This verse eludes me.
"If we go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins."
You are not the only one confused about this verse, and unfortunately, many preachers use this verse as a "hammer" to strike unwarranted fear into the hearts unsuspecting and trusting Christians. Those who do the "hammering" are well-meaning, but inaccurate because they misinterpret what is actually written, and they suppose something that is not written.
First, what is not written is vital here. Those who hammer other Christi and make it seem as the word "if" means "when" and that makes it a sure thing that those who sin are trampling the Atonement of Jesus.
The word translated "if" is actually a conditional clause. A conditional clause is not a sure thing, it is not most likely thing, it is a state that expresses a possibility of something happening. Is it possible that a Christian will sin after conversion? Indeed so! We all sin, so what else is new?
The important thing in this verse is not the preposition "if" but the adverb translated in the KJV as "willingly" If you recall your middle school grammar lessons, adverbs modify verbs, meaning that they change the meaning of verbs in substantial ways. This is an adverb of manner; here is the definition from a Greek Lexicon:
30.65 : pertaining to being without a special goal or purpose—‘without purpose, unintentionally, aimlessly.’ ‘I, then, do not run like a man running aimlessly’ 1 Cor 9:26. In a number of languages ‘aimlessly’ may be rendered simply as ‘without having some goal’ or ‘without some reason’ or ‘without trying to accomplish something.
Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 357). New York: United Bible Societies.
I hope you can see the
emphasis of intent by the author of Hebrews here. Iif you recall the song sung by Frank Sinatra, "My Way" you can get the gist of the intent of what the author meant. What is being stated is that if a person, claiming to be a Christian continuously, willfully and without regard to others, or the consequences of sins, keeps on doing that sin, THEN...
You can also see the same author using the same thought in Hebrews 6:4 in a consistent manner. He meant the same thing in both places. As a former smoker, I know what it is like to grind a cigarette butt on the sidewalk. That is the same mindset that one has who disregards, and treats the Atonement of Christ in a contemptuous manner.
I do willingly sin, at times. Not all of my sins are "oops" moments, they are deliberate sins, knowing full well that those sins are wrong.
Do you treat the Atonement of Christ as if it were a ground-out cigarette butt when you sin? I rather think not. Therefore that first condition does not apply to you; do not hammer yourself.
Here are my questions about this verse: What becomes of the Christian who deliberately sins with full knowledge that he is sinning? And, how do those with the position of eternal security justify this verse? Finally, what do you think this verse means?
Respectfully and to make a point, I rhetorically ask you, why are you concerned about what God does to His other Children?
As a Christian, you know the goodness, love, mercy, and unmerited grace of Jesus Christ to you, right? Do you not think that He will do the same to others? Of course He will! That is His nature, and that is what we MUST trust. He will never change in His love to those whom He has called.
This is a fallacious argument to "undermine" the position that God cares for ALL His children equally, and that the believer is tattooed on the palm of God. Look at how Paul handles the sin of presumption:
1 Corinthians 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
If you are observant, you see that Paul agrees with the Hebrews author.
I do not know about you, but I have enough trouble keeping myself out of trouble! That is why I cannot "worry" about the "other Christians" All the time, God is good, and our misunderstanding of a verse does not change that.