Hebrews 10:26-27
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
To be a Christian is to put one's trust in the saving blood of Jesus Christ. The Messiah died as the substitute for all believer's, and He took on the wrath of God which we all, as sinners, rightly deserve (1 John 2:2). There's no act or work that anyone can do to save themselves from God's wrath. All someone can do to inherit the gift of salvation is believe that Jesus already paid the price for their sins. It is written, "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
So, if all someone has to do to inherit salvation is believe in Jesus and what He did, does that mean people can do whatever they want after they are saved? No. It is not right for children of light to continue walking in darkness.
If I say I put my trust in God, that means I believe Jesus is Lord over all. If, however, I don't honor God's lordship over me, I might not actually be saved. Jesus is Lord, and lords have commands for their subjects. To say I believe God is who He says He is, means I should respect His position of authority over me. If I follow my Lord's commands, I show my faith in Him. This is one reason why it is written, "faith without works is dead" (James 2:14-26). A dead faith does not save.
It is not possible for someone to lose their salvation (Romans 8:29-30), but it is possible for someone to feign their faith in Christ, pretend they are a Christian or even deceive themselves. The Bible speaks that this world is full of false believers who "will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves" (2 Peter 2:1b). There are also people who say they are Christians, and then walk away from their faith, but these people were never really Christians (1 John 2:19). There are even people who think they are saved to the point of going before God saying, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and in Your name drive out demons and in Your name perform many miracles?" and God will look at them and say, "‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!" (Matthew 7:22-23).
I state this as a warning. If you claim to be a believer in Christ, and yet you continue to practice and even enjoy what you know to be sin, you should be discouraged in your actions. It's true that those who are saved do continue to sin (1 John 1:8), but it is also true that those who make a practice of sinning are lawless and wicked (1 John 3:4). Paul wrote to those in Rome, "Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Romans 6:1-2). The world is under the curse of sin, and it wants us to keep sinning. This is why John writes to his followers, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever" (1 John 2:15-17).
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| The world longs for you to live in your sin, but you can fight your sinful desires by trusting God's word. |
Sinning is following the desires of our sinful natures, our flesh. The desires of the flesh are at war against what Christ desires (Galatians 5:17). For someone to knowingly give in to the desires of the flesh and still believe they are a Christian is self deception. Living this way is described as "trampling the Son of God" and insulting the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29). A terrible punishment awaits those who do this. Galatians chapter 5 verses 19 to 21 reads, "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Delighting in sin is wicked, and all the wicked go to the realm of the dead (Psalm 9:17). Don't test this, because to be proven wrong is to burn in hell forever (Matthew 25:46).
Be of sober mind. God did not breathe these words in vain. "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God" (Hebrews 10:26-27). If you have received salvation in Christ, then stay away from your sin and anything that may cause you to sin.
What should we, as believers, do now that we are saved? Jesus said it best. We have been made well by being released from God's wrath, so we must stop practicing our sin or something worse may happen to us (John 5:14).
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