08/26/2026
“I still sin, but I don’t willfully sin.”
You hear statements like this all the time from people who reject eternal security. But stop and think about it.
Do you sin because someone forces you to, or because you choose to yield to the flesh?
Every time we sin, we do so by our own volition. Pride, lust, anger, greed, envy, gossip, selfishness. Whatever the sin may be, we chose to yield to it.
Christians absolutely should resist sin. We are called to walk in the Spirit, flee temptation, put off the old man, confess our sins when we fall, and grow in sanctification. That’s obvious.
But that is not the same question as whether our eternal salvation depends upon our ability to maintain a certain level of obedience. Yet this is where the argument often goes:
“I still sin… but I don’t habitually practice sin.”
“I still sin… but I don’t really live in sin.”
“I still sin… but I don’t willfully sin.”
This is one of the most common ways people create a category of sin that they believe does not threaten their assurance. It’s a coping mechanism to deal with their mindset that they are ultimately saved by their performance. But even the sins people will try to call “unintentional” still make us guilty before a holy God and still required the blood of Christ.
Does a righteous judge overlook manslaughter because it wasn’t intentional? Or does justice still demand that the penalty be paid?
This is also where Hebrews 10:26 is commonly misunderstood:
“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.”
Hebrews 10:26 KJV
This verse is not teaching that a Christian who knowingly commits a sin has exhausted Christ’s sacrifice and lost his salvation. The context is about rejecting Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice and turning back to the Old Covenant system of animal sacrifices. Hebrews contrasts the repeated sacrifices of the priests with Christ’s single, sufficient sacrifice. That is why the verse says there remains “no more sacrifice for sins.” If Christ’s sacrifice is rejected, there is no alternative sacrifice that can take away sin. The very next verses describe this rejection as trampling underfoot the Son of God, counting His blood as an unholy thing, and doing despite unto the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29). Which is a parallel to Galatians 2:21 when people attempt to be saved by works rather than accept the free gift of grace.
The issue isn’t whether your sins fit into a category you’ve created. The issue is this:
Who paid for them?
Either every one of your sins was paid for completely by Jesus Christ on the cross, or they remain on your account and they must be paid for.
And the wages of sin is not good works, or trying to make up for them. It’s death.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 KJV
And without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.
“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”
Hebrews 9:22 (KJV)
There is no third option where certain sins don’t really count because you don’t think you “practice” them enough. The goalpost simply gets moved until you can convince yourself that your sins belong in a safer category than someone else’s.
But Scripture doesn’t divide sin that way.
The law condemns the guilty. Christ saves the guilty.
The moment your assurance begins resting on how consistently you think you’ve avoided “willful” or “continuous” sin, you’ve shifted your eyes from Christ’s finished work to your own performance. Forgiveness isn’t based on how well you’ve categorized your sins. It’s based entirely on the One who bore them on the cross and paid for them all.
“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
Hebrews 10:10-14 KJV
The Christian life should be marked by growth and obedience. But none of those things are the basis of our eternal security. Christ is. His sacrifice was sufficient. His payment was complete. And His finished work does not need our performance to finish what He already finished.
