Psalm 130:3-4 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
Our eternal destination is not determined by our sin, but by our Savior. If no good work can earn salvation, then no evil work can forfeit our salvation. All Christians commit sin. We are saved, not because we stop sinning, but because we trust in the One who never sinned.
Thinking to Believe 
October 6, 2020 at 3:23 am
Jason, how would you put the following passage into context with your article?
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Hebrews 10:26-29 KJV
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October 6, 2020 at 7:37 am
Jason, well put. This is a critically important concept for us to understand.
Thank you.
Naz
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October 15, 2020 at 7:28 am
John, not to fear, this passage is referring to people that reject the blood of Christ. In context it’s referring to the Jews specifically although obviously it applies to all unbelievers. The sin the author is talking about is the sin of unbelief. If you read Hebrews, that is the only sin that is constantly being referred to.
This epistle is written to the Hebrews imploring them to believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah. This is not about losing your salvation because you sin “willfully”. When’s the last time you sinned by accident !
As Jason put it so nicely, we are not saved because we stop sinning. That’s not the gospel. We stop sinning because we are saved. That’s the gospel.
Context is King.
Best regards,
Naz
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October 15, 2020 at 10:23 am
Naz,
Thanks for the thoughtful response. I’ll go back and read Hebrews with your explanation mind. At first glance, it seems reasonable.
-JM
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October 15, 2020 at 12:26 pm
John, I would only add to Naz’s comment that the context of the book is the danger of Jewish Christians apostatizing by abandoning faith in Jesus by reverting to the Mosaic Law. The willful sin the author speaks of is apostasy, not the run of the mill sins that Christians commit.
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October 16, 2020 at 7:42 am
To comment on Jason’s comment, we should also consider that these Jews that return to the Law heard about Christ but were probably on the fence and never really accepted him.
A good analogy is going down the food isles at a supermarket and tasting free samples but never actually buying the product. I don’t believe these people were ever saved. I think they heard the gospel, considered it and reverted back to the Mosaic Law as Jason said.
We must consider that it may takes weeks, months and even years for people to come to faith in Christ. For many it is a process that takes time for the gospel to finally stick. It is during this time that these Jews decided to stay with the Law and reject Christ.
The whole concept of apostasy is I think another discussion, however it blends well into the topic of this post as Jason nicely stated :
“Our eternal destination is not determined by our sin, but by our Savior. ”
We must ask if there is nothing we can do to earn or lose our salvation then how can apostasy, as we understand it, be true ? It would seem that apostasy is an oxymoron given that a believer is “sealed” with the Holy Spirit.
I strongly believe that a person that is sealed with the Holy Spirit cannot walk away from Christ and “forfeit” his salvation.
Naz
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November 17, 2020 at 1:55 pm
What do you folks think of the following passage in the context of the above conversation?
“9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
If salvation is not attained through abstinence from sin, then how do you explain the “such *were* some of you” statement in verse 11?
One theory that comes to mind is that this is a matter of identity. Perhaps in the eyes of God there’s a difference between someone who gets drunk and someone who is a drunkard. The redeemed is not identified by his sin because of his new identity “in Christ”. It seems clear by observation that the New Birth experience does not usually produce immediate deliverance from sin behavior (though I can think of a few exceptions). Sanctification seems to be an ongoing process that involves successes and failures, but never ultimate perfection. So, to clarify my theory, the redeemed are not immune to committing the sins listed in verse 11, but they are not condemned by them, so long as they continue in faith in redemption through Christ.
Do you agree?
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January 19, 2021 at 12:36 pm
Another passage which I’m unsure how to explain under the presumption that salvation is independent from behavior:
“19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Galatians 5:19-21
The implication is that engaging in those activities forbids the partaker from entering the Kingdom. Are we to assume that those people don’t have faith, the absence of faith precludes them from heaven, and therefore it is faithlessness and not behavior itself that leaves them on the outside? Any thoughts on how to explain this in the context of our discussion?
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January 26, 2021 at 8:55 am
These are good questions, John M. You are right that sanctification is an ongoing process. We never become sinless this side of heaven, but that is what we are striving for. Christians should be striving to obey God and cease sinning, but when we do sin, there is forgiveness. I wrote a paper on the relationship between justification and sanctification that you might find helpful: http://www.onenesspentecostal.com/justsanct.htm.
Let me also share something from an upcoming blog post I have written on the subject:
That’s not to say that God is unconcerned when we sin or that good works don’t matter. He is concerned, and good works do matter. The reason God saved us is so that we could live a life of good works rather than evil. But we have to understand that we do good works – not to get saved or stay saved – but to please the one who saves us by His mercy alone.
Someone can be lost, but it won’t be caused by their sin. It will be caused by their lack of trust in God. Hebrews 3:12-13 is particularly clear on this matter: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” It is an unbelieving heart that causes us to apostatize, but that unbelieving heart became unbelieving and hardened by sinning. … Consistently choosing evil has an effect on our faith. The problem with intentional sin is not that God won’t forgive us, but rather than eventually we will stop seeking forgiveness because sin erodes our faith.
I hope this helps!
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