1432. The Sins of the Saved

The Sins of the Saved

"My little children, these things write I unto yon, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1Jn_2:1).

Perhaps there are those who would imagine that since the sins of the saved are gone (as we have noted under our fourth subdivision) the believer can, therefore, sin as he lists. This is not so. So far as salvation is concerned, our sins are gone. God looks at us through the Blood of the Cross and He beholds "no iniquity in us." We stand, before Him, robed in the imputed righteousness of Christ.

However, the believer must remember that his sin is even more heinous in the sight of God than the sin of the unsaved. While a believer's sins have nothing to do with his eternal salvation, they have much to do with other matters. This we will now consider.

1. The believer, when he sins, breaks fellowship with God. "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth" (1Jn_1:6). Sin never affects sonship, but it certainly affects fellowship. The Word of God says, "Your sins have separated between Me and you" (see Isa_59:2). A young convert once asked us, in joy over new found hope: "Shall I ever lose the Lord, Who so sweetly dwells within my heart?" We told her, "No, you will never lose Him, but if you sin and grieve Him, He will hide His face, and you, perhaps, will think that you have lost Him." How carefully the believer should walk! How we need to keep ourselves in the love of God, in His approval, in His fellowship!

2. The believer, when he sins, mars his prayer life. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psa_66:18). "The Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear" (Isa_59:1-2).

How often have we stood to pray when there seemed a stone wall before us, through which we could not pass? Our voice seemed to return to us, our prayer seemed no more than a mockery. The Word of God tells us that if we are bringing our gift to the altar and there we remember that our brother has aught against us, that we should "leave our gift and go first and be reconciled to our brother." How can we look into the face of God and say, "Forgive us our trespasses," unless we have forgiven the trespasses of those who sin against us? To approach God, we must be right with our fellow-men and right with God.

3. The believer, when he sins, receives chastisement. "For whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth" (Heb_12:6). There are some who vainly imagine that grace gives license for licentiousness, that since we are saved by grace, through faith and apart from works, therefore we can live as we please. Let that believer remember that "grace teaches us how to live;" that we should walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. Let him remember that if he sins, he will surely be chastened of God.

David sinned in the case of Bathsheba and Uriah, and David suffered for his sin. Two long years his bones waxed old with their roaring. Finally, when David confessed his sin and was forgiven, even then he had to suffer the loss of his child.

God never deals lightly with the believer's sin. Peter sinned. He said, "I know not the Man." He said it again, and the third time he said it with an oath. Of course, the Lord forgave him; and, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins. Remember however that Peter had three most miserable days. Days of bitterness, sorrow, and self-condemnation. While the Lord's body lay in the grave. Peter was blinded with the tears of his grief and shame. The child of God who sins, will always suffer for his sins.

God's attitude to the believer's sins is clearly set forth in the Word of God.

1. Achan was the man who sinned first, after Israel passed the Jordan and had taken up her abode in the promised land. Remember how severely God dealt with Achan.

2. Ananias and Sapphira were the first to sin after the Church was organized and sent forth on its mission. Remember how God dealt with them.

God has given commands to His Church (commands which we fear are generally forgotten) concerning those who sin.

3. At Corinth it was commonly reported that there were some among them who had fallen into the most vulgar sin. Paul gave command, "Purge out, therefore, the old leaven." He told the Church that they should not keep company with fornicators, or coveters, or extortioners, or idolaters, with such they should not even eat; therefore he gave command, "Put away from yourselves that wicked person." He told them that they should deliver such an one unto satan for the destruction of the flesh, that he might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

4. One other passage must suffice. It is a passage which looks on down through the years and gives us warning. In the Church at Corinth there were some who partook of the Lord's table, failing to discern His body. Of these we read, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep" (1Co_11:30). Not all sickness on the part of the believers is due to sin: but, if any are sick, there should certainly be a heart searching; and, if they have committed sins, they need to get right with God.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR