You know, a wise person once said that if you were selling Chevys on a car lot and a man driving a Ford came to look around, the last thing you would want to do is tell him how lousy Fords are. You really should work on your method of persuasion.

It’s possible that the author of Hebrews intended to define the willful sinner in verse 29″How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?”

So we run the race, but looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; the ex nihilo creator and perfecter of our faith.

”For if we sin willfully after we have known the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sin.

And also Hebrews 12 v 1, ”Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily does beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”
What would you say is willful sin?

I’v made some corrections, I bet this is going to mess my typing up!

Well, I think Romans 7 is the description of the saved man struggling with sin. Though I do believe some individuals who get saved do go on never to be tempted by former habitual sins, but this would be very rare cases in deed. I don’t think the idea of a believer living a completely sinless life is even possible. For one thing, even after regeneration, the sin nature still remains, and in addition to that, I don’t think we have biblical evidence to support our complete victory over temptations. Even if we renounce our old ones, new ones are likely to creep in. I believe the biblical picture of sanctification is a continued belief and repentance. So many topics must come together to form our systematic view on this. Consider this. Based on the conclusions I’ve drawn regarding the reality of the warnings given to Christians in Scripture I’ve developed the following syllogism. Believers persevere in faith by struggling against sin; unbelievers will be tormented by eternal fire: If you do not continue to struggle against sin, then you will be tormented by eternal fire. I believe this argument preserves both the assurances given to believers about the reality of Christ’s righteousness imputed to them, and the reality of the warnings given to those who do not persevere in faith.

So you believe that we repent or reject Gods salvation because He has sovereignly caused us to do one or the other?

I was saying that your explanation was backwards.

I too believe that man may obey or disobey, accept or reject, but it is all under the purview of a sovereign God. I would say that the unregenerate man does not have the power to not sin, but only when one believes can his thoughts or actions be “in faith” and thus pleasing to God. Unsaved persons will do horizontal good, but they aren’t even capable of doing God towards God, and such where we before we believed…praise be to God that we believe!