What if I Turn My Back on God?

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.