The Deliberate Sins 

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10: 26 to 31) 

We were sinners not because we sinned but sinned because we are sinners. So, God gave commands including sin offerings for sins committed unintentionally for Israelites to follow, Leviticus 4 and 5. However, there was no mention of sins committed deliberately. So, if a sin was committed deliberately, then there would be no sacrifice nor offering to redeem it. Therefore, the sin would be unforgiving. So, how do we determine and avoid deliberate sins? The Hebrew word for sin is cheit, which literally means “missing the mark”. It comes from an archery term that means to miss the target. The Bible describes the aim of our charge as below. 

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (First Timothy 1: 5)  

So, if we tried to aim for the target but missed then that’s an unintentional sin. If we tried to walk away from the target and aim something else, then that’s a deliberate sin. The difference depends on our heart, conscience and faith. If we have a pure heart, a good conscience and sincere faith then we could avoid the deliberate sins. Then how do we have all three of them? They are all from Christ as described below. To have a pure heart, we need to walk in the light and put on Christ as described in the Bible below. 

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13: 12 to 14) 

To have a good conscience, we need the Holy Spirit that was sent by Christ to guide us as described below. 

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16: 7 to 14) 

After being convicted by the Spirit of truth, we will have a good conscience. To have sincere faith, we need the Word as described below. 

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” (Romans 10: 16 to 18) 

God brought us to Christ by faith. However, the Word will bring us into sincere faith. The more we live by the Word, the more sincere faith we will achieve. A pure heart, a good conscience and sincere faith are all a lifelong endeavor. They are all aimed at love. If we have love then we will not commit sins easily, unintentionally or deliberately. Because we don’t want to harm the love relationship with the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Not only that we could avoid a fearful expectation of judgment, but because we love God, the Spirit will reveal even the depth of God to us as described below. 

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. (First Corinthians 2: 9 10) 

This is something we could never achieve through our own flesh or imagine through our own knowledge of good and evil. Emmanuel. 

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