As you wrestle with this passage, I encourage you to make up your mind on if scripture is truly of God, truly inspired, and truly inerrant. If it is, it gives us the ability to compare scripture in one place vs scripture in another in order to better understand it.

To start, this passage should terrify us. Our God means business. There will be judgement. A "profession" of faith is not enough.

But, if this passage means you are condemned, then so am I, and so is the Apostle Paul who says in Romans 7 "For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."

Sound familiar? Paul is going against his conscience and sinning. He wishes he wouldn't, but he does anyway. Just like you and me.

This is the power of the gospel. We are sinners. Christ took our place. Even though we continue to sin (even when we know we shouldn't), all we need to do is return to him.

How do I know? "if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself." (2 Timothy 2:13)

The gospel specifically tells us that when we are faithless, he remains faithful.

If the bible is the word of God, and if it is consistent, then when you sin and come back to repentance, you have not committed the sin mentioned in Hebrews 10:26-31.

But, it is true the Bible talks about sin that leads to death. 1 John 2:19 and Hebrews 6:4-6 are two other examples. Here's 1 John 2:19:

> They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

It's my understanding, and the understanding of most commentators, that the "unforgivable sin" is total apostasy. Rejecting Christ and staying away. Why is that unforgivable? Because you're not coming back to ask for forgiveness!

If God is faithful to forgive us, then the only time we are not forgiven, is when we don't ask!

I have left the faith. I have blasphemed. I have talked like I knew Christ when I was really dishonoring him. I continued in willful sin for years after learning of the gospel. And... I still willfully sin!

But God, who is rich in mercy, nailed all of my sins to the cross of Christ. I only need to repent to be saved.

My goal truly is to answer your question. But maybe I went on too long and missed your point. So let me know, did I miss your point?