Can a christian sin?

[SamMcNear]

Can a christian sin? and if a christian can sin is he held accountable for it since all our sins where nailed to the cross once and for all?

[mattrose]

Christians can sin? Yes (I don't know anyone who never sinned post-conversion)

Will we be held accountable for post-conversion sins? I think Scripture does indicate we'll have to give account.

Will we miss heaven b/c of post-conversion sin? No, not unless you have an unrepentant heart

If I won't miss heaven for post-conversion sin, why repent? Because we don't exist just to get a spot in heaven, but to bring glory to God and become like Christ. Post-conversion is actually a bit of a mis-nomer because we are always in the process of conversion during on earthly Christian lives (at least).

[Paidion]

Yes, a Christian can sin. No one must "pay" for past sins. Jesus didn't "pay" for our past sins either. God's dealing with us is not a legality. It isn't necessary for some one to "pay" for our past sins. God is concerned about our present character. Jesus died to deliver us from sin, so that we might have the victory.

1Pe 2:24 He himself endured our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Does Peter tell us that He died in order to forgive us? No. He tells us that He died in order that we might die to sin and to live righteous lives. He tells us that the purpose of Christ's wounds is to heal our sin sickness.

George MacDonald wrote in The Hope of the Gospel, chapter 1, Salvation From Sin:

A man is right when there is no wrong in him. The wrong, the evil in him; he must be set free from it. I do not mean set free from the sins he has done; that will follow; I mean the sins he is doing, or is capable of doing; the sins in his being which spoil his nature—the wrongness in him—the evil he consents to; the sin he is,which makes him do the sin he does.

The Lord never came to deliver men from the consequences of their sins while those sins remained. That would be to throw the medicine out the window while the man still lies sick! That would be to come directly against the very laws of existence! Yet men, loving their sins, and feeling nothing of their dread hatefulness, have (consistently with their low condition) constantly taken this word concerning the Lord to mean that he came to save them from the punishment of their sins. This idea (this miserable fancy rather) has terribly corrupted the preaching of the gospel. The message of the good news has not been truly delivered.

Not for any or all of his sins that are past shall a man be condemned; not for the worst of them does he need to fear remaining unforgiven. The sin in which he dwells, the sin of which he will not come out. That sin is the sole ruin of a man. His present live sins, those sins pervading his thoughts and ruling his conduct; the sins he keeps doing, and will not give up; the sins he is called to abandon, but to which he clings instead, the same sins which are the cause of his misery, though he may not know it --- these are the sins for which he is even now condemned.

[SamMcNear]

if Christ's blood covers my sins, present past and future how is the christian accountable and not accountable for a sin? or is it wrong to think Christ's blood cover my sins i haven't asked forgivness for yet.

[steve7150]

if Christ's blood covers my sins, present past and future how is the christian accountable and not accountable for a sin? or is it wrong to think Christ's blood cover my sins i haven't asked forgivness for yet.

User avatar
SamMcNear






My understanding is that on judgment day believers are also judged by their works, not for a place in heaven but
for something else which isn't explicitly stated as far as i know.

[steve7150]

Yes, a Christian can sin. No one must "pay" for past sins. Jesus didn't "pay" for our past sins either. God's dealing with us is not a legality. It isn't necessary for some one to "pay" for our past sins. God is concerned about our present character. Jesus died to deliver us from sin, so that we might have the victory.











I think Isa 53 (which Matthew referenced) explicitly says he paid for our sins, but it is true that he also came so that we can be delivered from sinning.

[john6809]

Sam,

I don't know if I see it properly, but I have always understood that Jesus paid the price for all sins, once and for all but, that forgiveness is "handed out" as necessary and requested. I think Jesus counted the cost and His death covered all costs, past, present and future, on an as-needed basis.
I don't know how home construction mortgages work in the U.S. but, here in Canada, a bank will approve the motgagee for the full value of the projected amount necessary to complete the home. But, they don't give you the full amount up front. Rather, they give you draws three times at various stages of the construction.
I know that this is not the best example, but it does show how you can have a guarantee of forgiveness of sin before sin has been committed. If our sins were forgiven at once and the full value were given to us up front, why would Jesus teach us to pray, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors?"

Regards

[Paidion]

It seems to me, John, that if your sins are now forgiven, past, present, and future, it gives you the license to sin with impunity.

[john6809]

It seems to me, John, that if your sins are now forgiven, past, present, and future, it gives you the license to sin with impunity.

I would disagree, Paidion. In the example of new home construction, the home builder is eligible for a draw if he shows completion to a certain level. If he continually neglects to work on his home, he will eventually find himself in default, the consequence of which would be, that he would forfeit his ownership of the home under construction.

In much the same way, the sins in my future are not presently paid for because, 1) They have not yet been committed, and 2) They have not yet been confessed because they have not yet been committed. When I do sin, I need not crucify Christ again in order to obtain forgiveness. The value of His death on the cross is sufficient for those sins and will be given if repentance occurs. However, this does not allow me to continue to willfully sin because this would be evidence of a lack of the fruit of repentance, and as such, no repentance has truly occurred. I would contend that anyone living in this way would eventually find themselves outside the faith.

[Paidion]

I was wondering, John, how you interpret the following passage:

For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then fall away, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. (Heb 6:4-8 ESV)