What if I Turn My Back on God?
This question evokes emotion which many believers
share, “Surely, I can do something so terrible that God will not forgive me.”
Because, in our
thinking, one sin must certainly be worse than another. But, the cost of atonement
(removing the penalty of sin and placing us in a right relationship with God),
or salvation, has always been the same, Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood. And I have given it to you
on the altar to make an atonement for your souls. For it is the blood that
makes an atonement for the soul.” Regardless of which sin we commit the
question is the same, “Is the sacrifice of Christ sufficient?”
When a person
comes to God for salvation they come with sin, they come because of sin, all
types of sin. Understand just how wicked men are when we first come to God. We
bring every sin imaginable. Romans 3:10-12,23 says, “As it is written: "There is none righteous, no not
one; (v.11) there is none that understands, there is none that seeks after
God. (v.12) They are all gone out of the way, they have together become
unprofitable, there is none that does good, no, not one. (v.23)….For all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God….” When Jesus went to the cross
he took all of our sin; the little white lies, the parental disobedience, the
murder and the idolatry were all laid upon him. He died as the sin sacrifice
for everyone from Adam and Eve to Hitler, to me and to whoever will be the last
person born. I Peter 2:24 says, “Who his
own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to
sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” He
bore our sins, all of them.
God’s plan of salvation never included our efforts. It
was all about believing that God could, and in fact did, do everything
necessary to save us. God created the plan of salvation and expressed it in a
way we could understand in the Law. Jesus completed the plan of salvation by
offering Himself as payment for our sin and by making the offering as our High
Priest in God’s presence in Heaven on the actual altar of God, once, just one
time (Heb. 8-9) never to be repeated. And the Holy Spirit of God sealed the
plan by entering the believer; living and dwelling inside each and every child
of God as God’s “earnest,” His down payment (Eph. 1:13-14). The indwelling Holy
Spirit is the promise that God will indeed come again and gather us together as
His own dear children and joint heirs with Christ.
Whenever we ask if there is a sin which will separate
us from Christ and cause us to lose our salvation the answer must be “no.” Any
other answer would mean that Jesus did not die for all of our sin, or that God missed
one. Imagine a timeline from Adam to Jesus. We would all agree Jesus died for
those sins (Romans 3:25 “Whom God hath
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God…”). But the sins of the future? The sins I asked Jesus
to cleanse me from 40 years ago were in my past and he placed them under the
blood of the cross. But they were 2000 years in the future for him. Jesus died
for future sin; every sin from the cross to the last man who will ever live was
included on that one day also. You
cannot surprise God. Every sin you have or will commit was atoned for on
Calvary. Our sin was all future to Jesus.
Can Christians
sin? Yes. But the price needed to keep us justified, or in right standing with
God has already been made. We were born into God’s family (John 1:12; 3:37; I
John 3:1-2; I Peter 1:23) and have already become joint heirs with Christ
(Romans 8:17). Our position was purchased for us by the blood of Jesus and the
grace of God and is never to be repeated. Either God’s plan worked or it did
not.
What would it take for us to lose this position? It
took Adam one sin of disobedience to cast all of humanity into hell for all of
eternity (Romans 5). So then, what would it take for us to lose salvation? It would take one simple act of
disobedience, just like Adam. The Apostle Paul in Hebrews 6:4-6 addresses this
very question, allow me to paraphrase, It
is impossible, if a person were truly saved (v.4,5), and if they lost that
salvation, to ever regain salvation because they would need another sacrifice
(v.6).” You see, Paul is saying that if you lost your salvation, for any
reason, the only way to regain it would be to re-sacrifice Christ; and God will
never allow such a thing. Paul’s statement means that if we could lose
salvation no one would ever make it to heaven, because we all sin. This
confusion comes from that same human sentiment mentioned in the first sentence.
We simply cannot comprehend the magnitude of God’s love and grace.
When we were born again God placed us in a new family.
For the child of God, the one who is truly born again, committing sin becomes a
family issue. Hebrews 12:5-11 makes it clear that God must “chasten” or
discipline every one of His children because God is fully aware that we, as
born again believers, will sin. In fact, this passage says that if God does not
discipline you for the sin in your life (v.7-8) then you are not one of His
children. Christians should be holy, but because we are also still human, we
sin. Assuredly, there should be a difference in the way we live (II Cor. 5:17).
Peter reminds his readers that holiness really ought to be the norm for born
again believers, 1Peter 1:14-16 “As
obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in
your ignorance, (v.15) but according to the Holy One who has called you,
you also become holy in all conduct, (v.16) because it is written, ‘Be
holy, for I am holy.’” However, reading the New Testament epistles one must
realize it is replete with instructions to believers, the children of God, on
how to stop committing the sins they were committing. We do still battle with sin.
We must examine
ourselves, if sin becomes dominant in our lives, to be sure that we truly are saved
and not just religious. The fact that a person is very concerned over the issue
of sin is good. It is an indication that God, as a loving father, is bringing
it to our attention so that we can correct it and mend our family relationship with
Him. When we are sure that we have been saved we never need ask whether we have
lost our salvation; we cannot. However, it is wise to ask daily whether our
relationship with God is proper or if sin has placed a barrier between us. Unconfessed
sin will break our fellowship with God just as disobedience in the home
disrupts the family, Hebrews 12:5,6 “And
you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons, ‘My son,
despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked by Him;
(v.6) for whom the Lord loves He
chastens, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” This is clearly
talking to believers, those already born again. God will discipline His
children in order to help them grow and mature. Knowing the blood of His dear
son purchased us, we can be assured He will never disown us.
There are many consequences for continued sin in our
lives but it can never cause us to lose our salvation (Romans 8:31-39). No sin
is big enough to overcome the power of the blood.
