Hebrews 10:18 teaches that once God has forgiven sins completely, there is no longer any need for a sacrifice to deal with them. The writer is saying that Christ’s single offering has accomplished what the old sacrifices could only point toward, so the repeated offerings of the Law are no longer required. The verse is written by the author of Hebrews, traditionally understood as a Christian teacher writing to Jewish believers who were tempted to return to the temple system.
Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Hebrews 10:18 (WEB)
What Hebrews 10:18 Means
The phrase “where remission of these is” refers to forgiveness. “Remission” means sending away or releasing a debt, so the verse speaks of sins that have been fully cancelled. The writer is building on the verses before it, where God says he will remember sins no more. When God has truly forgiven, the ledger is closed.
“There is no more offering for sin” follows logically from that forgiveness. The sacrifices in the Old Testament were given to deal with sin and to restore fellowship with God. If sin has already been fully dealt with through Christ, the system of repeated sacrifices has done its work and does not need to continue. The verse does not say people stop caring about sin or stop repenting. It says the sacrificial system is no longer the way forgiveness is obtained.
What the verse does not promise is that believers will never feel guilt or never need to confess. Confession and repentance remain part of the Christian life. The verse speaks to the question of whether any further payment for sin must be made, and its answer is no, because the payment has been made once for all.
The Context of Hebrews 10:18
The letter to the Hebrews is a sermon-like letter that argues Jesus is greater than the angels, Moses, the priests and the sacrifices of the Law. Its original readers were likely Jewish Christians who knew the temple worship well and were under pressure to return to it. The author wants them to see that the old system was a shadow of something better, and that Christ fulfills it completely.
Just before verse 18, the writer quotes the promise of the new covenant from Jeremiah, in which God says he will write his laws on the heart and remember sins no more. Verse 18 draws the conclusion from that promise. Read in this setting, the verse is not a stand-alone statement about sacrifices in general but the closing point of a longer argument that the new covenant has made the old offerings unnecessary.
Key Phrases in Hebrews 10:18
Hebrews 10:19
Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus…
(WEB)
This verse follows directly from verse 18 and explains what the forgiveness makes possible. Because sin has been dealt with, believers have confidence to draw near to God in the holy place through the blood of Jesus.
Jeremiah 31:34
They will no longer each teach his neighbor, and every man teach his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD;’ for they will all know me, from their least to their greatest,” says the LORD: “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
(WEB)
This is the Old Testament promise that Hebrews quotes earlier in the chapter. It states God’s intention to forgive iniquity and remember sin no more, which is the foundation for the conclusion drawn in verse 18.
A Short Prayer From Hebrews 10:18
Father, thank you that you have dealt with my sin completely through Jesus. When I remember the things I have done wrong, help me to remember also that you have chosen not to hold them against me. Teach me to bring my confession to you honestly and then receive your pardon without trying to earn it again. Let the finished work of Christ shape how I live, how I forgive others, and how I come near to you each day. Amen.
