Hebrews 10:26 — Can Salvation Be Lost?

Question from a Site Viewer
So does Hebrews 10:26 mean that if a person sins intentionally they will lose their salvation forever?

Tim’s Answer
Thank you for your question. The answer from Scripture is that intentional sin does not lead to one’s damnation. There are very few people recorded in Scripture who did not sin intentionally. Adam sinned intentionally in eating of the forbidden fruit. Abraham did in lying about his wife. Jacob did in lying to his father. The ten brothers of Joseph did in selling him into slavery. Moses did in striking the rock when God had told him to speak to it. Aaron did in creating the golden calf. David did in committing adultery with Bathsheba. Zechariah did in not believing Gabriel. Peter did in denying Christ. The Corinthians sinned intentionally when they argued among themselves. Yet, the Apostle Paul calls them saints. These were all God’s saints. God forgave them all.

We all sin intentionally at some point in our Christian walk. If sinning intentionally meant that we lost our salvation forever, then there would be no one who could be saved, unless they were saved the instant before they died. Heaven would be virtually empty of believers. And the hope of the church would be destroyed. We would all be miserable, knowing that we were all condemned.

But, praise God, this is not the case. There is mercy and forgiveness with God, as Scripture repeatedly affirms. When we sin, God disciplines us as He has promised to do for all of His children (Hebrews 12:5-11). When we repent, He always welcomes us back. Jesus made this very clear in the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. The prodigal son had a relationship with his father. He intentionally went away and sinned against his father. Nevertheless, when he returned, the father eagerly welcomed him back. This is the third of the three stories Jesus tells to drive home His point that God’s desire is not to condemn those who sin, but to restore them. The first parable in this series, Luke 15:3-7, is about a sheep that belonged to the shepherd that was lost. Jesus likens the sheep to a sinner (verse 7). The shepherd goes out and searches until he finds the sheep and then rejoices that the sheep has been found. All we like sheep go astray, and the Lord searches for us. He commissions us to do the same thing. In James 5:19-20, we are told that if one among us (one who is a Christian), wanders from the truth and one of us seeks him out and turns him back to the truth, we have saved a soul from death (I think this is a reference to physical death, see 1 Corinthians 11:29-30) and covered over a multitude of sins. The role of Christians is to mirror the Shepherd and bring those who sin back. So, I am confident from the greater teaching of Scripture that a believer who sins intentionally does not lose their salvation forever.

I am also confident from the passage in Hebrews 10:26-31 that there is no indication of the loss of salvation. In verse 30, the author quotes Deuteronomy 32:36. What is significant about this quotation is that it is taken from the Song of Moses. In the song, God talks about how He protected and guided Israel. He talks about how Israel would go away from Him into idolatry and provoke Him to anger and jealousy. Then God stepped in and actively pursued to destroy them but ultimately relented and brought them back to Himself. The author closes the song with the words “He will provide atonement (a covering for sin) for His land and His people” (verse 43). The song is a poem. Hebrew poetry is known for its parallelisms, that is, the second line plays off of the first line. In Deuteronomy 32:36, the statement “For the Lord will judge His people” is parallel with the statement “And have compassion on His servants.” Stated another way, the idea is not a judgment that condemns, but a judgment that renders a people ready for His mercy and compassion.

The author of Hebrews understands this meaning when he quotes this verse. That is why he follows this passage, after the interlude of the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, with the passage on God’s judgment or discipline in Hebrews 12. When God judges His people, He does it for our good, to bring us back to the place we should be (Hebrews 12:10).

Now, going back to Hebrews 10:26, the statement is that if we sin willfully, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. Of course, immediately before this, in verse 18, we have previously been told why there is no longer a sacrifice for sins. Having forgiven our sins and iniquities, there is no longer a need for a sacrifice. Stated another way, once we come to Christ, we are forgiven, we live in forgiveness, and there is no other sacrifice.

So what happens when we sin willfully? Well, there is no sacrifice that can be done. Rather, when we sin, we face the judgment. There is a fearful expectation of the judgment. This idea is also addressed in Hebrews 12:28-29 where we are told to serve God with reverence and godly fear because God is a consuming fire. Peter speaks of this as well in 1 Peter 4:17-18 where we are told that judgment will begin at the house of God. It is a fearful thing to be in God’s family. It is also a wonderful thing.

And the writer of Hebrews goes on to say that we face the fiery indignation that will devour someone. But notice, the writer does not say that the fiery indignation will devour us who have sinned willfully. He speaks in the first person about us sinning. But he speaks in the third person about whom the indignation will devour; namely, the adversaries. Stated another way, we face the very same righteous judge when we sin that the adversaries do when they sin. They get devoured. We do not. We face Him as His people, not as the adversaries. We face Him as those whom He loves and disciplines.

The author then issues a stern warning about how much worse punishment we will be thought worthy than those under the law of Moses because turning our back on Jesus is much worse than turning our back on the law of Moses. But we must understand. Those who sinned under the law of Moses were put to death for their transgressions. But such punishment did not mean that they went straight to hell. The punishment of physical death should not be viewed as God’s eternal punishment. Physical death and eternal death are two separate matters (Revelation 20:4-6; 14). Likewise, if we sin, we may be judged by God, we are worthy of greater punishment, and we may even die (1 Corinthians 11:29-30). But as Paul states in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, this does not mean that we have lost our salvation. There are those who will accomplish nothing for Christ, all of their works will be consumed, but yet they will be saved. Salvation depends on whom you believe. Yet, I hasten to add this point; those who confess to having believed in Christ but do no works that show their salvation live in a fearful place and should have no confidence of their salvation (1 John 3:18-23). We have confidence because we believe in Jesus and love one another.

The author of the Hebrews passage closes with the statement that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, and this idea of fear is picked up again at the end of chapter 12. God does not tolerate sin among His people. If we can sin and we are not chastised, that is not a good sign for us. He will chasten those who belong to Him (Hebrews 12:7-8).

In conclusion, in my view, the passage issues a stern warning about the place of judgment for believers who sin willfully. The judgment is not about the loss of salvation, but about physical loss, including the loss of life if there is no repentance. The Lord will judge His people.

I know some groups will disagree with this interpretation. I would simply reiterate that if willful sin led to eternal damnation, there is no hope for any of us. I praise God that He judges His people and has compassion on His servants.

May the Lord Jesus guide you as you seek to live your life for Him, a fellow disciple who has sinned willfully many times as a Christian and been forgiven,

tim

14 thoughts on “Hebrews 10:26 — Can Salvation Be Lost?”

  1. Greetings.
    Revelation 3:5 states that your name can be removed from the Book of Life”. Revelation 3:11 states that you can lose your crown. Do not be fooled, of course you can lose your salvation, so let us run the good race of faith to the end.

    1. Fellow Born Again Christians,
      I suppose “eternal security” of the believer will be debated forever, but David’s comment above is just not true. Rev. 3:5 does NOT state “your name can be removed from the Book of Life” as David says! Please read it – it states plainly “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels”.
      Notice: “I will NOT blot his name out…” David may say it is implied, but it is NOT satated that way. Futhermore it goes on to say, “I WILL confess his name before my Father”. Praise God!
      The emphasis should be on “He that overcometh”. So, who is “He that overcometh” please read 1 John 5: 4,5

      1. Greetings Randy.
        Rev. 3:5 is a rather simple and straight forward verse. It is simply stating a command to overcome and the warning to the believer if he fails to overcome. The question now is what must they overcome? Just read the previous verses. Jesus is commanding them to go back to what they first believed and repent. Rev 3:1-6 is a warning of what will happen to all back sliding Christians who fail to obey and repent, nothing more. If you find fault in my train of thought, let me know and I will respond. Also, I take no offense to your comment, we all are seekers of the Truth of God.

      2. I find it interesting when people say if you continue in willful sinning you will lose your salvation. Isn’t that what defines sin? So far in my entire life of 46 years, I have consistently chosen to think evil thoughts about drivers who either cut me off, drive too slow, or drive recklessly. And I will continue to willfully sin until I die…I know it isn’t right but it is my nature. Christ died once for all my sins-past, present, and future.

  2. Continued:
    In closing, I just wanted to say that I didn’t comment to start an argument or be disrespectful to David’s comment in any way, but instead for the edification of the body.
    I know that I have been saved by GRACE and not of works, and I am totally secure in Christ Jesus! I hope and pray you are as well!
    One way that all believers can be sure of their salvation is in Romans 8:16,17 “The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God;…”. I hope this helps as it provides me great comfort and peace.
    Sincerely In Christ,
    Randy

  3. 1 John 5:5:

    Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

    Revelation 3:5:

    He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

    1. Greetings Ethan.
      1st John 5:5 is a true but general statement and can not be tied to Rev. 3:5. Jesus is speaking to a group of people who He calls a church, so belief is not the issue. The issue is in verse 3, obeying and repenting. If they do not obey and repent they will have their names blotted out, verse 5. It is very clear that Rev. 3:5 is a warning about repenting and obeying, not believing. It is a common error to read too much into general statements such as 1st John 5:5, after all, even the demons believe that Jesus is the Son of God, Matthew 8:29.

  4. Revelation says many times, who overcometh, but the bible clearly says that in Christ we are more then overcomers. Faith which is from God will never be without obidience nor will it never be without fruit, Jesus Himself thought us this in Matthew 13:23 one will bear fruit forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty and some 30.

    James 2 – 1 Titus 1:15-16 and 1 John 2:3-6 all speak about people who haven’t faith from God and confess Jesus with their lips, but their works are dead, likewise faith without works is dead faith, also works without faith are dead.

  5. We are all trying to honor our Lords sacrifice. We want to love him and show him how much we appreciate all he has done for us. In light of this, my prayer is that we continue to seek after him.
    My example is this, parachutes are design to save lives, but none of us want to experience a crashing plane just to see how a parachute works. So my question is this “can a true Christian ever reach the point of Hebrews 10:26? My answer is yes (the author includes himself in the warning) 26a. So let’s not cast our confidence away from the captain of our soul. Hebrew 10:35 & Hebrews 3:6 Jesus will land this plane safely. Let’s stay the course, take your seat and fasten our seat belt. Many things will test our faith, let’s leave the parachutes…

    1. I respectfully disagree with you in that a True Christian would reach ro Hebrews 10 26 27, if they were then it would prove they weren’t Christians in the first place, its not the loss of salvation its saying its just confirms the hypocrisy of these so called believers, if Hebrews 10 26 27 and Hebrews 6:4 say that if WE the true Christians would lose our salvation because of willfully sin, then there would be no hope and would make God a liar in which both of these are NOT true, we can NEVER lose our salvation and God ONLY speaks in truth whether it hurts or not thats reality

  6. An interesting and possibly enlightening take on the most difficult passage of the entire Bible. I have struggled with the meaning of this passage and its implications for years now. I am waiting on God to speak it to me.

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