Sin and Salvation

I started this study months ago and thought I would share it on my blog. It’s a long blog but I hope it challenges you.

GUTS stands for “Give up the Sin.” After salvation, I wanted to really walk in a way that pleased the Father. After 7 years of living in sexual immorality and other sins my struggle was real but I also knew that all of heaven was on my side. After three years of sexual purity, the Lord placed GUTS on my heart. I am by no means an expert. I believe things are revealed in part and this is a portion of what the Lord has allowed me to read and understand in the word. Please go to the word for yourself and test everything you read here in this blog. (All Scriptures are New King James Version)

Question: Can someone who is in sin still be saved?

Point #1 We all sin and have fallen short of the Glory of God

Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

1 John 1:8 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

As long as we live in this flesh we will sin. We all have and will sin, even after we receive salvation.

Point #2 We are saved by grace not by works (righteous actions)

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

We MUST understand salvation is a gift. It is freely given to those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We do not have to work for salvation. It is because of salvation that our works  start to line up with the word.  I dare to say Salvation is about a confession that causes a reaction in your lifestyle.

Rom 10: 9-11 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’”

We confess with our mouth and receive salvation. It is the believing in that confession that changes the way we live. With the heart one believes to Righteousness. Righteousness means living upright.

My Question to You: Who receives such a great gift and does not use it fully?

Point #3: Grace is not a license to keep sinning.

Romans 6:1-3 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?”

When we receive Jesus Christ as our lord and savior we are dead to sin and alive in Christ.

Point #4: After salvation you have been called to holy living and obedience.

1 Peter 1:13-16 “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’.”

Point #5: There is a difference between being a sinner and falling short.

Think about the words “Fall Short”. If you never reach out for Holy living, you will have nothing to fall short of.

Confession is so important. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” When we fall short of the glory of God we confess. After our confession we begin reaching for Holy living again. We overcome sin issues in our life by reaching for holiness and righteousness. 

Point #6: the life we lived before salvation should be counted to us as rubbish

Phil 3: 7-9 “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;”

So, I want to go back to the original question. Can someone who is in sin still be saved?

After reading the word I have concluded your salvation is a gift and it keeps you in a positon to be able to come to the throne of Grace when you sin. The only sin today that is a FREE ticket to hell is continued unbelief. (John 3:16) There is no sin, as long as you are alive, God cannot forgive. We have to be willing to come before God, confess sin, repent of it, and accept God’s promise of forgiveness. 

Some may ask about blaspheming the Holy Spirit. I say read the story of Paul. Some may ask about suicide and I will repeat “There is no sin as long as you are alive.” I believe that suicide is one of the greatest tools the enemy uses to kill, steal & destroy. He knows it is a sin you cannot repent from. That is why we must pray for our mind to be in Christ Jesus continually.

The real question to ask: If you are IN Christ Jesus how can you live IN sin?

You will sin while IN Christ and because you are IN Christ the Holiness of the Father will convict you of your sin. At that point you are called to WALK OUT of sin. Our confession to salvation is saying Jesus is our Lord and Savior. He is our master. When we receive salvation we are no longer slaves to sin and our flesh.

Rom 6:12; 17-23 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts… But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.  What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Sin will bring spiritual death in your life. When we sin it will not bring eternal separation from God but, like all sin, if it goes on without us repenting we will have consequences.

John 5:16-21

“If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen”

Do not make excuses to stay in sin and to keep on sinning. Keep yourself from the idols of this world. (Matthew 6:24) Grow in your confession  and make your calling in Christ sure. (2 Peter 5-10) In the end you get God so GO AFTER GOD! No, your salvation may not be taken from you, but who wants to take the chance of missing out on inheriting the Kingdom of God? Who wants to have a confession on their lips but no real transformation of the heart and mind? (Matthew 15:8)  

Allow the word to renew your way of thinking and live your life as one that is holy and acceptable to God your Father.

Rom 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”