addiction and salvation

Lifelong_sinner

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hello all. my question is simply, first john says if we practice sin, then we are not saved. if a person has an addiction that he is trying to fight but cant, does this mean they cant get saved untill they beat that addiction?

also, what if they beat the addiction say for a year, then fall back into a pattern of addiction, does this mean vthey were never saved to begin with?
 

AubreyM

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That is a great question, Lifelong_sinner.

Anyone who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, and believes that in their heart God raised them from the dead, they shall be saved.

As people we war inside of ourselves between our fleshly desires, and the choice to desire the spirit and live by it.

It is very difficult, and the bible tell us to lay down our old lifestyle and allow God and the Lord Jesus Christ to transform you into a new creation, and renew your mind. So to keep yourself from your old ways it is best to keep reading the bible and the word of God to stay strong in the faith.

You might slip up but most certainly if you believe in your heart, you shall be saved.

If you slip up, you might feel a lot of pressure from the spirit and almost as if God left you for what you have done for it may bring up guilt, and shame, and how can God forgive me.

God has sent Christ to die for us while we were still sinners, and ungodly. He showed his great love for doing this, and Jesus Christ has saved us from all our sins, and God is faith enough to help us in our temptations if we run to Him, so we do not slip back up for He will make a way of escape.

Romans 5:1-6
Romans 12:2
Galatians 2:20
2 Corinthians 5:17
1 Thess 5:1-18
Galatians 5:1-23
1 Corinthians 10:13​

Thank your question, here are some scriptural references you can go and look up and read.

Take care.
 
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Tolworth John

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hello all. my question is simply, first john says if we practice sin, then we are not saved. if a person has an addiction that he is trying to fight but cant, does this mean they cant get saved untill they beat that addiction?

also, what if they beat the addiction say for a year, then fall back into a pattern of addiction, does this mean vthey were never saved to begin with?

1john2:1+2 says if we sin we have an advocate, Jesus the Atoning sacrifice for our sins.

If you are addicted to something then you need to find a support group based on alcohol anon where they follow the 12 point recovery plan and you have to apply it daily.
 
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aiki

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hello all. my question is simply, first john says if we practice sin, then we are not saved. if a person has an addiction that he is trying to fight but cant, does this mean they cant get saved untill they beat that addiction?

No, it doesn't mean this. God is the means to freedom from addiction; He offers to make us free, if we'll live His way. But He sets us free only after we've become one of His children.

also, what if they beat the addiction say for a year, then fall back into a pattern of addiction, does this mean vthey were never saved to begin with?

No, it doesn't mean this. Have you ever watched a baby learning to stand and walk? There's a good deal of stumbling and falling at first, isn't there? It's just part of the process of learning to walk. If a baby stopped the struggle to walk, if it just gave up trying to walk, that would be a concern, wouldn't it? The struggle, though, even full of failure as it is, has to happen, it's natural and necessary to learning to walk.

This is true also spiritually. Early on, after one's second spiritual birth, there will be a struggle against well-set patterns of sinful thinking and behaviour. And, sometimes, a falling back under the power of these patterns. This early stumbling isn't too much of a concern - except when the believer's struggle against sin ceases, when they stop getting up and moving forward with God. So, no, falling into sin doesn't dissolve one's salvation; staying in sin, though, is another matter.
 
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Sketcher

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hello all. my question is simply, first john says if we practice sin, then we are not saved. if a person has an addiction that he is trying to fight but cant, does this mean they cant get saved untill they beat that addiction?

also, what if they beat the addiction say for a year, then fall back into a pattern of addiction, does this mean vthey were never saved to begin with?
No, it means they struggle. Go back to the beginning of the book, 1 John 1:8 through 2:2.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.​

You admit that you sin, you confess it to Christ, and he is your advocate with the Father. He paid for your sins with his death, and rose again to give you life.
 
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BryanJohnMaloney

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There is a sad and sorry superstition that afflicts many who see themselves as followers of Christ. That superstition is that addiction is a voluntary behavior, a "sin" in the judicial sense. It isn't. I'm a neuroscientist. Addiction is biological. The brain has been physically altered by the addiction. Why do we attribute addiction to being a "sin" when we don't call heart disease a sin? After all, isn't the majority of heart disease essentially caused by gluttony and sloth? Then why not call those who have heart disease "sinners" because they chose to eat poorly and chose to not exercise? Addiction is biological, even though it was entered into behaviorally.
 
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SirHash

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Hey lifelong, I agree with the consensus on this. We repent and give our hearts to God, we aren't immediately freed from our fleshly bodies. Fighting the fleshly pull is a lifelong battle, please don't give it up. And don't let it defeat you either. I heard a sermon last year that really helped me. The punchline is that the voice that tells you what you did was/is wrong is worth listening to, the voice that condemns you for being bad probably isn't from the Holy Spirit--that voice should be saying something like "Your a child of God now, You can do better so do it better next time".
Prayers bro.
 
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