2Cor 11:3 “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from ‘The Simplicity That Is in Christ’”

Ephesians 5:25-29 NKJV

25 . . . just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. . . . 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.

"For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of 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? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. and again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:26-31).

"Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; . . . For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. . . . But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak" (Hebrews 6:1,4-6,9).

"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. . . . for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and, The sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire" (1 Peter 2:2-4; 2:19-22).

The subject of the "willful sin" is rarely discussed, and there are probably several good reasons -- or excuses -- for this. One needs to know what he is talking about before he teaches on such a vital subject lest more harm than good be accomplished. Most preachers know that in an audience of worshipers there are those who need to repent, and know they need to repent. But, unless the subject is handled accurately and lovingly, they also know they could easily cause further entrenchment into a sinful life, rather than a withdrawal from such. They fear they might further discourage someone who is living in sin, and this they do not wish to do.

By "living in sin," we mean those who keep on doing the things they know to be wrong. These could conceivably be further discouraged by someone even remotely suggesting that there is a chance they might someday lose the ability to repent, and in so doing, lose their soul. Preachers are not unintelligent; they can read signs, and they've learned that a sermon on willful sin will probably not be as popular as one on "loving one another," or one that announces a new program for the youngsters, or a men's retreat. There is always the danger that many who truly need to hear the lesson may become offended at the preacher, who can easily present himself as one who is judging others. Many good people - and a whole lot of bad ones - simply do not want sermons by someone they consider is being "holier than thou," and preachers know this. These see it as "the pot calling the kettle black," as the old proverb goes.

That we all sin, there is no doubt. No one will argue about this. John says that "if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). He emphasizes this further by saying, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us" (v.10). But to teach that one can continue to sin, and put off repentance, and reach that point where he is incapable of returning to God, well, that's quite another matter. To say that this is controversial is to put it too mildly. In this day of permissiveness it would be a poor and unpopular doctrine. Yet, the subject is in the Bible, and should be studied. The preacher must declare "the whole counsel of God." And those guilty of willful sin must be warned. Surely we need to pray for understanding of the Bible teachings about "willful sin."

Some years ago a young doctor in our congregation told a young woman of the congregation, who was otherwise healthy, that symptoms indicated that she might have a serious heart problem, and, if his diagnosis was true, this would probably bring about premature death. This news was upsetting of course. But what did the members of the congregation think? Several became angry at the doctor for telling her, unlikely as it probably would be, how very serious the problem might possibly be. The interesting thing was the attitude and criticism of the people toward the young doctor, who was only trying to practice his profession in a diligent and thorough manner.

Most people do not enjoy hearing a preacher tell them that they could have a spiritual disease that could eventuate into eternal death. More often than not they will in some way rebel against the thought.

1. The Lord Wants All Men To Be Saved. The apostle Peter wrote, "The Lord . . . is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). Note that it is God's desire (what he wills), that none should perish but all should be saved. John tells us that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Note the "so loved," and the whosoever, and the magnitude of his gift to bring salvation about. God gave his most prized possession. I do not know of a single good father who would literally give up his son, without a hope of his being spared, to save the lives of a score of his fellow men, or even the entire city.

Many good fathers, who truly love the lost in foreign lands, do all they can to keep their son from becoming a missionary and going to convert the heathen. Yet, God gave up his Son to save sinners, who did not even see the need of salvation, who did not feel lost, and who did not seem to care one way or the other whether he did love them or not.

"All the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lost nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day" (vs.37-40).

We learn furthermore that all those who "hunger and thirst after God's righteousness" will receive it (Matt. 5:6); that "He is the rewarder of (all) those that diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6); that all those that "will do" His will will know His teachings (John 7:17); and that whosoever that "calleth upon the name of the Lord" will be saved (Rom. 10:12,13). The Lord unquestionably wants us to be saved. It is his will that all be saved. Jesus plainly states that "it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish" (Matt. 18:14). We must conclude that if we do not believe and are lost, we could never blame the Father. We must in all honesty conclude that we chose to be lost.

I read somewhere of a missionary who was startled to hear a cry from one of his young pupils, "I found my name, I found my name." The lad had been reading the Bible and without any warning cried out. "What do you mean, you've found your name," the older man inquired. "Right here," came the reply, "Whosoever believeth shall be saved. I am whosoever!"

2. All Sin Hinders Our Salvation. We all were saved from our past sins when we initially repented, confessed our faith in Jesus as Christ and Son of God, and were baptized. (Mark 16:15,16; Acts 2:38; etc.) Paul says, "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:26,27). Past sins are forgiven when one becomes a new creature. (2 Cor. 5:17.)

We are being saved presently as we continue to "walk in the light as He is in the light" (1 John 1:7). John says: "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth (i.e., keeps on cleaning) us from all sin" (vs.5-7). Present salvation demands a walk with God, a walk that leads from this world into the next. Paul says, "There is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:1). Note the tense of the verbs in the above passages.

Lastly, we will be saved, once and for all, when we stand before the judgment seat of our Lord and hear "well done, good and faithful servant" (Matt. 25:23; 2 Cor. 5:10; etc.)

Many people do not really understand salvation, or so it seems to me. It is not a question of just passing a test, as in an education class where 70% will permit one to enter into the next level of study. It is not a case where the good is weighed against the bad and if there is more good than bad then the ledger gives us entrance into the promised land. It most certainly is not a case where a certain amount of good over and above the amount of bad entitles us to satisfy the lusts of the flesh with impunity, as if to buy indulgences for the sake of sin. This can not be.

The true child of God understands that if he could have anything that he wants, everything that he might want, he would choose to be with God. As David of old expressed it, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?" (Psalms 42:1,2). When the child of God finishes his sojourn here on earth, and gets to where he is going, that is where he will be. That is where he has wanted to be, and has been preparing himself to go. He understood long ago that "all things may be lawful," as Paul stated (1 Cor. 6:12), but that "all things are not expedient." All things did not expedite him on his way to the Father's home. All things were not helpful, and he learned, again in Paul's words, he must not be brought "under the power of any." Said Paul:

"Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body" (v.13).

There are many voices calling out from the world to the child of God, "eat, drink, and be merry." "You only go around once," says one ad, "and you've got to reach out for all the gusto you can get." The dozens of things that have proven to have the power to bring our bodies into bondage to them must be avoided - addictions of all kind, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, filthy literature, - excesses of all kinds, materialism in all its multitudinous aspects, and many more. John says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever" (1 John 2:15-17).

Paul wanted to be free from all hindrances and encumbrances. He did not want to be under the power of anything or anybody, save the Lord Jesus Christ. He told Timothy the young evangelist,

"Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier" (2 Tim.2:3,4).

"All things may be lawful," said Paul, "but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth" (1 Cor. 10:23,24). All things do not edify, even things that are permissible and lawful, whether it be our own edification, or that of a brother. We must avoid those things that do not expedite us on our journey back to God. If eating meat cause our brother to be harmed, we must eat no meat. If personal habits, opinions, unsocial conduct, or whatever, short of the truth of the Gospel, should harm a brother, and especially a weak one in Christ, we must not be so self willed that we would not be willing to give it up. We must seek one another's wealth, and not our own.

The knowledgeable child of God understands that he has been called to greatness. He has been literally "summoned" back to God Himself. He is part of a "chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should shew forth the praises (excellences) of him that hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). Peter continues by saying that "His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness," and this is through the knowing of him who has called us (summoned us) to grace and virtue" (2 Peter 1:3,4). God has called us by his grace and virtue, and called us to his grace and virtue. We have truly been called to greatness, back to God himself. (See 1 Cor. 3:18; Col. 3:1-3; Rom 12:1,2).

Sin interferes with this calling. It hinders our journey back to God. We understand that when we go on a journey we might grow tired and rest for a while, but we do not quit. That is, if we ever want to get to where we want to go. We understand from the simple illustration of winding string on a ball that occasionally the ball will accidentally be dropped. We know also that not just one wind of the string, but many winds will be lost. Many winds of the string will be required to put us back where we once were. We are often overtaken in a fault, and we repent, and "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." But no one who understands the beauty of the journey back to God wants to sin, or takes pleasure in it. No one will argue for the wisdom of sinning willfully. Who will dare defend a doctrine that says that one can at his pleasure do the things that are contrary to what God desires. How unthinkable! This is the very height of presumption.

Willful sin takes God's grace for granted, and abuses it to satisfy carnal lust. Paul says of this, "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" His answer? "God forbid!" (Romans 6:1,2). Can anyone imagine Paul deliberately, willfully, knowingly telling something that he knew was not true? Can anyone imagine him knowingly stealing something that did not belong to him, and keeping it for his own? Paul was a man of "like passions" with all mankind, and little doubt was subjected to temptations of the flesh. He talks about a warfare that went on within his soul. But, can anyone imagine him visiting a prostitute to satisfy the lust of his flesh, or compromising his integrity in some other situation to satisfy a fleshly need? Most of us simply could not imagine such. He was on his way back home, and these things would hinder him; they would not expedite him on the trip.

3. Some Will Not Receive The Truth. We would like to believe that all would be saved; we would want all to be saved. We cannot however hope for all men to be saved, for we cannot expect this. Our Lord says that there will be few that will find the way of life. (Matt. 7:14.)

Paul speaks to the Thessalonians of those who "received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved . . . but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:10,12). The writer to the Hebrews warns those who could be "hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (3:13). Jesus on one occasion rebuked the Jews for their pride and lack of love for God. "How can ye believe," he said, "which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only"? (John 5:44). In the parable of the sower our Lord teaches us that good seed will be sown "by the wayside," "upon stony places," and "among thorns." There will be no production from any of these.

It is obvious that the Scriptures are not accepted by multitudes of the world. It is also obvious that many who do claim to believe them belie their belief by their conduct. Many will not receive the truth and be saved.

4. The Word Of God Is True. Our Lord has stated that, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matt. 24:35). He states that his words will judge at the last day:

"And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day" (John 12:47,48).

The prophet Isaiah tells us that the word of God shall accomplish that which was intended: "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). Jeremiah quotes God as saying: "Is not my word like a fire? And like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" (Jer. 23:29).

One of the most powerful statements concerning the integrity of the word is given by the writer to the Hebrews with these words: "We ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation" (Heb. 2:1-3). In the fourth chapter he shows the power of the word of God: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (4:12).

Yes, the word of God is true, and God is true to his word. He does indeed "uphold all things by the word of his power." There are of course those who teach that it is not so. Some disbelieve all or part of the Scriptures because of some discrepancy they suppose they have found in it; some say there are "contradictions" in it. More often than not, their contentions are based upon what critics have written about the Bible rather than from a study of it.

5. Truth Does Not Depend For Its Truthfulness Upon Whether Men Believe It Or Not. In today's culture it is popular to sit in, or strike, or protest, or march, or harass, or in some other way to forcefully exert enough pressure to get one's way. In many instances the law is actually ignored by law enforcement officials in the interest of peace - so called - while those who speak the loudest and shout down opposition often get their way. It is a fact that many laws are not enforced simply because it is not the popular thing to do. And, if enough people disobey the law, the laws will be changed. Or so they think.

We tend to relate this way of thinking to the law of God, but falsely. God's truth does not depend for its truthfulness upon whether it is obeyed, or not obeyed. Paul states to the saints at Rome, "For what if some do not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar" (Rom. 3:3,4).

John gives us insight into those who really and truly know God. He says: "Whosoever transgresseth (that is, goes out of the way of truth) and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son" (2 John 9). He tells us, "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:3,4).

All this simply means that whether we believe it or not, truth is truth, and we will be judged accordingly. Whether we transgress the law of God or not, it remains the law of God. To know God and to abide in God and have God abide in us requires that we keep his commandments. "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself" (2 Tim. 2:13).

6. There Are Many Things In Life That Are Not Recoverable. We may lose sight at times of the fact that there are some things in life that, once lost, can never be recovered. The principle is like that of the Mother Goose character Humpty Dumpty. He sat on a wall, had a great fall, and all the king's horses and all the king's men, could not put Humpty together again.

Once a man lies, or steals, or commits a crime, he never again can be innocent. He might pay his debt to society; he might repent of his mistake and be forgiven by God. But, of course, he can not ever again be innocent. He has forsaken forever the status of innocence. He can never again be righteous, for he has become a sinner.

This is the beauty of God's plan of forgiveness. To be acceptable to God, who is sinless, He has to treat us as if we are sinless. But we all have sinned. This is the reason that he sent his Son to die for us, as a ransom, a redeemer, to pay for our sins and give us a new start. Paul says that "He (God) hath made him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Cor. 5:21). Baptism is indicative of a death to sin and a resurrection to a newness of life. Old things have passed away, all things have become new. Our sins have been blotted out, obliterated. We are once again blameless; never again faultless, but blameless because of Christ. Because of human weakness we continue to be overtaken in faults. John teaches us that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:10). Thanks be to God, we are blameless again.

But, with our sin, we lost forever the ability to save ourselves. We are absolutely and forever after dependent upon Christ, else we are lost forever. There should never be any arrogance, no pride or self-exaltation, but a life of humility and thankfulness that we have been rescued by the Saviour. Contrary to Humpty's unlucky end, we have been put back together again!

Jesus told his apostles that when the spirit would come, "he would reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment" (John 16:8). Does the Spirit still operate in these realms with saints today?

Study carefully all the things the Holy Spirit of God is capable of doing to saints, and for saints. Now, in view of this, when we know by the Word of God that a thing is wrong - there is no doubt about it - and when the Holy Spirit prods our conscience again, and again and again, and we persist in doing the wrong thing, what possible force is there to cause us to repent and be forgiven. Many will be sorry afterwards! Perhaps even miserable, and guilt ridden. But all the sorries in the world will not help a man unless he can repent. When he chooses the wrong course, after he has known the beauties of righteousness and the fruits of the Holy Spirit, what could be strong enough to get him to do so. And can he repent if he has resisted, grieved and quenched the very spirit of righteousness within him? Most people become a disciple of Christ in the hope of knowing these things, experiencing the life of the Spirit. But these have know them, and have experienced the life in the Spirit, and yet they turn their backs upon them. "Not good enough," they say; "I will choose the way of the flesh."

It is a sobering thought that in the Old Testament there was no atonement sacrifice for deliberate, willful sin. This is a truth that emerges again and again in the sacrificial laws of the Old Testament. Again and again they begin: "If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord," or, "If ought be committed through ignorance," etc. (See Lev. 4:2,13; etc.)

Numbers 15:22-31 is a key passage in understanding the mind of God toward deliberate and willful sin. There the requisite sacrifices are laid down "if ought be committed through ignorance." But at the end it is laid down, "but the soul that doeth ought presumptuously . . . shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the Word of the Lord . . . that soul shall utterly be cut off."

The word that gives us presumptuously in this verse is used some 1400 times in the Bible; only one time translated as above. The root of the word is hand, meaning "open hand indicating power." Other translations:

NIV = NUM 15:30 "'But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the LORD, and that person must be cut off from his people. NUM 15:31 Because he has despised the LORD'S word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.'"

NKJV = NUM 15:30 'But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be cut off from among his people. NUM 15:31 'Because he has despised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.' "

RSV = NUM 15:30 But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. NUM 15:31 Because he has despised the word of the LORD, and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him."

This latter version comes close to giving the literal meaning, taking advantage of the root meaning of the word, "open hand indicating power."

We dread a law that goes against our desires. Fast drivers do not like slow speed limits. Those who want to leave their mate do not want a law that limits their right to do so. Rather than control their impulse, they attack the law. Those who want to steal from their employers do not want a law that limits their right to do so. “What does God expect us to do, when . . ., " and then they begin to rationalize in their own favor. “Does God expect us to live with a drunkard?" “Wasn’t religion created for man and not man for religion?” “And on and on.

For someone to suggest that they know that God will give a special ruling on any particular case with any particular person is most presumptuous. And yet, this is exactly what some do, and thus they seduce followers of themselves, in their merchandising of God's truth.

The Scripture says that those who sin presumptuously "reproaches the Lord." We note that the NIV says "blasphemes," the NKJV "brings reproach," and the RSV, "reviles." The actual word is 'gadaph," translated five times as blaspheme, and only this time as reproacheth. The dictionary says it means "to revile."

We furthermore note that the word "bazah" in Hebrew, is uniformly translated as despised in the KJV, NIV, NKJV, and the RSV. Despise means to esteem as little or nothing, abhor, abominate, desecrate, detest, disdain, dislike, hate, loathe, reject, revile, scorn.

So, to sin presumptuously is equated then with holding that word as listed above, of no regard. The result of it all is that the person will be guilty, will have committed "iniquity."

Deut. 17:12 lays it down: "The man that will do presumptuously . . . even that man shall die." The sin of ignorance according to the Old Testament was pardonable; the sin of presumption was not. Think about this!

"We must note what the Jews meant by the sin of ignorance. They meant more than simply lack of knowledge. They included the sins committed when a man was swept away in a moment of impulse or anger or passion, when a man was mastered by some over-powering temptation. By the sin of presumption they meant the cold, deliberate, calculated sin for which man was not in the least sorry, the open-eyed disobedience of God, the time when a man, not in a moment of passion or impulse, but in cool detachment took his own way and disobeyed God."

In this connection, one of the best examples for comparative study is that of Saul and David. The account of Saul is found in 1 Samuel 15.

Samuel told Saul to go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that he had, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. And Saul smote the Amalekites but he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but every thing that was vile and refuge, that they destroyed utterly. Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night. And Samuel came to Saul and Saul said unto him, "Blessed be thou of the Lord; I have performed the commandment of the Lord." And Samuel said, "what meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?" And Saul said unto Samuel, "Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took up the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal." And Samuel said, "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king."

Verse 35 indicates that God turned his back upon Saul because of this disobedience.

"Wherefore has thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? That thou hast killed Euriah the Hittite with the sword, and has taken his wife to be thy wife, and hath slain him with a sword of the children of Ammon" (12:9).

"And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, the Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shall not die" (v.13).

There is obviously a great difference between the two men. Apparently, one is rejected while the other is accepted, and is not David called " a man after God's own heart?"

And in the New Testament we have the account of Paul. "I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day" (Acts 23:1), Paul said, and yet, he admits to persecuting this way unto the death, binding and delivering unto prison both men and women" (22:4). He thanked the Lord for putting him into the ministry, "Who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor, and injurious; but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief" (1 Tim. 1:12-14).

Apparently there is a difference between willful and deliberate sin, and sin being done innocently and ignorantly. David recognized this with his statement, "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me; then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression" (Psalm 19:13).

We must never, never question God's ability to forgive. He can and wants to forgive even the worst of sins. This is not the question that we ponder. The real question is: Can a child of God ever lose the ability to satisfactorily repent so that he can appropriate God's forgiveness. When does being sorry not become the "godly sorrow that worketh repentance?"

Our willingness to hear the truth, to suffer exhortation and correction, is a vital element in the understanding of the whole matter. Paul says:

"For we are under God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish; to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life" (2 Cor. 2:14,15). And again,

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (2 Cor. 4:3,4).

The New Covenant Scriptures are literally filled with exhortations to faithfulness, and to the giving of diligence that we make our "calling and election sure."

"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation" (Heb. 2:1-3).

"Take heed, Brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened though the deceitfulness of sin" (Heb. 3:12,13).

The statement was made that preaching on the dangers of willful sin is not popular. We humans seem to want it our way, to do what we want to do at the time, and then expect the Almighty God to accept and forgive at our pleasure. Many years ago as I began my first supported work with a congregation, one of the leaders told me, “If you know of something that the congregation needs to know, and you do not tell us, we will warn you. If later you know of something the congregation needs to know, and you do not tell us, you can no longer be our preacher.”

That was complimentary of that leader, and perhaps needs to be told to all the pulpit preachers of the land today. Willful sin needs to be addressed, doesn’t it!