Full Question
What is the wilful sin as found in Heb. 10:26-27.? "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins".
Answer
The crux of the matter hangs on the word “ wilfully.” The same word is only used again in I Pet. 5:2 and there reads “willingly.” There it expresses the idea of “wanting to.”
In a sense all sin is wilful, yet I feel the apostle is not speaking of those sins which are done through weakness of the flesh but rather of those committed in flagrant disregard of God’s will or a “wanting to.” It is the casting away of ones “confidence” as the writer explains in verse 35. This could not be said of those who sin through the infirmity of the flesh.
Paul makes an allusion to his intended meaning by referring to the Law of Moses,. Duet. 17:2-7. There we find that those were slain who openly despised the law and its Maker. These turned and worshipped “wilfully” other gods. It is evident that the apostle is speaking of a hardened and abandoned course of evil doing.
“The Valley of the Shadow”