Does a person have to STOP sinning to receive Jesus as Savior?
This is the question that has opened the floodgates to the
very heart of Satan’s deception sweeping the present-day church.
The doctrine of repentance from sin and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ
is the fundamental issue of New Testament preaching. It is where
initial salvation begins in man and regeneration works to bring man out
from under the corrupting influence of sin. Inoperative repentance
(much like dead faith) renders salvation null and void and creates a ‘System’ where people can be pronounced righteous while they remain sinful.
To our dismay, the overwhelming response to the question
above from a cross-section of mainstream churches has been a
resounding NO! (Approx. 250 responses!) Or
simply, “NO, you DO NOT have to STOP sinning to receive Jesus as
Savior.” On the contrary, almost everyone argued IN FAVOR of sin,
not for righteousness. (Or right conduct after salvation.) Sin
was the foregone conclusion from the start!
Let us examine the ramifications of this hasty answer. First, we did not ask if a person has to become ‘righteous’
before he can receive Jesus as Savior, but merely focused on the sin
question. That which separates man from God. Therefore the NATURAL
response SHOULD have been a discussion of Biblical repentance, NOT an argument in favor of sin!
Also, we did not ask if a person must merely ‘forsake’ his sins to receive Jesus or even be ‘willing’
to forsake them. This expectation should naturally be assumed by ANYONE
who comprehends the authentic nature of repentance as portrayed in the
Bible.. Consequently, THEY should either use that kind of language in
their explanation or ASK what exactly do we mean, STOP and what SINS
are you talking about?
However, how the Spirit chose to give us this question has
led to this discovery. Because it has UNCOVERED their TRUE feelings on
the matter! Without question or consideration of the ramifications
behind their words, they have GRANTED permission to CONTINUE in sin!
How can we make such an accusation without further discussion on the
matter? Mainly for the following reasons:
- The
answers contained no indication of a heart willingness to forsake all
KNOWN sin or make amends for that sin. Therefore no vindication is
present in their understanding of repentance,
- Everyone seems to ‘Believe’
that the forsaking or ‘stopping’ of sin happens after repentance and
receiving Jesus. Not during the PROCESS of godly sorrow for sin,
brokenness of will and zealousness to CLEAR oneself of all wrongdoing.
- NO ONE asked any further
questions concerning the matter. They merely assumed that salvation
happened by ‘receiving’ Jesus into the heart and then the ‘cleaning up’
process could begin.
Certainly, we can all agree that a ‘willingness’
to forsake sin is a far cry from actually forsaking it. A person could
be willing to stop stealing but is still doing it. It is ONLY in a
STOPPING of the stealing that any amends can be made, the conscience
cleared, and forgiveness granted. The husband who is ‘willing’
to forsake his adultery but won’t actually CUT the ties to the
other woman, has absolutely NO sincerity whatsoever to REPENT to his
wife and restore his broken marriage. Neither then can a person receive
forgiveness from God on these terms. Since God looks on the heart, the
INTENTIONS MUST be clear! He CANNOT grant pardon to the person severing
TWO masters.
If you can come to God, and receive forgiveness and the
Holy Spirit while you remain in bondage to sin, that translates into ‘Christian’ adulterers,
drunkards, drug addicts, child molesters, liars, cheats, thieves, etc!
(Of which the churches are full of!) As we exclusively inquired whether 'SIN' in
a general sense needs to cease, not specifying a particular sin, the
possibilities are extensive. It's essential to recall that NO ONE
inquired about what kind of sin we were referring to!
We could rephrase the question and ask, "Does a person
have to stop committing adultery to be forgiven of adultery?" BUT
it’s the SAME question when you boil it down to what’s
being said here. WHY? Because they are making NO distinction as to the
manner of sin! Just that Jesus will forgive, if you receive, apologize
for the sin, but NOT forsake it.
Thus the moral dilemma in our churches and society can be
traced DIRECTLY to this fact. People are being led to Christ,
pronounced forgiven and filled with the Holy Spirit, while they remain
addicted to immorality, pornography, drugs and other vile behavior. And
this is happening across the board. No denomination is exempt,
regardless of doctrinal stance on holiness, imputed righteousness or
eternal security. The answers reflect that this poison has spread into
everyone’s understanding of repentance and salvation by faith.
They come across into the Kingdom ‘believing’ that it’s now God’s responsibility to clean them up. That He will somehow ‘CHANGE’
their desires away from pornography, drugs, sex and alcohol. But in the
meantime, they will wallow in these things and attend addiction classes
at church, buy books and tapes, go to seminars and learn to cope with
their carnality.
The problem is that this supposed ‘clean up’ NEVER
happens! They just keep getting worse as the carnality grains control
over their entire being. They sin with impunity, already forgiven,
without fear of condemnation, so the conscience soon becomes hardened
to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit and they are given over to
their lust. Had they experienced a genuine Godly sorrow for sin,
brokenness of spirit, will submitted to Christ at initial repentance,
there may be some HOPE that the regeneration process could very well
WORK from within and KEEP them from further defilement.
But coming over in your sins requires no CLEARING,
VINDICATION or ZEAL to make amends. This translates into NO REPENTANCE
according to the Scriptures.
For godly sorrow
produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the
sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing,
that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. 2Cor. 7:10-11
Does anything in this Scripture even slightly suggest that
it’s God’s responsibility to clean you up? Didn’t
John the baptist tell the people to ‘lay the axe to the ROOT of
sin’?! When you CUT out the roots the WHOLE tree is
destroyed and must be REPLANTED to live again! Isn’t that the
illustration of true repentance? Zacchaeus restored FOURFOLD what he
had taken from the people and gave HALF his goods to the poor BEFORE
the Lord announced his salvation. (Luke 19:1-10)
This pattern follows throughout the Scriptures, from the Prophets to the apostles:
Let
the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let
him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God,
for He will abundantly pardon. Isa. 55:7
But if
a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all
My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live;
he shall not die. Ezk. 18:21
This is NOT a matter of God requiring perfection before
forgiveness can be granted, but it is HIS pattern of repentance and
TURNING from sin. How could there possibly be justice and
reconciliation in the divine nature if God were merely to grant
forgiveness while man is still in rebellion against Him?
You need to look no further than your local churches to
see the RESULTS of pardon granted WITHOUT abandoning sin. Imagine a
human judge pardoning a condemned criminal while standing before him
with the smoking gun still in his hand, anxious to kill again when
given the opportunity!
Yet that is EXACTLY the kind of pardon or forgiveness we
are seeing communicated in the answer to our question. Repentance has
been reduced to a mere apology
for sin, without godly sorrow or vindication of any sort. God receives
you addicted, fills you with His Spirit and grants you pardon for your
sinful condition, even though you have made NO EFFORT to STOP the sin
(which is perfectly within your power to do so!) or even a willingness
to abandon it!
I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds! Acts 26:20
Perhaps this horrible distortion of truth stems from
man’s flawed reasoning of ability or inability to do anything
RIGHT without God’s help. Why else would the vast majority of
church leaders be saying that you receive forgiveness ‘IN’ your sins instead of ‘FROM’ them? Here are a few examples:
Jesus takes us
where we are (adultery, lying, stealing, language, pride, greed, etc.),
forgives us, changes us and does for us what we cannot do for
ourselves. Pastor Dave, First Church of the Nazarene.
No, Christ takes care of your sin all Himself! He
will give you the power to choose to stop sinning AFTER you have
received Him. He changes your desires as you allow Him to do it.
There are NO requirements to receive Christ. Not before or
after. Only sincerity Alaska District Church of the
Nazarene.
A false belief and lie of Satan is that you have to clean yourself up
and somehow be "good enough" before accepting Christ. It is
sinners that Christ died for and every one of us is a sinner.
Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God" Pastor Brent
No, we are incapable of stopping sin before we receive Christ (take a
look at Romans 7:14 - 8:2)...this occurs only through the indwelling
presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Pastor Stan
I have been asked to respond to your question. A simple answer would be
"No," but that needs qualification. Even if you had asked, "Will a
person stop sinning after receiving Christ?" the answer would still be
"No," yet also with a qualification. Zenas J. Bicket,
past-Chairman Doctrinal Purity Commission Assemblies of God
The answer to this is quite simple. No. Let me explain why.
'Sin' means 'Disobedience against God', and as human beings, following
the fall in the Garden of Eden, it is part of our very nature.
When one becomes a Christian you don't stop sinning. Homerton Baptist
Church
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If you have no desire to STOP sinning at the beginning,
HOW is the Spirit of God going to CONVICT you to do so later? You are
ALREADY forgiven (and filled with the Holy Spirit). There is absolutely
no incentive or motivation to stop or ANYTHING to further convict your
conscience that your behavior is not acceptable to God. The convicting
power of the Holy Spirit is MOST powerful DURING the PROCESS of godly
sorrow, brokenness and repentance. The Sin MUST STOP DURING this time,
not AFTER, or the Spirit will NEVER be given and then NOTHING can hold
back the flesh from further transgression.
The whole tenor of Scripture speaks of this vital truth. But
if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to
my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from
their evil deeds. (Jer. 23:22) Instead they cry peace, peace, when there is no peace! And dress the wound of the people as though it was not serious!
Jer. 6:14. NOTHING in all the Scripture is inconsistent with this
process of forsaking sinful conduct BEFORE forgiveness can be granted!
Is it any wonder why so FEW are coming OUT of their sins?
They were pronounced saved, forgiven and filled ‘IN’ them,
what could convince them now that God is dissatisfied with their
behavior and will hold them ‘accountable’ for it? The die
is cast, guilt has been removed and with NO Spirit present NOTHING can
hold back the floodgates of iniquity. This is the reason the Preachers
won’t and can’t condemn sinful behavior happening in their
churches. HOW can they indict anyone for sins they ALLOWED into the
Kingdom in the first place!? It’s God’s responsibility to
clean them up and who can interfere?
Admonishing their behavior would only discourage them,
impose unfounded guilt and make them feel unloved. Thus the process of
conviction is neutralized and every sermon only serves to insulate them
further in their delusion.
Repentance is plainly explained in the Scriptures, with
clear and vivid examples. It implies that a measure of divine
wisdom is communicated to the sinner (by the Holy Spirit) and that it
makes him ‘wise’
unto salvation. In godly sorrow and deep anguish of soul his mind,
purposes, opinions and inclinations are CHANGED and in consequence,
there is a TOTAL CHANGE in his conduct! In true repentance, the
penitent sees he is exposed to hell and unfit for the kingdom and
FORSAKES his sin with all zeal, not only because it has been ruinous to
his soul but also because it has been offensive to God
.
This is a radical departure from a ‘confession’ or ‘apology’
for being sinful that is being passed off as repentance by
today’s pastors. The WHOLE NATURE or true repentance is LOST and
there is NO possibility of an obedience heart made pure by faith
WORKING by love! If the foregone conclusion is SIN (continued in
thought, word and deed for the rest of your life!), NOTHING under the
sun is going to CHANGE the person’s DESIRES (or inclinations) and
free them from the bondage of sin.
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