What happens when born-again Christians sin?

Do born-again Christians still sin?

The answer to this question is quite simply yes, we do!

The below verses clearly show that we do sin and Jesus tells us exactly how to deal with the sin of a brother or sister in Christ. When we point out a brother's or sister's in Christ sin, we are helping them to deal with it in a Biblical way! But more importantly we should always be examining ourselves first to make sure our hearts are right with God.

Matthew 18:15 (Amp)

15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens and pays attention to you, you have won back your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two others, so that every word may be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 17 If he pays no attention to them [refusing to listen and obey], tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile (unbeliever) and a tax collector.

1 Corinthians 5:5

Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.

But what happens to us when we sin as Christians? How should we deal with ourselves when we know we have sinned?

Do we cease being Christians and does God cast us away? Fortunately for us and because of what Jesus did for us on the cross and because he is our Lord and Saviour, God does not! Phew! Unless, of course, you refuse to repent, then you should be treated as an unbeliever in accordance with the Word of God as in Matt 18:17 above.

But…..very uncool stuff does happen to us when we remain unrepentant! Let’s see just what!

Although our relationship with the Lord remains intact because of the Cross, our personal walk and fellowship with him is fractured. Let’s examine this through scripture in Psalm 51.

This is a Psalm of remorse and repentance written by King David after his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband was exposed by the prophet Nathan. The story of David and Bathsheba can be found in 2 Samuel 11 and 12.

Nathan came to David and pointed out his sin to him so that he would repent and his relationship with the Lord could be restored fully. David was filled with remorse as he knew that he had sinned and didn’t make excuses for what he had done, as we often do when we sin, but he came to the Lord in full repentance and asked forgiveness. Davis did not ignore his sin when he knew he was found out, but he dealt with it in true, heartfelt repentance!

We know that King David was born-again as scripture tells us that the Lord considered him to be a man after His own heart.

1 Samuel 13:14 (NIV)

But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

This is the prophet Samuel talking to King Saul and was telling him that God was taking the kingship of Israel away from him and giving it to David.

When Christians sin, it is not pleasing to God even though we remain saved! The consequence of sin for Saul was the loss of the kingship of Israel and eventually death as in the above verse. When we sin as Christians there is always a consequence. When born-again Christians sin, it is displeasing to God!

2 Samuel 11:27b

But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.

Now, getting back to Psalm 51, let’s see just how David’s fellowship with the Lord was affected by his sin.

A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

The Amplified Bible describes this Psalm like this: “A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.”

Psalm 51 (NIV)

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;

so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior,

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart

you, God, will not despise.

18 May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

How is our relationship with God affected by our sin?

Verses 2, 7, 9, 10
Our sin leaves us feeling dirty, guilty, unworthy and impure.

Verse 3
Sin is rebellion and is always on our mind – it haunts the soul. Rebellion against God and His Word is considered to be as the sin of witchcraft.

1 Samuel 15:23 (AMP)

“For rebellion is as [serious as] the sin of divination (fortune-telling),

And disobedience is as [serious as] false religion and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

He also has rejected you as king.”

Verses 8, 12
Sin robs us of the joy of our salvation.

Verse 11
Sin makes us feel that God will not allow us back into His presence and that He will take his Holy Spirit away from us.

Verse 13
Once we have confessed our sin and repented of it, God will turn it to His good purpose. We should us our past mistakes and sinful behaviour to help and prevent others from doing the same things. This helps to build up and strengthen our brothers and sisters in Christ, the Church!

Romans 8:28 (AMP)

And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.

Verse 15
Sin makes us feel that we cannot praise and worship God and that we are not worthy to be in His presence. It makes us feel that we have no way back. We feel guilty and come under condemnation, but there is no condemnation for believers!

Romans 8:1 (AMP)

Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].

Verses 16-19
Once we recognise, confess and repent from our sin, we find that our relationship with God is restored in fullness, and we are able to continue our walk unhindered and unburdened and to continue on our path to spiritual maturity and transgress less and less.

When Christians sin, our relationship with God and our worship of Him is adversely affected and if we are not careful and remain unrepentant, we allow Satan to have greater influence over our lives instead of the Holy Spirit and we fall deeper and deeper into the pit of sin!

Know who you are and whose you are in Christ Jesus

When Christians sin, it is so important for us to recognise the fact and repent as soon as possible, the longer we wait before confessing our sin, the harder it is to come back to full fellowship with God and the easier it will become to get more and more enmeshed in sin.

This is when it is so important to know who we are and whose we are:

We are never disowned:

2 Timothy 2:13 (NIV)

if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

We are still His children, and we will never be condemned:

John 5:24 (NIV)

I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

John 1:12 (KJV)

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Ephesians 1:5 (KJV)

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

God will forgive us many times, even for the same sin, when we confess our sins. 

Matthew 18:21-22 (NLT)

21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

Sin in our lives can not only bring spiritual sickness but physical and mental sickness as well. God urges us to confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so that we may be healed

James 5:16 (NIV)

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

We need to be thankful for the precious gift of the Holy Spirit, God's presence within us, to be with us until we go home to the Father.

Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV)

13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (NIV)

21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

We need to be reminded of the hurtfulness of sin to the Spirit of God living within us.

Ephesians 4:25-32

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 (NIV)

19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.

We need to commit to honouring God with what we do, think, say and behave.

Ephesians 4:30 (NIV)

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

There can be no other way for a born-again Christian to live than to live life in the Spirit. This means being obedient to the Word in every way, not just in the ways that suit you, and being led by the Holy Spirit – this is surrendering yourself completely, every area of your life, to your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! The one who knows the Word and does the Word is the one that truly loves Jesus.

John 14:21 (AMP)

The person who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him [I will make Myself real to him].”

Prayer:
Dear Lord
Teach me your ways so that I will not sin against you. Help me, Lord, to not only read and study your Word but to be a doer of your Word as well. When I slip have mercy upon me and help me by your Holy Spirit to be quick to repent and say I’m sorry. Help me, O Lord, to be a man/woman after your own heart that I may bring glory to your Name. Amen.

To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise!

Jesus, the Name above all names!