Playing with Fire: The Cost of Willful Sin

[bdavidc]

“We are not of those who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39).

Look around the church today. The lights are bright. The music is loud. The crowds are large, but the spiritual power is fading. Conviction has been exchanged for comfort, holiness for hype, and truth for trends. People want a quick inspiration without a life-changing transformation. They want to feel close to God while living far from Him. Yet Hebrews 10 speaks right into our generation’s heart: God doesn’t call us to comfort; He calls us to commitment.

“Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:18). That’s the foundation, Christ’s sacrifice was once for all. There’s no Plan B, no backup system. Jesus paid it all, and that means there’s no other altar to run to when we sin. The question isn’t whether forgiveness is available, it’s whether we’re living like we’ve actually received it.

The writer urges us, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22). That means sincerity, not show. God isn’t impressed by how well we perform church; He’s looking for hearts that are fully His. Then he says, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised” (Hebrews 10:23). When the world shakes, hold steady. When truth is mocked, stand tall. Don’t let the culture loosen your grip on Christ.

But then comes a thunderclap of warning: “If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment” (Hebrews 10:26–27). In other words, if we treat grace like a game, we’re playing with fire. God’s mercy is deep, but His holiness is real. You can’t trample on the blood of Jesus and expect peace in your soul. That’s not just rebellion, it’s spiritual suicide.

This is the cancer in much of the modern church. We preach a cross that saves but not one that sanctifies. We talk about grace but forget about repentance. We’ve got churches filled with people who know the truth but live like it doesn’t matter. But “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). God’s hands are either your safety or your sentence, depending on where you stand with His Son.

Yet this passage doesn’t just warn; it also reminds. The writer says, “Call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions” (Hebrews 10:32). Remember when your faith was strong? When you stood firm even when the world mocked you? When you rejoiced to suffer for Christ’s name because you knew you had a better reward waiting? Somewhere along the way, many lost that fire and settled for a faith that doesn’t cost anything. But verse 35 says, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.”

Don’t throw away your confidence when the heat gets turned up. Don’t trade your crown for comfort. You may be tired, but you’re not done. You may be pressed, but you’re not crushed. God didn’t bring you this far to let you fall now. “The just shall live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38). Faith isn’t just believing once, it’s believing still. It’s trusting when it hurts. It’s holding on when everything says let go.

So, child of God, stand firm. The world is changing, but the Word has not. The hour is dark, but our hope is alive. Don’t shrink back, don’t sell out, and don’t silence your witness. Jesus paid for more than Sunday religion, He paid for your life. Live it boldly. Because when it’s all said and done, it won’t be the crowd that matters, but the cross.

 

[marks]

Understand what it means to walk in the Spirit or to walk according to flesh. This is the heart of the matter. Intimacy with Jesus is what leads to holiness..

Our eternal hope of salvation (hope . . . expectation based in faith) is what leads us to live pure lives.

1 John 3:1-3 KJV
1) Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3) And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

And if you are describing your church, you need a new one. You are not describing my church.

Much love!

 

[marks]

The Response from God to His wayward children . . .

He will restore you though adversity.

Hebrews 12:5-11 KJV
5) And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6) For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7) If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8) But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9) Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10) For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11) Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Much love!

 

[amigo de christo]

It is time and it is high time for us to go a gain
and start reminding of all things JESUS
taught and later the apostels .
FOR if any wonders , as did i long ago , why on earth we got so much twisting of scrips and etc
THEN ask anyone you see who does twist things
THE SIMPLE teachings of JESUS
and show them the things the apostels taught
how they warned against sin
AND YOU WILL SEE the already support sins .
The list of which is long . oh they will condemn some sins
but they will also supports things , sins .
But when one does this prepare to weep for many and i say many are on the wrong path now .

 

[marks]

The writer urges us, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22). That means sincerity, not show. God isn’t impressed by how well we perform church; He’s looking for hearts that are fully His. Then he says, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised” (Hebrews 10:23). When the world shakes, hold steady. When truth is mocked, stand tall. Don’t let the culture loosen your grip on Christ.

But then comes a thunderclap of warning: “If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment” (Hebrews 10:26–27). In other words, if we treat grace like a game, we’re playing with fire. God’s mercy is deep, but His holiness is real. You can’t trample on the blood of Jesus and expect peace in your soul. That’s not just rebellion, it’s spiritual suicide.

Rightly divide the Word of God.

If this passage applies to the regenerate Christian, you have a serious issue, in that a single "wilfull sin" results in the permanent loss of salvation.

However if you read the passage as the context shows, that after you've learned about Jesus, you cannot go back to offering sheep and goats and bulls. There is no more sacrifice, that is, no more of a series of sacrifices, that is, the daily animal sacrifice.

Hebrews 10:22-29 KJV
22) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
23) Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
24) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
26) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27) But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28) He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29) Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

"an unholy thing", that is, no better than the blood of animals.

Much love!

 

[amigo de christo]

Rightly divide the Word of God.

If this passage applies to the regenerate Christian, you have a serious issue, in that a single "wilfull sin" results in the permanent loss of salvation.

However if you read the passage as the context shows, that after you've learned about Jesus, you cannot go back to offering sheep and goats and bulls. There is no more sacrifice, that is, no more of a series of sacrifices, that is, the daily animal sacrifice.

Hebrews 10:22-29 KJV
22) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
23) Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
24) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
26) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27) But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28) He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29) Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

"an unholy thing", that is, no better than the blood of animals.

Much love!

The willfull sin it speaks of is the return to unbeleif .
And we be tter all be highly concered for this generation too .
Because there is no such thing as a gospel of beleif and unbelief .
EITHER ONE STAYS TRUE to teh YE MUST BELEIVE IN JESUS TO be saved
or they go into unbelief which says , BUT ITS not necessary for , fill in the blank with any religoin , to beleive to be saved .
HELLO INTERFAITH . many are now headed into will full sin
as they abandon the one true gospel of YE MUST BELIEVE to be saved
into OH I Believe but its okay that muslims and others dont , they gods kiddos too , hey they just worshipping the same
GOD WE DO differently . IF ANY HEADS INTO THAT LIE
they can forget their claim THEY DO BELEIVE cause all they really beleive and beleived IS UNBELIEF . SO what yaTHINK
about that MARK . what says you to what i just wrote .

 

[marks]

EITHER ONE STAYS TRUE to teh YE MUST BELEIVE IN JESUS TO be saved
or they go into unbelief which says ,

Who is the regenerate child of God who goes "into unbelief"? I might the same speak of a parakeet who becomes a marmot. Trust in Jesus, in what He did, not what you think you do. He has promised to bring you all the way home. You can trust Him.

Much love!

 

[amigo de christo]

Who is the regenerate child of God who goes "into unbelief"? I might the same speak of a parakeet who becomes a marmot. Trust in Jesus, in what He did, not what you think you do. He has promised to bring you all the way home. You can trust Him.

Much love!

by the regenerate child you must be meaning those who are HIS .
Okay allow me to answer that . THEY DONT . THOSE WHO ARE HIS WILL CONTINUE IN BELEIF .
its the mass amoun ts that were not HIS that will in time GO RIGHT INTO interfaith and that FAT LIE .
SO GOOD QUESTION you asked today .
Now allow me one more reminder .
ITS NOT A SIN , however , TO WARN ALL who claim to beleive , TO CONTINUE IN HIM to the end .
nor is it lack of trust in HIM to say such a thing .
BUT YOU ARE RIGHT marks about one thing . THE SHEEP who are HIS , will not anti christ and come out
FOR HAD THEY BEEN HIS they would NOT HAVE COME OUT . so i hope that en courages YOU TODAY .
I aint the monster cause i warn against evils and all appearance of evil and the harlot
and her satanic interfaith that so many are getting caught up into .
AND we darn sure dont want DISSUMLATION , now do we . I WARN against a HO mark . and all who do her work .

 

[bdavidc]

And if you are describing your church, you need a new one. You are not describing my church.

Scripture does not say this as a warning against church-shopping, but as a warning to the heart. Hebrews 10 is warning against the danger of knowing the truth and then willfully choosing sin anyway. God plainly says that after receiving the knowledge of the truth that willful sin will leave “a certain fearful looking for of judgment” ~Hebrews 10:26-27. This is not about losing intimacy or needing a better congregation, this is about refusing to walk in obedience to the Lord who shed His blood for us. Scripture says the one who walks in the Spirit puts to death the deeds of the flesh ~Romans 8: 13 and the one who claims to know God yet walks in darkness is lying ~1 John 1:6. The Bible directly ties holiness to seeing the Lord because “without holiness no man shall see the Lord” ~Hebrews 12:14. The concern is not about the atmosphere of a church service, the concern is whether a believer is holding fast the confession of faith without wavering ~Hebrews 10:23. God is calling His people to endurance and perseverance, and not to drawing back, because “the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him” ~Hebrews 10:38. The passage closes by reminding us that true faith presses forward and does not shrink back to destruction ~Hebrews 10:39. That is the point. The warning is real, the call to holiness is real, and obedience matters because the grace given in Christ is not to excuse sin, it is to transform.

 

[marks]

Scripture does not say this as a warning against church-shopping, but as a warning to the heart.

You were talking about how bad the churches are, so if your church is like that, yes, you should go "church shopping", more like praying for your guidance as you find a church that honors God.

Hebrews 10 is warning against the danger of knowing the truth and then willfully choosing sin anyway.

Knowing the truth about Jesus, and how you cannot, as a Jew, return to temple sacrifices.

If you take this to mean you might lose your salvation for a wilfull sin, well, what sin is not wilfull? And having committed one wilfull sin, you are forever lost, is that what you believe?

Much love!

 

[bdavidc]

The Response from God to His wayward children . . .

He will restore you though adversity.

Hebrews 12:5-11 KJV
5) And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6) For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7) If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8) But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9) Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10) For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11) Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Hebrews 12 is true, but it does not nullify or mitigate what God says in Hebrews 10. Scripture teaches that chastening is for God’s children when they falter and respond to His discipline, but the warning in Hebrews 10 is for those who know the truth and continue in sin. God disciplines sons that they may share in His holiness ~Hebrews 12: 10, but He warns that those who willfully sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth will meet “a fearful looking for of judgment” ~Hebrews 10:27. The Bible distinguishes between these two realities. The repentant believer experiences discipline and restoration, but the one who tramples on the blood of Christ and regards grace as a license to sin is spoken of as insulting the Spirit of grace ~Hebrews 10:29. God’s Word says those who belong to Him are in the discipline, but it also says that those who turn away are on a path toward destruction ~Hebrews 10:39. Both passages stand, and the whole counsel of Scripture reveals that discipline is a mark of sonship while willful rebellion evidences a heart that rejects God.

 

[bdavidc]

The Response from God to His wayward children . . .

He will restore you though adversity.

Hebrews 12:5-11 KJV
5) And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6) For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7) If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8) But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9) Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10) For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11) Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Much love!

Hebrews 12 is true, but it does not nullify or mitigate what God says in Hebrews 10. Scripture teaches that chastening is for God’s children when they falter and respond to His discipline, but the warning in Hebrews 10 is for those who know the truth and continue in sin. God disciplines sons that they may share in His holiness ~Hebrews 12: 10, but He warns that those who willfully sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth will meet “a fearful looking for of judgment” ~Hebrews 10:27. The Bible distinguishes between these two realities. The repentant believer experiences discipline and restoration, but the one who tramples on the blood of Christ and regards grace as a license to sin is spoken of as insulting the Spirit of grace ~Hebrews 10:29. God’s Word says those who belong to Him are in the discipline, but it also says that those who turn away are on a path toward destruction ~Hebrews 10:39. Both passages stand, and the whole counsel of Scripture reveals that discipline is a mark of sonship while willful rebellion evidences a heart that rejects God.

 

[marks]

but the warning in Hebrews 10 is for those who know the truth and continue in sin.

"knows the truth" = "born again" in your interpretation of this passage?

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

Much love!

 

[bdavidc]

Rightly divide the Word of God.

If this passage applies to the regenerate Christian, you have a serious issue, in that a single "wilfull sin" results in the permanent loss of salvation.

However if you read the passage as the context shows, that after you've learned about Jesus, you cannot go back to offering sheep and goats and bulls. There is no more sacrifice, that is, no more of a series of sacrifices, that is, the daily animal sacrifice.

You are twisting Hebrews 10 in a way Scripture never supports. The passage does not warn about going back to animal sacrifices. It warns about rejecting Christ Himself. That is why verse 29 says the person has trampled the Son of God, counted His blood as common, and insulted the Spirit of grace. None of that describes someone struggling with ritual confusion. It describes someone rejecting the Lord after knowing the truth. You keep reducing the warning to something the text does not say, and every time you do it, you dull the blade of God’s Word and give people a false sense of safety where God gives a clear alarm.


Your interpretation is wrong, it is dangerous. Scripture says a false teacher is someone who twists God’s words and leads others into error ~2 Peter 2:1. When you tell people that Hebrews 10 is not warning them about willful rebellion but only about Old Testament sacrifices, you are doing exactly that. You are removing the force of God’s warning and replacing it with something that makes the hearer feel comfortable but leaves them vulnerable to judgment. That is the very thing God condemns in ~Jeremiah 23:17, where false teachers say “You shall have peace” when the person is walking in rebellion.

Hebrews 10 says the danger is sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth ~Hebrews 10:26. Not returning to Levitical rituals. The entire letter was written to people who were tempted to drift, harden their hearts, and turn away from Christ. The Holy Spirit warns them, and us, that those who treat Christ’s sacrifice as cheap are facing, "a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries." ~ Hebrews 10:27 Your teaching tries to mute what God says plainly.

This isn’t the first time you’ve done this. You repeatedly take sharp passages and sand down the edges until they fit your system instead of letting the Word speak for itself. Scripture says the one who belongs to God trembles at His Word ~Isaiah 66:2. But your approach turns warnings into comfort and conviction into commentary. That is not rightly dividing the Word; it is rewriting it.

I will stand where Scripture stands. Hebrews 10 is a warning to anyone who knows the truth and chooses sin anyway. Any teaching that removes that warning is false, and God’s people need to reject it.

 

[bdavidc]

If you take this to mean you might lose your salvation for a wilfull sin, well, what sin is not wilfull? And having committed one wilfull sin, you are forever lost, is that what you believe?

You’ve set up a strawman there, and Scripture demolishes it. Hebrews 10 is not speaking about a believer who sins and repents. It is speaking about a person who knows the truth and then rejects Christ Himself. The passage tells us what sin it is in verse 29. It is trampling the Son of God underfoot, counting His blood as common, and insulting the Spirit of grace. That is not the case of a believer falling. That is the case of a person turning their back on Christ after knowing the gospel.

The Bible does make a distinction between a believer who sins and confesses and is cleansed ~1 John 1: 9 and a person who hardens their heart and walks away from the truth. That hardness is what Scripture calls “the deceitfulness of sin” ~Hebrews 3:13. Jesus said some hear the Word and then fall away because their heart was never rooted in Him ~Luke 8:13. That dovetails with Hebrews exactly.

So no, this warning is not about a single willful act. It is about willful rebellion, a heart that rejects Christ after knowing Him. The Bible does say a righteous man may fall and rise again ~Proverbs 24:16. But Hebrews 10 is talking about the one who falls and refuses to rise, the one who turns from Christ and treats His sacrifice as worthless.

Your question ignores the text. Hebrews 10 is not describing a believer struggling with sin. It is describing someone who walks away from Christ, and Scripture says plainly that their end is judgment, not salvation ~Hebrews 10:27 and ~Hebrews 10:39.

The truth

 

[marks]

You are twisting Hebrews 10 in a way Scripture never supports.

I'm not twisting anything. Do the homework before you tell me that.

Never mind, actually, I had my fill of vain accusations for the day.

Much love!

 

[marks]

The passage does not warn about going back to animal sacrifices.

"no more sacrifice", study what that means. No more of a previous series. Do the homework, then come back. If you want. It's all the same to me, I don't think you will.

Much love!

 

[bdavidc]

"knows the truth" = "born again" in your interpretation of this passage?

When the verse in Hebrews 10 speaks of “after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins,” it is not talking about someone who is born again. The Bible never says that knowing the truth is equivalent to being saved. Jesus said a man can hear His words and still be lost if he doesn’t obey them ~Matthew 7:26. Paul said people can “know God” and still be darkened and unbelieving ~Romans 1:21. Even demons believe the truth about God ~James 2:19. The writer of Hebrews is warning those who have heard the gospel, understood it, and still choose sin instead of Christ. It uses no language the Bible applies to salvation. It doesn’t say they were sealed with the Spirit ~Ephesians 1:13. It doesn’t say they were born again ~John 3:3. It doesn’t say they were justified ~Romans 5:1. It only says they knew the truth. Rejecting Christ after hearing the gospel leaves no other sacrifice, because there is only one Savior ~John 14:6.

If one can twist this passage to make it mean a believer can lose salvation by a willful sin, then the whole Bible collapses. Every sin a believer commits is willful at some level, because we still battle the flesh ~Galatians 5:17. Paul said he still did what he hated ~Romans 7:19. John said believers still sin, but they have an Advocate with the Father ~1 John 2:1. If one willful sin destroys salvation, then no believer could stand for even one day. Hebrews 10 is not teaching that. It is warning that rejecting Christ after hearing the truth brings judgment, because refusing the Son leaves no sacrifice for sin.

 

[marks]

is for those who know the truth and continue in sin

Again the question, do you equate "knowing the truth" with "born again"?

Are you in fact preaching that the born again might die again? Is that what you believe?

Much love!

 

[marks]

"no more sacrifice", study what that means. No more of a previous series. Do the homework, then come back. If you want. It's all the same to me, I don't think you will.

Much love!

This. Study about this. You will do yourself a service if you do.

Much love!