The Sin/Repentance Cycle

When paying a return visit to Steve Fuller’s Living by Faith website, I discovered a video post on The Danger of Continuing in Known Sin. It’s long, about 14 minutes, but at the bottom there were links to two articles he’s written on the topic. I thought we would look at Part One here, and then Part Two tomorrow. Click the title below to read this at source, read the comments, or connect to the forums. Either way, take a deep breath and dive in!

Can I Deliberately Keep Sinning and Still Be Forgiven?

A Waterfall Of Grace

Imagine that it’s 120 degrees outside.  Hot.

But then imagine that you are standing under a waterfall — cool, clear, and refreshing.  Aaaah.

Through trusting Jesus Christ you are standing under a waterfall of grace —

• All your sins are forgiven — past, present, and future.
• You are seen by God as clothed in Jesus’ perfect righteousness.
• God is your Father — loving you, guiding you, providing for you, satisfying you in Himself.
• God continues to forgive your sins day after day, year after year — forgiven, forgiven, forgiven, forgiven.
• God will keep you persevering in faith so you will surely enter heaven.
• God will supply everything you need for the rest of your life.
• God will ordain everything in your future to bring you the greatest joy in Him.

A waterfall of grace.

But This Raises A Question

Does grace mean someone can deliberately keep sinning and still end up in heaven?

One passage that speaks directly to this question is Hebrews 10:26-31.

Verse 26 is sobering —

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.

What Does That Mean?

What does it mean to go on sinning deliberately?

“Sinning” means disobeying clear commands of Scripture — which would include unforgiveness, sexual immorality, and love of money.

So — if yesterday you harbored unforgiveness against someone, does that mean you can never be forgiven?  Not at all.

Notice that the author is not just talking about “sinning.”  He’s talking about “going on sinning deliberately.”

The words “going on” and “deliberately” mean that you are continuing in this sin without confessing it, without sorrowing over it, without battling it.

So if yesterday you harbored unforgiveness against someone, but today confessed that to the Lord and by faith fought to overcome it — then you are NOT “going on sinning deliberately.”

But — if yesterday you harbored unforgiveness against someone, and today you are continuing in that unforgiveness without confessing it and without fighting by faith to forgive them — then you ARE “going on sinning deliberately.”

Which means that unless something changes, there no longer remains a sacrifice for your sins.

What Does That Mean?

The author explains in the rest of the passage.  If, after receiving the knowledge of the truth, you go on sinning deliberately, then —

• V.27 says you would face “a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire.”
• V.29 says you would face a “worse punishment” than death.
• V.30 says you would face God’s “vengeance,” and that He would “judge” you.
• And v.31 says “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

I don’t see any way around it.  If, after receiving the knowledge of the truth, you go on sinning deliberately, then you will not end up in heaven.  You will face God’s judgment forever.

But Be Careful

At this point you could draw a very wrong, and very dangerous, conclusion.

Let’s say you are NOT going on sinning deliberately.  Not that you are perfect, but you are trusting Christ, which includes fighting sin by faith.  You often overcome sin.  And when you do sin, you turn back to Christ, confess your sin, and return to the fight.

So you are NOT going on sinning deliberately.  But you could let this passage make you fear that someday you might start going on sinning deliberately, which would mean facing God’s judgment forever.

But I’ve got good news for you.  If today you are trusting Christ — then YOU WILL NEVER FACE THIS JUDGMENT.

Because if today you are trusting Christ, which includes fighting sin by faith, that shows that God has saved you. And because God has saved you, He will —

• complete the good work He started in you (Phil 1:6),
• keep you from stumbling so far that you face eternal judgment (Jude 1:24-25),
• not let anything (not even you) snatch you from His hand (John 10:28-29).

So no one who is saved by God will experience the judgment described in Heb 10:26-31.

But you might wonder — hadn’t the people described in Heb 10:26-31 been saved?

Hadn’t they “received the knowledge of the truth” (Heb 10:26)?  Yes, but that does not mean they were saved.  Because the parable of the four soils shows that there is a shallow way to receive the word that does not include faith in Christ (Mark 4:1-20).

And hadn’t they been “sanctified” (Heb 20:29)?  Yes, but that also does not mean they were saved.  Because the word “sanctified” can mean something less than salvation (see 1 Cor 7:14-16).

So how can anyone know for sure they have been saved?  We are saved by faith alone in Christ alone (Eph 2:8-9).  So, to be assured of salvation, turn from whatever else you have been trusting to satisfy you, and trust Jesus Christ to forgive you, strengthen your weak faith, help you battle sin, and satisfy you in Himself.

If your trust is sincere, then you will want to fight sin by faith, and you can be fully assured that God has saved you.  Which means He will keep you persevering in faith to the end.  Which means you will never face the judgment described in Heb 10:26-31.  Never.

But What If You Are Not?

What if you are not fighting sin by faith?  What if you are going on sinning deliberately?

Lord willing, I’ll talk about this more in my next blog post.

But for now, understand that if you are going on sinning deliberately, then unless something changes, you will face God’s judgment forever.

But — if you will turn to Jesus now and confess your sin, admit your helplessness, ask His forgiveness, and trust Him to forgive you, strengthen you, help and satisfy you — He will.

And you’ll be under the waterfall of His grace — and kept there — forever.

Do Not Sin; But if You Sin…

A year ago we introduced you to Don Costello at the blog Theophobic. Don takes an expository approach — phrase by phrase — and blogs in a style not unlike what you might find in a detailed Bible commentary. He’s been blogging since 2006 and has about 1,500 posts.  Click here to read this at source, and then click the header at the top of his page to look around at other recent articles. (We’ve left all references here in KJV, which Don uses. Feel free to look up each reference in the Bible you are most comfortable with.)

1 John 2:1

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

a. This study is going to upset some apple carts so fasten your seatbelts because for some of you it is going to be a bumpy ride.

1. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not…”

a. Translations
1). [NLT] My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin.2). [NIV] My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.

3). [NASB] My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.

4). [RSV] My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin;

b. What are the things he wrote in order that we should not sin?

1). 1 John 1:5-10 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

b. It is extremely clear what John is saying. He said, I am writing this to you so that you do not sin, but he also made abundantly clear that everyone has sinned and no one is without sin, but he wrote all that to say that we should not sin. The grace of God provided in the New Covenant provides us with forgiveness and mercy for our sins, but it also provides us with empowerment not to sin, that is what John was saying. The body of Christ in American culture has a perverted view of grace and salvation in Christ. Too many believers have the opinion, “I am just a sinner saved by grace.” On the authority of the word of God I tell you that is not true and you should not have that opinion of yourself. You are saints! Yes saints,  for that is what the Scriptures call us. If you are a born again Christian you are not “just a sinner saved by grace”, you are a saint!

1). Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

2). Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

c. The warnings in the Scriptures concerning having an exalted opinion of oneself are clear and here are a few of them.

1). Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

2). 1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

d. In this study I will not be referring to having an exalted opinion of ourselves, but rather what the word of God says about us and what it says about the opinion we should have of ourselves in Christ.

e. The opinion I am to have is the mind of Christ, a part of the inheritance we have in Christ Jesus.

1). 1 Corinthians 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

2). The mind of Christ.

a). 1 Peter 4:1, 2 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

b). Jesus had the attitude that he was not going to sin against his Father God and that is the opinion and mental attitude that we also should have. We are not going to sin against God

3). Notice what Paul writes concerning what our opinion should be concerning sin

a). Romans 6:1-14 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
For he that is dead is freed from sin.Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under graceb). In the above passage Paul writes under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost: God forbid that we would sin; we should not serve sin; we are freed from sin; we are not to let sin reign in our bodies; We are to reckon (consider) ourselves dead to sin; sin shall not have dominion over us because we are under grace. What? Sin shall not have dominion over us because we are under grace? But what we hear mostly is the part of grace that Christ has borne my sins and I am forgiven of them and when I sin, I can ask forgiveness and he forgives me in grace given to me because of what he did on Calvary. All of that is true.4). Sin will not have dominion over me because I and under grace. Everything I need to live a victorious in Christ is given to me through the knowledge of God.

a). 2 Peter 1:2-4 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

5). The grace of God teaches us and empowers us to live free from ungodly lusts free from all iniquity.

a). Titus 2:11-15  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

2. “…And if any man sin…”

a. Too many in the body of Christ have a sin consciousness, they believe that even though they are Christians they will continue to sin, it is a fact of life you can’t get away from it, you are just a sinner saved by grace and when we sin we repent, ask God to forgive us and we go on, but that is not what the New Covenant says.

1). 1 Corinthians 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not: for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

2). 1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

3. “…we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”

a. advocate [3875 * parakletos][an intercessor, consoler:–advocate, comforter.]

b. In the New covenant we have been given grace that empowers us not to sin against God, but if we sin we then have an advocate where we can ask forgiveness.

1). Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

2). 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us form all unrighteousness.