What Happens If I Sin

After Becoming A Christian?

 

     (1) To become a Christian, I must hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), I must believe (Mark 16:16), I must repent (Acts 2:38), I must confess Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9-10), and I must be baptized. (Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21) But what happens if I sin after I become a Christian?

 

      (2) If I sin after I become a Christian I will be lost if I do not repent. "For if, af­ter they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been bet­ter for them not to have known the way of right­eousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to his own vomit, and, a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire." (2 Peter 2:20-22)

 

      (3) I must repent and pray. "Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if per­haps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you." (Acts 8:22)

 

      (4) God has promised to forgive. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to for­give us our sins and to cleanse us from all un­righteousness." (1 John 1:9)

 

      (5) As a Christian I have great help in overcoming my sinfulness. Jesus is my Advocate with the Father. (1 John 2:1) He is the Mediator between God and me. (1 Tim. 2:5) Christ is an understanding High Priest that can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities because He was tempted in all points like as we are yet He did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15) The Holy Spirit helps our infirmities and makes intercessions for us. (Romans 8:26-27) Faithful Christian brethren can also pray to God for us. (James 5:16)

 

      "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

 

By Charles Box, Walnut Street Church of Christ, P.O. Box 551, Greenville, Alabama 36037 USA