Wilfulness

[Symphony]

What is wilfulness?

[Willowbirch]

Following our own desires, refusing to submit to the lovingkindness and wisdom of God.

[Sower]

Greetings, Symphony, and a good question which deserves a biblical answer.

In Scripture, "wifulness" is (1) willing participation in sin and (2)wilful ignorance, even after coming to a knowledge of the truth in Christ Jesus.  

(1) Wilfulness is best described in Hebrews 10:26 - 27 and 2 Peter 2:20-21: "For if we sin wilfully [Gk. hekousios] AFTER THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries...For if AFTER THEY HAVE ESCAPED the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, THEY ARE AGAIN ENTANGLED THEREIN, AND OVERCOME, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning..."

(2) Those who scoff [for example] at the second coming of Christ [and the accompanying judgment], are "willingly' or wilfully ignorant, since they insist on rejecting direct creation by the Creator or believing that God intervened in His own creation in an awesome judgment by water, and will again intervene in a fiery judgment: "For this they are WILLINGLY [WILFULLY = Gk thelo] ignorant of, that by the Word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the wate: whereby the world that then was , being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the Day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men" (2Pet. 3:5-7). Evolutionists and uniformitarian geologists, for example, are wifully ignorant.

Hekousios denotes voluntary and willing acts of sin and disobedience to God, since those who do so know better. There is also another Greek word -- thelo [from thelema] -- which means objectively that which is willed and subjectively that which is desired or wished for, and therefore willed. Wilfulness is ultimately self-will instead of submission to God's will.

Wiful sin in the believer has very serious consequences, and may even lead to premature physical death (1 Jn. 5:16-8). Believers do not lose their salvation, but by sinning wilfully may lose their rewards as well as their allotted span of life (1 Cor. 11:27-30). "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb.10:31).

On the other hand the lost are already slaves or servants of sin, so that wilfulness cannot be rightly applied to them.  They are in bondage to sin, and need the new birth to set them free.

[Whitehorse]

These are very good posts, and very good points. Not much for me to add, except that I think any personality trait can be used for good or bad. I think wilfullness can be chanelled in a very holy direction. It's when sin gets involved that it can be deadly to the soul.

Great points-thanks for sharing.

[Ambassador4Christ]

Greetings, Symphony, and a good question which deserves a biblical answer.

In Scripture, "wifulness" is (1) willing participation in sin and (2)wilful ignorance, even after coming to a knowledge of the truth in Christ Jesus.  

(1) Wilfulness is best described in Hebrews 10:26 - 27 and 2 Peter 2:20-21: "For if we sin wilfully [Gk. hekousios] AFTER THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries...For if AFTER THEY HAVE ESCAPED the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, THEY ARE AGAIN ENTANGLED THEREIN, AND OVERCOME, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning..."

(2) Those who scoff [for example] at the second coming of Christ [and the accompanying judgment], are "willingly' or wilfully ignorant, since they insist on rejecting direct creation by the Creator or believing that God intervened in His own creation in an awesome judgment by water, and will again intervene in a fiery judgment: "For this they are WILLINGLY [WILFULLY = Gk thelo] ignorant of, that by the Word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the wate: whereby the world that then was , being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the Day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men" (2Pet. 3:5-7). Evolutionists and uniformitarian geologists, for example, are wifully ignorant.

Hekousios denotes voluntary and willing acts of sin and disobedience to God, since those who do so know better. There is also another Greek word -- thelo [from thelema] -- which means objectively that which is willed and subjectively that which is desired or wished for, and therefore willed. Wilfulness is ultimately self-will instead of submission to God's will.

Wiful sin in the believer has very serious consequences, and may even lead to premature physical death (1 Jn. 5:16-8). Believers do not lose their salvation, but by sinning wilfully may lose their rewards as well as their allotted span of life (1 Cor. 11:27-30). "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb.10:31).

On the other hand the lost are already slaves or servants of sin, so that wilfulness cannot be rightly applied to them.  They are in bondage to sin, and need the new birth to set them free.

I like it Good post Sower

[Symphony]

Thanks Sower, everyone.

The will.

Maybe that's what everything here boils down to, huh.


Just a battle of "wills".

His will.  Our will.  My will.

[Whitehorse]

Amen.

[Sower]

Thank you, brothers and sisters, for that good positive response. I pray for myself and for each one of us that we will daily take the words of our Lord and apply them to every situation and circumstance: "NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE BE DONE".  Amen.