What does Hebrews 10:26 mean by "if we sin wilfully"?

Whosoever Will, The Pastor at the Door: Again the English “if” is carrying weight the Greek does not give it. The construction is a genitive absolute with a present participle, “we sinning wilfully,” a path walked on purpose, not a single stumble. And again, “we.” The author writes himself into the sentence. “[t]he knowledge of the truth” is the full knowledge of the truth, not a passing acquaintance. Then the crux, verse 29: a man has “trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing”. The question is who was sanctified. The natural reading is the man who trampled, the nearest subject, and the writer has used that verb, hagiazo, of real sanctification sixteen verses earlier: “we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb 10:10), “by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Heb 10:14). Two counters must be named honestly, not hidden. “Sanctified” can mean set apart in a covenant sense without meaning new birth; Paul can call an unbelieving spouse sanctified (1 Cor 7:14). And a minority reading takes the “he” who was sanctified to be the Son, sanctified by His own blood, rather than the apostate. Both are grammatically available. Neither is the first thing the clause says as it stands, next to 10:10 and 10:14. Scripture, King James Version: Hebrews 10:10, "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."; Hebrews 10:14, "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."; 1 Corinthians 7:14, "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.".

Verified. Every scripture quotation on this page has been checked word-for-word against the King James text. Last reviewed 2026-10-18.

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What does Hebrews 10:26 mean by "if we sin wilfully"? → wsb.bible/answers/what-does-hebrews-10-26-mean-by-if-we-sin-wilfully

This answer is the short form. The argument is made at length in The Pastor at the Door: Stone three: wilfully, and we.

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