“Fix these words of mine in your hearts . . . tie them as symbols on your hands” Deuteronomy 11:18
Friday, September 25

Are you still saved when you sin?

Today's Verse

1See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.2Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.3And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.4Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.5You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.6No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.7Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.8Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.9No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.10By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.11For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.12We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.13Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.14We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.15Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.16By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.17But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?18Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.19By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;20for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.21Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;22and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.23And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.24Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
1 John 3 · ESV

The Devotion

As a pastor, I often talk to people who struggle and wonder if they are saved or not because they sin after they're saved. Maybe they were saved at a young age and had a period of rebellion later on in life. Only God knows the heart. I cannot see the heart, but I can see the fruit of their life and whether the Holy Spirit has convicted them and drawn them to Himself.

1 John 3 tells us the truth. If a person willfully and continually practices sin and rebellion against God over and over with no regret, yet claims to be a Christian, that person is not a Christian. If a person continues in the pattern of sin, they show over time that they were never in Christ to begin with. If you're comfortable with sinning over and over, you're not a Christian.

On the flip side, we've already read in 1 John, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" and "if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to cleanse us of our sin and forgive us from all unrighteousness." We have struggles, failures, and flaws. There are areas in which God is working in our lives to make us more like Him. So, if you sin after you're saved, the Holy Spirit will get your attention.

Make no mistake about it...He won't let you wander long before you feel convicted, uncomfortable, and completely aware that you're outside of God's will. The Holy Spirit's voice of conviction leads us to confession, repentance, and restoration to a right fellowship with God. We've already been saved, but we receive the sweet communion with the Holy Spirit and a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit. The voice of the enemy is the voice of condemnation. That's the voice that shows up after we've confessed and repented of our sin and reminds us of shame and guilt. That's not the voice of God.

If we live and abide in God, John says we'll love each other just as Jesus commanded us to do. The Holy Spirit is the one who allows us to do this.

A Prayer for Today

Lord, help me repent of sin and restore to me the joy of my salvation. Help me walk in the light and love others today. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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