Shall We Continue in Sin?
Guest post by Chase Green.
One of the greatest spiritual blessings that is located in Christ (Eph. 1:3) is the status of being forgiven that is granted to Christians.
The Bible teaches that by grace we are saved through faith (Eph. 2:8), and that salvation is not something that is merited (Titus 3:5-7).
This occurs because of God’s mercy, and is enacted upon the saved with the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5), is only possible because of Jesus Christ (Titus 3:6), and results in the justification of the saved, again described by God’s abundant grace (Titus 3:7).
Galatians 3:26-27 puts it this way: “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
When this occurs, the saved are forgiven of their sins, and begin a lifelong journey of being sanctified (or transformed) into the image of Christ (See 1 Cor. 6:11; Rom. 12:1-2).
This process begins when one obeys the Gospel, but the expectation is for the Christian to continually experience growth as he becomes more and more like the One by Whom his sins were forgiven (See Gal. 5:22-23; 2 Pet. 1:5-11; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 John 1:5-10).
All of this is made possible because of the blood of Christ (Eph. 1:7), and would not be available were it not for God’s abundant grace.
Shall We Continue in Sin?
And yet, the temptation for many is to react to this grace by assuming license to keep on living in sin. After all, the abovementioned 1 John chapter 1 clearly teaches that we all sin, and must readily admit such. (I would advise you to read 1 John in its entirety for a complete picture).
But is God’s grace so richly bestowed upon Christians a license to keep on sinning willfully? The Bible clearly answers, “No.”
In Romans 6:1-7, Paul concisely establishes the fact that access to God’s grace does not permit willful disobedience. He makes the connection to the receiving of God’s grace with the putting to death of our old life of sin, something that takes place when Christians are baptized into Christ (See also Col. 2:11-13 and Col. 3:5).
Paul writes:
“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? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.” (Romans 6:1-7)
He goes on to explain in the rest of the chapter that Christians are to not let sin reign in their lives, but are to be the bondservants of righteousness. He writes in verse 17: “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.”
One other passage of importance to this subject can be found in Hebrews chapter 10. There, in verses 19-25, the writer says:
“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
It is in the following verses that the writer shows that continual willful sin will lead to condemnation:
“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.”
The writer goes on to explain that to do such is to trample the Son of God under one’s foot, and to count the blood of Christ to be just a common thing (basically, taking Christ’s sacrifice in vain), resulting in God’s vengeance. Hebrews 10:31 then sternly reminds us: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!”
May we never regard the blood of Christ’s covenant with the saved as common, and may we never lead lives of willful and unrepentant sin.
Chase Green is a good friend that I spent some time with in preaching school - he graduated in the class before me. Chase preaches for the Marietta Church of Christ in Marietta, Oklahoma.
Chase hosts the Everyday Christian podcast with the Scattered Abroad Network.