Post by Lee on Jun 5, 2014 2:20:08 GMT
“If we sin wilfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin” (Heb. 10:26). Does this apply now? If so, how does it harmonise with 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”?
ANSWER.—Yes, Heb. 10:26 applies now, because it is still quite possible to do what the apostle was denouncing. If we ask what he means by “sin wilfully”? the answer of the context is “despises law” (5:28), “treads under foot the Son of God” (5:29). “Wherefore trample ye upon my sacrifices?” said the word of the Lord to Eli and his abandoned sons (1 Sam. 2:29, R.V. marg.). This illustrates the New Testament expression. The culmination of the course described in Heb. 10:26 is “drawing back unto perdition” (5:39), which is, of course, as possible now as in the apostolic age. In short, “sinning wilfully” here describes incurrable retrogression in faith and practice, an utter “forsaking” of the assemblies and of the way of righteousness. Such a course was “death without mercy” under Moses, and it will be the second death without mercy under Christ, which is “sorer punishment” (5:29). But what then of 1 Jno. 1:9? The answer is that John is not speaking of the same sort of sin. He is speaking here of the short-comings of those who “walk in the light” and bewail their sins. These are very different characters from Eli’s sons. Elsewhere in the same epistle (ch. 5:16, 17), John expressly distinguishes between “sin unto death” and “sin not unto death.” The former is that described in Heb. 10:26, and the latter is that referred to in 1 John 1:9. Some men are past praying for. So John says, and so God Himself declares, for He forbade Jeremiah to pray for his wicked contemporaries. On the other hand, He commanded Job to pray for his “friends.” And the Lord Jesus prayed for his enemies. In a sense, all sin is “wilful,” but this is not what is meant in Heb. 10:26. We must do our best to discern, in the light of the whole testimony of God, especially that of the history of Israel and the law of Moses, to which the apostle here makes such extensive reference.
. Vol. 45: The Christadelphian: Volume 45. 2001 (electronic ed.) (68–69). Birmingham: Christadelphian Magazine & Publishing Association.
ANSWER.—Yes, Heb. 10:26 applies now, because it is still quite possible to do what the apostle was denouncing. If we ask what he means by “sin wilfully”? the answer of the context is “despises law” (5:28), “treads under foot the Son of God” (5:29). “Wherefore trample ye upon my sacrifices?” said the word of the Lord to Eli and his abandoned sons (1 Sam. 2:29, R.V. marg.). This illustrates the New Testament expression. The culmination of the course described in Heb. 10:26 is “drawing back unto perdition” (5:39), which is, of course, as possible now as in the apostolic age. In short, “sinning wilfully” here describes incurrable retrogression in faith and practice, an utter “forsaking” of the assemblies and of the way of righteousness. Such a course was “death without mercy” under Moses, and it will be the second death without mercy under Christ, which is “sorer punishment” (5:29). But what then of 1 Jno. 1:9? The answer is that John is not speaking of the same sort of sin. He is speaking here of the short-comings of those who “walk in the light” and bewail their sins. These are very different characters from Eli’s sons. Elsewhere in the same epistle (ch. 5:16, 17), John expressly distinguishes between “sin unto death” and “sin not unto death.” The former is that described in Heb. 10:26, and the latter is that referred to in 1 John 1:9. Some men are past praying for. So John says, and so God Himself declares, for He forbade Jeremiah to pray for his wicked contemporaries. On the other hand, He commanded Job to pray for his “friends.” And the Lord Jesus prayed for his enemies. In a sense, all sin is “wilful,” but this is not what is meant in Heb. 10:26. We must do our best to discern, in the light of the whole testimony of God, especially that of the history of Israel and the law of Moses, to which the apostle here makes such extensive reference.
. Vol. 45: The Christadelphian: Volume 45. 2001 (electronic ed.) (68–69). Birmingham: Christadelphian Magazine & Publishing Association.