatever reason, like Peter who trusted himself before falling flat on his face three times, we would all devolve into sin and see how utterly lacking in works we are of ourselves.

Beloved, to sin wilfully is to “…have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.”

To sin wilfully is to disregard, dishonour and despise the blood of Jesus which was shed to make us righteous in God’s sight (as if we never sinned, despite our many sins) and to go back to dependence on human effort for being sins-free aka godly aka “be like God” which is what that horrid misinterpretation of “sinning willfully” is all about. See the verse again—

“Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the Truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.”

Christ is the Truth in the above verse. Only through His sacrifice do we have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Any attempt at being sinless or godly aka “be like God”by human effort is a rejection of Jesus Christ and Him crucified and a testament to following that seemingly good but deathly doctrine that Satan sold to Eve in Eden— dependence on human effort for the attainment of righteousness/godliness (be like God) and using the knowledge of good and evil (ability to keep the law) for this purpose. God’s word in Romans 10 shows us that it is not God’s way—

“Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. 2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. 3 For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with Himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. 4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Him are made right with God. Romans‬ 10:1-4‬.

Beloved, don’t be deceived by Grace-rejecting Pharisee-type church leaders who are outwardly religious but refuse to accept God’s way of making us righteous in His sight— those who challenge God by trusting in self for being sins-free, levy you with demands for godliness by human striving and threaten you with their warped definition of Hebrews 10:26’s “sinning wilfully” as meaning committing sins after you became born-again. The spirit of the antichrist is not necessarily anti-God. The word “antichrist” is translated from two Greek words—

Anti — meaning “replace” or “in place of” and

Christos — meaning “Christ” = “Anointed”

Antichrists aren’t ugly, horned creatures wearing red underwear and wielding pitchforks like the creatures in those religious church horror movies that some movie producers terrorised children with in the 80s. Antichrist refers to anyone who tries to REPLACE what CHRIST has done to make us righteous, free us from sin and death and to grant us eternal life with what MAN must do by his useless human effort aka the arm of flesh. Even the number 666- any Bible scholar will tell you that six is the number of Man -- man was created on the sixth day; six days for man to work, and many other Biblical references. Man is also a tripartite (three parts) being -- body, soul and spirit. Keep this in mind. Recall Paul wrote of bearing on his body the marks of Jesus in Galatians 6:17--

14 'But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that matters is a new creation! 16 And all who will behave in accordance with this rule, peace and mercy be on them, and on the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body."

"Marks" above is translated from the Greek word "stigmata" which means "a tattoo mark or brand." I doubt that Paul put a tattoo on his body to mark himself for Christ or branded himself like a cow for the same purpose. What is even very important is what comes before verse 17--

"...may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The same Paul wrote in Galatians 2--

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me."

To bear the marks of Christ on our body is to boast in nothing but the cross. It is to acknowledge that we no longer live but Christ lives in us-- meaning that we cannot claim that "I sowed my car and got a jet" or "God blessed me because I didn't sin." For all that we have or do, our boast is Christ alone. We no longer live.

By the same token, man bearing the number 666 being the mark of the beast is simply man (a tripartite or "three parts" being) in the fullness or "aliveness" of himself -- boasting in himself — full of man in body, full of man in soul and full of man in spirit; it is the very best system of governance that mankind can produce without God and so under the constant influence of Satan. It is not a microchip. It is a mark that many even church leaders are glorying in today-- dependence on human effort for the attainment of godliness in body (6,) soul (6) and spirit (6)--- man full of himself and glorying not in Christ's work but in his human effort at being godly or sins-free. That was the way of the religious Pharisees. Little wonder they could not stand Christ aka they were antichrist. Notice not anti-God?

For all of their religious piety, obedience and enforcement of the Law of Moses which. none can match today, the Pharisees were antichrist. Little wonder Christ referred to them as “Brood of vipers” and “Satan is your father.”Jesus Christ the Tree of Life was right there with them to save them and grant them eternal life as a gift of grace, but like many church leaders who follow their doctrine while rejecting Grace, they chose to cling to doing righteous deeds in order to be righteous aka doing what the law commands in their bid to be good/godly aka “be like God,”— the same deceit that Satan the original viper/serpent sold to Eve in Eden.

Child of Grace, know that this side of heaven, before we receive our immortal bodies at Christ’s return for us at the Rapture, we will mess things up (commit sins) here and there— none of us have arrived; and our failures usually show up because we trust in self in some areas that we are not even aware of and God wants to rid us of such trust in self in those areas. Recall—

12 "So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. 13 We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously." I Corinthians 10.

Thank God that, as we see in 1 Corinthians 10 above and just as He did using Peter’s denials, those temptations or trials which Satan means for our destruction and where we fall flat on our faces, God measures their severity, nature and timing and uses them to make us see the futility of trusting in human effort (the flesh) for the attainment of godliness; He uses them to cause us to let go of PRIDE IN SELF and to cause us to put our trust in Christ our Wisdom from God alone—

“When swelling and pride come, then emptiness and shame come also, but with the humble (those who are lowly, who have been pruned or chiseled by trial, and renounce self) are skillful and godly Wisdom and soundness.” Proverbs‬ 11:2‬

That “swelling and pride” is to think that one can keep as much as an atom of the law in order to be anything with God or produce any good deed by human effort. Having that kind of mindset only opens the door for Satan to sift a person like wheat for the good that he claims to possess or be able to do when Christ says “There is none good but God.”

Only in Christ do we stand.

Of ourselves, know that but for God’s mercy, we cannot resist even the least temptation to sin. There is none good but God, beloved. Acknowledging this truth of man’s utter weakness of himself and trusting in Christ as our Good is God’s definition of HUMILITY.

Many are yet to realise that there is no good in man of himself and that their not wallowing in heinous sins like Peter’s denials is only a matter of God’s mercy — the “skeleton” that is preventing Satan from sifting many like wheat for the good they claim to be able to do when Christ says “There is none good but God.”

Man of himself is flesh, beloved— can flesh move without a skeleton? Can it produce anything without Life blood flowing through it? Even as Christians, from “50 years as a pastor” to pew warmer, we are utterly weak of ourselves. Christ as our Righteousness is the “Skeleton” who keeps us upright. He is the Vine Life flowing through us giving us life in abundance. There is a reason why Christ gave the pastoring of His sheep to Peter— the disciple whom many of us might view as “failed the most”— the more we see our utter weakness of ourselves, the stronger we are in His strength.

The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody but for God’s mercy in keeping us upright. Only in God’s Grace (unmerited favour) do we stand firm and are we strengthened. This is why it was to Peter — the disciple whom many of us see as having “failed the most” — that Christ first appeared among the remaining 11 disciples after His resurrection; it was to Peter that Christ gave the charge of feeding His sheep. It was Peter who preached that sermon where 3,000 people got saved— right in the presence of the same people who caused him to be so afraid for his life that he denied our Saviour thrice— Grace made real in every weakness! And guess what made up a part of the sermon that Peter preached—

“But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,” Acts 3:14.

Whaaaat! Didn’t he himself deny Jesus? Beloved, Peter was so confident in his restoration by Christ and so free from a guilty conscience that he was unashamed to preach the Truth despite the jeers that might come his way from people who knew about his past! Recall that one of the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice for us is being freed from a guilty conscience—

“let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22.

Some Bible versions say “evil conscience” which many misconstrue as a heart that can stick a knife in an infant without batting an eyelid. But “Evil” above is translated from the Greek word “ponērós” which has the following principal outline of biblical usage—

full of labours, annoyances, hardshipspressed and harassed by labours, bringing toils, annoyances, perils; of a time full of peril to Christian faith and steadfastness; causing pain and trouble.

An evil conscience is simply one that toils and labours under the guilt of sins which Christ died to take away. We are freed from it by trusting in Christ as our Righteousness before God. Judas held on to his guilt and tried to get himself into God’s good books by doing things in his own strength. For his efforts, he became depressed and suicidal— like many in the world today who look to themselves to perfect their imperfections. Beloved, never trust yourself to be right with God, like Judas. Trust Christ, like Peter. Recall that Christ said to him before his test and subsequent failure in Luke 22:31–33:

31 “And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.””

Christ knew that Peter would fail in his bid to not deny Him, just as He knows that we all will fail if our ability to be sins-free or obtain godly characteristics (“be like God” the Loving, Merciful, Righteous, Never Late for a Meeting, Generous, Sinless, etc) depended on even an iota human effort— the arm of flesh. Failure has been the result since Adam and Eve first tried to do same (be godly like God) in Eden. But like Peter, many disagree. Peter failed, but his FAITH (trust in Christ as his Bearer of sins, Lover of his soul and Saviour from sin and death) did not fail. He saw the futility of trusting himself to do the godly or righteous thing and most importantly, he saw his utter need for God's saving Grace of Whom it is written in Matthew 1:21-

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Only the one who knows, believes and follows the Truth as Peter did — utterly weak to even lift a finger against sins and trusting in Christ the Truth whose strength is made perfect in weakness as Saviour from sins— only that one can “strengthen the brethren.” Only that one can pastor a church into Life. Hence—

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

Judas is an example of one who continued to sin wilfully. He committed a sin of betrayal like Peter but plodded on in his might to make things right and rectify his sin. For the wilful sin of not depending on Christ as his righteousness and strength as Peter did, Judas became depressed and suicidal— Christ’s sacrifice cannot avail for those who embark on that foolish and futile journey of trying to be righteous/sins-free by human effort aka the arm of flesh. Bedevilled with Satan’s accusation for sins and hopeless after his failure, Judas condemned himself and hung for his own sin, and it is that same direction that many church leaders are pushing the flock— pushing people to make themselves right with God by human striving at trying to curb sins, heaping condemnation on the flock and threatening the flock with God’s punishment for their weaknesses!

Such leaders even presume that everyone except themselves just loves to commit sin, as if Peter loved and could not wait for another opportunity to deny Christ. As if Judas was somewhere splurging on his betrayal money. In reality, Judas was depressed and suicidal, like many churchgoers today who are bogged down by their both secret and glaring imperfections and are being saddled with the burden of freeing themselves from such imperfections by religious and pulpit-manning accusers. Beloved, don’t let anyone goad you into depression and suicide for your many imperfections. You need the Saviour from sins whose sacrifice means that we no longer have to go about with a guilty conscience. Where there is sin (Hamartia in Greek meaning “miss the mark”,) Christ is Saviour. Matthew 1:21 tells us what He came to do—

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

But today, we have all of these “church daddies” preaching that people should follow the “trust in self” example of Judas, boasting about how they don’t sin by their human effort and worse, levying the flock with demands of sinlessness and threatening those who are held captive by sin with their warped interpretation of “sin wilfully” in Hebrews 10:26! In the Spirit-inspired words of Paul in Philippians 3, beloved, “Beware of dogs!”

Beloved, don’t be deceived. Being righteous or godly before God is not a matter of behaviour modification and determining to not sin again. That is the definition of FOOLISHNESS according to Galatians 3:1-5. We often forget that Nicodemus was the first recipient of our Saviour’s words in John 3:16– “For God so loved the world…” Not even the holiest church daddy can match Nico when it comes to obedience and doing good deeds— but at that point, Nicodemus was worldly aka “the world” — destined for death in hell but for God’s saving Grace which He is offering freely to all today. Only the blood of Jesus suffices for God to declare any righteous and in His love, He gives this GIFT freely to all who believe— Romans 5:9–

“And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

God’s mercy is the “skeleton” that is propping up those who think they are not sinning or are righteous because of their self-determination and preventing them from seeing the full expression of their sinful selves. So much to say here. Paul addressed this truth in Romans 1 where a group who “suppress the truth” of righteousness by faith (verses 16-19) devolved into sin after “God lifted off His restraining hand…” —

“24 This is why God lifted off His restraining hand and let them have full expression of their sinful and shameful desires…”

Peter experienced a bit of God lifting His restraining hand after boasting in his own (self-)righteousness to not sin, beloved. Why wait to be sifted to see what is true? Beloved, I could boast of so many things, but let our boast be in Christ alone. If it seems as if you are driving against sins with the skills of Louis Hamilton and you assume that it is by your own good and your own strength, understand that the only reason why you are standing is the same reason why Peter thought he could never deny Jesus— God’s merciful and restraining hand in not letting you be consumed by heinous sins, and even Job-type calamities. If you confess that you cannot drive but have Christ as both your Vehicle and your Driver, no Satan is going to bother to test your driving skills. You no longer live. Is it Jesus Christ in you who is “Fine Flour” that Satan wants to sift like wheat? If it happens that you need to drive or Satan taunts you for your inability to do so, you will overcome with perfection because you depend utterly on Christ who never disappoints as both your Vehicle and Driver and everything else; yet not you driving but Christ in you.

No one is good but God. When it comes to man of himself, the flesh (human effort at doing) in a pastor is EXACTLY the same flesh in an armed robber— no good. Only the pastor who realises this utter weakness of the flesh/humanity and utterly puts his trust in Christ can “strengthen the brethren” as Christ gave charge to Peter after his denials opened his eyes to his utter weakness. Beloved, God’s Wisdom in saving us cannot be reasoned out by fallen human logic—

"For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18.

Little wonder why religious people who think that they can keep as much as a tittle of the law in their own strength/arm of flesh cannot but define God’s abundance of Grace and His gift of Righteousness to us in Christ with questions such as—

”So you are saying once we are under Grace, because the righteousness of Christ covers us we should continue in sin, live lawlessly and do no good deeds?”

The truth is those who ask such questions are still quite clueless as to what every human being IS apart from God’s mercy and His saving Grace: no good according to Jesus Christ the word who suffered and died to be our Good. He says—

“There is none good but God.”

Beloved, you do not need to be under Grace to express and even enjoy basking in horrid sins, even that of denying Christ. Just ask Peter who trusted himself to not sin. All you need to do for that to happen is REJECT GRACE, sit back and BE YOURSELF!

Those who ask such “So because we are under Grace..” questions are like Peter before his denials— he thought that his Maker who says “There is none good but God” didn’t know what he was saying concerning his then upcoming denials; Peter believed that he had some good in him to keep at least the first and eighth commandments (“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart….;” and “You shall not bear false witness…”)

When Peter got separated from his true Strength (Jesus Christ who is Grace-personified,) he denied Christ copiously— and he saw the futility of thinking that one can produce as much as an atom of good much less keep a single law by human effort aka the arm of flesh. He realised that GRACE (Christ Himself) was what was keeping him from committing even worse sins earlier on. He was humbled hence his writing of 1 Peter 5 where many misinterpret resisting the devil as trying to obey the letter that kills. But that is another story. Christ says—

“There is none good but God.”

You will notice that such church leaders who levy the flock with dos and don’ts for the attainment of God’s freely-given kindness act as if everyone except themselves just wants to commit sin with reckless abandon — as if Peter enjoyed and could not wait for another opportunity to deny Jesus; as if Judas was somewhere living large and enjoying his betrayal money... until people saw him hanging. The guy was depressed and suicidal as are many who are struggling with sins today and are being loaded with “don’t sin” demands for the production of good (to be like God) by their “pastor.” Know it today that there are ONLY two reasons why people sin and it is no coincidence that both reasons are seen in events that occurred during Christ’s passion—

• many are like Peter who meant well and thought that he could “never do that kind of thing” but was humbled under the mighty hand of God to see his “none good” state after his copious denials. Hence his writing about resisting the devil 1 Peter 5 which many “pastors” misinterpret as doing your best to obey the law. We resist Satan by being steadfast in the truth that we are righteous by faith, beloved. The law is not of faith!
• *others are like Judas whom "Satan entered." — “Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.” Luke 22:3-4.

But the self-righteous who deceive themselves by thinking that they are standing because of their high moral values, those ones believe that they are the only ones who do not want to sin. Beloved, let’s not be found here.

Whatever the case behind sins, whether like Peter or Judas, what the errant flock need is not more letter that kills aka demands for obedience but God's saving Grace who saves from sins. Beloved of God, Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him:

“God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."

Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Freedom from sins, godly living and good works are the EVIDENCES of putting our trust utterly in Christ and stopping our silly efforts to save ourselves. They are not CONDITIONS.

God hates sin as do we His children of Grace, not because He does not want man to “enjoy himself” but because sin destroys the world that God so loved. So He sent His own Son to bear our sins that we should be punished for, and to wear our shame. Christ had no sins of His own. It was our sins that He died for. Think about it— how can a just God punish your sins in the body of His own Son and turn back to hold you accountable for the same sins? In Him, God does not remember them at all. God's word is very clear on WHY Christ died and rose, beloved. See why in what Romans 4:25 says of Christ-

"who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous."

See the TPT- "Jesus was handed over to be crucified for the forgiveness of our sins and was raised back to life to prove that He had made us right with God!"

God raised Jesus from the dead because we have been declared righteous. Our entire lifetime of sins (past, present and future) forgiven and every demand of the Law fulfilled for all who believe in Christ Jesus. Beloved, for our entire lifetime of sins, it is appointed for man to die only ONCE. Whether you sin ten times or one million times, you can only die ONCE. See Hebrews 9:27-28:

"And just as it is destined that men die only once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ died only once as an offering for the sins of many people; and He will come again, but not to deal again with our sins. This time He will come bringing salvation to all those who are eagerly and patiently waiting for Him."

Christ suffered and died our death that the Law demanded us. Once. Believer, Jesus is not going to come and die again for the sins that you might commit tomorrow. It is appointed for man to die once. One death for our entire lifetime of sins- past, present and future. Understand that Bible “death” is not just falling down and breathing one’s last. It is translated from the Greek word “Thanatos” and has the following interpretations:

• the misery of the soul arising from sin, which begins on earth but lasts and increases after the death of the body in hell
• the miserable state of the wicked dead in hell
• In the widest sense, death comprising all the miseries arising from sin, as well physical death as the loss of a life consecrated to God and blessed in him on earth, to be followed by wretchedness in hell

Death is a process that begins here on earth and culminates in the second death in hell. Sickness is "death begun." Lack is "death begun." Toiling with sweat and stress and having little or nothing to show for it is "death begun." For lack of knowledge of the Truth, people reject the finished work of Christ and strive for freedom from sins/to be godly like God by human effort— the same doctrine that Satan preached to Eve in Eden. The result of following it is still the same beloved— sin has dominion and death reigns over all those who strive for godliness by human effort via dependence on the knowledge of good and evil (a typology for the law.)

Through Christ’s shed blood, His ONE TIME DEATH, we are forgiven of our entire lifetime of sins and freed from this death. Beloved, see the only sermon preached by Paul that is recorded word-for-word for us in Acts 13 (the rest pertaining to Paul are mainly his epistles/letters to the churches — not actual preaching like church preaching on Sunday.) It culminates thus in verses 38-39 aka the knowledge of the Truth:

38 “Brothers! Listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins! 39 Everyone who trusts in him is freed from all guilt and declared righteous—something the Jewish law could never do. 40 Oh, be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said,

41 ‘Look and perish, you despisers of the truth, for I am doing something in your day—something that you won’t believe when you hear it announced.’”

Beloved, understand that this sermon was not preached to reckless sinners or transgender atheists. It was preached in a synagogue— to religious Jews whose life was all about avoiding sins and doing good works in order to get God to bless, save and deliver— the same doctrine that is being passed off as Christianity in many places of worship today! Paul knew that some of the religious Jews whose life was all about trust in self for being sins-free would mock his Message— just as many pastors do today! Hence Paul’s conclusion of his sermon with verse 41–

41 ‘Look and perish, you despisers of the truth, for I am doing something in your day—something that you won’t believe when you hear it announced.’”

Beloved, may what is written in verse 41 never define us— receiving the knowledge of the Truth that in Christ, we are justified (freed from all guilt and declared righteous) yet despising the Truth aka sinning wilfully by turning away from Grace and trusting in human effort at keeping the law in order to be “….freed from all guilt and declared righteous—something the Jewish law could never do.” Hence 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,”

Child of Grace, in Christ, we are forever righteous in God’s sight, “even though we are guilty of many sins”—

“And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:16-17.

This is God’s written word. This is Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. It angers the self-righteous who, after having received the knowledge of the truth, go back to the Christ-replacing way of trying to be godly (be like God) by human striving (under law) — sinning wilfully and deceiving themselves by thinking that they have some good in them to obey as much as a tittle of the law for whatever reason when Christ says “There is none good but God.” But to the one who realises his utter weakness to stand, his utter need for God’s Salvation and trusts in Christ ALONE as his righteousness and strength, it is the Good News.

In summary, The Living Bible Translation brings out the full expression of what it means to sin wilfully:

“If anyone sins deliberately by rejecting the Savior after knowing the truth of forgiveness, this sin is not covered by Christ’s death; there is no way to get rid of it.”

To sin wilfully is to reject Christ after knowing the truth of forgiveness. This is the only sin that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of, and we see this in Christ’s word concerning the Holy Spirit—

“When he comes, he’ll expose the error of the godless world’s view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He’ll show them that their refusal to believe in me is their basic sin; that righteousness comes from above, where I am with the Father, out of their sight and control; that judgment takes place as the ruler of this godless world is brought to trial and convicted.” John 16:9 (MSG)

For such who sin wilfully by looking to themselves for even an inch of righteousness thus disbelieving Jesus, trampling and counting His blood as common and insulting the Spirit of Grace, their sins are no longer covered by Christ’s death. Beloved, let’s not be found here. Romans 5:19 says—

“By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”

The one with the sin/old nature strives to produce righteousness by his human effort at not sinning, rejecting Christ. All that man of himself has to do to be committing sins with reckless abandon is to reject Grace and be himself— striving to be sins-free/godly aka trying to obey the law by human effort as Peter did before his denials. God’s word shows us that that is the recipe for the multiplication of sins—

"When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death." Romans 7:5.

But man begs to differ with God. By His Grace, let it not be you and I who disagree, beloved. The only reason why any is standing at all is God’s merciful hand in keeping man from devolving into his default mode of horrid sins and Job-type calamities. This is why the world keeps on wondering—

“Why do bad things happen to good people?”

No one is good but God; He gave Christ to be our Good but many want to prove Him wrong, thinking that man has the power to produce even an atom of good. No friend. Copious sins like self-trusting Peter and calamities like self-righteous Job is the result of such foolishness. Stopping our silly efforts to save ourselves from sin and death and receiving His abundance of Grace and His GIFT of Righteousness in Christ Jesus is the only way to reign in life/live in triumph over sin and death— and this we do through Christ alone (Romans 5:17.)

But for His restraining hand, copious sins will be the lifestyle of everybody. Grace is the antidote to sin.

Beloved of God, it is Christ's "Neither do I condemn you" that makes us "go and sin no more." Wherever we find ourselves in terms of what we believe about Him in this piece, let’s know and believe this word from the One who cannot lie—

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” John 3:17.

Whatever we have read here is not to point fingers. God’s Word came to save, not to point fingers of accusation. As He did with the woman who was caught in adultery, wherever we may have missed it, whatever sins or wrong beliefs His light exposes in our lives, it is so that He can save us. And He does the correction and transformation, not you or I— Ephesians 5–

“Whatever the revelation-light exposes, it will also correct, and everything that reveals truth is light to the soul. 14 This is why the Scripture says,

“Arise, you sleeper! Rise up from your coffin and the Anointed One will shine his light into you!”

So let us let Him love us into (w)holiness, beloved— helpless in His help. Careless in His care like the birds that Christ speaks of in Matthew 6:25-34 (MSG)—

“.. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.”

Child of Grace, to our Abba Father, we are worth more than many sparrows. Beloved, see the Father’s love for you. If you are yet to know and believe True Grace, ask our Heavenly Father to open your eyes to see His Grace, beloved. As He did with the undeserving prodigal son who is a type of all who are trying to “make it” out in the world in their own strength, He is eagerly waiting to run to you to enfold you in His loving embrace of True Grace.

Believe Right and you will Live Right.