Saved and Sinning

[Fraction]

I would first like to introduce myself as a baby christian, and also by the name of Justin. I would like to first ask forgiveness if this is some sort of duplicate post. Also at first this may seem like it belongs in the counseling department, but I think it should be here so people can continue to gather knowledge and post their opinions.

I have noticed that a lot of people have issues with being saved and still sinning constantly. Even after we gain knowledge, we keep on doing the things we are warned and asked not to do. I am more than positive that most christians can actually relate to this situation. I have done a very large number of research and reading (havent gotten through the whole bible yet, not that much of a reader lol but i'm working on it!).

So the main question comes into play here, am I really saved even though I don't stop sinning?

I have developed somewhat of a conclusion to this question, and I find it a comfortable conclusion. I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ and God do exist. I believe that through Jesus Christ and his actions on this earth is the only way to salvation. So therefor I am saved and have gained eternal life. My heart/spirit has been purified and no longer contains sin. How do I know this though, how can I tell? It's obvious now that I know the difference between right and wrong. Everything that God says is wrong, my heart follows it. My heart believes it is wrong as well. I do not ever try to justify my actions or make up excuses, I know that they are my fault. Every night I confess my sins to God so that he may forgive me. I also ask for help, help to get rid of the sin in my life because I know I cannot do it alone.

See I believe that when you become saved, your body and spirit become separated entirely. Meaning that you have eternal life based on who you are, and not what you do in this life. In no way does that make it okay to keep sinning in this life. I believe strongly that sin comes with punishment, always. This punishment when left to do what it wants will eventually consume you, and which will result in lose of faith. Which results in lose of salvation! So sin is a serious matter and should not ever be thought of as "it's okay, go ahead".

When I sin constantly throughout the day in different ways, I don't say to myself "oh well, god will forgive me for it haha". I know in my heart that I have done wrong, and that I need to confess them at some point.

So am I saved? I strongly believe that I am saved yes. I also believe that I need to do a lot of work, or actually let god work through me.

So what are your opinions on being saved and sin? Does the heart overrule the body when it comes to salvation? Post your scriptures and explain them from your view. This is a very interesting topic in my opinion, something that everyone should be researching as baby christians. Maybe even adult christians as well.

 

[Thiscrosshurts]

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,look full in his wonderful face and the things of this world grow strangely dim.=Sin is boring if it keeps you from the knowledge of his Glory.
Once you taste and see that the Lord is good you won't even remember sin anymore.
Dealing with sin is like filling old wine skins with new wine.
The result is a loss of old and new.
Seek the "living water" that fills that God shaped hole in the soul.
Wrestling the old man is pointless.
Focus on that new creature in Christ,he is saved not the old man.
He(Christ and the new creature)must increase while I(the old man)must decrease.

A baby is a human even though it can't take care of itself.
You are saved as long as you know you ARE a new creature in Christ.
It's as simple as having faith that God means what he says even if our eyes,memories,thoughts and emotions tell us different.
It might help to adopt Psalm 51 as your prayer for a time.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

That's also a song that you might want to carry around.

 

[Konquistador]

Personally, I look at all the statements by many people and whole denominations about "salvation", "being saved", etc., as a way to either 1) convince themselves that if they follow certain "rules" or have certain "beliefs", they can ignore what Jesus said summarizes everything God wants from us, or 2) a way to be judgemental towards others so they can feel better about themselves, or 3) both.

These are all self-delusions. Sure, they can point to isolated verses from all over the place in the Bible, and especially from their intolerant churches that look down upon those who are not "saved" according to their own narrow and self-congratulatory rules. But it ignores what the Bible actually says.

Jesus told us that the summary of all scriptures, and the only things that God wants, is the Great Commandments: Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. If you love God, and everything you do in your life reflects this, then you will live a life that God loves.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was a great theologian, He had many complicated theories about sin, salvation, justification, and other topics. But Wesley also said none of this mattered, it was all technicality, Christ spoke against technicalities if they became the focus, and it all boils down to 1)Love God with all your heart 2) Do good 3) Do no harm.

Now, it's not likely that we will always behave this way, as you note in your post. But it is possible for you to try, and get closer and closer to "perfection" gradually over time. If you do actually try, and admit your errors for doing wrong things even on purpose, and ask for God's forgiveness, the slate is wiped clean. You need to honestly admit to yourself and God you did the wrong thing on purpose, and that you will try to do better even if you know chances are you still won't get it right the next time, and open your mind so that you see how you can do better next time.

Forget about salvation and being saved. What you really want to know is how you can do good, do no harm, and love God. Jesus was absolutely clear that people who try to follow a set of rules that they thought would gain God's favor (that is, they must do One, Two, Three) were precisely those who are OUT of God's favor. Do good, do no harm, and love God. That's it!

Now, you can expect all sorts of quotations from the Bible in other posts, with all sorts of specific requirements, usually out of context. Just remember what God wants and ignore the rest.

 

[Fraction]

What a very interesting post Konquistador!

I agree that outside of faith, love is the strongest emotion and feeling anyone can have. It actually performs close to the same things that Faith does.

I also believe that we should do good and not harm ourselves or others, which does affect sin greatly in our lives. We all have read the rules and the laws in the bible, we all can relate to them. We can also relate to the consequences of sin and wrong doing.

For example:

We all struggle with Lust, constantly. The more we give into feelings of lust, the more we want and want and want. First it will start out as pornography, but it will lead to going out here and having random sex with random people. That will lead to broken hearts and diseases that could shorten our life or make it much harder and less enjoyable.

God wants us to not only have faith in him, but to life a good life here. Yes it is more so about living for God. However, it is also for our benefit. The more bad we do, the more bad it is!

I agree that we need to try, and the first step to trying is admitting you are at fault. This war cannot be won alone, some things are impossible for us to overcome without divine aid. Such things mainly include addictions, something we feel that we cannot live without.

I am addicted to smoking, I am addicted to cursing, and I am addicted to many other things that are bad. However I do not blame my addiction, I blame myself for becoming addicted! I am the one at fault here, not things I cannot see. So when I come to God and ask for forgiveness, I don't explain in detail why because he already knows. I just continue to put trust in Him so that they will be removed from my life.

You have an amazing view Konquistador, and it is very well respected by me. Thank you for posting.

Thank you as well thiscrosshurts for posting, I have yet to read all of Psalms, but it is a beautiful book...a very beautiful book.