Sin

FAQ: Why avoid sin and do good works if it doesn’t affect where we spend eternity?

Mark Broadbent F.A.Q.'s , , , , ,

sincity3

Christianity teaches that a person gets to heaven not by avoiding sin or doing good works, but by trusting solely in Jesus to save them.

And although the Bible describes this as ‘good news’, many fear that this message is far too risky. Why would anyone want to avoid sin and do good works if it doesn’t affect where they spend eternity?

But just because eternity is not on the line, doesn’t mean there’s no good reasons to avoid sin and do good works.

CONSIDER WHAT ALL GOOD PARENTS DO

Suppose a couple decided that the best way to get their children to behave is to threaten to kick them out of the family if they don’t perform. No one would think that this is a good idea. No one would argue that this is the best way to help their children become all that they want them to be. And yet, when it comes to viewing how our Heavenly Father works, some find it difficult to comprehend how He can get us to ‘behave’ if the threat of being kicked out of the family of God isn’t hanging over our heads.

Just as a loving mother and father use many different means to motivate, equip and help their children become all that they want them to be, our Heavenly Father also uses many different means to motivate, equip and help us become all that He wants us to be. It’s just that none of them include threatening to send us to hell.

10 REASONS WHY CHRISTIANS FIND THEMSELVES WANTING TO AVOID SIN AND DO GOOD WORKS
(in no particular order) 

1. GRATITUDE
Martin Luther said: “Faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God’s grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace”.

2. INTIMACY
Because we have a relationship with our Heavenly Father, we find ourselves wanting to please Him, in the same way a child wants to please their earthly parents. And although our Heavenly Father will never kick us out of the family for doing the wrong thing or being rebellious, our unwillingness to submit to Him certainly affects the level of intimacy that we might experience.

3. DISCIPLINE
Hebrews 12:5-11 says: “‘The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son’. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness“.

4. REWARDS
Bruce Wilkinson says: “Our eternal destination is the consequence of what we believe on earth. Our eternal compensation is the consequence of how we behave on earth”. The Apostle Paul spoke about believers who will be in heaven because of their faith in Jesus, but will miss out on rewards in heaven because they did not give their life to doing good works: “No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

5. EVANGELISM
Loving each other and doing good works won’t lead people to Jesus, but it can lead people towards Jesus. Jesus said: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). He said: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”.

6. PURPOSE
Jesus longs for us to experience the joy of being part of something bigger than ourselves. The Apostle Paul says that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). Jesus’ vision for our lives is so much greater than anything humanly possible. He wants us to “produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown” (Mark 4:20).

7. REPENTANCE
Part of becoming a Christian involves ‘repenting’. To ‘repent’ simply means ‘to change one’s mind’. So a Christian is someone who has changed their mind about sin. Rather than see sin as something to be celebrated and embraced, the Christian agrees with God that it’s destructive and hurtful. It damages our relationship with God and others.

8. OWNERSHIP
Over and over again the Bible tell us that Christians belong to God. The Apostle Paul said: “You are not your own; you were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). When we become a Christian, God takes full responsibility for our lives. And part of taking on that responsibility means leading and empowering us to become all that He wants us to be. We submit to God. Not just because He loves us and cares for us. But because He is our God and He has a right to us.

9. FREEDOM
The Bible teaches that Jesus wants us to be free of our addiction to sin. The Apostle Paul said: “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” (Romans 6:17-18).

10. HOLY SPIRIT
Even if every other attempt to get Christians to avoid sin and do good works failed, they would still be inclined to become the kind of person God wants them to be. This is because God has given them the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit wages war against a Christian’s sinful nature (which loves sin and craves sin), while at the same time motivating them and empowering them to do good works. These works are called fruit of the Spirit. It’s impossible for the God of the universe to come and live inside someone and have them stay the same. Something is going to change.

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FAQ: What if a person claims to be a Christian but is not living like a Christian?

Mark Broadbent F.A.Q.'s , , ,

Suppose Jack claims to have become a Christian at the age of 16, and for some time his walk with God was fairly consistent. He seemed to really want to love God, love others, tell people about Jesus, be actively involved in church, care for the poor, etc.

But at the age of 23, Jack’s Christian life becomes very rocky. He still claims to be a Christian, but he no longer obeys God consistently, he drops out of church, stops telling people about Jesus, and cares less and less about the things that God cares about. Some Christians would describe Jack as ‘backsliding’. This period of ‘backsliding’ might be for weeks, months or even years.

Jack

Because these situations are not all that uncommon, typically the question is asked: “If Jack was to die, where would he spend eternity?”

Will Jack make it to heaven?   

People asking this question are usually not trying to imply that Jack has to earn his way to heaven. They firmly believe that Jack is saved because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross. But they also believe that if a person was really a Christian, then they wouldn’t live the kind of life that Jack is living.

Some wonder if Jack has lost his salvation? Others wonder if he was ever saved to begin with?

So what’s the answer? Unfortunately the situation is not as clear cut as we might like. There are actually two possibilities…

Possibility #1 – Jack is definitely a Christian who will go to Heaven

At the age of 16, Jack really did become a Christian. He came to a place where he realized that he was a sinner under the judgement of God, unable to change himself or save himself. He cast his entire life and eternity into Jesus’ hands, trusting Him to save him. As a result, Jesus did two things for Jack…

A. CROSS
Jesus paid for all of Jack’s past, present, future, deliberate and accidental sin by His death on the cross.

B. HOLY SPIRIT
Jesus gave Jack the Holy Spirit who came into his life to wage war against his sinful nature and change him from the inside out.

Jack 2

Once Jack became a Christian at 16, he began to walk with God. The Holy Spirit worked powerfully in Jack’s life to make him more like Jesus.

But at the age of 23, something changed. It might have been that Jack got led astray by the wrong people. Or perhaps his girlfriend died in a car accident and Jack became angry with God. Or maybe Jack just got busy at work and overtime he got distracted.

Regardless though, if Jack is really a Christian, then his eternity is secure because Jesus has paid for his sin in full.

Possibility #2 – Jack is not a Christian and he will not go to Heaven

At the age of 16, Jack thought he became a Christian because he did two things…

A. COMMITMENT
Jack made a commitment to try and obey God’s commands. He figured that if he could obey, or at least try and obey, that God would accept him into heaven.

B. CULTURE
Jack started to conform to the church culture. He talked the talk. He behaved the right way. He even got into church leadership.

Jack 3

Because Jack made a commitment at the age of 16 to try and obey, he did everything he could not to put a step wrong. Outwardly it looked like Jack had a close relationship with God. But the truth is that Jack was terrified of God. He had no sense of peace. He felt constant pressure to perform. He was always worried that God might take away his salvation if he failed to keep his commitment.

So at the age of 23, Jack had finally reached a point where he could no longer stand it and he walked away. He wasn’t necessarily angry with God. He wasn’t even necessarily upset with the church. He just couldn’t keep walking closely with God if heaven and hell hung in the balance every time he sinned.

So unfortunately Jack would not go to heaven, not because he sinned too much, but because he never trusted in the finished work of Jesus on His behalf.

How do we know the difference?

In comparing Possibility #1 to Possibility #2, there are various things that could be looked at. Here’s a couple…

hypocrite1


A. IS JACK TRUSTING IN JESUS’ FINISHED WORK ON HIS BEHALF, OR IS HE TRUSTING IN HIS COMMITMENT TO OBEY JESUS? 
Ephesians 2:8-9 says: “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast”.

Our salvation rests on what Jesus has DONE, not on what we have to DO. A true Christian is saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone! 

B. HAS JACK RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT? 
Galatians 5:16-17 says: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other”.

Here we find that if Jack is truly a Christian, the Holy Spirit will be waging war against his sinful nature. Sometimes Jack will be led by the Spirit, and he will love God and love others and hate sin. Other times Jack will be led by his sinful nature, and he will love sin and crave sin.

This means two things. Firstly, over time, we should be able to see fruit of the Spirit in Jack’s life. Secondly, when Jack does sin, or begins to ‘backslide’ as some Christians call it, the Holy Spirit will be at work in his life calling him to confess his sin and walk with God.

The key is not to expect an absence of sin or even an absence of sinful desires (for Jack still has a sinful nature that loves sin and craves sin), but rather to look for evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in Jack’s life. 

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GUILT-FREE CHRISTIANITY: Why good people don’t go to heaven and bad people don’t go to hell

Mark Broadbent Guilt-Free Christianity , , , , , , ,

THE LADDERGuilt Free

Many people view practicing Christianity a little like trying to climb a ladder to get to God. They believe that it offers them a way to earn God’s forgiveness and earn their way to heaven.

Some try and climb by living a good life. They figure that as long as they treat people well and genuinely try and do the right thing throughout their life, then God will forgive them and let them into heaven.

Others try and climb by being committed to God. They’ve made a promise to obey Jesus and live for Him. They believe that as long as they stay close to God and always try to obey Him, then God will forgive them and let them into heaven.

Many people believe that they can climb the ladder by having the right heart. They know that they fail to obey God, but as long as they never deliberately sin, and are always repentant when they do, then they believe that God will forgive them and let them into heaven.

Some climb their way through religious rituals. Some do it by making radical sacrifices. Some even climb by trying to accumulate a number of spiritual experiences. Regardless, the one thing that all these approaches have in common is that they are never able to get us to the top of the ladder.

The problem with the ladder

Trying to climb the ladder is a nightmare. It will either turn you off Christianity, or it will create people who will turn you off Christianity.

It will turn you off Christianity by making you feel like you can never do enough. No matter how hard you try, no matter how committed, how consistent, how good your intentions, you always feel guilt and shame. The reason that so many people walk away from God and the church is because they are tired of climbing a ladder that can’t be climbed.

It will create people who will turn you off Christianity by producing self-righteous, judgemental people who feel like they’ve got a right to look down on others because they’ve made their way up a few rungs. According to the Barna Group, there’s an alarming number of church attenders who are still trying to climb the ladder. They work hard, they live good lives, they pray, they read the bible, they give generously. But they aren’t humble. They don’t have peace. They aren’t driven by joy. They don’t live the kind of lives that make you want to be a Christian.

Diagram 1

All this leads us to ask if there is some other way…

The real purpose of the ladder

It’s often been said that God would never ask us to do something we’re not able to do. But actually, the complete opposite is true. All throughout the Bible we find God calling people to do things that aren’t humanly possible. The same is true with God’s commands. We naturally assume that because God has given us a command, that He expects us to be able to obey. But what if there is something else going on? What if God knew from the beginning that we wouldn’t be able to climb high enough? What if God gave us commands for an entirely different reason?

The  Apostle Paul explains why God gave us the law… “I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death” (Romans 7:7-11).

God never expected us to be able to climb the ladder. The law was never given to make us holy. Rather the law was given so that we would realize that we are unholy. The law was given to condemn us, not to save us. The more we try and climb the ladder, the more we slip and we fall, the more we realize that we are sinful, the more we realize that we need a saviour.

So when we look at the ladder, there are really three responses. The first is to keep climbing. The second is to walk away from God altogether. But the third is to go running to Jesus.

Diagram 2

What Jesus wants to do for you

Once a person stops trying to climb the ladder and runs to Jesus as their saviour, God is faced with two very significant problems…

PROBLEM #1: THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN

God has to punish our sin, but does not want to punish us.

SOLUTION #1: THE CROSS

In order to solve the first problem, God had to figure out a way to punish our sin without punishing us. So 2,000 years ago, He sent His Son Jesus to die on a cross.

A lot of people believe that Jesus’ death serves as an example of sacrifice for us to follow. Others see the cross and a great demonstration of God’s love for people. Although both these perspectives are true, the reason Jesus died on the cross was to cop the punishment for our sin.

The Bible says that “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (1 Corinthians 5:21).

All our past sin, present sin, future sin, accidental sin, and deliberate sin was cast upon Jesus while He was on the cross. God poured out His wrath upon Jesus. Jesus was condemned so that we can become uncondemnable.

At the same time, all of Jesus’ righteousness was cast upon us. So that every good thing that Jesus ever did is credited into our account. So although we are still sinful, God now treats us as if we live the perfect, holy, and pure lives.

Cross Diagram

For this reason, we can be 100% sure that we are forgiven. We can be 100% sure that we are going to heaven. Not because we are good, or committed or have good intentions, but because Jesus paid for all our sin in full.

Diagram 3

So the obvious question is this: Can we go on sinning and still go to heaven? This brings us to God’s second problem…

PROBLEM #2: THE POWER OF SIN

God wants us to do good works, but telling us to be good doesn’t work

SOLUTION #2: THE HOLY SPIRIT

In order to solve the second problem, God had to figure out a way to transform us from the inside out. So when a person runs to Jesus to save them, they don’t just get all their sin paid for, they also receive the Holy Spirit.

Bill Bright said: “The Christian life is not difficult – it is impossible… Only one person has ever lived the Christian life, and that was Jesus Christ. Today He desires to go on living His life through Christians whom He indwells”.

In other words, the Spirit of Jesus, also known as the Holy Spirit, comes and lives in us and through us.

So, spiritually speaking, there are really three kinds of people in the world…

1. Unbeliever

Here we find a person who has not placed their faith in Jesus. The Holy Spirit (H.S.) is not in their life, and the person sits on the throne (or driver’s seat) of their life.
Holy Spirit Diagram 3

2. Spirit-Controlled Christian

Here we find a person who has placed their faith in Jesus. Their life is no longer their own. They now belong to God. The Holy Spirit (H.S.) has come into their life and is on the throne (or driver’s seat). He is giving them the motivation and power to live like Jesus. They still stuggle with sin, but they are no longer dominated by it.

Holy Spirit Diagram 4

3. Self-Controlled Christian

Here we find a person who has placed their faith in Jesus. Their life is no longer their own. They now belong to God. But they are not experiencing all that God wants to do in their life. Although the Holy Spirit (H.S.) has come into their life, they have placed themselves back on the throne (or driver’s seat). God is definitely at work in their life, but their life is still dominated by sin.

Holy Spirit Diagram 5

SUMMARY

So for those of us who have STOPPED TRYING TO CLIMB THE LADDER and have RUN TO JESUS to save them, we can be confident of two things…

1. Because Jesus died on THE CROSS to PAY FOR OUR SINS, we have ETERNAL LIFE

2. Because the HOLY SPIRIT gives us the POWER TO OVERCOME SIN, we have a NEW LIFE

Diagram 4

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ILLUSTRATION: Demon Possession

Mark Broadbent Illustrations , , ,

demonic-possessionIf you have ever seen a movie where someone gets demon possessed, you would have noticed a battle going on between the demon, who wants to take control of the person to make them do evil, and the person, who want’s their life back. Sometimes the demon possessed person is controlled by the demon. Sometimes the person is in control of their own body. Sometimes it’s a combination of both.

Although it sounds a little strange, something similar happens to a person when they become a Christian.

The Bible teaches that when a person places their life and eternity into Jesus hands, the Holy Spirit comes into their life to wage war against their sinful nature. In a sense, they get ‘Holy Spirit Possessed’. From that moment on, there is a battle that rages within between the Holy Spirit, who wants to take control of the person to make them more like Jesus, and the person’s sinful nature, which loves sin and craves sin. Sometimes the Holy Spirit is in control. Sometimes the sinful nature is in control. Sometimes it’s a combination of both.

This is why when you meet a Christian, you can definitely expect to see evidence that the Holy Spirit has come into their life. The Bible describes this as ‘fruit of the Spirit’: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

But this is also why you will unfortunately continue to see evidence of their sinful nature: selfishness, gossip, lust, greed, complaining, unforgiveness, bitterness, envy, etc.

Galatians 5:17
“The sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want”

FAQ: Does the Bible teach that homosexuals will go to hell?

Mark Broadbent F.A.Q.'s, Uncategorized , , , , ,

Regardless of whether or not you believe the Bible is true, it is worth investigating what it actually says about homosexuality. There are many issues that could be addressed, but for the sake of simplicity we will focus on just two questions:

QUESTION #1
DOES THE BIBLE TEACH THAT HOMOSEXUALITY IS SINFUL?

ANSWER #1
THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT HOMOSEXUALITY IS SINFUL…

The Old Testament, which is predominantly about God’s plan for the Israelites, describes homosexuality as sinful. Leviticus 18:22 says: “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable”. A similar command is repeated in Leviticus 20:13, which says, “If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable”.

Now the question is, do these commands still apply today?

The New Testament, which was written to Christians, also describes homosexuality as sinful. Romans 1:26-27 says: “God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error”.

So both the Old Testament and New Testament teach that Homosexuality is sinful.

BUT IT ALSO TEACHES THAT MANY OTHER ACTIONS ARE JUST AS SINFUL…

The Romans passage continues by saying: “Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy” (Romans 1:28-30).

Here we find that homosexuality is listed alongside many other sins, including several which would be considered quite socially acceptable within Christian communities.

This occurs again in 1 Timothy 1:9-11 which says: “The law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers”.

So although homosexuality is clearly being described as sinful, it is not described as being more sinful than any other particular sin.

QUESTION #2
DOES THE BIBLE TEACH THAT ALL HOMOSEXUALS GO TO HELL?

ANSWER #2
THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT HOMOSEXUALS, ALONG WITH MANY OTHER SINNERS, WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD…churchkisssign

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says: “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God”. This is obviously disturbing for homosexuals. But it is just as disturbing for everyone else.

We are all guilty of adultery. Jesus said that “anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery” (Matthew 5:28). We are guilty of greed. It’s almost impossible to live in the west and not struggle with materialism. We are all guilty of slander. We engage in it every time we turn on the news and hear gossip or some kind of slanderous remark about a celebrity or a politician.

So based on this passage, no one will inherit the kingdom of God.

UNLESS THEY PLACE THEIR FAITH IN JESUS…

The First Corinthians passage goes onto say: “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

Here we discover that this passage is not about condemning us all to hell. Rather it is explaining that anyone who places their faith in Jesus to save them will no longer be judged according to their sin.

When a person becomes a Christian, they are ‘washed’. They are ‘sanctified’, which simply means that they are ‘set apart as God’s people’. They are ‘justified’, which means that they are ‘declared righteous’, even though they are not righteous.

So the Bible doesn’t teach that all homosexuals go to hell, any more than it teaches that all sinners go to hell. Rather it teaches that anyone who places their faith in Jesus to save them will be washed, sanctified, justified, and inherit the kingdom of God.

THE SIN OF HOMOSEXUALITY DOESN’T PROHIBIT PEOPLE FROM COMING TO JESUS. SIN IS THE REASON THAT PEOPLE COME TO JESUS

“You don’t go to Hell for being a homosexual… heterosexuality doesn’t get you to heaven. So, how in the world could homosexuality send you to Hell?… What sends you to Hell is self-righteousness – thinking that you can be your own savior and lord. What sends you to heaven is getting a connection with Christ because you realize you’re a sinner and you need intervention from outside” – Timothy Keller

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ILLUSTRATION: Woman who can’t stop having an affair

Mark Broadbent Illustrations , ,

affair2There was once a woman who realized that there was something missing in her life. So she decided to go to the local church and find out more about Christianity. Upon arriving she met the pastor and began asking questions. For the next six weeks, the woman and the pastor met to discuss the Christian faith. At the end of the six weeks, the pastor asked the woman if she would like to become a Christian. The woman said that she would love to, but there was one major problem. The woman had been cheating on her husband for last two years and had not been able to stop.

The pastor’s initial reaction was to tell the woman that she would need to give up the affair before she could become a Christian. But just before the words came out of his mouth, he realized how terribly wrong he was. The woman did not have to give up her sin before coming to faith. For one thing, she was not able to. She had tried and tried and tried but continued to fail. Secondly, if it was a requirement for her to give up this particular sin, how many more sins would she have to give up before she qualified for Christianity.

So the pastor rightly said to her: “You don’t need to stop sinning before becoming a Christian. Jesus came for sinners. He came for people stuck in adultery. He came for people who are addicted to sin. Jesus can save you just as you are. He will give you the Holy Spirit who can empower you to overcome your sin”.

So in that moment, the woman simply confessed that she was a sinner, unable to save herself, and unable to change herself. She asked Jesus to pay for the consequences of her sin, and asked the Holy Spirit to give her the power to overcome her sin.

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FAQ: Can we live a life of deliberate sin and still go to heaven?

Mark Broadbent F.A.Q.'s , ,

tumblr_m2f7eczPF11qaol32The Problem…

If it’s possible to live a life of deliberate sin and still go to heaven, then some Christians might choose to take advantage of God’s grace and devote their life to intentionally sinning every day.

If it’s not possible to live a life of deliberate sin and still go to heaven, then some Christians might spend their life wondering if they are going to hell because of their ongoing struggle with sin.

Why we can live a life of deliberate sin….

1. If we can’t live a life of deliberate sin, can we live a year of deliberate sin, or a month of deliberate sin, or a week of deliberate sin, or a moment of deliberate sin? Where do we draw the line? And what happens if we have a bad week or a bad month or even a bad year?

2. If we can’t live a life of deliberate sin, does this mean that Jesus only paid for accidental sin? If so, is it even possible to commit an accidental sin? Isn’t all sin to some extent deliberate?

3. If we can’t live a life of deliberate sin, what do we do with sins of omission? The Bible teaches that sin includes both sins of commission (i.e. doing wrong things) and sins of omission (i.e. failing to do right things). A day spent avoiding doing wrong things is not necessarily a day without sin.

4. If we can’t live a life of deliberate sin, why did Jesus expect us to sin daily? In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus says: “Give us today our daily bread”. So we know that this is a prayer that Jesus expects us to pray daily. He then says: “Forgive us our sins”. So no matter how much we may try not to sin, Jesus fully expects that we will need to confess our sin daily.

5. If we can’t live a life of deliberate sin, how do we make sure we don’t start thinking that we deserve heaven because of our willingness to avoid sin? The Bible teaches that we are saved by grace “so that no one can boast” (Eph 2:9). If our willingness to avoid sin affects where we spend eternity, we would have grounds to boast because we would feel that we are better than those who don’t avoid sin.

6. If we can’t live a life of deliberate sin, why does the Bible teach that some Christians will get to heaven and have nothing to show for their life, but will still be saved? “If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

7. If we can’t live a life of deliberate sin, how could the Bible teach that we receive eternal life at the point of salvation? If the level of our sin affected where we ended up, our eternal destination could only be determined at the end of our life.

8. If we can’t live a life of deliberate sin, what do we do about the fact that our sinful nature continues to crave sin? “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:18-20)

What God does to motivate us not to sin. 

The Bible teaches that there are lots of reasons why Christians won’t want to live a life of deliberate sin. It’s just that none of these determine our eternal destination.

1. God motivates us not to sin by giving us the the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s job is to wage war against our sinful nature. There is no way a person can receive the Holy Spirit and stay the same.

2. God motivates us not to sin by reminding us of what He has done for us. We love because Jesus first loved us. We serve because Jesus served us. We forgive because Jesus forgave us. We live for God because Jesus died for us.

3. God motivates us not to sin by reminding us that sin is destructive. When a person becomes a Christian they ‘repent’. Repent means to change our mind. We know longer see sin as something to be embraced. We realize that it is destructive and that it destroys our relationships and our lives.

4. God motivates us not to sin by reminding us that He’s willing to discipline us. The Bible teaches that “the Lord disciplines the one he loves” (Proverbs 3:12). If we continue to embrace sin without any hint of repentance, God will discipline us so that we will get our lives back on track.

5. God motivates us not to sin by reminding us that there are rewards in heaven. The Bible teaches that where we spend eternity is determined by how we respond to Jesus. But our experience in eternity is determined by how faithful we were with the opportunities to serve God.

Conclusion

So in theory a Christian can live a life of deliberate sin because Jesus paid for all our deliberate sin. But in practice, there are many reasons why a Christian will find themselves not wanting to live a life of deliberate sin.

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