Are My Future Sins Forgiven?

            You and I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because we are sinners. When we believe in Christ, we offer our lives to HIM as a living sacrifice. We are then saved, forgiven, and declared righteous and holy.

            When we believe in Christ, we are forgiven of all our sins – the past, present, and the future.

            Wait!

            Does this mean that the sins I am going to commit (in the future) would be forgiven?

            Yes, God would forgive the sins that you and I would be committing in the future, said the late Rev. Billy Graham:¹

One of the Bible’s greatest truths is that Christ died to take away all our sins–not just part of them, but all of them: past, present, and future.

This is why you shouldn’t fear that you will lose your salvation every time you commit a sin. If that were the case, you and I would lose our salvation every day–because we sin every day. Even if our actions are pure, our thoughts often are not. And even if our actions and thoughts are pure, we still sin because of the good things we should be doing but fail to do.

Never forget: Your salvation does not depend on you and how good you are.

It depends solely on Christ and what He has already done for you through His death on the cross. The Bible says that Christ “appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

Does that mean it doesn’t matter whether or not you sin? No, of course not. Sin is serious; it is an offense to God, and it breaks our fellowship with Him. Sin also compromises our witness for Christ. The Bible is clear: “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).

But you cannot live the Christian life in your own strength. You need God’s help–which is why He has given His Holy Spirit to you. When you sin, confess it immediately, and then seek the Holy Spirit’s help each day to live as you should.

            We are saved by the grace of God through our faith in Christ. The inherent beauty of the gospel of Christ is that we do not fear to lose our salvation as and when we commit sins. (This, however, does not offer us a license to sin.)

            Dr. Michael Brown’s explanation will enable us to understand this better:²

…it is true that God doesn’t save in installments, meaning that the moment He says, “I forgive you,” you become a child of God and you pass from death to life, from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God, from condemned to not guilty, from wicked to righteous, from lost to saved, from having a debt of sins bigger than Mt. Everest to being totally and absolutely forgiven – all in a moment of time. That is grace in action. That is the power of the blood of Jesus. It is a free gift, and it is yours forever.

That also means that if you sin tomorrow and get upset with a coworker, you do not become unsaved and go back to death, back to the kingdom of Satan, back to being condemned, back to being wicked and lost. Instead, as a child of God who is still in the “forgiven” column – meaning, God looks as you as His beloved child, a former guilty sinner whom He has pronounced forgiven – you now need to apply the blood of Jesus to your life and receive fresh cleansing. But you do not do this as a lost sinner being saved. Rather, you do it as a child of God who is in the “saved-righteous-holy-forgiven” column, freshly applying that source of forgiveness, the blood of Jesus, to your life again.

…God deals with us as His children, which means that we don’t get saved one moment, lost the next moment (the moment we commit a sin), and then “resaved” the moment we ask for forgiveness. This kind of spiritual schizophrenia is not only totally unbiblical but it is totally maddening. Who can possibly live like this?

So, it is crucial that we find a place of security in the Lord, remembering that we are saved by grace, not by works, by God’s goodness, not by our goodness. It’s also crucial to understand that when God forgives, He forgets – meaning, He doesn’t keep a record of wrongs against us – and that when we are forgiven, we are really forgiven. And it’s crucial to understand that Jesus paid the price for every sin we will ever commit, and when we come to Him in sincerity, asking Him to wash us clean, He will do it without hesitation. The price has already been paid.

This means that if God isn’t bringing up our past we shouldn’t bring it up either, and if He says we are forgiven, we really are forgiven. We must receive it, no matter what we’ve done and no matter how far we’ve fallen: “I am God’s child and I am forgiven!”

… So, we can rest assured that, as far as our salvation is concerned, we have been forgiven of our sins, and God remembers them no more. How mind-boggling is that? And as far as our ongoing relationship with God, forgiveness is applied whenever we need it and ask for it. 

            The grace of God that forgives us of all our sins does not offer us a license to sin. Dr. Brown refers to Pastor Joseph Prince’s words, “"If you hear of any 'grace' teaching that tells you it is all right to sin, to live without any regard for the Lord, and that there are no consequences to sin, my advice to you is to flee from that teaching. You have just been exposed to counterfeit grace. Genuine grace teaches that believers in Christ are called to live holy, blameless, and above reproach. It teaches that sin always produces destructive consequences and that it is only through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ that one can be set free from the dominion of sin."”³ 

            When we are caught in sinful habits, our relationship with God is disrupted (cf. Psalm 15). But when we confess our sins and repent to God, HE forgives us and our relationship with HIM is restored. Believers who are caught in sin(s) will truly desire to be delivered and grow in holiness.

            A true believer will hate his sins. He/she will pray eagerly for deliverance from sins so to grow in holiness. This is the hallmark of a serious or a sincere Christian.

Endnotes:

¹https://billygraham.org/answer/does-god-forgive-the-sins-we-will-commit-in-the-future-or-just-those-from-our-past/

²https://askdrbrown.org/library/future-sins-forgiven-advance-fundamental-error-hyper-grace

³https://www.christianpost.com/news/hyper-grace-setting-the-record-straight-with-pastor-joseph-prince.html

Websites last accessed on 24^th January 2019.

The Dirty Church

The church is to be a beautiful community that worships the only living God, nurtures the seeker with the truth, fellowships in the loving community of saints, and encourages the brokenhearted with Christ’s love. In other words, the church looks ‘upward’ in worship, ‘inward’ to edify, and ‘outward’ to serve those in need.

However, the church, from Christ’s time on earth, has been losing these components slowly yet steadily (cf. Mark 11: 15-17). A church can profess her allegiance to the Lord Jesus, yet be corrupt in her core values and expressions. In other words, the church, from the surface, could seem adherent to the biblical teachings, but avoid being truthful, loving and gracious, and thus corrupt.

When resolving a situation, the church could opt to enforce law or grace. Here is a rather dense situation to highlight the church’s corruption. A church rejects the marriage proposal of a couple because one partner has had multiple divorces. Not only is the church ungracious, but she could be successful in driving away the couple from her precincts. While rejecting the proposal, the church may have even cited a few scripture passages (e.g. Malachi 2: 16). But is this the only viable or the most biblical option for the church? If you say yes, please allow me to contradict you.

I submit that the church should have married this couple, of course, with bible-centered pre-marital counseling. If this couple were married, it is possible that this marriage would survive and the past sins of divorce, repented. By rejecting the marriage proposal, the church eliminated a magnificent opportunity for the person to repent and establish a family. More importantly, the church may have even driven these two away from Christianity. (You could argue that the multiple divorcée, as in the past, would reject/divorce this partner as well. This, however, is an ‘argument from ignorance’ i.e., one cannot predict if that marriage would result in divorce.)

Now then, why should the church not be radically gracious in solemnizing such a marriage? The church may have either rejected this proposal to avoid unnecessary criticism (for the leadership to have their job intact) or because she is profusely legalistic (so to abandon grace into oblivion). In both these instances, the church abandons the minority. This is in total contradiction to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. (If the church leadership claims ignorance on this matter, then they are inadequate for leadership.)

It is good to err on the side of grace, than on the side of law. But only strong and courageous leaders (Joshua 1: 9) would dare to err on the side of grace. The selfishly fearful, corrupt and theologically impotent leaders would cite the law to evade being gracious. They defy the Lord’s act of running after that one lost sheep, leaving the ninety-nine. Losing one sheep is insignificant to these leaders. They satisfy the majority, even at the cost of one sheep and the gospel! The Lord is the epitome of grace (John 1: 14-17); when the church adheres to the law and abandons grace, the church becomes corrupt.

The first entity to take responsibility for the church’s corruption is her leadership. Christ showed the way for mankind to follow. Similarly the church leadership ought to be role models for the flock to follow the Lord. If the leadership is legalistic, the essence of the church would be legalistic.

However, it could be healthier to have a legalistic leader than a weak leader. If the leadership is weak, then the church would travel the way of the powerful group in the church, and the powerful, if biblically correct, will remove the weak leader (so to resolve the problem). If the weak leadership remains, the church is bound to be sold to the devil in one form or another. If leaders are ruled by fear, they will inevitably succumb to the temptations of the evil one.

The elaborate description of Jesus cleansing the temple in Mark 11: 15-17 presents an instance of a ‘dirty church.’ The Lord’s house was transformed into a house of business instead of a house of prayer. The Lord cleansed the temple by driving out the offenders (15). Wait! Did HE really drive them out? I don’t think so! Verse 17 fascinates me, for the Lord taught ‘them’ the true intent of the church. ‘Them’ refers to those who abused the temple precincts and the spectators. Hence the Lord not only cleansed HIS house off its filth, but taught the abusers the truth. Isn’t this what today’s church leaders ought to do and isn’t this where they fail?

We take pride in proclaiming the church as a congregation of sinners, and truly so. Sin is inevitable in the congregation of sinners. When sin is encountered, the sinful act should be eliminated by the power of God, and the sinful actor cleansed by the Word of God. 

Today’s church seems more intent on driving out the sinners; not the sinners who sin against God, but those who disagree with the leadership. The formula of today’s church seems to be if-you-don’t-agree-to-my-agenda-you-will-be-fired. Thus, instead of church multiplication, church division seems to be the order of the day. Where is the fault? It’s obviously in the insecure arms of the weak leadership.

I am part of a ‘facebook prayer group’ of a certain church. One day, I realized I wasn’t a part of that prayer group. Upon digging for clarity, I discovered that the church leadership had me removed from that group, because my blogs seemed to implicate that church. Thus far, I have not received a response as to what unholy or unbiblical content from my blog merited such an ungracious decision. If I am a sinner, where is the teaching to correct me? If there is no teaching, does it imply I am correct? If I am correct, why should I be removed? Or am I a terrible sinner beyond correction? This is not a personal rant, but an illustration of what I see as a failure of the church.

The church seeks easy, or evil, solutions today. Quite a few AGM’s (Annual General Meeting) of the contemporary church present a sad yet hilarious scene. The powerful oppress the powerless and the seemingly-more-spiritual oppress their brothers and sisters. If you speak the truth, you are mandated to shut up. Is this the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ? Laugh-out-Loud! It is the case of weak and unbiblical leadership. Weak leadership manifests in several ways. You are fired if you disagree; you are disciplined if you speak the truth. Both situations were a reality in the life of Martin Luther and many others who stood firm for truth. Welcome to the dirty church.

George Barna and Frank Viola expressed this sentiment as they dedicated their book, “To our forgotten brothers and sisters throughout the ages who courageously stepped outside the safe bounds of institutional Christianity at the risk of life and limb. You faithfully carried the torch, endured persecution, forfeited reputation, lost family, suffered torture, and spilled your blood to preserve the primitive testimony that Jesus Christ is Head of His church. And that every believer is a priest .a minister ... and a functioning member of God's house. This book is dedicated to you.” ¹ Weakness hides behind law, discards grace and Christ out of the church. The church then is sold to the devil.

I think it was Malcolm Muggeridge who ridiculed the church to say, “they have taken that which belongs to the soul and institutionalized it.” Do you belong to a dirty church that destroys a soul, or do you belong to a grace-abounding, Christ-filled, Spirit-anointed church?

You can for all you want shout at the top of your voice that you are anointed. But if you discard grace from your life, you are discarding Christ. If you are abandoning Christ from your life, are you a true disciple of the Lord Jesus? You need to answer these questions as much as I need to. Amen.

References:

¹ George Barna and Frank Viola, Pagan Christianity, 2007. 

Way to Heaven? Not by Works!

          Once we learn from the Bible that God’s grace is firmly imprinted in our salvation (new birth a.k.a born again experience), we could move over to see how we (believers in Christ) are judged. We are fundamentally examining both ends of our Christian life – our new birth and death (i.e. what happens after our death). Let me clarify that the judgment I am referring to is our post-death judgment.

            Judgment is a reality, for it is explicitly stated in the Bible. First, it is God who judges man (Ecclesiastes 12:14; Romans 2:5, 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 4:5). Second and more specifically, the second person of the blessed Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ, will judge the living and the dead (Matt 25:31-46; Acts 10:42, 17:31). Third, the believer in Christ will be judged as it is mentioned in Romans 14:10-12 and 2 Corinthians 5:10 (these are letters Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome and Corinth). The unbelievers of the Lord Jesus will also be judged (Romans 2:5-11; Revelation 20:12). Finally, those who believe in Christ will be judged on the basis of their earthly deeds – whether good or bad (Cf. 2 Corinthians 5:10).

            The Bible states that believers in Christ are created to do good works, which should be a natural outcome of their life in Christ (Cf. Ephesians 2:10, John 15 et al.). It is imperative to affirm that those who believe in Christ will not be eternally condemned (John 5:24; Romans 8:1) but will indeed live unto eternity. Believers in Christ are only saved by the grace of God through faith in the Lord Jesus, and not by works they do in this world. The believer’s judgment will not relegate a believer in Christ to hell, but this judgment evaluates and bestows various degrees of rewards in heaven (Matthew 5:19, 46, 6:2-6, 16-18; Luke 6:22-23, 35, 12:42-48, 19:17,19; 1 Corinthians 3:8, 12-15, 13:3, 15:58; Hebrews 11:35; 2 John 8; Revelation 22:12).

            So, the believers are saved ONLY by grace, but are created to do good works, hence we conclude that doing good works bears no role in our salvation. Permit me to illustrate this now, and for the sake of illustration we will consider the first act of sinful nature – sexual immorality (Galatians 5:19, NIV).

            If a believer falls into temptation and unfortunately dies while in adultery, many Christians would tend to think he is hell-bound. This man did not even have an opportunity to repent, so that lends credence to this doctrine. However, I think differently! I do not think this person is hell-bound, but in fact he is heaven-bound. A believer’s unconfessed sins do not transport him to hell. If believers are saved by grace, then they are saved by grace. Period. Good deeds or bad deeds of a believer in Christ will not relegate him to hell. Please remember that when a person accepts the Lord Jesus as his God and Savior, he is clothed with the righteousness of Christ. He is forgiven of all his sins.

            Well, I hope another illustration will reinforce my point. Let us again consider sexual immorality. I share this illustration that I read sometime ago. Let us assume a believer living an adulterous life. Let us also assume that his church elders approach him and advise him to quit his adultery, repent, and live clean. This person refuses to listen to them and continues with his adulterous lifestyle. The church elders now approach him for the second time and warn him that he is hell-bound, if he refuses to repent of his sin (adultery) and live clean. Stop and think. According to the doctrine of the church elders, this believer will go to heaven if he stops his adulterous life. Now, where did the grace of God disappear? Are we not saved by grace? Isn't this doctrine promoting salvation by works – that if we live clean we go to heaven, else we go to hell?

            If only sinless people can go to heaven, then God alone would inhabit heaven. Please permit me to stretch the illustration further. The Lord said “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28, NIV). The Bible categorically states that even a lustful look is adultery, and anger equivalent to murder and deserving hellfire (Matthew 5:21-22)! How many of us are absolutely immune to sensuality and anger of various forms and sizes?

            Let us continue to travel within this thought. The second act of the sinful nature is “impurity.” What is impurity? One approach to understand impurity is to gain knowledge on purity. Purity lacks imperfection and even potency for imperfection. Impurity, on the other hand, is an embodiment of imperfection. The Bible teaches that God alone is pure and perfect. None of us are pure, for we are all sinners. If my work of good or bad deeds is going to determine my eternal status, then none will go to heaven, for we are all impure (sinners). In other words, no amount of good works will fetch a believer in Christ a ticket to heaven.

            We are created to do good works, and a believer in Christ will do good works. This is how Christians should live. The doctrine of our salvation (grace through faith) does not promote sin in our lives. Instead, the one saved by grace should realize his unworthiness to be in the presence of a Holy God, and live a life that pleases the Holy God, in utter gratitude, until his last breath. Anyone who teaches that grace of God is a license to sin will experience a severe judgment (Cf. Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2, NIV).

            It is God’s will that we live to believe and please our Triune God through our thoughts, words and deeds, so may we do just that. Amen. 

The Heart of Salvation: Grace of God

God supernaturally regenerates a man’s heart (John 3:6), and some naturally degenerate the regenerated hearts (Matt 23:15). The malady and the parody of superior religiosity are wonderfully portrayed in the Bible. 

This is a classic case of infighting, which in our context is the spiritually proud fighting God Himself. What is the solution then? The solution is brutally presented in these verses “But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12 NASB).

Is it not interesting that Paul appeals to the “grace” that God has given him to exhort believers not to think too high of ourselves, but with sober judgment? “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3, NIV). 

If we do not think too high of ourselves, we will not look down or even condemn others. If ‘humility’ should be our constant attitude, then assimilating God’s grace is the foundation. If we integrate God’s grace, then we will not possess a superior attitude of ourselves. This is how the equation works. 

To summarize, if we integrate God’s grace, we will be humble and gracious; hence we will not look down or condemn others.

The major stumbling block for one to integrate God’s grace is our delight in our “spiritual successes.” This delight infuses into us a spirit of achievement. This feeling of achievement results in a superior thought of oneself. But the fact of life is rather simple; nothing is possible outside of God. 

What we are is because of HIM. When we delight in ourselves, we become bigger than God, and in the process we violate this verse, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30, NIV). So, our objective in our Christian life and ministry is to become more and more invisible and let God be more and more visible through our lives.

Having emphasized on the need to dwell in the grace of God, please allow me to recapture the process of our salvation:

1. When a sinner believes in Christ, he is “born again,” and he becomes a “new creation” (Matthew 19:28; John 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:5; Titus 3:5).

2. His sins are forgiven (Acts 10:43; 1 John 1:9).

3. He is redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ shed on the cross (1 Peter 1:18-19).

4. God’s righteousness is credited to him (2 Corinthians 5:21).

5. Since God’s righteousness is credited to him, he is now reconciled to God. His position changes from being God’s enemy to God’s friend (Romans 5:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Colossians 1:19-20).

6. He is now adopted into God’s family (Rom. 8:15).

7. He begins a process of spiritual growth called “sanctification” or “growing in holiness” (Romans 8:3-4; 2 Corinthians 4:16; Hebrews 10:10; 1 John 3:2-3).

8. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes again (2^nd coming), he will either be resurrected (if he is dead) or he will be transformed (if he is still alive) - (John 6:40; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

9. Finally, he receives a new physical body which he (all who believe in Christ) will possess throughout eternity (Romans 8:17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 2 Thessalonians 1:10).

I see nothing but grace firmly imprinted in our salvation. We are saved by grace through faith.

Having been born by the grace of God, how now do we live?  

Spiritual Pride

           Our superior religiosity or spiritual success can so blind us that we fall prey to devil’s deceit and snare. We imagine ourselves as righteously priceless in God’s kingdom. If our ministry (service to God and man) flourishes, we believe it to be because of our righteousness (good works), and that our good works is the result of us remaining in God. We delight in these verses for these verses fuel our superior religiosity:

“For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12, NASB)

“A faithful man will abound with blessings…” (Proverbs 28:20a, NASB)

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty...” (Psalm 91:1ff, NASB)

            On one end of our religious tightrope walk, we suppose we are righteous because of our superior communion with God. On the other end, we conclude we are God-appointed “holy-commandos” to cleanse all the sin and filth that surrounds us. This is at the core of superior religiosity.

            Pride inculcates a strong “I” or a powerful self-will even without one’s cognizance, thereby slowly yet surely corroding man’s dependence on God. C.S Lewis said this in Mere Christianity, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”

            The spiritually proud are so convinced of their righteousness because they are internally persuaded that they distinctly hear God’s voice without a doubt. But we ought to know that God never contradicts HIS word. God will never ask HIS disciple to condemn, but only to be gracious.

            Spiritual pride puts on a façade of God’s presence in them. The spiritually proud boast outwardly of their superior religiosity, whereas their religiosity corrodes in their inner being. A truly religious person reveals God’s grace and resists condemnation. God’s will is for us to be gracious even as HE is gracious to us (Matthew 5:48). This is Christlikeness.

            While we are on this superior religiosity mode, we forget or ignore the one most foundational aspect – that we are products of God’s grace. We were saved by grace through faith (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-9). Furthermore, we forget or ignore the constant presence of God’s grace, since we continue to sin in our thoughts, words, and deeds (Proverbs 20:9; Jeremiah 2:35b; Romans 3:10; 1 John 1:8). Oh that we would incorporate the fact that we cannot survive outside of God’s grace!

            The constant presence of God’s grace in our lives is a sobering thought that should crush our pride into a relentless dependence on God’s presence and grace. Not only that, we should actively proclaim God’s grace to all.

            We are mandated to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19), not destroy them. May we live up to this mandate by the grace and power of God.

            Overcoming the innate corruption of one’s inner self is at the heart of Christianity. In my opinion, the theology of “works” within Christianity is a product of that corruption, and hence it needs to be completely debunked and the theology of “God’s grace” should overwhelm all Christians. HE wills and so we will. More on this later. Amen.