What To Do About Sin After We Are Born Again

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." - 1 John 1:9-10

I heard a sermon this last Sunday about dealing with our sin after we are saved. The pastor said that the Book of John is about salvation and 1 John is about living the Christian life. Then he expounded on 1 John 1:9. You are most likely aware that there are two camps with respect to eternal security - once saved always saved and the other is, you can lose your salvation once you have it. I, personally, am in the first camp. And so, what I am going to write about is what to do with sin when we sin as Christians.

First - Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that we must be born again by the Spirit. He referred to two events in our lives - the natural birth and the spiritual birth. He didn't qualify the new birth with the caveat that if you sin again - ever - you will have to be born again and again and again.  Later in John chapter 10 Jesus told the religious leaders that His sheep belong to Him and no one else and He is not letting them go. 

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand." - John 10:27-29

No one can change that.  "NO ONE" is all inclusive BTW. That means that once I am a child of God - it is a done deal and cannot be undone by anyone - even me, the person in question. I hasten to add that there are many people who are religious but, like Nicodemus, have not been born again by faith. They have never been in the Father's hand, are not one of the sheep, but do associate with the sheep. Maybe every Sunday even. Since they have never been saved, they can't lose something they never had.

If a Christian sins but there seems to be no eternal consequence - ugh! as I am writing this I realize how deep this can go and I must resist - this is a BLOG post not a book! Is that to say that sin doesn't matter after you are saved? Paul addressed this in Romans chapter 6.

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?" - Romans 6:1-3

The suggestion here is an acknowledgement that we will continue to sin but we should not abandon ourselves to sin. Since we are saved by grace it doesn't matter how we live and what we do. WRONG!! We have been called to be salt and light. We been sanctified by the Spirit though faith and are, each one, temples where the Spirit resides. 

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" - 1 Corinthians 6:19

As we travel through this life we will sin and that does impact our walk but not our salvation. I am reminded of Jesus washing the Disciples' feet. 

"Then He [Jesus] came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean" - John 13:6-10

Jesus' point was that once saved our "feet" will pick up dust along the road (we will sin) and we need to wash our feet - but not our whole body. So bring that into the context of 1 John 1:9. We need to confess our sins (wash our feet) so that our relationships and our witness will not be hampered. The Spirit, who is in us, will convict us of our sins. 

"And when He [the Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" - John 16:8

And when conviction comes, and it will even if we resist it, we must confess - which means to agree with God - and get our feet clean again.  That requires surrender - just like Peter. I suspect that there are a good number of Christians that carry a sack-full of unconfessed sin and then they approach God as if they have clean hearts and clean hands. Maybe they don't see the need when they approach a holy God. And if they don't see the need, perhaps it is because they have no part with Jesus to begin with.

I will leave you with a question to consider - What do you think happens if a Christian dies with unconfessed sin? With dirty feet?  

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone