- Grace cannot set aside the failure of saved men to meet the conditions of salvation. Grace won’t cover disobedience.
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. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 1 John 1:7-10 NKJV
When we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, He washes away all our sin and makes us a new creation in Him. Because Jesus put sin to death in His body on the cross and now has the keys of death, hell and the grave, sin has no more power over us. We are translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Now we walk in the light. He did not bring us into the light to send us back to the darkness. We must deal with the sin in our lives through repentance. If we repent, He will forgive us and wash the sin away. If we say we have no sin, when we know we do, we are calling God a liar. We cannot continue to sin, without repentance and still expect God’s grace to cover our sin. God is not mocked – whatever a man sows – that, and that only, will he reap. You cannot sow seeds of sin and reap a harvest of righteousness.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:1-13 NKJV
Jesus saved us to walk and live in the Spirit; to conduct ourselves according to the Spirit.
Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20 NKJV
This passage is talking about bringing correction to a believer to save his soul from death. You cannot play around with sin and think that heaven is guaranteed no matter what. You must have a healthy respect for God and His law and choose to please God and walk in obedience. One sin may not condemn you to hell, but continuing on in sin is a path that leads to death.
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV
Those who practice the works of the flesh will NOT inherit the kingdom of God!
And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight — 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. Colossians 1:21-23 NKJV
Jesus wants to present you to the Father holy, blameless, and above reproach in His sight. This is only possible if you continue – grounded and steadfast – in the faith.
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7 NKJV
As you received Jesus, keep walking in Him. He gave you a new heart so that you could serve Him, holy and blameless. Don’t let the devil lie to you that you can go back to sinning after your sins have been forgiven. You have a new life in Jesus – make the choice to live a godly life, to serve Him, and to not push the boundaries of His grace toward you.
