Hebrews 10:26 Explained – The Cure for Your Sin

What do you do after you sin? Your answer to that question reveals a lot about your faith.

For instance, if it is your practice to sacrifice animals when you sin, you might be a first-century Jew. If it is your habit to go into a booth and confess to a priest, you might be a modern-day Catholic.

And if you deal with your sins by confessing them one at a time, you might be just about any kind of Christian. Or Muslim, Buddhist, or Sikh.

Every religion offers solutions for managing sin. “When you sin, you need to (insert activity) to make things right with God/Allah/the universe.” But here’s something you won’t hear – none of those solutions work. All the remedies offered by religion ultimately fail. How do I know?

We still have sin.

The cure for sin

Think about it, if we could cure sin, we would’ve done it by now. But we can’t because there is only one remedy for sin, and that is the cross of Christ. “The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Hopefully, you know that.

Christian, when you sin, there is nothing you need to do or can do to fix things with God. Of course, something must be done, but Jesus already did it and nothing you do can improve upon what he did.

God does not relate to you on the basis of your disobedience but on Christ’s obedience. Which seems unreasonable, but that’s why it’s called grace. Because of Jesus, God does not hold your sins against you. That’s the good news.

But what do you make of this verse:

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, (Hebrews 10:26)

Some use this passage as a whip to keep people in line. “Sin on purpose and God will condemn you. Sin and you will fall out of the kingdom and lose your salvation.” Which means the cross is not a remedy for sin. Better get back to those human solutions, like confession and penance. And if you do get caught sinning, make it look like an accidental sin. Apparently, those are fine.

No, that’s not what this verse is saying.

First, pretty much all sin is done on purpose. All sin is wilful. Second, when you stumble in sin, Jesus doesn’t condemn you; he speaks in your defense (1 John 2:1). Hebrews 10:26 is not talking about Christians who sin, wilfully or otherwise, but those who refuse to recognize Jesus as the ultimate solution to sin. Let’s take a closer look.

For if we go on sinning wilfully….

Who is “we”? The author of Hebrews is not referring to “we Christians” but “we Jews” or “we Hebrews.” (The clue is in the title.) It was the nation of Israel that received the knowledge of the truth and rejected it. The Son of God came preaching the gospel of the kingdom, but they did not receive him (John 5:43).

What is wilful sin?

Although different kinds of sin are mentioned in the letter to the Hebrews, wilful sin in this context refers to the rejection of Jesus. It is the sin of unbelief. To be a wilful sinner is to have an evil and unbelieving heart (Heb. 3:12). It’s rejecting the Savior God sent and relying on yourself for salvation. It’s trying to relate to God through Moses rather than Jesus.

The Jews had a sophisticated sin-management program. When you sinned under the old covenant, you relied on the blood of bulls and goats to atone for your sin. This system did not actually remove your sin (Heb. 10:4), but it kept you going until the final solution for sin was revealed, namely the Lamb of God who carried the sin of the whole world.

When Jesus appeared to do away with sin once and for all (Heb. 10:12), the old system of bulls and goats was rendered obsolete. Yet some Jews refused to recognize Christ’s sacrifice. They returned to the temple as though nothing had changed. They preferred the altar to the cross.

After receiving the knowledge of the truth…

Once you have heard the good news of Christ’s death on the cross, there is no reason to rely on your own sin management program. You don’t need to sacrifice animals or visit a priest or confess your sins one by one to be cleansed. You just need to realize that Christ’s sacrifice is the once-and-for-all sacrifice for sin (Heb. 9:26).

What to do when you sin

So what should you do when you sin? A faithful response would be to say, “Thank you, Lord, that you do not judge me according to my sins. Thank you that you carried all my sins on the cross, including the sin I just did, because you love me. Thank you for your grace which helps me to live free from sin.” Then reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Now, the last bit.

There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.

If you try to manage your own sins, perhaps through sacrifices, penance, or confession, you’re basically saying that the cross was not enough or that Jesus’s sacrifice was insufficient. This is foolishness. This is blasphemy. If the blood of Christ can’t cleanse you from all sin, nothing can.

A preference for the altar over the cross persists whenever we think we have to bring sacrifices or do things to get God to forgive us. This mindset comes straight out of manmade religion, and it does not work.

The gospel of Christ reveals a much better way to deal with your sins. See the cross; your sins are there.

Thank you, Jesus.

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If you enjoyed this article, you might enjoy these:

• Does sin hinder my prayers?
• Does God love me when I sin?
• How does God deal with me when I sin?
• Will I lose my salvation if I keep sinning?
• Are all sins forgiven – past, present and future?

Read Hebrews 10:26 in context on the Grace Commentary, your free verse-by-verse study guide.

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