How
far can Christians go in sinning?
John MacArthur
I
recently read a book about Christians and sin that began with an unusual
account.
The
author of this book was acquainted with a pastor who had been sent to prison
for robbing fourteen banks to finance his dalliances with prostitutes!
The
author was fully convinced the bank-robbing Lothario was a true Christian, and
so he wrote a book to explore how such a thing could be possible.
Call
me old-fashioned, but I think it is fair to raise the question of whether
someone who regularly robs banks to pay for illicit sex is truly saved!
That
man's sin was secretly his lifestyle. There is every reason to believe that he
would still be committing his crimes today if he had not been caught.
Can
we concede that this "so-called brother" is a genuine Christian, just
because he was once an evangelical pastor?
True,
we cannot judge the man's heart, but we must judge his behavior (1
Corinthians 5:12).
"Or do you not know that the
unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,
nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers,
shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1
Corinthians 6:9-11)
In
those verses the apostle Paul was describing sins of chronic behavior, sins
that color one's whole character. A predilection for such sins reflects an
unregenerate heart.
Paul
reminded the Corinthians,
"Such were some of you; but you
were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God"
(v. 12, emphasis added).
But
wait. Does not Scripture include examples of believers who
Was
not Lot characterized by worldly compromise in the midst of heinous sin?
Yes,
those examples prove that genuine believers are capable of the worst imaginable
sins.
But
David and Lot cannot be made to serve as examples of "carnal"
believers, whose whole lifestyle and appetites are no different from
unregenerate people.
David,
for example, did repent thoroughly of his sin when Nathan confronted him, and
he willingly accepted the Lord's discipline (2 Samuel 12:1-23).
Psalm
51 is an expression of David's deep repentance at the end of this sordid
episode in his life.
The
point, after all, is that this was merely one episode in David's life. He was
certainly not predisposed to that kind of sin.
In
fact, 1 Kings 15:5 says, "David
did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and had not turned aside from
anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of
Uriah the Hittite"
Lot
is a different case. Not much is known about him from the Old Testament account,
but what is recorded about him is disappointing.
He
was a pathetic example of compromise and disobedience. On the eve of Sodom's
destruction, when he should have fled the city, "he hesitated" (Genesis
19:16).
The
angelic messengers had to seize his hand and put him outside the city.
Near
the end of his life, his two daughters got him drunk and committed incest with
him (Genesis 19:30-38).
Lot
certainly did seem to have a proclivity for sins of compromise and worldliness.
Yet
the inspired New Testament writer tells us Lot was "oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what
he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his
righteous soul tormented day after day with their lawless deeds)" (2
Peter 2:8).
He
hated sin and desired righteousness. He had respect for holy angels-evidence of
his fear of God (Genesis 19:1-14).
He
obeyed God by not looking back at Sodom when God's judgment rained down (cf.
v. 26).
Lot
was certainly not "carnal" in the sense that he lacked spiritual
desires. Though he lived in a wicked place, he was not wicked himself. His soul
was "tormented," vexed, grieved, tortured, with severe pain at the
sight of the evil all around him.
Evidently
his conscience did not become seared; he "felt
his righteous soul tormented day after day" with the evil deeds of
those around him.
Though
he lived in Sodom, he never became a Sodomite. Those who use him as an
illustration of someone who is saved but utterly carnal miss the point of 2
Peter 2:8.
What
is the lesson of Lot's life as Peter saw it? Verse 9 sums it up: "The Lord knows how to rescue the godly
from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of
judgment."
In
Lot's case, one means the Lord used to rescue him from temptation was severe
chastisement.
Lot
lost his home; his wife was killed by divine judgment; and his own daughters
disgraced and debased him. He paid a terrible price for his sin, being "tormented day after day." If
Lot proves anything, it is that true believers cannot sin with impunity.
God
always chastens and disciplines His children who sin. If they do not experience
chastening, they are not truly His children, but spiritual bastards.
Hebrews
12:7-8 explicitly states this: "What
son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without
discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate
children and not sons."
The
specific purpose for which He disciplines us is "for our good, that we may share His holiness" (Hebrews
12:10).
All
of that flies in the face of the notion that millions of Christians live in a
state of unbroken carnality.
If these people are true children of God, why are
they not constantly under His discipline?
God’s authority causes anger or fear in individuals who refuse to yield
to Him.
But those who have experienced His lovingkindness, trusted in His
goodness, and surrendered to His authority take comfort in knowing Him as the
Lord of their lives.
Submit to Christ’s rule over your life now and enjoy the freedom and
peace under God. Say this prayer:
“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and my
sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry. I
now want to turn away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.
I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected
from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my
heart from this day forward.
Thank You that according to Your Word, I am now born again.
Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for
the rest of my life. I promise to study Your Word – the Bible.
Use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' name I
pray, Amen.”
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Calling You
Beware of This Slippery
Talk That Offends Holy Spirit
“Are You Washed in the
Blood?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1TPn98v7O8 AcappellaHymnHonorTheSon
lyrics
1 Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing
power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Chorus:
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless?
Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless?
Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
2 Are you walking daily by the Savior's side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?[Chorus]
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?[Chorus]
3 When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be
white?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?[Chorus]
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?[Chorus]
4 Lay aside the garments that are stained with
sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb![Chorus]
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb![Chorus]
Excerpted
from John MacArthur, Faith
Works: The Gospel According to the Apostles,
http://www.gty.org/resources/questions/QA166/How-far-can-Christians-go-in-sinning
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