Will I Lose My Salvation if I Keep Sinning?
I’m just gonna say it: it is not God’s will for you to live in sin.
“Wait, Paul. I thought you were a grace preacher. Aren’t you supposed to accept people just as they are? Aren’t you supposed to be inclusive and forgiving like Jesus?”
Look, I get it. Grace attracts sinners. Why do you think tax collectors and prostitutes were drawn to Jesus?
He loved them. He accepted them. He also set them free.
Since I preach radical grace, I often hear from people who are fooling around with sin. Some are looking for help in overcoming sin, but most want an assurance that God will continue to love them despite their bad behavior.
Here are my responses to five commonly asked questions:
1. Will God love me if I keep sinning?
Yes, absolutely.
I know this is not what manmade religion has told you, but you need to know that God’s love for you is unaffected by your moral performance.
There are many variables in life but God’s love is the one constant you can bank on. You can be certain that God loves you.
A better question to ask is, “Do you know and enjoy his love?” The prodigal’s father loved him constantly but the prodigal did not know and benefit from his love for as long as his attention was elsewhere.
Every one of us has needs. These needs are meant to lead us to Jesus. If you’re not getting your needs met in Jesus, you will make inferior choices – and this is where the trouble starts.
2. Does God’s grace mean I can continue to live in sin?
No. Grace brings freedom and yes, that includes the freedom to make poor choices, but if you use your freedom to enslave yourself to sin or religion, you have missed the point of grace (Gal. 5:1).
A Christian who runs after sin is like a prisoner who has been released by a gracious king, who uses his freedom to re-offend and do all the things that got him imprisoned in the first place. Now our King is extremely gracious. He won’t send you back to prison. But you may send yourself there.
Jesus didn’t give his life as your ransom just so that you run back to the clay-pits of Egypt. Egypt is history. You’ve got places to go. Move on to the Promised Land of his love.
3. Will I lose my salvation if I keep sinning?
No. Jesus is your salvation and the Holy Spirit is your eternal guarantee (2 Cor. 1:22). If sinning caused us to lose our salvation, heaven would be empty.
But the question troubles me. Religion has got us so obsessed with making heaven and avoiding hell that we’ve put life on hold.
The earth is not a waiting room for eternity. This is where Real Life begins (John 17:3).
Don’t put your life on hold by living captive to the flesh. Salvation is not there and then, but here and now.
God’s will is for you to experience heaven-on-earth today. But choose the way of sin and you’ll experience hell-on-earth.
Religion would have us frame the questions of life in terms of good and evil. “Shouldn’t we do good and avoid evil?” This is fruit from the wrong tree. It’s not that the question above is inherently bad, it just won’t lead you to the right Answer.
Grace is the antidote to the poison of sin. Now that you’ve been saved from death, stop drinking the poison. Drink from the well of his life.
4. If my salvation is secure, why can’t I keep doing what I’m doing?
Because sinning is stupid. Like texting on the freeway. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
The world will tell you that “if it feels good, do it” and “as long as it’s harming no one, what’s the problem?” These are flawed mantras. Sin carries a hefty price tag. Live from your feelings and you’ll end up enslaved to your appetites. You will be a shadow of your real self.
Understand that I am not calling you to take a vow of chastity. Following Jesus is not about starving the flesh. Following Jesus is about reckoning yourself dead to the world and allowing him to live his life through you.
“As long as it’s harming no one…”
This line usually comes from those who are fooling around. How do you know it’s not harming no one? Do you have perfect knowledge of the future? Do you know for sure that the lady you’re keeping house with is going to be your wife and not the wife of another? Will she be the mother of your children or the mother of someone else’s children?
If you are certain that she will be your wife for life, marry her. If you’re uncertain, stop playing games and man up. People are too precious to fool around with.
5. I can’t help myself. I’m not sure that I could stop even if I wanted to.
That’s not a question but a declaration of unbelief in the liberating grace of God.
Perhaps you are enslaved to sin. You’re in so deep that you can’t see the sun. But that doesn’t mean you are without help and without options.
Your Maker is your Helper, and no one is beyond the reach of his transforming love and grace.
I’ve met countless people who have been changed by his grace. This happens all the time. But transformation rarely happens among those who don’t believe.
Stop playing the victim, and stop speaking lies over your life. Look to your Redeemer. Confess your true identity in Christ.
When you get up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I am my Father’s son and he loves me. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. As he is in heaven, so am I in this world.”
The world will try and tell you that you are the product of your choices and behaviors, but God says you are his beloved child. Choose who you will listen to and be who you really are.
This is not the place where I talk about overcoming sin.
But beware any message that doesn’t empower you to overcome sin. Don’t listen to those who insist on “being tough on sin” and “laying down the law.” Appeals to try harder, do better, and keep your promises never lead to lasting change because they call you to rely on the flesh. Failure, guilt and condemnation are the inevitable result.
Grace is so much better. Grace is not a set of rules to follow or a whip to keep you in line.
Grace is a victorious Overcomer living his overcoming life through you.
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Loud and clear. Thank you
“Sin is stupid!!” Bam!
Flesh can never serve Christ! Good article but we without The Holy Ghost cannot ever overcome sin. Jesus Christ did it ALL not you! NEVER forget this!! If we refrain from sinning
It is Christ in us!!!!! For ONLY I shall be glorified!
Thanks Sandra for this encouragement
I struggle with porn since 2016. I know exactly how it works but I am still addicted. I tried many things but realized that it is all about heart and mind. If you want to look at porn you will find the way even if your spouse has a password to your phone. The worst thing Is that guilt after another relapse. time and time again. Sin is deceitful. You make vows and stuff like that but then you wake up after another relapse and realize that it doesn’t work. Now I try to fucus on God and what He did , than on my works and on what I can do to stop it. I can do nothing for a long time. Only He can help and thanks Paul for this article
God bless you all
Hi Marcin, thank you for your honesty. You are right, vows definitely don’t work because we are putting our trust in the flesh. We’re putting ourselves under law. Pornography is a very destructive habit. If I may make a suggestion: when you are tempted, remind yourself who you are in your Father’s eyes. You might say something like “I am my Father’s dearly-loved child” or “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.” Keep affirming these words to yourself, even if you cross the line. And if guilt comes knocking, say them again. Don’t let your behavior define you, but remind yourself of who you truly are in Christ. That’s where the power to change is found – in his grace. Sometimes we have to preach the gospel to ourselves again and again before it takes root and starts to bear fruit. I write more about overcoming sin here.
Thanks Paul. This is what I have already started to do. I truly believe in liberating grace of God
AMEN! These are the Word of God, the Sword of the Holy Spirit. “I am my Father’s dearly-loved child” or “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.” Keep affirming these words to yourself, even if you cross the line. And if guilt comes knocking, say them again. Don’t let your behavior define you, but remind yourself of who you truly are in Christ.” … Also, you can thwart the devil’s plan by praying for these female porn “victims” by asking Jesus to save them and then become a “Victor” by them leading other fellow victims to Jesus. Rise up, New Creation, reborn from above!
Love it Paul! How liberating. This puts a great big smile on my face 😃🙌🏾✝️❤️
Here’s my response to Christians who object to Grace being an open doorway to sin:
Grace and Faith work together. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
If a Christian knows they are sinning and using Grace as an excuse, then they can’t be practising the faith required to access the Grace, i.e. “I like running red lights… it gives me a thrill”… errr then you can’t be using your faith to access the Grace required to run the red lights, as there isn’t any Word that permits it, much less encourages you to practice it.
Thoughts?
I have written a little about that here.
It’s like a caterpillar becomes butterfly(metamorphosis)!He never can’t be anymore caterpillar(as identity).Totally born-again and brand-new CREATURE!
That is a great analogy. 🙂
Yes, and amen!
A good word Paul. Thank you.
Drew
Dr. Ellis asked and answered some good questions regarding a believer who keeps on sinning. A question that was not covered could involve discipline or chastisement for that believer. Would God discipline such a person in continuous sin without showing any remorse or repentance (Hebrews 12:5-8)?
I have read of a possible sin unto death where God may take a believer home to heaven by early physical death (1 John 5:16). A believing Christian cannot lose their salvation, but could God discipline them in this way, when that sinning child of God is not honoring or glorifying Him by their persistent sin? In 1 Cor 11:30, many were punished by God for taking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner, and became weak, sick, or even died. Just a thought to consider on how God might react to one of His children who is in a pattern of persistent sin.
Good questions. You can find my responses and thoughts on those scriptures here.
Pastor Paul,
Thank you! You explained salvation and sin so clearly.
Marc : )
“Following Jesus is about reckoning yourself dead to the world and allowing Him to live His life through you.” “I am the Father’s son and He loves me. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. As He is in heaven, so am I in this world.” “Grace is a victorious Overcomer living His overcoming life through you.” I love this! Stop looking at sin. Look at Jesus. We are forgiven. Hallelujah.
But, if we truly love Him, if it’s more than words or occasional warm and fuzzy moments, then we must daily deny ourself and submit our soul life to Him for His use and pleasure. We are His, after all. And through this daily exercise of death we will find overcoming, resurrection life, even now. Loved this post. Thank you Brother Paul.
Typo detected:
1) “People too precious to fool around with.” → I think you meant “People [are] too precious”
2) “making heaven and avoiding hell” → probably you mean “making [it to] heaven”?
Thanks ATH. (1) is now fixed. (2) is intended.
I am struggling with the whole sin… I want to be free and walking in God but I am finding it hard and have no support and I can’t go to my pastors so I am stuck and I can’t see a way out and am wondering if ater 13 months of being a Christian am I truly saved
If you weren’t a Christian, you would not be struggling with these issues, so obviously you are a new creation. You are distressed by sin because it is no longer in your nature to serve that old master. You would rather live whole and holy.
I encourage you to take Paul’s advice and consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:11). When sin comes knocking, don’t open the door. When sin calls your name, don’t respond. Remind yourself that you are righteous. You are struggling because you see yourself as a victim. The truth is in Christ you are more than a conqueror. You may not feel it, but it’s true so believe it. More here.
You just summarized Romans 7.
I had this discussion with my dad once, and he told me, “You gotta keep reading, Romans 8.”
Can we just get over the notion that “sin” is something we do (or fail to do)? It’s not, our actions are simply a symptom, or a result, of sin. Of what sin really is, which is alienation. Alienated from ourselves, I think is the biggest problem. Which leads to alienation from others, and ultimately a sense of separateness from God.
The meaning of the Greek word Hamartano is “not to have a share”. In other words we consider ourselves separate from, rather than joined to, or part of God.
We think God will be pleased if we deny our own selves, make him “first” even at the expense of becoming the authentic person we are created to be. ( we were already crucified with Christ, we shouldn’t keep crucifying ourselves again, that’s unbelief in the finished work)
This is why the continual focus on our actions usually only serves to make temptations stronger and a feeling of so called sinfulness results.
Once we realize how complete is our union with God, then the symptoms fall away, our actions become much more in line with what we’ve been striving for with so much effort.
Much like alcoholism is not the problem, but a symptom of the real problem, which causes someone to overdrink. Once that problem is alleviated, (for instance through the 12 step program which addresses the alienation from God and changes it to a daily reliance on God) the symptom of needing to drink goes away
Only through Jesus the blood of the lamb thank you lord. You never leave us nor forsake us! Renew your mind in Christ and absorb his grace!