28 Mar Is it acceptable for a Christian to continue living in habitual sin after salvation?

Do not ever let anyone tell you that it is okay for you to continue in your sins because Jesus took care of them on the cross.

YOU WILL be held responsible for YOUR actions. No one else. People can tell you their own convictions, what they believe they have learned, and show you how they interpret scripture, but one day YOU will have to stand before the throne of the Almighty God and that person or those persons will NOT be there to back you up or give a counterargument. You must get in God’s Word and READ it. Understand it. Believe it. Realize that we are all in need of grace but that God puts expectations on us for being OBEDIENT to HIS Word.

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1 Peter 4:17-18 KJV).

The dilemma we face is that there is no fear of the Lord in us. We continue in sin so that grace may abound because we do not fear “him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28 KJV). We are desensitized to the eternal as we continue in the passionate pursuits of the flesh and lusts thereof.

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the FEAR OF GOD” (2 Corinthians 7:1 KJV).

“And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? (Deuteronomy 10:12-13 KJV).

But to walk in His ways and to love Him by keeping His commandments (John 14:15) is not burdensome (1 John 5:3), for He has written His law upon our hearts (Hebrews 10:16) and “it is God which worketh in [us] both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2: 13); therefore, we are to “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Jesus has written His law upon our hearts, and therein we walk in obedience as the Holy Spirit guides us in our convictions to turn from sin. The blood of Christ was not spilt so that sin could run rampant into wickedness.

It’s easy to say, “You know what? Don’t worry about it. Jesus took care of everything at the cross.” Which He did in the means of providing the atonement for our sins. But is it accurate to believe that there is no other expectation for you other than to believe in His name and what He did for you at the cross? Unfortunately, the truth is that there are millions in America and around the world who confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9) but wickedness in their hearts abound and they continue in their sin. So is there more to the whole picture? Absolutely. We must not be just hearers of the word, but doers of the word (James 1:22). Jesus told the adulteress that she was to go and “sin no more,” but we know that Jesus was not instructing her to never sin again because that’d be impossible. He was instructing her to flee from habitual sin and to pursue righteousness, not of her own accord, for all would fail, but by her belief in God. God’s grace saved her through her faith but faith is justified by her departing from habitual sin and living out her belief through works of righteousness (James 2:17).

Jesus prophesied that many would come face to face with Him who had confessed with their mouths and believed in their hearts that He is Lord. They would claim to have prophesied in His name, cast out devils, and done many mighty works, but Jesus will say, “Depart from me” (Matthew 7:22-23). “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the ONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 says, “For this is the WILL OF GOD [“THE WILL OF MY FATHER”], even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you SHOULD KNOW how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For GOD HAS NOT CALLED US UNTO UNCLEANNESS, BUT UNTO HOLINESS.”

Paul writes to the Galatians that the works of the flesh are clear and that “they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21). To walk in the Spirit is to be given the divine ability to overcome the sinful nature, to walk in holiness by not succumbing to the desires of the flesh. Those who walk in the flesh cannot do such things. Only those who abide in Christ by fleeing from immorality and all habitual sin can inherit the Kingdom of God. Sure, we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and therein the reason for grace and the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. He died so we could be SET FREE from the bondage of sin and death (Romans 8:2), otherwise known as the sinful nature of walking in the wickedness of the flesh. Being set free means to live in freedom from sin, not in a way of continuing in it because it’s permissible under grace, but by walking in holiness and fleeing habitual sin through the supernatural ability given to you by the power of the Holy Spirit.
So “what shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1-4).

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are THAT ONE’S slaves whom you obey, whether of SIN LEADING TO DEATH, or of OBEDIENCE LEADING TO RIGHTEOUSNESS?” (Romans 6:15-16 NKJV). “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:17 ESV).

Paul clearly outlined that if we are to live in righteousness, we are to be obedient. Without the Holy Spirit to give us the grace to overcome the habitual sin in our lives we would all miserably fail, but God gives us POWER through the Holy Spirit and we are called to crucify the flesh. “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13).

It does NOT say, “Because Jesus did the work on the cross you’re good bro. We are all sinners! I am the worst of them!”

NO! God does NOT give us the blood of Jesus and His grace so we can continue in wickedness.

“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of HOW MUCH WORSE PUNISHMENT, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy WHO HAS TRAMPLED THE SON OF GOD UNDERFOOT, counted the blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified a common thing, and INSULTED THE SPIRIT OF GRACE? For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a FEARFUL THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD” (Hebrews 10:26-31 NKJV).

Those who continue in sin after having received the knowledge of truth shall be held to a HIGHER standard than those who have not. Hebrews chapter 10 very clearly speaks to the believer. To deny this is to walk in spiritual blindness to the truth of God’s Word.

The apostle Peter spoke of the “accursed children” (2 Peter 2:14) when saying that, “if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge [belief] of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better FOR THEM NOT TO HAVE KNOWN THE WAY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, THAN HAVING KNOWN IT, TO TURN FROM THE HOLY COMMANDMENT DELIVERED TO THEM. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Peter 2:20-22 NKJV). Only Jesus Christ can wash us clean to begin with, and we can very easily forsake the Way to return to the filthiness of this world and perish therein.

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, IF THEY FALL AWAY, to renew them again unto repentance, since THEY CRUCIFY AGAIN FOR THEMSELVES THE SON OF GOD, AND PUT HIM TO AN OPEN SHAME. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears THORNS AND BRIERS, it is REJECTED and near to being CURSED, WHOSE END IS TO BE BURNED” (Hebrews 6:4-8 KJV).

We just CANNOT and SHOULD NOT continue in sin so that grace may abound. God’s Word is here as our guidebook for living holy unto God. For whereby we know He said to “BE ye holy, even as I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16 KJV), and if God our Father did not think for us to have a part in the matter He would have simply said, “ye are holy, even as I am holy,” but He invariably did NOT say this. He said to “BE” holy, by walking in the Spirit of God. For His Word says, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). “For they that are after flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is DEATH; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6 KJV). “There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that” (1 John 5:16b NKJV).

I see so many desiring to focus on the fact that all are sinners in need of a savior. Those deceiving and being deceived have begun to reconcile those of us who have been set free from the bondages of sin and death (Romans 8:2) back to the sinful nature of this world by saying (knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally, it matters little to me) WE ARE ALL JUST SINNERS. When in fact, there is a clear demarcation between life in the Spirit and that of the flesh, and the Spirit of God is here to AID us in OVERCOMING and FLEEING FROM the sinful nature of our flesh. We are called to CRUCIFY THE FLESH by turning from all lustful pursuits. “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24 KJV).

“We know that no one who is born of God sins [practices sin]; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:18-19 NASB). Now we know that John is not saying that those who are born of God do not sin at all, because he says in 1 John 1:8 that, “if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (NASB). But “hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know that we are in him (1 John 2:3-5 KJV).

“But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:22-23 KJV). Let us understand that by OUR INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST, and by our belief in HIM, we are given grace and the divine ability to walk IN THE SPIRIT by FLEEING FROM the sinful nature and CRUCIFYING OUR FLESH (abstaining from sin, not giving into the urges of the flesh). We are FREE from the bondage of sin and death BY THE GRACE OF GOD. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV). We cannot be saved by works of the law, as Jesus alone is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2) and reconciles us to God. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10 KJV).

We all invariably still sin—no one is perfect, but our INTENTIONAL sins are those that distinguish us from being OBEDIENT or REBELLIOUS. Those who are obedient are about the Lord’s business.

The prodigal son rebelled against his father by taking his inheritance and squandering it on foolish pursuits. With the money gone and likewise his hope in himself, he finally returned home to His father after being wayward. Upon returning his father rejoiced. The prodigal son repented for his sins and said, “Father, I have sinned against you and heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21). But the father was eager to forgive the waywardness of his son and said, “my son was DEAD [in his rebellion and sins] and is alive again [forgiven]; he was LOST [dead in his sins] and is found [reconciled to the father; see Romans 5:10-11]” (Luke 15:24 NKJV). Invariably the prodigal son had to return home to be found otherwise he would have remained “DEAD” and “LOST”.

God will not always supernaturally call the wayward and rebellious back home. I have loved ones who I am convinced were born again and saved by the atoning blood of Jesus, and they are still wayward and have been for over 25 years. Should I just ignore that fact to believe that no matter what they do, they will be granted eternal life? God’s Word says differently. Rebellion leads to death. And many have known God and turned away, but as we saw from reading 2 Peter 2:21, those who have known the truth and turned and walked away will be held to a HIGHER standard. It would have been better for them to have never known the truth than to face their future after having rebelled.

Even the angels themselves, not staying within their position of authority, turned from God after their own lusts and even now are held in eternal chains for that Day of Judgment (Jude 1:6). If angels, being born into the eternal promise, then fall from grace through their own disobedience, how much more shall we be held responsible for the rebellion of our hearts against God if we do not turn back to Him for mercy and grace!

Cain, having known God, turned from Him in rebellion and killed his brother. Cain was never reconciled to God for his evil heart but instead was cursed, marked, and banished from the presence of the Lord forever.

The Israelites after having believed in God for salvation from the bondage of Pharaoh later perished in the desert because of their unbelief. “Now I want to remind you, though you were fully informed once for all, that though the Lord [at one time] delivered a people out of the land of Egypt, He subsequently DESTROYED those [of them] who did not believe [who refused to adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him]” (Jude 1:5 AMP).

Again, Israel, after having believed in God to give them all the land in which He had promised, later turned from His ways to worship and sacrifice to Baal in the high places, therein securing their destruction, as the northern and southern kingdoms were destroyed.

We must forsake this world to live in the holiness of Christ by walking in HIS ways in the Spirit of God. To live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). “He must increase, but [we] must decrease” (John 3:30 KJV). Once born again into the Spirit of God, our fleshly appetites should be sacrificed for the eternal promise with Jesus Christ. We have been sealed by His Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13, 4:30) and therefore as we walk in His Spirit HIS righteousness should live through us. We should ALWAYS be about the Lord’s business, likewise forsaking the selfish pursuits of our own wants and desires. Obedience is paramount. The time is at hand for the return of the King, and so many are wandering in their sin through the darkness of this world, one saved but now truly lost. We CANNOT begin to soothe them back to sleep in their sins by forsaking the requirement for repentance and righteous living through the power of God. We have been given each a task to perform on this earth and one day we shall answer for every word and deed done here on earth. “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12 NKJV).

Remember the parable of the talents? The man [Jesus Christ] CALLED [chose, ordained] “his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods” [provision] “to every man according to his several ability” (Matthew 25:14 KJV). “Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou has not strawed: and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine” (Matthew 25:24-25).

Clearly this man was a servant of the master, as we are servants unto God, and given a task to complete. We have been given provision by God to be obedient and to perform all that He requires. What is the fate of the slothful servant who is disobedient and falls short of the expectations of the master?
“His lord answered and said unto him, thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him with hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. AND CAST YE THE UNPROFITABLE SERVANT INTO OUTER DARKNESS: THERE SHALL BE WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH” (Matthew 25:26-30 KJV).

Obedience does not save you. Grace saves through faith. But obedience is required as a child of God. If you love Him, you will obey Him and walk in His ways. You will flee from sin. You will turn from all habitual sin, and you will NOT fall into this deceptive trap of being comfortable that we are all sinners saved by grace and that it’s okay to continue as you are because we are all on our own little journey and it takes some far longer than others. This mindset will cause many to sleep comfortably in their sins until they find themselves one day in Hell. Don’t let that be you. If you walk in the Spirit of God, you are not under law but under grace. If you walk after the desires of the flesh, you will perish.