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| Bible Question: Many professing Christians do not walk the walk, do not entertain celibacy, are still drinking, still addicted, are living together, etc. I believe that when you are saved you are changed. For some, the release from addiction seems to be miraculous, in that they no longer are addicted. For others, it seems to take forever for that change to come. 1 Corinthians 3:15 gives me the impression that some Christians will smell of smoke but still be saved. My confusion is this, if someone is saved, has repented and confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior, but are continuing to commit sins (whether it is over eating, smoking, fornication, adultery, lying, thinking the wrong thoughts, pornography, omission) - sin from the smallest to the greatest still being sin - how can sin keep you out of heaven if you have received Christ? I don't understand why Christians aren't chastised to the point when they sin that they would try not to sin. I seem to be chastised if I congratulate myself for something the Lord is telling me that He did and not me. Doesn't match some of the horrendous sins we are capable of doing, but for me and God, it does. In case I am still not making myself clear, I'm not trying to make excuses for people to sin. Since we are saved by accepting Christ, all sin past present and future being forgiven at the cross, how can any sin keep us out of heaven? They have already accepted Christ and have the gift of the Holy Spirit. Since the Spirit is a seal, He's not going anywhere. So one can't be resaved. One can only repent if truly sorry. Since only God knows the heart, we really can't even say when a person is truly saved even by their actions depending on where they are in their area of growth, but positionally, are they saved? Since everyone who is saved has the Holy Spirit, I think that Jesus keeps them saved by either bringing them back to the fold or taking them out of the world as when the scriptures speak of many who got sick and died when they partook of the communion the wrong way. I don't want to come across as being judgmental or critical, but this is a real concern for me when I speak to other Christians who mention Jesus in their conversation and then talk about living with their boyfriend. I can't seem to get a hang on this. Can you help me out? Bible Answer: To answer your question we will turn to 1 John. Purpose of 1 John. The Apostle John wrote the book of 1 John to help us know if we have eternal life.
That is the purpose of the book. From the first chapter to the last chapter, the apostle provides a series of tests that a person can ask of himself/herself to determine it he/she is a real Christian. These are an important series of tests. They help a people to know if they are Christians. |
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