Bible Question: Can a person that really loves God fall into great sins and yet love God so dear?And after repenting is his sin gone? |
Bible Answer: You wrote: "Can a person that really loves God fall into great sins and yet love God so dear?" King David did. I do. Actually, I believe that our sin demonstrates that we do not love God as much as we ought (John 14:15). Our sin does not mean we are not saved, but rather that are in the midst of a war between the old self and the new that will last until we are with the Lord. "And after repenting is his sin gone?" If you are in Christ, your sins were paid for by Jesus Christ. Repentance is the acknowledgement and remorse of the guilt of our sin and a determination to fight it. Since you brought this issue up, I want to quote something for the forum that I found quite profound. It is from a book I have been reading called _The Pursuit of Holiness_ by Jerry Bridges. It comes highly recommended by me, and here is one of the things he has to share from God's word: "It is time for Christians to face up to our responsibility for holiness. Too often we say we are 'defeated' by this or that sin. No, we are not defeated; we are simply disobedient! It might be well if we stopped using the terms 'victory' and 'defeat' to describe our progress in holiness. Rather, we should use the terms 'obedience' and 'disobedience.' When I say I am defeated by my some sin, I am unconsciously slipping out from under my own responsibility. I am saying that something outside of me has defeated me. But when I say I am disobedient, that places the responsibility for sin squarely on me. We may, in fact, be defeated, but the reason we are defeated is because we have chosen to disobey. We have chosen to entertain lustful thoughts, or to harbor resentment, or to shade the truth a little." Another excellent book which addresses your question directly is _Righteous Sinners: The Believer's Struggle with Faith, Grace, and Works_ by Ron Julian. Both of these give a very biblical perspective on sin in the life of the child of God. Incidentally, Forum, I pretty much will be taking a virtual vacation this week, as AMF's summer missions week starts this afternoon. Please pray for me and the other leaders of this program; for the 85 or so teens that are participating, that they will proclaim God's truth accurately and authoritatively; and that children participating in the "backyard Bible clubs" led by the teens this week will be drawn to Christ or strengthened in their existing faith. Thanks, and may God bless you! --Joe! |