If I Still Sin, Am I Still Saved?

18 May If I Still Sin, Am I Still Saved?

 Blog Series:

Renew Your Mind ~ Transform Your Life

Last week, we made the potentially exhilarating observation that Christians have been spiritually born again, becoming partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3), created in the likeness of God, in true holiness and righteousness (Ephesians 4:24)

I say “potentially” exhilarating, because a thinking Christian might wonder, “Well, but… if I am truly holy and righteous, how is it that I still sin?!?” And then, it gets worse. “If I still sin, am I truly a Christian?!?”

So, our challenge in this blog post is to understand how we can be a Christian and still sin.

For that, we must take two steps. First, to see the Scripture that affirms that a Christian can sin and still be a Christian. Then to look at examples of this reality in Scripture. Then, next week, we unpack a fuller biblical teaching from Romans 7.

Scripture teaches that Christians still sin

Though we might wonder how it could be true, we begin by looking at the verses in Scripture that tell us that Christians still sin.

1 John 1:8-9 says,

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Then, in addition to that straightforward passage, Romans 6 says:

• “Shall we go on sinning that grace may increase?” (NIV – 6:1)
• “Do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies…”(NASB – 6:12)
• “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” (NASB – 6:15)

These passages assume Christians are sinning, and teaches that we should not continue to sin.

Colossians 3:12 goes on to link sin to a person who Paul called “holy.”

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;”

Paul was writing to these people in Colossae because they were fighting … they were not being compassionate, kind, humble and gentle… so he is writing to them to tell them they needed to change their behavior. Yet he calls these people, who were sinning, holy.

So, Scripture does not shy away from admitting that Christians sin. Beyond that, we see three stark examples of sinning Christian who did not lose their salvation.

Examples of sinning Christians

Sinning Saint:  Peter proved that you can be a true believer and still sin. In Matthew 26:69-75, when Peter was confronted with whether or not he was a disciple of Jesus, Peter cursed and denied it. Denying Jesus seems to be a pretty serious sin. Yet, just a few days later, Peter was with Jesus, eating breakfast with Him, in perfect fellowship and harmony.

Sinning Son:  In 1 Corinthians 5, we read of a man who was living immorally with his step-mother. Paul declared that so egregious a sin that even the pagans in Corinth wouldn’t do it. Yet, the church in Corinth was looking the other way, and allowing the man to continue in unbroken spiritual fellowship at the church anyway.

But Paul would have none of it. He said, “For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh…”  (1 Corinthians 5:3-5)

Mercy! What a consequence! The man would face the terrible consequence of the “destruction of his flesh.” We are not told how this would happen, only that it would.

Then, Paul went on to make a remarkable statement: “… so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

This man, sinning so egregiously that he is to be kicked out of the church and somehow delivered over to Satan, will have his body destroyed, but his spirit saved.

Without going into all the side questions this passage may raise, the main point for our purpose in this blog is to support the point that a Christian can sin, even pretty badly, and still be saved.

Sinning Celebrants: Then you have the example in 1 Corinthians 11 of Christians who were abusing the communion service at the church in Corinth.  The details of the abuse are not given, but Paul talks about the appropriateness of “waiting for one another, and if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home” (vs. 33-34).

For some, it seems to have become an occasion for overindulgence rather than worship. As a result, Paul wrote, “many among you are weak, sick, and a number sleep”  (vs 30). That is, there was a progression of physical infirmity from physical weakness, to illness, and even to death, that was actually the judgment of God on their sin.

Then Paul taught them that if they would judge themselves properly, by not abusing the Lord’s Supper, the Lord would not judge them with progressive physical infirmity.

Paul went on to make another remarkable statement:  “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world” (vs. 32).  So, again, we see Christians sinning pretty badly, but not losing their salvation.

Conclusion

Now, we may breathe a sigh of relief to see in Scripture that Christians can sin but are still saved. But we still may have questions as to how it could be true. So, next week, we will look at how it can be that a Christian can sin and still be saved. I look forward to seeing you then.

In case you’re new here

This blog post is part of a series titled “Renew Your Mind, Transform Your Life”, introduced on January 5, 2021. As the series continues, each succeeding post will be added to and available in the blog archives at www.maxanders.com.

If you know anyone who you think might enjoy joining us in this study, please forward this blog to them and encourage them to go to my web site (www.maxanders.com) and sign up for the free video, “Master the Bible So Well That the Bible Masters You”, available there on the home page. This will put them on my regular mailing list and they’ll receive my weekly blogs on this subject.

In addition, I am creating a new online membership site, The Change Zone, that will provide information, strategies and resources to help motivated Christians renew their mind and transform their lives. If you would like to learn more about this and get updates to know when The Change Zone will be available, click here.

I look forward to going through this life-changing journey with you.

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