THE WILLFUL SIN QUESTION

The idea that we lose our salvation if we sin even once after we get saved  is biblically invalid. 

ByNiteOwlDave 
niteowldave@gmail.com 

When interpreting Scripture, it is vital that we are aware of the context.

If is easy to be led astray if we do not understand the small details in light of the big picture of the Bible.

For example, Hebrews 10:26 is one such verse that can cause confusion and division if one does not understand the big picture context. The verse says,

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

On the surface, it appears that this verse is stating that if we sin after we are saved, we can kiss Heaven goodbye and say hello to eternal Hell because we have lost the sin atoning blood sacrifice of Christ on the cross and His subsequent resurrection from the dead.

That idea is wrong. This verse is speaking of someone who is not saved. It refers to someone who hears about God (or  Jesus), shows interest in Him, but then backs away. They received the “knowledge” of the Father (or Son), but they never truly believe it. 

The website gotquestions.org suggests that Judas Iscariot is the perfect example of this. He had knowledge of Christ but he lacked true faith. No other rejecter of the truth had more or better exposure to the love and grace of God than Judas. 

He was part of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples, eating, sleeping, and traveling with Him for years. He saw the miracles and heard the words of God from Jesus’ very lips, from the best preacher the world has ever known, and yet he not only turned away but was instrumental in the plot to kill Jesus.

Having turned his back on the truth, and with full knowledge choosing to willfully and continually sin, Judas was then beyond salvation. He rejected the one true sacrifice for sins, the Lord Jesus Christ. If Christ’s sacrifice is rejected, then all hope of salvation is gone.

The Hebrews 10 passage is not speaking of a believer who falls away, but rather someone who claims to be a believer, but truly is not. He may be a professor of Christ but not a possessor of Christ.
 
Once truly saved, we are forever saved. The Bible says over and over that we are saved by faith and not by good works and that, once saved, we cannot lose our salvation.

If being sinless has nothing to do with getting salvation, why should it have anything to do with keeping salvation?
 
We ALL sin after we are saved. Apostle Peter denied Christ three times yet there is no suggestion in the Bible that he lost his salvation. Hardly; he became a zealot for Christ and was martyred for the Lord, choosing crucifixion upside down.

The Bible defaults very heavily on the side of eternal security. If we repent of our sin and accept that all our sins – past, present and future – are paid for by the blood of Messiah Jesus Christ who died and arose again from the dead, we are saved eternally and are headed for Heaven.                                                                          

Here are just three of many verses that hammer home this point -
 
1. John 10:28: “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
 
2. John 6:37: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

3. Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I found this YouTube about willful sin helpful - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njII9gtR7b8