Christians dealing with sin

Romans 4:7 (Psalm 32:1)

"Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;"

I’m talking to those who belong to Christ. Those who have seen that they are sinners and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). Those who saw that they needed to change and confessed their sins to God and repented. Those who submitted to God and were immersed to wash away their sins (Acts 22:16). Paul tells us in

1 Corinthians 6:11

"…​you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

Now as a Christian…​

We don’t instantly become a mature Christian right after baptism. We still have some bad habits. We feel relieved that our sins are washed away, but it’s not too long and we sin again. What do we do? We rely on our instruction and we confess to God and repent. We learn from John:

1 John 1:7-10 (ESV Strong’s)

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Whew! We’re covered! Now we have a systematic way of dealing with sin. Now when we sin we know what to do. Confess & repent.

But "walk in the light," at this time to us means, if we do not sin, "we fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us…​" But if we do sin, it’s OK! "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

So, we get in this cycle of sinning, confessing, repenting…​, sinning, confessing, repenting…​, But we say: God is faithful…​, He will forgive our sins & cleanse us. So we, Sin, confess, & repent. And so on, and so on. Sound familiar?

And this is where we stay in our understanding of overcoming sin. Unless we mature.

Have you read: Acts 8:9-24, about Simon the magician? If we’ve been a Christian for a while or have read the book of Acts, we’ll know the story. There’s one part in the account I’d like us to look at. It’s where Peter tells Simon to repent.

Acts 8:22 (ESV Strong’s)

22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

If POSSIBLE? MAY? (Other translations say, IF PERHAPS…​) What does that mean? Repentance is a given right! Isn’t it? We repent God forgives! He is FAITHFUL. What’s this "if possible and may?"

Maybe it’s just a one time for Simon (the Magician) thing.

Take a look at:

2 Timothy 2:24-26 (ESV Strong’s), especially vs 25

24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

There it is again! PERHAPS and MAY. But now there’s a new word…​ GRANT.

That God MAY PERHAPS GRANT. Repentance is not a sure thing? For someone sincere & contrite, God is faithful & will forgive their sin. But does anyone believe that for someone "gaming the system" God with forgive their feigned repentance? What if we get just a little too complacent and convince ourselves we can go ahead & sin because afterward we fully intend to confess & repent? Will God forgive that attitude?…​ Pray God "MAY PERHAPS GRANT" us repentance!

Note
Dictionary
may

expressing 1) possibility, 2) permission, 3) wish or hope.

perhaps

used to express uncertainty or possibility

grant

agree to give or allow (something requested) to

feign

pretend to be affected by (a feeling, state, or injury)

If our trust in overcoming sin is in our ability to repent, then maybe our trust is mis-placed.

No One is Justified by Works of the Law (Any Law)

Romans 3:20 (ESV Strong’s) 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:28 (ESV Strong’s) 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Galatians 2:16 (ESV Strong’s) 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Galatians 2:17-21 (ESV Strong’s) 17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Galatians 3:11 (ESV Strong’s) 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Galatians 3:12-14 (ESV Strong’s) 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

There’s more to the promise

Romans 4:8 (Psalm 32:2-5)

8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Psalms 32:2-4 (ESV Strong’s)

2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Note
Next

  • We will study:

    • God’s process of taking away sin in Romans (ie giving us His righteousness)!

    • And we will see…​

      • In the process of taking away our sin, God did something else…​ He took away the law! (As a means to be justified)