Straying Away from God – Sin After Salvation

 

Straying Away From God – Sin After Salvation

Straying from God’s will for a Christian produces inner conflict and emotional depression/turmoil because we know we are not being true and doing God’s purpose, design, and plan. As we continue to stray into the experience of sin, our heart becomes hardened and less sensitive to the conviction and guidance of the Spirit. As straying sheep we wander away from our Great and Good Shepherd, Christ Jesus, the One who loves us and gave Himself for us. (In the picture of the sheep above, where is the Shepherd?) We crowd the Holy Spirit into a corner in our hearts, denying Him access to our conscience. As we go our own way, we break His heart; the Spirit grieves.

Understanding what God has done in grace on behalf of man through the Person and work of Jesus Christ, and faith acceptance of this gift, is the basis of all love, joy and peace. The task for the Christian after salvation is to overcome sin through an obedient faith that walks by means of the Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self- control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.   Gal 5:22-25

Salvation solves the sin problem regarding eternal destiny for believers. It also changes the fate of believers from enslavement to sin, and fear of death and hell, to the present possession of the eternal life of God (1 John 5:11-12). Salvation is a work of God; it is entered into by men through gospel faith (Eph 2:8-9).

William Newell gives a pertinent exhortation to all members of the body of Christ:

“To be disappointed in yourself means you believed in yourself. Stop believing in yourself (and its flesh) and believe that the Spirit of God can enable you through the new nature to live for God. To be discouraged is unbelief. God has a purpose, plan, and blessing for you. We need to lay hold of it …”

The Father’s purpose in this new birth of the Spirit is for us to become conformed to the life, light, and love of Jesus Christ. How can we do this experientially in our day-to-day life when the sinful nature we were born with is still operational?

Leprosy as an Illustration of Sin

Sometimes sin is depicted in Scripture as leprosy. Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) results from an unseen bacterium that slowly attacks the body so that all sensation is lost. With this decreased sensitivity in fingers and toes, there is trauma and subsequently an increased susceptibility to infections and ulcerous lesions. Leprosy defiles entirely (skin, organs, and nerves), isolating its victim from others due to its ugliness and disfigurement. In ancient times, the only fit companion for the leper was another leper. Today are we so different? The foundation of many human relationships is an affiliation for similar sins- adulterers associate with other adulterers, drug addicts with drug addicts, etc. People may share a tolerance to the sin of others like non-alcoholics who provide liquor to alcoholics. We must be careful in choosing our friends. Similar to leprosy, sin operates from within and defiles outwardly into the lives of others. We do not sin in isolation; our defilement doesn’t end with us.

Sin in the life of a believer can be as destructive spiritually as leprosy is to the physical body. Sin blinds and deceives us. To continue in sin denies the reality of who we are, and what we have in Christ Jesus. Scripture clearly warns us of the deadly effects of sin. Just as clearly however, it prescribes the path to restoration, and once restored, how to maintain a walk of godliness in His light and love through the enablement of the word and the Spirit.

Restoration of a Straying Believer

The first step in restoration is the knowledge and understanding of where we are spiritually. This is the moment that the prodigal son “came to himself,” and realized that the Father’s son was in the mud of the pig pit eating pig food (Luke 15:11-32). The short answer to sin, following the parable, is to repent and turn back to the Father’s house of fellowship.

After sin has been committed, the sin cure for members of the church today is 1 John 1:9. We repent and judge our own sin, turn from it, and submit to the will of the Father. It is not a quick fix that removes consequences, but instead restores fellowship with God. Our sin may evoke feelings of guilt, shame, and depression. Our intimacy with the Spirit should mean that we feel what the Spirit does; the Spirit is in us when we sin and has been grieved. When depressed or sad, look and search the heart for sin we have done or a denial of the Spirit’s prompting in service, ministry, or devotion (something we know we should do). If there is no known sin, whether our own or others, then the source for feeling sad or depressed may be physical in origin.

Satan Actively Condemns the Sinner

Be aware that the guilt, shame, and/or depression we feel when the Sprit has convicted us of sin and straying from His will, may be used by the enemy to attack or condemn us. Any condemnation we hear in our hearts does not come from God (Rom 8:1). We are His family, who at times may be wayward, but His children nonetheless. Even the fleshly Corinthians are called saints by Paul (1 Cor 1:2).

Satan uses sin to condemn and accuse Christians. This ploy culminates in the accusation that “no one who did x, y, or z can be one of God’s children.” It is an attack upon our position (regenerated with the eternal life of God, justified and declared righteous by grace) and identity of being “in Christ” (baptized and sealed into Him). God loves us enough to redeem us through His Son. Satan is a liar, murderer John 8:44), and thief. He is stealing from us: our time, healthy relationships, and our testimony before men. His theft includes loss of reward in heaven (1 Cor 3:14-15) and loss of fellowship with His love, joy, and peace in time. We all, including the author, need to wake up and become doers of the Word (James 2:22-25), and stop being a victim of the world, flesh, and devil. Satan’s path promises freedom, pleasure, and riches, but ultimately it leads only to slavery and ruin.

Excellent Question from A Hurting Believer

From the website’s question box comes the following three-part question, which perfectly presents the subject matter for this post. (We are thankful for any and all questions we receive.)

1. How did I wander so far in my walk with God?
2. What do I do to get my life back?
3. Was I really saved since I strayed away?

Answers to the Questions About “Straying from God’s Will”

In answering the above questions, an easy way to remember this post will be the 4 P’s:

#1   Position

#2   Purpose

Present (Yield)

#3   Paid (For)

Question #1     “How Do We Wander Away from God?”

1) We wander away because we forget who we are (sheep) and to whom we belong, the Good and Great Shepherd. Man was created and redeemed by a God who has great compassion, love, and mercy towards him.  We have a call and responsibility to live for the One who has done all so that we can receive the grace gift of our “so great salvation.”

Position

Our position includes who we are and what we have “in Christ.” What is our identity as Christians as revealed by our Creator and Redeemer? If we know and remember who we are we are less likely to fall pray to lies and deception of the enemy and the world. We are less likely to deceive ourselves. Increasingly, in opposition to revealed truth, men identify themselves through their sin. Our place, position, and status in the family of God can be understood through revelation of the meaning of the biblical terms of baptism (Rom 6:2-4; 1 Cor 12:13; Gal 3:27), redemption (Rom 3:23-25; 1 Cor 6:20; Eph 1:7), regeneration (Tit 3:5; John 3:5; 1 Pet 1:23), propitiation (Rom 3:23-25; 1 John 2:2), sealing (Eph 1:13-14, 4:30), and our eternal position of being“in Christ.” We are in Him and He is in us. These are works of God that can never be undone. We are sons and heirs of the Great High God.

Question #2     “What Do I Need to Do to Get My Life Back?”

2) To get our life back we must actively aim and have as our goal His purpose in our life. We set our sights on Jesus who is seated at the right hand of the Father. We are created for good works (Eph 2:10), to show for the ages to come the glory of the riches ofHis grace (Eph 2:7), and to become conformed to the life of Christ (Rom 8:39).

Purpose

Our purpose is the aim, target or goal for our life as defined by God. We must know and actively pursue His purpose and intent for our lives. If we do not understand His purpose in us, we become inattentive, listless, and will passively fall away for the enticements of the world, flesh, and Satan. Without purpose, we all will wander and stray away. It is the natural consequence of who we are as humans with choice between His way and our will as defined by the exalted self. The Father’s purpose for our lives is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. His character is exemplified by the fruit of the Spirit (Eph 5:22-23).

This purpose of God for our lives can only be accomplished by walking in His light, illuminated by His word and Spirit. The goal of Christlikeness has been facilitated by the mechanics of our salvation. We have, once and for all, been set free from the mastery of sin. Part of remembering who we are includes the understanding of what He has done for us through the cross.

Present – Yield, Submit

“Present”, according to Vine, means to “put a thing at the disposal of another.” He continues by stating, “ Obedience is the (outcome) of the presentation… The effect of (obedient service) is righteousness.”

Spiritual Baptism produces a union between the believer and Christ. The believer is now “in Christ”. This union creates identification such that His life enters into the believer who becomes born again through regeneration. This accomplishes two important things for the believer.

1. Rom 6:2 – Break the power of sin
2. Rom 6:4 – Impart divine life

The Knowledge (Rom 6:6) of our freedom from the old man must be Reckoned (Rom 6:11) or believed by faith in the Yielded (v. 13) Christian. KRY is the path of separation from the source of sin and joining to the resurrection life of Christ empowered by the Spirit.

The faith of the cross leading to salvation from the penalty of sin (Our position “in Christ”) is the same faith that must believe in the power of the cross and the Spirit to defeat the sin nature in our condition. We choose to believe what God has provided to free us from a sinful life. This leads us into His new life of resurrection power, not the reformation or conformation of the old man life. By separating from the sin nature, the source of sins is defeated. This is SIN PREVENTION. 1 Jhn 1:9 is a SIN CURE after its occurrence and resultant destruction in our lives as well as all those with whom we have contact.

Since as believers, sin is no longer our master (Rom 6:6-14), we are freed from its slavery. In view of God’s great compassion and mercy towards us in our redemption, “present” or “yield” is the only appropriate response. Believers are now free to submit our bodies, hearts, and wills to the Living God (Rom 6:13, 12:2). As a living sacrifice, this includes the “totality of our life and activities.” This is our spiritual service of worship as priests.

There is both a negative and a positive side to “present and yield.” Negatively, we are not to yield the members of our body to the sin nature (Rom 6:12-13) or to conform to the world (Rom 12:1). Positively, we are urged and exhorted to present our members as instruments of righteousness to God and to be transformed by the renewing of the mind.

The renunciation of the negative (sin and the world) and the affirmation of submission to God and renewal is to be a continual process.

Here are some additional biblical examples: Rom 13:14; Gal 5:16-17; Eph 4:22-24, 30-32 5:11-21; Col 3:1-17; 2 Pet 1:2-11; Phil 4:4-8; James 2:22-25, 4:4-10.

Question #3   “Am I Really Saved Since I Have Strayed Away?”

Paid (For Sin)

Regarding salvation and our eternal destiny … Sin that has been paid for and forgiven can never undo the work of God. Sin, other than the sin of gospel unbelief, cannot defeat God’s grace gift of salvation through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In John 10:28-30 Christ states that those who believe will never perish and that no one is able to snatch them out of His hand. We do not have the ability or power to undo God’s redemptive work by willfully jumping out of His hand either, as many are want to say. Rom 8:1 … there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Rom 8:35-39 … (nothing) shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The sealing work of the Holy Spirit is the basis for our eternal security. Seals indicate ownership; God owns the believer, having purchased him from the slave market of sin. The believer is sealed as a guarantee of eternal security with the giving of the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance (Eph 1:13-14, 1 Cor 6:20).

Steven Waterhouse states, “ There are over 150 scriptural texts that present the only condition for salvation as being belief. If any other requirement is added, it will cause these scriptures to be incomplete or misleading.” Some key texts include: John 3:16, 18; John 5:24, 6:40, 47, 20:30-31; Acts 13:39, 16:31; Rom 1:16, 3:22, 28, 30, 4:5, 5:1; Gal 2:16, 3:6-7, 3:11, 24, 26, 36; Eph 2:8-9.

Jesus said to her, “ I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

Summary

By remembering who we are, (Position)

We know who we belong to and what His voice calls us to do. (Purpose)

By submitting obediently in service to His will He will lead us to His perfect provision and fulfillment of love, joy, and peace. (Present/ Yield)

The Good Shepherd paid the ultimate sacrifice to redeem His sheep. They are His.

Nothing and no one can separate the sheep from the Good Shepherd. (Paid For Sin).

All sin, including the sin of unbelievers, has been paid for. This does not give the believer either permission to sin or an excuse for it (Rom 6:1-2). The unbeliever chooses Hell after death through his/her own volition by rejecting this gift.

After salvation, our sins affect our fellowship with God. This derails His purpose for our lives. The Christian has been saved to a life of righteousness and truth (Eph 4:24). Our walk reflects the love we have for the One who has done all for us. “If you love Me you will obey my commandments (John 14:15).” Those who love Him, who love and long for His appearance, will purify themselves (1 John 3:3). The condition of our walk depends upon our willful choices. Do we love Him or the world and its sin? Our lives reflect how much honor, glory, and worth we assign to Christ Jesus. If we dismiss the voice of the Shepherd, we will shrink back from Him in shame when we see Him. Peter describes the abundant entrance into heaven of an obedient disciple (2 Pet 1:11).

In Luke 14:14-24 salvation is the answering of an invitation to a banquet. In Luke 24-33 discipleship requires suffering in the denial of self, picking up our cross, and following Him. Do we love Him enough to follow Him? Jesus said that His food is to do the will of the Father. Our words and deeds will attest to our love and the extent to which our desire, aim, and purpose is the same as the Father, Son, and Spirit.