#DailyDevotion How Are You Forgiven A Mortal Sin?

Heb. 10 ²⁶If we willfully go on sinning after we have learned the truth, there is no more sacrifice for our sins, ²⁷only a terrible waiting for judgment and a fire that will be eager to devour the enemies. ²⁸Anyone who violates the Law of Moses dies without pity on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹How much worse a punishment do you think he will deserve who tramples on God’s Son, treats as an unholy thing the blood of the testament that made him holy, and insults the Spirit of grace? ³⁰We know Him Who said: “I have the right to punish: I will pay back,” and again: “The Lord will judge His people.” ³¹It is terrifying to fall into the hands of the living God.

If you ever wanted a definition of mortal sin, this would be a good one or rather a good explanation of what one does to commit a mortal sin. I guess I should define mortal sin. It is a sin which kills faith and expels the Holy Spirit from the person committing it. Unlike the Roman Church, the Bible teaches any sin can be a mortal sin. What makes a sin mortal is wilful, intentional, knowledgeable committing of the sin. Hebrews here names these things and by the tense of the verbs, continuous committing of them. It is not a sin of weakness. It is not a sin committed out of ignorance. It is not a sin we fight against. The author shows that under the Mosaic law, such sins, with the witness of two people, brought a capital punishment, the death of the individual.

If we commit such sins, where is the sacrifice? Jesus has died once for sin, never to die again. If we reject His sacrifice, is not only a terrible judgment waiting for us? What sort of punishment is waiting for us if we trample God’s Son, and treat as unholy the blood of the testament and insult the Spirit of grace? (His argument here is similar to 6:4-6. These passages kept this book being universally accepted by the early Church as canonical. It was only accepted into the canon after certain fathers gave an interpretation to these verses which made it acceptable.) This is indeed a hard saying. It sounds like it is impossible ever to be brought back to Christ in repentance. If this was indeed the meaning, it would go against the rest of the scriptures that call us to repentance continually.

So what shall we do with this? Take his warning seriously. As he warns us, “’I have the right to punish: I will pay back,'” and again: ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ ³¹It is terrifying to fall into the hands of the living God.” The LORD teaches us judgment begins with the house of God. How much more will God punish those who heard the Law and heard the Good News of Jesus Christ and rejected both? These verses should cause us to fall on our knees begging God for forgiveness and hating our sin all the more. Who hasn’t committed mortal sin? Martin Luther once wrote something to the effect that we commit mortal sin far more than we realized and we should be chomping at the bit for the means of grace all the more to be rescued from it. Indeed, we rarely understand our precarious state because of our sins. We treat them lightly. We should be horrified at them. I believe this is what the author is trying to do here, get us to take our sins seriously. They are no trifling matter. We will be judged. Our works will be tested by fire. (2 Cor. 3) What will be left of us once we are purified.

So let us hate our sins all the more. Come more quickly to the throne of God’s grace confessing our sins and looking to the blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of those sins. Turn from your old thinking about your sins and turn to the One who died for them so you may have eternal life.

Heavenly Father, give us Your grace so we may recognize our sinful state, repent of our sins and hold more tightly onto the blood of Your Son. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.