How to Deal With Sin?

[adb5577]

Fairly new to serious faith and just had a question regarding sin. We are told thorugh scripture that Jesus has ultimately paid for all sin and we are saved through him so long as we have faith in him and repent. If someone is to sin after accepting Christ, is this sin forgiven automatically? Do I have to go to a church and confess any sins I make in order to obtain forgiveness again? Do I have to take any actions in order to gain forgiveness again? For example, if I told a lie to someone or said something I wish I did not, do I have to apologize or tell the truth to this person in order to be forgiven or is my faith in Christ and repentance enough? Thanks.

 

[Jeshu]

Fairly new to serious faith and just had a question regarding sin. We are told thorugh scripture that Jesus has ultimately paid for all sin and we are saved through him so long as we have faith in him and repent. If someone is to sin after accepting Christ, is this sin forgiven automatically? Do I have to go to a church and confess any sins I make in order to obtain forgiveness again? Do I have to take any actions in order to gain forgiveness again? For example, if I told a lie to someone or said something I wish I did not, do I have to apologize or tell the truth to this person in order to be forgiven or is my faith in Christ and repentance enough? Thanks.

For as long as we carry flesh we will sin and fall short of the glory of God. This is why it is important to repent - which means turn away from - our sin and accepting forgiveness from Christ for what we have done wrong.

Now about doing things to pay for our sin is a trap if ever there was one. Jesus paid for our sins so we don't have to do so again. However when we go to Christ with our sins and find forgiveness He tells us what we should do as well. So if we have lied then Jesus will convict us of that deed and lead us to undo the power of that lie. However this may or may not involve telling the person we lied to that we lied. Some times Jesus wants to protect the person we have offended against and us revealing what we did wrong might make matters much worse. However in God's truth we are always led to do right.

The biggest mistake we could make is thinking that sin doesn't matter. The fact is sin will keep us way from God and will need to be destroyed out of our hearts - time and again. However such destruction within needs to happen through the love of The Lord and not in our own power.

So active love for the Lord and neighbour will keep us the furthest away from sin and grow us strong against it. Self effort on the other hand makes us arrogant believers who have very little compassion on others who have fallen. While those who think themselves forgiven without breaking with sin fall for the son of lawlessness and squander their salvation in such a part of their lives.

Romans 6
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.


Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.


In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.


What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.


I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

[WESTOZZIE]

Short answer..All your sins are forgiven. Done deal. This is the Good News. Thank the Father that because Jesus died for me, all my sins are forgiven...Thank God that because Jesus was made sin for me, I am made the righteousness of God in Him. See Col 3:13; 2Cor 5:21....Repentance is not about trying not to do "it" again....Repentance is believing Jesus is your new life and nature. Until you learn who you are now- in Christ - you will struggle with the sin thing or the "old man."

 

[longwait]

Fairly new to serious faith and just had a question regarding sin. We are told thorugh scripture that Jesus has ultimately paid for all sin and we are saved through him so long as we have faith in him and repent. If someone is to sin after accepting Christ, is this sin forgiven automatically? Do I have to go to a church and confess any sins I make in order to obtain forgiveness again? Do I have to. take any actions in order to gain forgiveness again? For example, if I told a lie to someone or said something I wish I did not, do I have to apologize or tell the truth to this person in order to be forgiven or is my faith in Christ and repentance enough? Thanks.

Confess your sins before God. Apologising and telling truths are good. Forgive from the heart (which is tough to do). Try to maintain a pure heart.

 

[ajcarey]

Fairly new to serious faith and just had a question regarding sin. We are told thorugh scripture that Jesus has ultimately paid for all sin and we are saved through him so long as we have faith in him and repent. If someone is to sin after accepting Christ, is this sin forgiven automatically? Do I have to go to a church and confess any sins I make in order to obtain forgiveness again? Do I have to take any actions in order to gain forgiveness again? For example, if I told a lie to someone or said something I wish I did not, do I have to apologize or tell the truth to this person in order to be forgiven or is my faith in Christ and repentance enough? Thanks.

1 John 1:6 to 2:6 answers your question. Surrender to God's authority (i.e. walking in the light) is necessary to have Jesus' atonement applied to us. By God's grace we can overcome sin and not yield to it (Romans chapter 6), but if we should sin we need to confess it for what it is and do whatever is appropriate to show repentance. This means restitution for the harm done if that is in our power to do. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." (Proverbs 28:13) We need to relate to God the Father through Christ our High Priest to remain in His covenant and have our justification maintained. The concept that a believer in Christ's future sins are forgiven is not found in the Bible and taken logically this concept leads to lawlessness and removes our current, continual need for Christ- if I was forgiven forever unconditionally when I first believed I no longer need Jesus as my High Priest nor need to follow Him as my Lord. We have a sure salvation in the sense that Jesus will never fail to do His part- He will cleanse our record as our Advocate before the Father when we approach Him with a broken, contrite heart that is repentant over how we have fallen and is intent on going forth in the Light in obedience to His Word. Again, all seen in 1 John 1:6 to 1 John 2:6.

Don't rob God and yourself by taking anything for an answer which negates these glorious truths and their many implications. "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." (Jude 20-25) "But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:24-25)

 

[Hazelelponi]

Fairly new to serious faith and just had a question regarding sin. We are told thorugh scripture that Jesus has ultimately paid for all sin and we are saved through him so long as we have faith in him and repent. If someone is to sin after accepting Christ, is this sin forgiven automatically? Do I have to go to a church and confess any sins I make in order to obtain forgiveness again? Do I have to take any actions in order to gain forgiveness again? For example, if I told a lie to someone or said something I wish I did not, do I have to apologize or tell the truth to this person in order to be forgiven or is my faith in Christ and repentance enough? Thanks.

When you were saved all your sins were forgiven - past, present and future.

However, part of the Christian walk is sanctification, which is where you learn and grow in Christ..

During that lifetime process, you will find you commit the odd sin... whenever that happens go to your Savior in sincere sorrow for your sin, and ask for His forgiveness, and help from the Holy Spirit to overcome whatever that sin is..

And generally one thing at a time you get rid of sins like pride, or jealousy etc. or issues like not being the best representative of Christ because of cussing/using vulgar language.. and so forth..

Years down the road you will find yourself a better Christian than you are this day..

And its all due to the Grace of Christ... lean on Him whenever you struggle, and HE will be your strength.

 

[Redwingfan9]

Fairly new to serious faith and just had a question regarding sin. We are told thorugh scripture that Jesus has ultimately paid for all sin and we are saved through him so long as we have faith in him and repent. If someone is to sin after accepting Christ, is this sin forgiven automatically? Do I have to go to a church and confess any sins I make in order to obtain forgiveness again? Do I have to take any actions in order to gain forgiveness again? For example, if I told a lie to someone or said something I wish I did not, do I have to apologize or tell the truth to this person in order to be forgiven or is my faith in Christ and repentance enough? Thanks.

For God's people, all of their sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ. There is no such thing as an unforgivable sin. If we must repent of every sin, lest we lose our faith and go to Hell, I would submit that almost no one is in Heaven for two reasons. First, we do not know when we will die and it is impossible to spend the entire day repenting of all the various sins we commit. You will inevitability get run over by a bus or suffer a heart attack before asking for forgiveness for that last sin or two.

Second, the psalms warn us that the heart of man is desperately wicked. We are evil to the point that we often don't recognize our own sin, even when it may be apparent to others. I would therefore submit that just about everyone will die with sins they don't even realize they've committed. Those sins are forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ and believers ought not worry that their salvation is in jeopardy because they failed to see a sin in their life. That's not to say that we shouldn't bother to look for secret sins in our lives, Paul tells us to examine ourselves in order to take communion. We are to seek sanctification from our Lord. That said, it should be a comfort to believers that even those sins we don't recognize we are committing are forgiven.