Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you.
When we embrace Jesus Christ and accept Him as our Lord and Savior, then we are redeemed. Our sins are forgiven, and our salvation is assured.
This is the basic premise, the foundational teaching informing all Christian churches in every denomination.
Logically, it makes sense. As God has already extended the offer of forgiveness—something we see reiterated in Isaiah and Jeremiah as well as in the Gospels—all that remains is for us to accept that forgiveness. Our acceptance is essential, for if we deny Jesus, if we say He is not our Lord and Savior, if we say we do not need God’s forgiveness, then we are rejecting that forgiveness and so remain unforgiven. Only when we accept Christ can we accept the forgiveness already offered by God.
What about after we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior? Once we are redeemed, once our sins are forgiven, what happens then?
Do we stop sinning?
As much as I wish that were true, it isn’t. It certainly isn’t for me. I still sin, and probably do so even without realizing it sometimes. I am still quite capable of saying and doing wrong things.
One might argue that none of that matters, that once I have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior even future sins are covered.
Is that really true? I would say it is not.
Jesus Himself counseled against the complacency such thinking implies, teaching that we should have a particular vigilance, that we should be mindful of His eventual return.
There is the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids in Matthew 25, which Jesus concluded with “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” That admonition was repeated in Mark 13:33, “Take heed, watch; for you do not know when the time will come.”
There is the Parable of the Unfaithful Slave in Luke 12, with its warning of the perils of not adhering to God’s Will.
On every day, we are called to follow God’s Will and to obey God’s Law. If we truly have embraced Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that call is only strengthened and made more immediate—yet our human imperfections mean that even after we accept Christ we will still fail in that calling, and we will still sin.
The Apostle Paul acknowledged the realities of our constant sinning in Romans 7. Paul was no stranger to sin, and he admitted that he still felt the tug of temptation and desire even after his conversion on the road to Damascus.
In 2 Corinthians 12, he spoke of praying that God would remove the temptation to sin, the “thorn in the flesh”, that continued to vex him despite accepting Christ.
That we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, and accept the forgiveness already offered by God, does not free us from the realities of ongoing sin and imperfection. Even after we have accepted Christ, we are still prone to make mistakes. We are still likely to sin. We are still going to do things which require us to seek forgiveness.
If we are being mindful, that should be a problem for us. As Jesus’ own teachings in the Gospels make plain, even if I have accepted Christ, if I still do not adhere to God’s Will, I still risk the consequences of God’s Wrath. Even if I have accepted Christ, if I know what the right thing is and do not do it, I invite God’s Judgement upon me.
The parable in Luke especially stands as a powerful warning that God’s Forgiveness should not be regarded as an eternal “get out of jail free” card.
Yet God has already offered us forgiveness.
That promise is repeatedly made in Isaiah, beginning in the very first chapter. It is reiterated in Isaiah 44, and again in Isaiah 55.
That promise is repeated in Jeremiah 31:34, and again in Jeremiah 33:8.
The people of Israel sinned grievously and repeatedly, yet, throughout the worst consequences of defeat and exile, God did not abandon His people.
King David sinned grievously and repeatedly, yet God did not abandon him.
We do well to remember that the Apostle Peter, on the night of Jesus’ arrest, denied Christ three times. He was still called to ministry, to make believers of all nations, and he was still the rock upon which the early Christian churches were built.
The lesson in Scripture is crystal clear: we can stumble, we can fall, we can sin, and we can still rise again. We can still seek righteousness. We can still answer the call to be holy.
There is an additional lesson in Scripture as well: We will stumble. We will fall. We will sin. We will rise again.
We will still seek righteousness. We will still answer the call to be holy.
Even after we accept Jesus Christ, we can sin, and we will. That is the reality of everyone who proclaims to follow Jesus and adhere to God’s Will.
That reality necessarily must shape one’s apprehension of what it is to “accept Jesus Christ.” That reality necessarily reworks what outwardly might seem to be a singular event into a never-ending process.
The reality of our continuing sinfulness demands that, if we truly and honestly accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we must accept an obligation to constantly strive to overcome the temptations and weaknesses which occasion us to sin.
If we truly and honestly accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we accept that we commit to a life of continual transformation and spiritual growth. Ideally it means we sin less and less over time. At a minimum it means we are more cognizant of sin, and of the desires and temptations which lead us to sin.
As Paul counseled the Philippians, if we truly and honestly accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we must understand that the acceptance is not the end of the spiritual journey, but a new journey all its own.
What we embrace on one day we must intentionally embrace on every day. What we promise to follow on one day we must intentionally promise to follow on every day.
When we truly and honestly accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we accept that, spiritually, we are just getting started. We are embarking on a journey designed to last a lifetime.
We will stumble on that journey, but we can still rise and press on. We will wander off the path into the weeds that lie on either side, but we can still get back on the path and continue the journey. We will sin, but we can still continue to seek out righteousness, continue to strive for holiness.
My prayer each and every day is that I will always be mindful of the path before me, of the journey that leads me back to God. My prayer each and every day is that I will hear and heed God’s call to follow His Will and obey His Law. My prayer each and every day is that, when I stumble and fall off that path, God will guide me back onto it, that I may continue pressing forward.
My prayer for you each and every day is that you also will always be mindful of the path before you, of the journey that leads you back to God. My prayer for you each and every day is that you also will hear and heed God’s call to follow His Will and obey His Law. My prayer for you each and every day is that, when you stumble and fall off that path, God will guide you back onto it, that you may continue pressing forward.
Even after we accept Jesus Christ, we can sin, and we will. That is the reality of everyone who proclaims to follow Jesus and adhere to God’s Will.
If we truly and honestly accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we must accept an obligation to constantly strive to overcome the temptations and weaknesses which occasion us to sin. If we truly and honestly accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we accept that we commit to a life of continual transformation and spiritual growth.
When we truly and honestly accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we accept that, spiritually, we are just getting started. We are embarking on a journey designed to last a lifetime.
When you look back on your own journey of the past six years, you can see how much you’ve grown, Peter, as a person and as a Christian. You’ve become a better man and a wiser soul. I think you’re doing great! You have earned the respect and admiration of many people in your life. I believe God is pleased with your progress, and is guiding you in His perfect Love to some important Work that is part of His Plan. Yes, you - of course - still sin and error, because you are human. But God sees that you constantly reassess and strive to self-correct, and He is pleased by that effort. That’s all He asks - that you try to follow His Path.
You needed to be humbled and tempered by fire in order to manifest the greatness that God has imbued within you, Peter. Now remain humble before God, and let Him guide you to excellent Works. Bless you always. You know I love you infinitely through Christ!
First sanctified ( set apart )then the process of sanctification begins. This is work in progress and requires us to be under the authority of the Holy Spirit.
This process continues until death of the flesh and finally we become glorified.
I believe we can master outward sin but the inward ( stinking thinking) will always taint us from perfection.
We can’t even make it past the first commandment.