Do Christians Sin?
Short Answer: NO.
However… this is a loaded question so let me explain. I recently sat under a sermon wherein it was stated that Christians do in fact sin sadly from “time to time” and that somehow there is a mystical state wherein a person may sin and still be saved, some estate of special grace where a person can disobey God and be right with God at the same time. The ministers of this view state that to think other than this is “pride”, that if you don’t sin from time to time then you are proud. The atonement view of those who hold to this perspective believe Jesus death was of such a nature that even future sins of believers have been already paid for in some sense and therefore present sin in believers has no effect on their salvation, but only their “relationship” with God. You can have a broken relationship with God and still be in a state of salvation, you can be disobedient, albeit only from “time to time”, and still be told “well done” at the gates.
I wholeheartedly disagree with this perspective, though i do in fact admit that it is “possible” for Christians to sin, NOT a given that they “do” or that they “will” and that if they do there is ability for them to be reconciled again like the Bible says (James 5:19-20). The bible never states anywhere that sin is a given in the life of even young believers, sin in the life of the believer is always spoken of in past tense terms, such as Romans 6:6, “We know that our old self WAS crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”, or Galatians 2:20, “I HAVE BEEN crucified with Christ. It is NO LONGER I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I NOW LIVE in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Sin is spoken of in past tense terms for those who whose flesh has been crucified (the old man), and those who have NOW trusted in Christ, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come”, (2 Cor. 5:17). It is true that Paul wrote letters to believers calling out their sins, but the purpose Paul did that was to call them to repentance. Paul did not preach a sermon telling them that they were still saved and that Christians do in fact sin from time to time sadly, no, He called them to repentance IF the churches he wrote to had sin in them. Paul was so against sin that he said, “awake to righteousness and SIN NOT for some have not the knowledge of God, I SPEAK THIS TO YOUR SHAME”.
Concerning young men in the faith John wrote, “I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you HAVE overcome the evil one”, (1 John 2:14). Often times in Christian circles I think we use seemingly young christians to describe this idea that there is an experience of simultaneous sinfulness and salvation in early belief. Rather i think we are looking at false converts mistakenly in that instance. Salvation has not come into the life of a person, who has not had a change of relationship towards sin. What even is repentance if one can still have sin every now and again in their life yet they say they have repented? Repentance itself is a change of mind, towards the life of sin against God. How can you have repented while continuing in the sins you say you repented of? Thats what the Bible calls hypocrisy.
It is true in the life of early belief that one struggles much more in some ways than after they begin to mature in the faith. “Weights and sins” we must always be aware have the potential to “easily beset us” (Hebrews 12:1). It is possible that a believer could get their eyes off of faith, off of God and on the flesh. “IF any man sin”, we have an advocate to the Father, Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1). If a man falls back, that is he sins and does not repent but continues in a state of unrepentance over that specific sin he committed, then it is possible for him to fall away, and that falling away process begins from the moment he gives his mind over to the sin before he even commits it (Hebrews 6:4-6). In other words, a man is saved by faith, but sin is the opposite of faith, it is unbelief (Hebrews 3:12). A man turns from his belief in Christ to commit sin, or has already had his mind open and unguarded in order to allow temptation to allure him into the trap of sin. Sin is not an oopsie, mistake, or boo boo that we all just do. Sin is described as rebellion, evil, wickedness, carnality, etc in the Bible. But believers who have truly trusted in Christ no longer have a carnal mind, but a spiritual mind, the Bible goes so far to say that they have been given the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). Sin may have the potential to easily beset us, but that doesn’t mean that it should or even that it does in believers who are walking with God.
Is there a mystical state of grace wherein one can be in sin and in salvation at the same time? Many have used this to argue that people who have committed suicide who claimed Christ still went to heaven, even though they may admit suicide is murder and therefore sinful, well we all sin they say, its all under the blood, so its okay, they still went to heaven. In my opinion WRONG.
What is grace? Is grace a blanket to cover Gods eyes from our behavior? Is grace a license to sin? NO! “God forbid” Paul said in Romans 6:1. He continues, “how can we who ARE DEAD to sin live any longer in it?”. Paul describes what grace is very plainly in Romans 6. To abide in grace is to abide in newness of life that leads us to living holy, therefore we live a new life which can no longer be under or condemned by the law (Romans 6:11-14). “What the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteousness standard of the law MIGHT BE FULFILLED IN US WHO WALK NOT AFTER THE FLESH BUT AFTER THE SPIRIT”, (Romans 8:3-4). Many a minister seek to teach that our position with God has been radically changed in salvation and they are correct, but they dont go far enough! Something has also changed IN us. Our stony heart has been changed, the bondage to sin broken, the mind set on spiritual things and instantly one’s relationship to sin is forever changed.
Jude warned in Jude 1:4 that there would come teachers of a type of doctrine that made Gods grace, his power to change us to a life free from sin, as only a covering for sin therefore rendering His grace a license of permission to sin. This is what American culture thinks christians mean when we say the word grace, they think we mean it is a covering, or a sort of “its okay guys i understand your just human” kind of attitude in the Father. But nothing could be further from the truth. Is there a mystical estate wherein a person could be in Christ and sin and still remain in Christ at the sametime?
I ask back, what is it to be “in Christ”? The bible says to be so is to be a “new creature”. What is “faith”? The bible says it is entirely the opposite of unbelief. What is salvation? The bible says transformation whereby the works of the devil may be destroyed in my life and that i should no longer serve sin. Is being “in” Christ some mystical estate? NO. To be “in Christ” is to have His mind, obeying His will, doing His ways. Its not something your either “in or out of”, its who you are in your heart. Im of the opinion, based of the Bible, that if any man sin, at any point, no matter how many times or how much or how often, that he must repent and return to God after that sin in order to establish his walk with God again, and that if he does not then he is abiding in a state of whats called impenitence, as the holy spirit comes to his refuses the advocate, he refuses to call on christ for cleansing and forgiveness. Each time a believer sins, if they sin, God expects them to return, confess, and look to Christ for cleansing from it inwardly and forgiveness from its condemnation. Each sin, and just one sin, has the power to damn a soul to Hell. and each sin, if new sin exists, must be addressed through repentance or any soul, regardless of what it claims to be, enters into an estate of being unrepentant and ultimately lost. We know this plainly, the Holy Spirit comes to the believer who has sinned and warns him that if he does not repent then he will be lost. I have never had the holy spirit tell me if i have sinned that it was somehow okay, or i was still saved even though i have sinned. I have always felt the sting of conviction and the urgency to repent and return to God immediately.
I think this is why the Bible states “few” will be saved, that salvation is a “narrow way and few there be who find it”. The broad road loves the doctrine that one can be in sin and in salvation at the same time. The narrow way knows this simply does not sound right and cannot be true. The narrow way knows when it has stepped away from God to even one sin, no matter how big or small, that a return and repentance to God is necessary yet again to restore relationship and salvation. Such instances should be rare or not happen at all in the life of a believer, the idea that sin is common or average experience in the life of a believer is what makes the above position i propose to be so ludicrous sounding. How many bowls of soup did Esau trade for his birthright? ONLY ONE!. Yes believer, one sin separates you from God. ONE sin drives a wedge between your heart and faith. This is why the Bible pleads with you to “SIN NOT”, that it is indeed a “straight and narrow way”.
What hope is there in trusting in Christ? All the hope in the world! He is able to “keep you FROM falling and to present you faultless before the throne of His grace” (Jude 1:24-25). He knows how to deliver the Godly OUT of temptations (2 Peter 2:9). No temptation has taken you but what is common to man and God IS FAITHFUL WHO WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO BE TEMPTED ABOVE WHAT YE ARE ABLE TO BARE” (1 Cor. 10:13). Can you believe the above 3 verses? If yes then you never have an excuse to sin, and you can then begin to see why one sin is enough to damn you. If God makes you a way out then He intends that you take it! If you don’t then you reap the consequences of sowing to the flesh, and that my friend whether you call yourself a christian or not is destruction (Galatians 6:8).
Conclusion: Do christians sin? No. Can they sin? Its possible. What if they sin? Return, Repent, call on Christ for cleansing. If they dont? Then they abide in the sinful estate of unrepentance, this is an estate of unbelief, not belief. Is there a mystical estate of being in sin and in salvation at the sametime? No. Is sin or obedience to God pride? Sin is always described as pride, never consistent unbroken obedience to God. Will you hear “well done” if you didnt do well? No. This is serious business friends, please dont play games with your soul!
Public Proclaimer Ministries 