Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
Can You Be Saved and Live in Sin?
When it comes to whether someone can be saved and still live in sin, I want to make something very clear. This is not just some opinion piece written by someone who interprets a few scriptures. I am going to give you primary scriptures, not interpreted scriptures. I am also going to speak from real experience.
Too often these days, many try to say that anyone who lives in sin, was never saved to begin with. That simply is not the truth. Not according to real life and not according to God's Word. The truth is, and this will sound like heresy, but I assure you it is not, the sins we commit have nothing to do with whether we are going to heaven or not.
I know, I know....
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NASB)
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
What if I told you this scripture is being completely misinterpreted? It seems plain enough that it is saying that people who commit those sins cannot go to heaven right? That is because it is taken completely out of context. It is amazing how some scriptures will take on a completely different meaning when you read the verses around them and get the context of what is being taught.
The first thing you need to understand is that Paul was not writing to the unbelievers here. He was writing to the church in Corinth. They were already believers.
The second thing you should understand is that the Bible never refers to a believer as a sinner. People will claim that if you run you are a runner, so if you sin, you are a sinner. That is only correct if you use the word "sinner" as a noun. The Bible never does. It is a title. A Sinner is anyone who rejects Jesus as the Son of God. Believers are referred to as saints, the righteous, brothers and sisters in Christ, and several other terms. They are never called sinners. The only time anyone seems to refer to a believer as a sinner is when Paul refers to himself in that way, and when he did, he was referencing himself before the Lord saved him.
The third thing is that Paul does not name different sins that will not enter the kingdom of God. He names off different types of sinners. If he was listing off sins, he would have used fornication in place of fornicators. Idolaters, adulterers and homosexuals, would have been idolatry, adultery, and homosexuality.
The real key to understanding what Paul is teaching however, just happens to be found in the very next verse. The verse that so many just conveniently leave off, even though it is the most important one.
11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
"Such were some of you"! He is plainly saying they used to be those types of sinners, but they are no longer! Yet we know for a fact that Paul is not saying they never sin. He himself says that everyone has fallen short of the glory of God. The apostle John says this...
1 John 1:8 (NASB)
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
John is clearly including himself in this statement. He says "we", "ourselves" and "us". So if Paul says everyone sins and John says everyone sins and they both include themselves in that, you can be assured, we all sin!
So if everyone sins, we know that Paul was not saying that they no longer commit these sins he lists, but they simply are no longer sinners. The only way of making this work without creating a contradiction is to realize that they were sinners because they were not saved. Once they turned to Jesus, they were saved and no longer sinners. Sinner is a title, and not a noun.
Again, this will sound like clear heresy to many who read this, but the simple truth is, there is not a single clear verse in the Bible that says the sins we commit will send a believer to hell. Not a single one! I just destroyed the strongest verse anyone has to support that belief. Now let me give you another scripture. Not a scripture that is interpreted differently by different people, but a primary scripture. A scripture that can only be interpreted to mean what it is plainly saying.
John 3:18 (NASB)
18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
These are from the lips of Jesus Himself. Jesus does not say "He who believes and refrains from sin is not judged". In fact, to believe we have to refrain from sin to be saved would be a direct contradiction to these words of Jesus. Anyone who believes is not judged. Anyone who does not believe is already judged. Not because they sin, but because they don't believe in the only Son of God!
Let's take a look at another primary verse...
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Often, people love to put the focus on being saved by grace. Its a great thing, but it is a mistake to focus solely on that. Let's break this scripture down point by point.
For by grace you have been saved
If you look up the word grace in the dictionary, you learn it basically means "goodwill". This is simply saying that it is by the goodwill of God that we are saved. It is the "why" He saved us. Because of His goodwill.
through faith;
Here we have the "how" we are saved. It is through faith. As we learned in the previous verse we discussed, it is through believing in Jesus as the Son of God. We are saved through our faith in Jesus.
and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
This is my personal favorite part. Paul is clearly saying that it is nothing we do that saves us. It is not of ourselves! It is a gift of God. The thing about it being a gift is that for something to be a gift, it has to be completely free. If you have to pay for it, it is a purchase. Not a gift. If you have to do anything for it at all, it is no longer a gift. It becomes a reward. Nowhere in the Bible does it ever say we need to purchase our salvation or that it is a reward. Here it says it is a gift, so it must be completely free.
not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Not as a result of works. What is a work? It is anything we do intentionally. Doing good deeds for others is a work, but so is getting baptized by water. So is refraining from sin. So is asking God to forgive us for sins. They are all things we intentionally do, so they are placed in the category of a work.
Now to be clear, I understand I am being technical with the definition of a work, but that is important to do. To say you cannot be too technical about what a work is, is akin to saying you just have to be close enough to be saved. No! God uses words for specific reasons. He does not make mistakes! He is technical in everything He does! If you want the truth, it is important to pay attention to what God actually says and not interpret it to what you want it to mean.
Those are two very clearly written scriptures that plainly say we are saved by faith. Believing in Jesus as the Son of God. They leave no room in their interpretation for sin sending us to hell. If you believe, you are saved. If you do not believe, you are not saved! You can give all the interpreted scriptures you want, but to interpret them to mean that the sins we commit send us to hell, you are interpreting them to directly contradict these two scriptures.
Those two scriptures are not the only ones. There are 19 primary scriptures in the Bible where we are told exactly "how" we are saved. Not two or three. Nineteen! Nine of them from the mouth of Jesus!
Primary scriptures on Salvation
Now some will try and say that someone who is truly saved would never live in sin. That the Holy Spirit would not be in someone who is unclean. When they say this, it is evidence that they simply do not understand how salvation works, and they really don't understand the powerful enemy we have in the devil.
I was saved back in 1982. I know for certain I was saved because during those early years, I had the awesome experience of God embracing Him with His loving presence. It was so powerful I fell to my knees and wept like a child. I also experiences real healing where I was literally slain in the spirit (as they called it) and was healed of really sharp pains in my lower back. Which I have not suffered from since. Multiple times I knew within moments of meeting someone they were a Christians and once I knew someone was into the New Aged beliefs even though we said nothing about our beliefs when we talked. So I am certain the Holy Spirit was in me and I was saved.
However, I was not taught very well how to work on a relationship with the Lord after I was saved. I did not understand how important it was to still ask forgiveness of our sins consistently. Sin built up in my life and created a wall, separating me from hearing God's voice. The further I fell from God, the more sin swallowed me up.
For somewhere around 30 years I lived in sin. Through those years, I returned to church a couple times but it never stuck. I let the devil deceive me into believing God did not want me. I believed God had turned His back on me. I even stopped praying altogether because every time I prayed for something, the opposite happened. It got so bad that I was literally afraid to pray for someone I loved when they were in the hospital because I believed if I did, they might die.
Yet through those same years, every time a discussion started at work about religion, I found myself standing up for God and Christianity. I was so naive of the Word of God that I always did a terrible job of standing up for it, but that doesn't change the fact I always did.
I lived in sin and did some things I will likely never speak of, and yet I know I was still saved. It is a mistake to think that if you are saved, the Holy Spirit wont let you fall into sin. The Holy Spirit will guide you, but He will not control you. You still have free will. The Holy Spirit will become silent within you, but as long as you continue to believe, you will still be saved.
At the end of 2017, God drew me back to Him and opened my eyes and my heart to a level I didn't know was really possible. I have spent countless nights studying His Word until one to three in the morning, knowing I had to be up for work in a handful of hours. God has revealed things to me in my studies that I have never heard anyone teach, only to find someone after who had the same thing revealed to them. I do not say that to boast in any way. God knows my heart and if there is one problem I do have, it is that I don't have enough confidence in my own place with the Lord. Life still tries to drag me down and make me believe God has turned His back on me. The devil is a powerful enemy. An enemy we have power over through the name of Christ, but that does not mean he is any less powerful for it.
The truth is, sin does not send the believer to hell. Actually the sins we commit will not send anyone to hell. That is a false doctrine taught for so long that even many protestant churches still teach it. Yet there is not a single primary scripture that says it does. There are many scriptures that clearly say we are saved by faith and nothing else. But that does not mean that sin doesn't have a heavy consequence. If you think it means that we can have the best of both worlds, live in sin and still go to heaven, please read this article.
The Consequences of Sin
Can we live in sin and still be saved? Absolutely. Will we choose to live in sin just because we want to be in sin? No. We will not consciously choose sin, but we can still be dragged into it. And it is important to understand that the only way to protect yourself from that happening is by working on your personal relationship with the Lord.
Your Personal Relationship with God
Too often these days, many try to say that anyone who lives in sin, was never saved to begin with. That simply is not the truth. Not according to real life and not according to God's Word. The truth is, and this will sound like heresy, but I assure you it is not, the sins we commit have nothing to do with whether we are going to heaven or not.
I know, I know....
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NASB)
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
What if I told you this scripture is being completely misinterpreted? It seems plain enough that it is saying that people who commit those sins cannot go to heaven right? That is because it is taken completely out of context. It is amazing how some scriptures will take on a completely different meaning when you read the verses around them and get the context of what is being taught.
The first thing you need to understand is that Paul was not writing to the unbelievers here. He was writing to the church in Corinth. They were already believers.
The second thing you should understand is that the Bible never refers to a believer as a sinner. People will claim that if you run you are a runner, so if you sin, you are a sinner. That is only correct if you use the word "sinner" as a noun. The Bible never does. It is a title. A Sinner is anyone who rejects Jesus as the Son of God. Believers are referred to as saints, the righteous, brothers and sisters in Christ, and several other terms. They are never called sinners. The only time anyone seems to refer to a believer as a sinner is when Paul refers to himself in that way, and when he did, he was referencing himself before the Lord saved him.
The third thing is that Paul does not name different sins that will not enter the kingdom of God. He names off different types of sinners. If he was listing off sins, he would have used fornication in place of fornicators. Idolaters, adulterers and homosexuals, would have been idolatry, adultery, and homosexuality.
The real key to understanding what Paul is teaching however, just happens to be found in the very next verse. The verse that so many just conveniently leave off, even though it is the most important one.
11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
"Such were some of you"! He is plainly saying they used to be those types of sinners, but they are no longer! Yet we know for a fact that Paul is not saying they never sin. He himself says that everyone has fallen short of the glory of God. The apostle John says this...
1 John 1:8 (NASB)
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
John is clearly including himself in this statement. He says "we", "ourselves" and "us". So if Paul says everyone sins and John says everyone sins and they both include themselves in that, you can be assured, we all sin!
So if everyone sins, we know that Paul was not saying that they no longer commit these sins he lists, but they simply are no longer sinners. The only way of making this work without creating a contradiction is to realize that they were sinners because they were not saved. Once they turned to Jesus, they were saved and no longer sinners. Sinner is a title, and not a noun.
Again, this will sound like clear heresy to many who read this, but the simple truth is, there is not a single clear verse in the Bible that says the sins we commit will send a believer to hell. Not a single one! I just destroyed the strongest verse anyone has to support that belief. Now let me give you another scripture. Not a scripture that is interpreted differently by different people, but a primary scripture. A scripture that can only be interpreted to mean what it is plainly saying.
John 3:18 (NASB)
18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
These are from the lips of Jesus Himself. Jesus does not say "He who believes and refrains from sin is not judged". In fact, to believe we have to refrain from sin to be saved would be a direct contradiction to these words of Jesus. Anyone who believes is not judged. Anyone who does not believe is already judged. Not because they sin, but because they don't believe in the only Son of God!
Let's take a look at another primary verse...
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Often, people love to put the focus on being saved by grace. Its a great thing, but it is a mistake to focus solely on that. Let's break this scripture down point by point.
For by grace you have been saved
If you look up the word grace in the dictionary, you learn it basically means "goodwill". This is simply saying that it is by the goodwill of God that we are saved. It is the "why" He saved us. Because of His goodwill.
through faith;
Here we have the "how" we are saved. It is through faith. As we learned in the previous verse we discussed, it is through believing in Jesus as the Son of God. We are saved through our faith in Jesus.
and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
This is my personal favorite part. Paul is clearly saying that it is nothing we do that saves us. It is not of ourselves! It is a gift of God. The thing about it being a gift is that for something to be a gift, it has to be completely free. If you have to pay for it, it is a purchase. Not a gift. If you have to do anything for it at all, it is no longer a gift. It becomes a reward. Nowhere in the Bible does it ever say we need to purchase our salvation or that it is a reward. Here it says it is a gift, so it must be completely free.
not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Not as a result of works. What is a work? It is anything we do intentionally. Doing good deeds for others is a work, but so is getting baptized by water. So is refraining from sin. So is asking God to forgive us for sins. They are all things we intentionally do, so they are placed in the category of a work.
Now to be clear, I understand I am being technical with the definition of a work, but that is important to do. To say you cannot be too technical about what a work is, is akin to saying you just have to be close enough to be saved. No! God uses words for specific reasons. He does not make mistakes! He is technical in everything He does! If you want the truth, it is important to pay attention to what God actually says and not interpret it to what you want it to mean.
Those are two very clearly written scriptures that plainly say we are saved by faith. Believing in Jesus as the Son of God. They leave no room in their interpretation for sin sending us to hell. If you believe, you are saved. If you do not believe, you are not saved! You can give all the interpreted scriptures you want, but to interpret them to mean that the sins we commit send us to hell, you are interpreting them to directly contradict these two scriptures.
Those two scriptures are not the only ones. There are 19 primary scriptures in the Bible where we are told exactly "how" we are saved. Not two or three. Nineteen! Nine of them from the mouth of Jesus!
Primary scriptures on Salvation
Now some will try and say that someone who is truly saved would never live in sin. That the Holy Spirit would not be in someone who is unclean. When they say this, it is evidence that they simply do not understand how salvation works, and they really don't understand the powerful enemy we have in the devil.
I was saved back in 1982. I know for certain I was saved because during those early years, I had the awesome experience of God embracing Him with His loving presence. It was so powerful I fell to my knees and wept like a child. I also experiences real healing where I was literally slain in the spirit (as they called it) and was healed of really sharp pains in my lower back. Which I have not suffered from since. Multiple times I knew within moments of meeting someone they were a Christians and once I knew someone was into the New Aged beliefs even though we said nothing about our beliefs when we talked. So I am certain the Holy Spirit was in me and I was saved.
However, I was not taught very well how to work on a relationship with the Lord after I was saved. I did not understand how important it was to still ask forgiveness of our sins consistently. Sin built up in my life and created a wall, separating me from hearing God's voice. The further I fell from God, the more sin swallowed me up.
For somewhere around 30 years I lived in sin. Through those years, I returned to church a couple times but it never stuck. I let the devil deceive me into believing God did not want me. I believed God had turned His back on me. I even stopped praying altogether because every time I prayed for something, the opposite happened. It got so bad that I was literally afraid to pray for someone I loved when they were in the hospital because I believed if I did, they might die.
Yet through those same years, every time a discussion started at work about religion, I found myself standing up for God and Christianity. I was so naive of the Word of God that I always did a terrible job of standing up for it, but that doesn't change the fact I always did.
I lived in sin and did some things I will likely never speak of, and yet I know I was still saved. It is a mistake to think that if you are saved, the Holy Spirit wont let you fall into sin. The Holy Spirit will guide you, but He will not control you. You still have free will. The Holy Spirit will become silent within you, but as long as you continue to believe, you will still be saved.
At the end of 2017, God drew me back to Him and opened my eyes and my heart to a level I didn't know was really possible. I have spent countless nights studying His Word until one to three in the morning, knowing I had to be up for work in a handful of hours. God has revealed things to me in my studies that I have never heard anyone teach, only to find someone after who had the same thing revealed to them. I do not say that to boast in any way. God knows my heart and if there is one problem I do have, it is that I don't have enough confidence in my own place with the Lord. Life still tries to drag me down and make me believe God has turned His back on me. The devil is a powerful enemy. An enemy we have power over through the name of Christ, but that does not mean he is any less powerful for it.
The truth is, sin does not send the believer to hell. Actually the sins we commit will not send anyone to hell. That is a false doctrine taught for so long that even many protestant churches still teach it. Yet there is not a single primary scripture that says it does. There are many scriptures that clearly say we are saved by faith and nothing else. But that does not mean that sin doesn't have a heavy consequence. If you think it means that we can have the best of both worlds, live in sin and still go to heaven, please read this article.
The Consequences of Sin
Can we live in sin and still be saved? Absolutely. Will we choose to live in sin just because we want to be in sin? No. We will not consciously choose sin, but we can still be dragged into it. And it is important to understand that the only way to protect yourself from that happening is by working on your personal relationship with the Lord.
Your Personal Relationship with God