Hebrews 10:26 says, "For when we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins." What does this mean?
What does the phrase "There no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins" mean? Some may say, "If I sin willfully after I have received the knowledge of the truth, I will not be saved. It is true that God sent His Son to die for me, to bear my sins so that I would be saved through believing in His Son. But if I sin willfully, according to Hebrews 10:26, there is no longer a sacrifice for sin, and I cannot be saved. This is mentioned not only in verse 26 but also in verse 27, which says, `But a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fervor of fire, which is to consume the adversaries.' If I sin willfully, I can wait for only two things: one is the judgment, and the other is the fervor of fire which consumes the adversaries. This is hell and perdition. Since according to the Bible if I sin willfully, there remains no longer a sacrifice for sins, the ending for me is judgment and the fervor of fire which consumes the adversaries. Therefore, I cannot be saved." Those who think in this way think that this passage is for Christians and that if a Christian sins willfully, he cannot be saved. We have to look into this portion of the Word carefully to find out if the ones who sin willfully are Christians or other people. We must also consider the meaning of sinning willfully and see if this refers to sin in general or to some particular sin.
"When we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth," the result, according to the Bible, is "a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fervor of fire, which is to consume the adversaries." The people mentioned here are different from those in Hebrews 6:4, "who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift." The "truth" spoken of in Hebrews 10:26 is the redemption accomplished once for all by the Lord Jesus Christ. There are certain people who know about the death of the Lord Jesus, the shedding of His blood, and the purpose of His body being broken. They know that man can enter into the Holy of Holies through the blood of the Lord Jesus and be accepted by God; they also know that the work of redemption has been completed forever, and the sacrifice has been offered once for all. There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins for this kind of people, who sin willfully after they have known these truths.
For a moment, let us assume that this portion refers to a Christian who, after receiving the knowledge of the truth and understanding all the doctrines mentioned above, falls into temptation and lies, steals, or goes to places where he should not go. Since he knows that these things are wrong and continues to do them, he sins willfully and cannot be saved. If this is true, I wonder if anyone is saved at all. In Romans 7 Paul said, "For what I will, this I do not practice; but what I hate, this I do....For I do not do the good which I will; but the evil which I do not will, this I practice...Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?" (vv. 15, 19, 24). Does this not show that Paul clearly knew that he should do good but did not do good and instead did the things he hated? In the presence of the maid, Peter denied the Lord three times; he lied (Matt. 26:69-75). Did Peter not know that lying was sin? With this in mind, to "sin willfully" must not mean to sin while knowing that such an act is a sin. This can also be proved in an indirect way. Let us read Hebrews 10:26-29: "For when we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fervor of fire, which is to consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without compassion on the testimony of two or three witnesses. By how much do you think he will be thought worthy of worse punishment who has trampled underfoot the Son of God and has considered the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing and has insulted the Spirit of grace?"
What is the meaning of "sin willfully" in verse 26? To sin willfully is to commit the three acts spoken of in verse 29: (1) to trample underfoot the Son of God, (2) to consider the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and (3) to insult the Spirit of grace. In summary, this is to reject salvation. Even though a person has heard God's Word which says that Jesus is the Son of God, he says that Jesus is a bastard. Even though he has heard God's Word which says that the blood of Jesus was shed for the remission of sins, and that this blood is precious as the blood of the Lamb without blemish, he says that Jesus died as a martyr and that His blood is as common as anyone else's. Even though he has heard God's Word which says that the Holy Spirit brings man to repentance and gives eternal life, he says, "I do not believe God will impart the accomplished work of Jesus Christ to me; I do not believe that man can be born again." For this kind of people, the Bible declares, "There no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins."
What is the meaning of "There no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins"? "No longer remains" means it was once available. We have to pay attention to the "no longer." Let us read the following verses:
Hebrews 7:27 says, "Who does not have daily need, as the high priests do, to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins and then for those of the people; for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself."
Hebrews 9:12 says, "And not through the blood of goats and calves but through His own blood, entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, obtaining an eternal redemption."
Hebrews 9:25 through 28 says, "Nor in order that He might offer Himself often, just as the high priest enters into the Holy of Holies year by year by the blood of other creatures; since then He would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested for the putting away of sin through the sacrifice of Himself....So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many."
Hebrews 10:2 says, "Otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, because those worshipping, having once been purified, would have no longer had the consciousness of sins?"
Hebrews 10:10 through 12 says, "By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily, ministering and offering often the same sacrifices, which can never remove sins; but this One, having offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down forever on the right hand of God."
After reading these Scriptures we must ask: why did the Lord Jesus offer Himself once and not many times? The book of Hebrews, from chapter seven onward, repeatedly makes a comparison between the sacrifice which the Lord Jesus Christ offered and the sacrifices offered in the Old Testament. The Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself only once and became the eternal sacrifice for sins, while the sacrifices offered in the Old Testament were sacrifices of bulls and goats and offered up year after year. In the Old Testament, when a man first committed a trespass, he had to offer up a sin offering of a bullock, a lamb, two turtle doves, or two young pigeons. If he committed a trespass a second time, he would have to offer up a sin offering as an atoning sacrifice again. If he committed a trespass the third time, he would have to offer up his sin offering again. This was required of every person as an individual. The whole congregation of Israel also had to offer the sin offering year after year on the day of atonement.
Why were the offerings of the bulls and goats made year after year? It was because the blood of the bulls and goats could never take away man's sins. One offering had to be made for the trespasses of last year; another offering had to be made for the trespasses of this year. But through the eternal Spirit, Jesus Christ offered Himself to God and became the one sacrifice for sins forever, so that we who are being sanctified are perfected forever.
Therefore, Hebrews 10 tells us that if there are some who have heard the truth and sin willfully, rejecting the blood of the Son of God, rejecting the Holy Spirit, and despising the Son of God, for them "there no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins." In the Old Testament, if a person missed the opportunity for atonement one year, he might still have an opportunity the following year. But today if a person rejects Jesus Christ, "there no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins." The sin offering of the Old Testament is gone and no longer effective. If he knows the truth and still rejects Him, then "there no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins." "And there is salvation in no other" (Acts 4:12). God has done everything He could do to save us in sending the Lord Jesus Christ to accomplish the work of redemption and to be our Savior; He has done the utmost. He cannot add anything more to His work. Moreover, God has provided the opportunity for man to hear the gospel and know the truth; if a person still rejects these and willfully sins, the Bible tells us that there is no hope for him. His end is nothing but "a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fervor of fire, which is to consume the adversaries."
The end of those mentioned in Hebrews 6:1-8 is "near a curse." But the end of those mentioned in Hebrews 10:26-29 is the fervor of fire, which is to consume the adversaries. It is hard to apply Hebrews 10:26-29 to Christians. This portion of the Word must refer to those who know the gospel but purposely reject it; there is no other salvation for them. Otherwise, why is "no longer" used? Why does it say, "There no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins"? Why is "once" used repeatedly in the previous verses? If we put "no longer" together with "once" in these verses, we will understand the real meaning.
