Willful Rejection of Christ

March 2nd, 2026
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 10:26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins…

In Micah 2:4, the Hebrew term for one who falls or turns away from their faith is “apostate” (Heb. shobeb). And when one turns away from their faith, they commit the sin of “apostasy” (Jer. 8:5; Hos. 14:4). Now for one to become an apostate, one first has to first commit themselves to God in order to then turn away from Him. One who never trusts in God cannot fall away since that person was never among those who trusted God in the first place. Both are unbelievers at heart, but those who claim to believe yet turn away fall into the grave category of apostasy.

In simple terms for today, an apostate is one who has heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, outwardly committed themselves to Him, and then later turned away from Christ. Apostasy therefore has two traits: knowledge of the truth and willful rejection of it. The New Testament (NT) gives examples of apostates, the first being the Pharisees—those religious leaders in Israel at the time of Christ. These men followed Jesus over the course of His ministry, both hearing His words and observing His signs and miracles. In spite of this, they rejected Him outright and turned Him over to the Romans for execution by crucifixion. In so doing, they committed the worst possible sin: rejecting their divine Messiah will full knowledge, not out of ignorance.

Another and more atrocious example of apostasy in the NT is Judas Iscariot. He was among Jesus’ closest confidants, both hearing Christ’s words and seeing His signs and miracles—living with Jesus over the course of three-plus years. Judas was even given the power of heal the sick and raise the dead for a time, just like the other apostles (cf. Matt. 10:5-8). But in spite of all this, Judas turned away from Christ, betraying Him to the Pharisees who in turn handed Jesus over to the Romans. So, both Judas and the Pharisees had full knowledge of who Jesus of Nazareth truly was, yet they actively sought His arrest and death. They are the textbook definition of apostates.

So does this mean that a Christian can lose his or her salvation? Absolutely not! Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out… This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:37, 39)… I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).
Paul also wrote about the security of the Christian: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:31-39).

It is therefore clear that no sin a Christian commits—from adultery to murder to lying to coveting—will end God’s relationship with a convert to Christ based on God’s displeasure in His people. The security of the believer is certain in that we can do nothing to lose what God has granted to us. That said, one who professes to believe in the promises of God can willingly leave the faith he or she once professed. This was illustrated in Hebrews 3-4 where the author reminds that the Israelites under Moses initially acted in faith during the days of the first Passover. They faithfully selected and slayed the lamb, painting its blood on their doorposts (cf. Exod. 12). As a result, the firstborn in their households lived, and they all exited Egypt under Moses. All by faith.

In spite of this, most of the Israelites who came out of Egypt in faith willfully sinned in the wilderness and turned away from the God who miraculously delivered them. As a result, they died in the wilderness and failed to enter God’s Promised Land because of unbelief (Heb. 3:19). The God they once had faith in, they departed from. Sadly, it was their willful choice to do so.