The DeGRAFF FREE
State Route 235/
Phone: (937) 585-4463
James R. Roby, Pastor
"Sin and the Life of the Believer"
by Pastor
James R. Roby
"And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." (2 Timothy 2:19). There are many, many folks who name the name of Christ and yet show little to no evidence that they are truly saved. Their mouths say one thing, while they lives say something entirely different! Some are even blatant in their sinning...showing no concern at all for the things of God. They seldom attend church, continue to "social" drink, swear and cheat, etc. and yet they claim to be born again.
The question begs to be asked, ‘Is every person who claims to be a Christian REALLY a Christian?’ The answer is, unfortunately, ‘No.’ There are multitudes of people who claim to love Jesus Christ and be born again who really aren’t saved at all. "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." (Titus 1:16). According to God’s Word, there are those who profess (claim) to know God...but who, in reality, deny Him. This is evidenced by the way they live their lives! Jesus said, "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in Heaven" (Matthew 7:21). It is not the ones who SAY that Jesus Christ is Lord with their mouths, it is the ones who truly HAVE Jesus as their Lord (this is evidenced by their lives...doing the will of God). True believers live for the Lord and obey Him.
In contrast, unsaved people (even very religious people!) love their sin and the darkness that they dwell in. "...This is the condemnation, that Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19). Loving sin is the trait of an unsaved man. Even in his deepest religious observance, he wants to cherish his sin and remain in spiritual dark- ness. The religious-but-lost person is an expert at making excuses for his sinning lifestyle. The Bible is very clear in its teaching that, when a man is truly saved, his life is radically changed. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; and behold all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17). What are we to think, then, about those who claim to be saved, and yet, their lives remain much the same as before? In order to be Biblically consistent, we would have to say that those people do not know Jesus Christ! If a person is not bothered by habitual sin, then something is wrong. Many seem to point back to a past event where they prayed a prayer, or got sprinkled, confirmed, or joined a church. To them, their lifestyle has no bearing at all on whether they are right with God or not. Some others attempt to turn the grace of God into lasciviousness (a license to sin), as they go on sinning while claiming a home in Heaven at the end of this life. (Jude 4). The Apostle Paul addressed this kind of problem when the Holy Ghost inspired him to write, "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?" (Romans 6:1-2). To be sure, we are saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ...APART FROM WORKS.
However, when God extends His grace and saves a man...He changes that man and makes him radically different than he was before. We are not saved by works, but we are saved UNTO good works. (Ephesians 2:10). No true child of God remains comfortably in his sin and selfishness. He has been indwelt by the Lord Jesus Christ, the mighty power of God has broken sin’s bondage and he has been set free! The change is so radical, that Jesus called it being "BORN AGAIN!" The true believer is the temple of the Holy Ghost, and it becomes impossible for him to be insensitive to sin. The Spirit of God produces a despising of iniquity in his heart. The Bible contrasts the believer and the lost person in this way: "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit..." (Romans 8:5). It is not possible, then, for a saved man to allow sin to go unchallenged in his life. The true believer will hate sin and will trust the shed blood of Jesus Christ for victory over that thing in just the same way as he trusted Christ for salvation. When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross, He purchased everything we will ever need there. This includes victory over sin. "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." (Romans 6:14). This, of course, does not mean that the Christian is sinless. But it does mean that he has access to victory through what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross. We are not under the Law (Old Testament) but under Grace (New Testament: after the Cross). The same shed blood that broke the penalty of sin for us, can also break the power of sin in our lives.
We need to trust Christ every day for victory just as we trusted Him for
salvation. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so
walk ye in Him" (Colossians 2:6). If you are a true believer in
Christ Jesus, you can find victory over sin at the cross. "Thou
shalt call His name Jesus: for He will save His people
FROM their sins." (Matthew
1:21). The saved man knows when he has sinned, acknowledges it, and
begs God for mercy and forgiveness. On the other hand, the religious un- saved
man enjoys his sin, makes excuses for it, and is horribly off- ended if it is
suggested that he is a sinner. Some few religious fanatics even claim that they
never sin. The religiously lost are experts at denying that they have a sin
problem, and are among the most difficult to win to Christ! "If we
say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us"
(1 John 1:8). Notice the Apostle John writes, "If we" (‘we’
meaning the Apostle John and the Christians who read his epistle) "say
that we have" (not had, but have present tense) "no
sin" (there’s no use denying it, we should agree with God
against ourselves, come to the cross and get victory) "we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us" Plainly, a man who excuses
or denies his sin, is NOT SAVED. Every man should examine himself in the light
of God’s Word. If he is truly saved, Jesus Christ will be clearly evident
in his life. If he is lost, sin will be the pattern of his living.
