Can I Sin So Often I That I Can’t Be A Christian?
A: We
shouldn’t let our sin keep us from accepting Christ, but we shouldn’t allow our
sin to keep us from having a deeper relationship with Him, either.
DON'T LET SIN KEEP YOU FROM COMING TO CHRIST…
God is perfect. Man is imperfect. We call this imperfection “sin” and sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). But Jesus came to pay for those sins -- past present and future -- and bridges the gap between God and man (Romans 6:23).
This is
what separates Christianity from every other religion. In every other religion
man must do the work in order to be saved. With Christianity God does the work.
You provide the sinner, Jesus provides the Savior.
Now, until we go to heaven we will sin, but when we do we can apply 1 John 1:9:
"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."
Two truths
are given here: 1) We sin 2) If we confess our sins to Christ He will forgive
us.
Here’s another verse…
"…And if
anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also
for the whole world." 1 John 2:1
In other words when sin Jesus, the Son of God, is there to plead our case to the
Father. Essentially Jesus says, "Yes, he has sinned, but I paid for those
sins."
DON'T LET SIN KEEP YOU FROM GROWING IN CHRIST…
Now let’s
balance this. In Romans 6 Paul asks, “Shall
we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” He answers his own question this
way, “By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Jesus
said, “If you love Me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)
When we sin we are out of fellowship with Jesus. And when we sin we
put the Lord in a position where He may be forced to deal with our disobedience
(Hebrews 12:6). When we sin we need to repent (1 John 1:9), ask Christ to
help us to commit this sin no more and resume fellowshipping with our Savior,
Lord and Friend because that's what we were created to do.
* For further study:
- How
To Be Friends With God
http://www.biblestudyplanet.com/s23.htm
- From
Slaves Of Sin To Slaves Of God
http://www.biblestudyplanet.com/s56.htm
-
Breaking Bad Habits
http://www.gty.org/IssuesandAnswers/archive/habit.htm