It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

26For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

27But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

28He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

29Of 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?

I thought this to be a powerful and convicting Scripture as I was reading this morning and thought I would share it. Does the American Christian live with this way in mind?

Sorry, but I'm not American, but I am a Christian!

It is a fearful scripture.

To idly sin, to premeditate sin, because we know God forgives, is almost unbelievable.

Although, from the scripture you have quoted, we can go pass the point of no forgiveness.

You cannot have a genuine fear of God in order to sin wilfully, as the scripture says.

Eccles 12v13-14, 'Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all.
vs14, 'For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

There is nothing we do that God does not have on record.

It is all noted.

Heb 4v13, 'And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

We should walk softly before God, and know our place.

God bless.

True, and I thought about generalizing it to the Christian community instead of the American Christian. I wrote Amercian Christian, because I see much of the way America has liberalized Christianity. However, I do think it rings true for all Christians.

Does God have grace for us, the sinner? Certianly, but I think we take too much advantage of that gift, especially in light of the Scripture I quoted.

Should we not live with fear and trembling before God, or is it ok to just live in the freedom that I can do whatever I want, now that I have accepted Christ? I know so many friends who live the latter life. I know a few leaders in the church who live this way, as well, unfortunately. :-(

After some years of thought and prayer, I have come to a different understanding of this scripture than what is stated here.

I believe that the context of this passage suggests that the "we" does not imply genuine believers but is refering to "we" as in, "we who have heard the gospel".

Some of those who heard the gospel considered it, even made professions of belief, and then returned to Judaism because of unrepentant hearts. And so the "willful sin" spoken of is, in fact, continued unrepentance after hearing the gospel.

This puts into the context, "a certain fearful looking ahead" and "trodden under foot", becasue these Jews returned to animal sacrifices which could never satisfy the requirements of the law and made the offering of Christ, as it were, of no greater importance than that of a beast.

Otherwise, where would be the line of "willful sin"?

This much is sure, "Let those who name the name of Christ depart from iniquity." 2 Timothy

Your ideas?

So, what would you say of the Scripture before it in the same chapter, and then the Scripture after it?

NIV

19Therefore, brothers,[b] since we have confidence to enter the [u]Most Holy Place[/u] by the blood of Jesus,[/b] 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22[b]let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith[/b], having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23[b]Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. [/b]

And

[b] 32Remember those earlier days [u]after you had received the light[/u], when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34You sympathized with those in prison and [u]joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.[/u] [/b]

35So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36[b]You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.[/b] 37For in just a very little while,
"He who is coming will come and will not delay.
38But my righteous one will live by faith.
And if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him." 39[b]But [u]we[/u] are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, [u]but of those who believe and are saved.[/u][/b]

**EDITED**

yes brother, your correct, this passage is written to believers, and just some food for thought.. when the Israelites got ready for passover for the first time they painted the doorposts sides and top.. but look they did not put the blood on the thresh hold.. as they would be trampling the blood as they left. also remember they did leave, they didnot stay, in their situation in egypt.. God delivered them to be free from the sin and bondage of egypt.
but If you read on in the chapter as they were being continually disobedient, complainers, and lacking faith, their blood stained the sands of the desert, continually for 40 years. only 2 found the way into the promise land from the original bunch of backsliders.
Let us not take the grace of God lightly, to love him is to obey him.
God bless.

We all need reminding of the despair and the weak and confused state Christians put ourselves in when we sin.
We must return to God and ask Him to forgive us as soon as sin breaks out and not to hide, but as His children confess our sin to Him immediately and repent and ask forgiveness.
Sin is like the plague and it causes death in all directions when it breaks out and puts our love ones and stranger alike at risk.
This generation will come to the time of harvest one day, each on the day appointed by our Lord and we will be welcomed or rejected on that day based on the testimony.
Our testimony is our witness or evidence of the revelation of God's will in our lives, the Earnest of the Spirit and Jesus being the Lord of our heart and not the spirit of this world.
The longer we hold on to a sin the weaker we become in that area of our lives and we will allow ourselves to become easier to be overcome in that area when tempted again. I don’t know anyone else that shares the following view with me but I believe personally that the sin we allow to remain are as thorns in our sides and that explains why there are so many unhappy Christians. They are never satisfied with the things that they have but like the world they seek and have not and when they receive a blessing they waste it on their flesh. They eat from the scrapes of the table of this world when they could ask our Lord to bless their food.

Eddie