Can a true believer in Messiah continue in sin?

What does the Word of God say about this subject?

These verses below are pretty straightforward and self-explanatory. They don’t require much commentary. They don’t sugarcoat, dodge, make excuses, play favorites, or in any way dilute, or water down the strong Word of God–as many modern gospel messengers like to do. Hopefully we can fill-up our soul with this good food, and nourish our Spirit, in order to produce the life and fruit of God in our world that He intended us to produce, that we might become shining lights and overpower the darkness, and trample underfoot the demons of hell just for the fun of it. That last comment, might seem over the top for some, but think about it: if you have received the inheritance to trample on snakes, and scorpions, and demons, and destroy their work, not only inside of you, but all around you, shouldn’t you take some pleasure in that privilege? (Of course it is not you doing it, but the Word of God in you–that is if the Word of God is Living and Abiding in You, because of course we can do nothing by ourselves, or on our own, but His Word can do all things, and is not limited, except by the unbelief of man.) With new kingdom reality comes new kingdom life, and new kingdom mentality. We need to begin thinking like Christ and all his servants in heaven, in order to live like Christ, and all his heavenly servants here on earth.

One more thing, before we read God’s Word on Practicing Sin:

What happens to me when I deliberately continue living in known sin?

1. What happens in my relationship to God?
2. What happens in my relationship to myself?
3. What happens in my relationship to my fellow man?
4. How does this affect my relationship with my wife, my children, my grandchildren?
5. What happens to the integrity of my testimony that I share about God?
6. What happens in my relationship with the world and the devil?
7. And finally, how does all this affect my eternal destiny?

Let’s see how the following verses will help us answer the above questions:

1 John 3:7-10 (NIV)
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

 

1 John 2:28-29 (NIV) God’s Children and Sin
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

 

1 Timothy 5:20-22 (NASB)
Those who continue in sin … rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. 21 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. 22 Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.

 

1 John 3:4-6 (NIV) 4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

 

Romans 6:1-23 (NASB)
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.

8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

What happens to me when I deliberately continue living in known sin?

1. What happens in my relationship to God?
2. What happens in my relationship to myself?
3. What happens in my relationship to my fellow man?
4. How does this affect my relationship with my wife, my children?
5. What happens to the integrity of my testimony that I share about God?
6. What happens in my relationship with the world and the devil?
7. And finally, how does all this affect my eternal destiny?

Does anyone care to answer the above questions?

I think that would make for a good discussion …

Shalom,

Brother Thomas