Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
Sin and Salvation
Salvation is without argument, the most important doctrine in the Bible to get right. To truly make it all clear there is a lot of information to cover. So I apologize now for the length of this article.
There is a common belief that Jesus died on the cross so we can be forgiven for our sins.
Hebrews 9:22 (NASB)
22 And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Many believe that it is through the shedding of the blood of Jesus that we are forgiven. This is true... sort of. It is not exactly correct. Did you know that God used to forgive people for their sins before Jesus died?
Throughout the Old Testament, God allowed man to sacrifice animals, shedding their blood for atonement of their sins. Just look up the word "atonement" in the bible and you will find all kinds of verses showing this. However, what is atonement? Atonement is something someone does trying to make things right after doing a wrong. Basically, if someone breaks something, they will offer to pay for the damages. The paying for the damage is an atonement. The reason for an act of atonement is to hope for forgiveness.
You see, sin separates us from God in our personal relationship with Him. If God does not forgive us for our sins, those sins will build up a barrier between us and God. In ancient days, man would sacrifice animals as an act of atonement for their sins. If God could not forgive them, there would be no reason to bother sacrificing the animals. Those sacrifices would be nothing more than senseless barbaric slaughters of innocent animals. But they weren't senseless because God was willing to forgive sin when blood sacrifices were made.
Now I know what you are thinking. If God would forgive us for our sins, then Jesus died needlessly. The reason you see it that way is because you don't truly understand what happened when Jesus died. Yes Jesus died so we can be forgiven for our sins but it was more than that.
Adam
God created man in His image. Which means that God gave man Free Will and the right to make his own choices as well as live forever. However that living forever part was conditional. He warned Adam that if he ever ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he would die. When Adam ate from that tree, his body became corrupted by that knowledge. From that very moment, his body began to age and break down and die, just like everyone who has ever lived since. That sin did more than that though. It stained his soul.
Sin is like a spiritual cancer, if you will. It corrupts it. From the moment Adam sinned, everyone ever born after that was born with a soul that was already stained by sin. This is why we are all born sinners.
Psalm 51:5 (NASB)
5 Behold, I was brought forth in guilt, And in sin my mother conceived me.
Psalm 58:3 (NASB)
3 The wicked have turned away from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.
Ephesians 2:3 (NASB)
3 Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest.
We are sinners by nature because we are born with a soul that is already stained by sin. When God allowed man to sacrifice animals to atone for their sins, that atonement was only good enough to allow God to forgive us for the sins we committed ourselves. No animal could ever be pure enough and holy enough to wash that stain of sin from our souls. So all along, people could be forgiven for their sins through blood sacrifices. What those sacrifices could not do was wash us clean. That's where the biggest problem was.
God, in His full glory, is so pure and holy that sin simply cannot exist in His presence. On the mountain, Moses asked God to let him see His glory. This was a part of His explanation to why Moses could not see His glory.
Exodus 33:20 (NASB)
20 He further said, “You cannot see My face, for mankind shall not see Me and live!”
Even though we could be forgiven for our sins, if God would allow anyone into heaven, His full glory would literally destroy us. It would destroy our souls. So no man could ever make it to heaven so long as they had a soul that is stained by sin.
The Lord's Sacrifice
When Jesus shed His blood and died on the cross, He became a living sacrifice. He sacrificed Himself to atone for the sins of the world. He was a sacrifice that was so pure and holy, it did more than just atone for the sins we commit, it washes our souls clean from that stain of sin.
Today when we sin, we are automatically forgiven. Do we need to ask God to forgive us still? Absolutely, but not so we can go to heaven. We ask for forgiveness because sin separates us from God in our personal relationship with Him. It still builds up a barrier between us and God and we need the sins we commit to be cleared away so we can continue to grow closer to the Lord.
There is a whole lot of false teaching about sin in churches today. Sadly one of those is that the sins we commit will send us to hell. That in order to go to heaven, we need to refrain from sin and repent from sin and ask God to forgive us for those sins. But that simply isn't even logical.
If that was true, then it would mean that the sacrifice Jesus made was not enough. That it only goes so far and after that it is up to us to get in heaven. That would mean that salvation is not a gift but it is something we earn after we accept Jesus. But that's not what Paul tells us.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Salvation is clearly a gift from God. It is not a result of works. Why? So we will not boast. What would we boast of? That we saved ourselves!
If you offer someone a gift but tell them they only get it if they do something for it, is it still a gift? No! It then becomes a reward. The difference between a gift and a reward is that a gift is free. A reward is earned. So if we have to refrain from sinning to go to heaven, or make certain we have asked God to forgive us for all of our sins, then salvation would be a reward. Never once does the Bible refer to Salvation as a reward. It is a gift that is offered to us for free. All we have to do is accept it.
Ephesians 1:13 (NASB)
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise,
What promise could this possibly be speaking of, if not the promise of salvation? But it does not say there are any stipulations with the promise. It does not say that you are sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise, so long as you don't sin.
Salvation is a promise without stipulations. Salvation is a gift, not a reward. We know this because that is what the Word of God clearly says. Another thing about gifts however, is that one can only offer a gift. You don't actually get that gift until you accept it. So how do you accept the gift of salvation? By believing it is real! That is why Paul tells us this...
Romans 10:9 (NASB)
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Salvation is not a physical gift. It is a spiritual gift. We already clarified that gifts are free. So you don't have to do anything to earn this gift. You simply have to believe with all your heart that it is real.
Think about it. If you don't truly believe God is real, how can you possibly accept a gift from Him? If you don't believe Jesus is the Son of God, how can you believe His sacrifice was holy enough to wash your soul clean? If you don't believe God raised Jesus from the dead, how can you possibly believe your salvation is real? The only way anyone can possibly accept the spiritual gift of salvation from God Who is a spirit, is if they truly believe with all their heart that it is real. That is why throughout the New Testament, over and over it tells us that we are saved through faith or saved by believing in Jesus.
There are a total of 18 primary scriptures that tell us "how" we are saved. Every single one of them say we are saved by faith in Christ or saved by believing in the name of Jesus. Not one of those verses say we are saved by any other means. Nine of those verses were from the words of Jesus Himself!
Primary Salvation Scriptures from the writers.
Primary Salvation Scriptures from Jesus Christ.
There is no other doctrine that the Word of God states so often and so clearly as salvation. Nineteen different times. All primary verses. A primary verses is any verse that is so plainly written that it can only have one interpretation. It can only mean exactly what it says. Yet because of a few verses that were interpreted falsely, people ignore the many that speak plainly.
One of the most common verses for supporting that sin sends us to hell is this one...
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.
Seems pretty solid doesn't it? Now look closer and ask yourself, is this naming off different sins, or types of sinners? Fornication is a sin. A fornicator is a type of sinner. Every one named here is a type of sinner. It never says that those who commit these sins do not inherit the kingdom of God. It says these type of sinners do not inherit the kingdom of God. What is the difference you might be asking? That is found in verse 11. The verse that is so often conveniently ignored.
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.
Remember, this is found in Paul's letter to the church at Corinth. He is writing to believers. He is telling them that the sinners will not inherit the kingdom of God and just names a few types to clarify it. Then he tells them, (Paraphrased) "You used to be sinners as well, but you have been washed clean. You have been sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus Christ."
Paul is not saying those who commit these sins will go to hell. He is saying that sinners will go to hell, but we are no longer sinners. We are washed clean!
Now some will argue that if we sin, we are sinners, so it is referring to everyone. Does that makes sense? Paul also tells us that we all sin.
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.
So if Paul teaches that everyone sins, then why would he be saying "Such were some of you'"? Wouldn't he just be saying, "you are all going to hell!" Because he was not using "sinner" as a noun. He was using it as a title. A reference to the unbeliever. For all unbelievers are sinners. We believers are no longer sinners. Though we do still sin, we no longer receive that title because we have been washed.
I just showed you a verse where Paul clearly says that everyone sins. Anyone who says they don't sin is a liar. Now look at what else Paul says...
Romans 5:8 (NASB)
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
While we were still sinners? So he is saying he is not still a sinner? How can this possibly coincide with the previous verse? Is this a clear contradiction in the Bible? It is if you believe sin sends us to hell. The only way this is not a contradiction is if you recognize that Paul uses the term "sinner" as a title for the unbeliever. Not for the believer. In which this verse would be saying, "in that while we were still unbelievers, Christ died for us."
If you believe sin sends us to hell, it causes a lot of confusion. Not just in what Paul says either. Just using simple logic. Look at the age old question...
If a man lives a perfect life and never sins. Years and years of serving the Lord with all of his life and turning away from sin, then one day is caught off guard as a door opens and he sees a beautiful woman inside naked. He stands there staring for a moment, lusting after her. In another few seconds he would have came to his senses and walked away, but he never had the chance as right at that moment he has an aneurysm and dies. Another man lives his entire life doing whatever he feels like. He gets drunk and does drugs and has sex with all kinds of women. He even rapes a few and not all of them of legal age. Through the years he kills 4 people, mugs many others and burns a few homes to the ground. With the people still in them. Then one day he hears a preacher speaking and his words touch him. God opens his eyes to how horrible he has been and right then he breaks down crying and turns his life over to Christ. Then he too has an aneurysm and dies.
If sin sends us to hell, that good man that only committed one sin and died in the middle of it goes to hell. The evil man who killed and raped and partied through his life goes to heaven. Can you honestly say that is fair?
The truth is, that is not what the Word of God teaches. Sin does not actually send us to hell. Everyone who rejects Jesus as Lord of their life, will go to hell. Everyone who believe in Jesus as Lord will go to heaven. No matter how early or late in life they accept Him. So long as they are true believers when they die, they will go to heaven.
The Word of God teaches us that both of those men will go to heaven because when they died, they both believed. The man who spent his entire life serving the Lord and doing good deeds will receive unbelievable rewards. The man who spent his life doing evil will still be saved and go to heaven, but he will not receive such rewards. He will be a servant to others in heaven.
So you are saying Christians can live in sin and still go to heaven?
The quick answer is 'Yes!". However if you believe that is getting the best of both worlds, you really don't understand the consequences of sin. Sin has two effects on us. 1) It separates us from God in our personal relationship. 2) It eats away at our rewards in the afterlife.
Have you ever heard the term "Predestination"? Many churches preach against it, even though the Bible is clear that it is real.
John 6:44 (NASB)
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
Jesus even says it plainly. Nobody can turn to Him unless the Father draws them to Him. Here are a couple more verses proving it...
John 6:65 (NASB)
65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
Ephesians 1:4 (NASB)
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
If that does not convince you, look at something else Paul says...
Romans 8:7-8 (NASB)
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
We are not even able to turn to Christ while we are still sinners. God must first change our spirit so we can desire God.
Ezekiel 11:19 (NASB)
19 And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,
How does God choose who to save?
1 Peter 1:2 (NASB)
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
Basically this is how it works...
We are naturally wicked. We are not even able to choose to serve God because our spirit does not desire God. The only way we can possibly turn to Christ and be saved, is if God first gives us a new spirit. But God is all knowing. He knows every possible path for everyone. He knows with each one of us, if He was to change our spirit at any point in our lives, if we would choose to turn to Christ or not. So with everyone God knows will turn to Christ, at the perfect moment, He gives them a new spirit, knowing they will turn to Him. Those who God knows will never turn to Christ, He chooses not to change their spirit.
Once God does give us a new spirit however, there is no longer an option of being happy in sin. Our spirit now desires to be right with God and the closer we are to God in our personal relationship with Him, the happier we are inside. The further we fall from God as we fall into sin, the more miserable we become. It is impossible for someone who is saved to live in sin and be happy. It is completely possible to live in sin, but a believer would never be happy doing that.
Along with making us miserable in this life, sin eats away our rewards in the afterlife. Think about what that means.
When we die and go to heaven, that is not where we spend eternity. That is God's domain. Not where we stay. After the day of judgment when every unbeliever is cast into the lake of fire, God will then destroy this earth and give to us a new earth. A much larger earth. He will place upon the new earth a new Jerusalem. We will spread out and create nations and kingdoms just as we have in this world. We will be given positions of authority and jobs. Those with greater rewards will be given higher positions. They will have servants waiting on them. Those who receive the fewest rewards, and there will be many, will be the servants.
Now don't get me wrong. Being a servant in heaven is still a billion times better than being cast into a lake of fire. But people need to understand that even though all the saved will go to heaven, the Bible never says we will get the same rewards or enjoy it all the same. A servant can be just as happy as a rich person. The difference will be the rich will have the money and time to enjoy the afterlife to a fuller extent.
These rewards are not for a short time or a hundred years. It is not for a thousand years. It is forever! If you lose your rewards from living in sin and end up a servant, you will be a servant forever! With zero chance of moving up.
Can a Christian live in sin and still go to heaven? Yes they can! And the price is to be miserable in this life and then receive a low position in the next life which lasts forever. So again, can a Christian live in sin and go to heaven? Yes. Is it worth it? Not a chance! Not even a little bit!
No one who is truly saved will ever choose to live in sin. It makes them miserable. However that does not mean it won't happen. It happens quite a lot! In fact the majority of Christians still live with one foot in the world because they can't seem to let go of their ways. Why? Because they have never truly worked on their personal relationship with God.
Don't forget, there is a very real and very dangerous enemy in the devil. He is a master of deceit. He will take any opening he can to tear a believer down. He will look for the crack in the armor and once he gets his claws in, he will dig and dig, trying to break through. Once he does, he can convince them of some devastating lies. We are not automatically protected from the devil and his minions just because we believe. Our protection comes in building a stronger relationship with God. Our believing in Jesus gives us the promise of salvation so long as we continue to believe. Our protection comes from building our faith by working on our relationship with the Lord.
There is a common belief that Jesus died on the cross so we can be forgiven for our sins.
Hebrews 9:22 (NASB)
22 And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Many believe that it is through the shedding of the blood of Jesus that we are forgiven. This is true... sort of. It is not exactly correct. Did you know that God used to forgive people for their sins before Jesus died?
Throughout the Old Testament, God allowed man to sacrifice animals, shedding their blood for atonement of their sins. Just look up the word "atonement" in the bible and you will find all kinds of verses showing this. However, what is atonement? Atonement is something someone does trying to make things right after doing a wrong. Basically, if someone breaks something, they will offer to pay for the damages. The paying for the damage is an atonement. The reason for an act of atonement is to hope for forgiveness.
You see, sin separates us from God in our personal relationship with Him. If God does not forgive us for our sins, those sins will build up a barrier between us and God. In ancient days, man would sacrifice animals as an act of atonement for their sins. If God could not forgive them, there would be no reason to bother sacrificing the animals. Those sacrifices would be nothing more than senseless barbaric slaughters of innocent animals. But they weren't senseless because God was willing to forgive sin when blood sacrifices were made.
Now I know what you are thinking. If God would forgive us for our sins, then Jesus died needlessly. The reason you see it that way is because you don't truly understand what happened when Jesus died. Yes Jesus died so we can be forgiven for our sins but it was more than that.
Adam
God created man in His image. Which means that God gave man Free Will and the right to make his own choices as well as live forever. However that living forever part was conditional. He warned Adam that if he ever ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he would die. When Adam ate from that tree, his body became corrupted by that knowledge. From that very moment, his body began to age and break down and die, just like everyone who has ever lived since. That sin did more than that though. It stained his soul.
Sin is like a spiritual cancer, if you will. It corrupts it. From the moment Adam sinned, everyone ever born after that was born with a soul that was already stained by sin. This is why we are all born sinners.
Psalm 51:5 (NASB)
5 Behold, I was brought forth in guilt, And in sin my mother conceived me.
Psalm 58:3 (NASB)
3 The wicked have turned away from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.
Ephesians 2:3 (NASB)
3 Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest.
We are sinners by nature because we are born with a soul that is already stained by sin. When God allowed man to sacrifice animals to atone for their sins, that atonement was only good enough to allow God to forgive us for the sins we committed ourselves. No animal could ever be pure enough and holy enough to wash that stain of sin from our souls. So all along, people could be forgiven for their sins through blood sacrifices. What those sacrifices could not do was wash us clean. That's where the biggest problem was.
God, in His full glory, is so pure and holy that sin simply cannot exist in His presence. On the mountain, Moses asked God to let him see His glory. This was a part of His explanation to why Moses could not see His glory.
Exodus 33:20 (NASB)
20 He further said, “You cannot see My face, for mankind shall not see Me and live!”
Even though we could be forgiven for our sins, if God would allow anyone into heaven, His full glory would literally destroy us. It would destroy our souls. So no man could ever make it to heaven so long as they had a soul that is stained by sin.
The Lord's Sacrifice
When Jesus shed His blood and died on the cross, He became a living sacrifice. He sacrificed Himself to atone for the sins of the world. He was a sacrifice that was so pure and holy, it did more than just atone for the sins we commit, it washes our souls clean from that stain of sin.
Today when we sin, we are automatically forgiven. Do we need to ask God to forgive us still? Absolutely, but not so we can go to heaven. We ask for forgiveness because sin separates us from God in our personal relationship with Him. It still builds up a barrier between us and God and we need the sins we commit to be cleared away so we can continue to grow closer to the Lord.
There is a whole lot of false teaching about sin in churches today. Sadly one of those is that the sins we commit will send us to hell. That in order to go to heaven, we need to refrain from sin and repent from sin and ask God to forgive us for those sins. But that simply isn't even logical.
If that was true, then it would mean that the sacrifice Jesus made was not enough. That it only goes so far and after that it is up to us to get in heaven. That would mean that salvation is not a gift but it is something we earn after we accept Jesus. But that's not what Paul tells us.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Salvation is clearly a gift from God. It is not a result of works. Why? So we will not boast. What would we boast of? That we saved ourselves!
If you offer someone a gift but tell them they only get it if they do something for it, is it still a gift? No! It then becomes a reward. The difference between a gift and a reward is that a gift is free. A reward is earned. So if we have to refrain from sinning to go to heaven, or make certain we have asked God to forgive us for all of our sins, then salvation would be a reward. Never once does the Bible refer to Salvation as a reward. It is a gift that is offered to us for free. All we have to do is accept it.
Ephesians 1:13 (NASB)
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise,
What promise could this possibly be speaking of, if not the promise of salvation? But it does not say there are any stipulations with the promise. It does not say that you are sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise, so long as you don't sin.
Salvation is a promise without stipulations. Salvation is a gift, not a reward. We know this because that is what the Word of God clearly says. Another thing about gifts however, is that one can only offer a gift. You don't actually get that gift until you accept it. So how do you accept the gift of salvation? By believing it is real! That is why Paul tells us this...
Romans 10:9 (NASB)
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Salvation is not a physical gift. It is a spiritual gift. We already clarified that gifts are free. So you don't have to do anything to earn this gift. You simply have to believe with all your heart that it is real.
Think about it. If you don't truly believe God is real, how can you possibly accept a gift from Him? If you don't believe Jesus is the Son of God, how can you believe His sacrifice was holy enough to wash your soul clean? If you don't believe God raised Jesus from the dead, how can you possibly believe your salvation is real? The only way anyone can possibly accept the spiritual gift of salvation from God Who is a spirit, is if they truly believe with all their heart that it is real. That is why throughout the New Testament, over and over it tells us that we are saved through faith or saved by believing in Jesus.
There are a total of 18 primary scriptures that tell us "how" we are saved. Every single one of them say we are saved by faith in Christ or saved by believing in the name of Jesus. Not one of those verses say we are saved by any other means. Nine of those verses were from the words of Jesus Himself!
Primary Salvation Scriptures from the writers.
Primary Salvation Scriptures from Jesus Christ.
There is no other doctrine that the Word of God states so often and so clearly as salvation. Nineteen different times. All primary verses. A primary verses is any verse that is so plainly written that it can only have one interpretation. It can only mean exactly what it says. Yet because of a few verses that were interpreted falsely, people ignore the many that speak plainly.
One of the most common verses for supporting that sin sends us to hell is this one...
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.
Seems pretty solid doesn't it? Now look closer and ask yourself, is this naming off different sins, or types of sinners? Fornication is a sin. A fornicator is a type of sinner. Every one named here is a type of sinner. It never says that those who commit these sins do not inherit the kingdom of God. It says these type of sinners do not inherit the kingdom of God. What is the difference you might be asking? That is found in verse 11. The verse that is so often conveniently ignored.
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.
Remember, this is found in Paul's letter to the church at Corinth. He is writing to believers. He is telling them that the sinners will not inherit the kingdom of God and just names a few types to clarify it. Then he tells them, (Paraphrased) "You used to be sinners as well, but you have been washed clean. You have been sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus Christ."
Paul is not saying those who commit these sins will go to hell. He is saying that sinners will go to hell, but we are no longer sinners. We are washed clean!
Now some will argue that if we sin, we are sinners, so it is referring to everyone. Does that makes sense? Paul also tells us that we all sin.
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.
So if Paul teaches that everyone sins, then why would he be saying "Such were some of you'"? Wouldn't he just be saying, "you are all going to hell!" Because he was not using "sinner" as a noun. He was using it as a title. A reference to the unbeliever. For all unbelievers are sinners. We believers are no longer sinners. Though we do still sin, we no longer receive that title because we have been washed.
I just showed you a verse where Paul clearly says that everyone sins. Anyone who says they don't sin is a liar. Now look at what else Paul says...
Romans 5:8 (NASB)
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
While we were still sinners? So he is saying he is not still a sinner? How can this possibly coincide with the previous verse? Is this a clear contradiction in the Bible? It is if you believe sin sends us to hell. The only way this is not a contradiction is if you recognize that Paul uses the term "sinner" as a title for the unbeliever. Not for the believer. In which this verse would be saying, "in that while we were still unbelievers, Christ died for us."
If you believe sin sends us to hell, it causes a lot of confusion. Not just in what Paul says either. Just using simple logic. Look at the age old question...
If a man lives a perfect life and never sins. Years and years of serving the Lord with all of his life and turning away from sin, then one day is caught off guard as a door opens and he sees a beautiful woman inside naked. He stands there staring for a moment, lusting after her. In another few seconds he would have came to his senses and walked away, but he never had the chance as right at that moment he has an aneurysm and dies. Another man lives his entire life doing whatever he feels like. He gets drunk and does drugs and has sex with all kinds of women. He even rapes a few and not all of them of legal age. Through the years he kills 4 people, mugs many others and burns a few homes to the ground. With the people still in them. Then one day he hears a preacher speaking and his words touch him. God opens his eyes to how horrible he has been and right then he breaks down crying and turns his life over to Christ. Then he too has an aneurysm and dies.
If sin sends us to hell, that good man that only committed one sin and died in the middle of it goes to hell. The evil man who killed and raped and partied through his life goes to heaven. Can you honestly say that is fair?
The truth is, that is not what the Word of God teaches. Sin does not actually send us to hell. Everyone who rejects Jesus as Lord of their life, will go to hell. Everyone who believe in Jesus as Lord will go to heaven. No matter how early or late in life they accept Him. So long as they are true believers when they die, they will go to heaven.
The Word of God teaches us that both of those men will go to heaven because when they died, they both believed. The man who spent his entire life serving the Lord and doing good deeds will receive unbelievable rewards. The man who spent his life doing evil will still be saved and go to heaven, but he will not receive such rewards. He will be a servant to others in heaven.
So you are saying Christians can live in sin and still go to heaven?
The quick answer is 'Yes!". However if you believe that is getting the best of both worlds, you really don't understand the consequences of sin. Sin has two effects on us. 1) It separates us from God in our personal relationship. 2) It eats away at our rewards in the afterlife.
Have you ever heard the term "Predestination"? Many churches preach against it, even though the Bible is clear that it is real.
John 6:44 (NASB)
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
Jesus even says it plainly. Nobody can turn to Him unless the Father draws them to Him. Here are a couple more verses proving it...
John 6:65 (NASB)
65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
Ephesians 1:4 (NASB)
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
If that does not convince you, look at something else Paul says...
Romans 8:7-8 (NASB)
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
We are not even able to turn to Christ while we are still sinners. God must first change our spirit so we can desire God.
Ezekiel 11:19 (NASB)
19 And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,
How does God choose who to save?
1 Peter 1:2 (NASB)
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
Basically this is how it works...
We are naturally wicked. We are not even able to choose to serve God because our spirit does not desire God. The only way we can possibly turn to Christ and be saved, is if God first gives us a new spirit. But God is all knowing. He knows every possible path for everyone. He knows with each one of us, if He was to change our spirit at any point in our lives, if we would choose to turn to Christ or not. So with everyone God knows will turn to Christ, at the perfect moment, He gives them a new spirit, knowing they will turn to Him. Those who God knows will never turn to Christ, He chooses not to change their spirit.
Once God does give us a new spirit however, there is no longer an option of being happy in sin. Our spirit now desires to be right with God and the closer we are to God in our personal relationship with Him, the happier we are inside. The further we fall from God as we fall into sin, the more miserable we become. It is impossible for someone who is saved to live in sin and be happy. It is completely possible to live in sin, but a believer would never be happy doing that.
Along with making us miserable in this life, sin eats away our rewards in the afterlife. Think about what that means.
When we die and go to heaven, that is not where we spend eternity. That is God's domain. Not where we stay. After the day of judgment when every unbeliever is cast into the lake of fire, God will then destroy this earth and give to us a new earth. A much larger earth. He will place upon the new earth a new Jerusalem. We will spread out and create nations and kingdoms just as we have in this world. We will be given positions of authority and jobs. Those with greater rewards will be given higher positions. They will have servants waiting on them. Those who receive the fewest rewards, and there will be many, will be the servants.
Now don't get me wrong. Being a servant in heaven is still a billion times better than being cast into a lake of fire. But people need to understand that even though all the saved will go to heaven, the Bible never says we will get the same rewards or enjoy it all the same. A servant can be just as happy as a rich person. The difference will be the rich will have the money and time to enjoy the afterlife to a fuller extent.
These rewards are not for a short time or a hundred years. It is not for a thousand years. It is forever! If you lose your rewards from living in sin and end up a servant, you will be a servant forever! With zero chance of moving up.
Can a Christian live in sin and still go to heaven? Yes they can! And the price is to be miserable in this life and then receive a low position in the next life which lasts forever. So again, can a Christian live in sin and go to heaven? Yes. Is it worth it? Not a chance! Not even a little bit!
No one who is truly saved will ever choose to live in sin. It makes them miserable. However that does not mean it won't happen. It happens quite a lot! In fact the majority of Christians still live with one foot in the world because they can't seem to let go of their ways. Why? Because they have never truly worked on their personal relationship with God.
Don't forget, there is a very real and very dangerous enemy in the devil. He is a master of deceit. He will take any opening he can to tear a believer down. He will look for the crack in the armor and once he gets his claws in, he will dig and dig, trying to break through. Once he does, he can convince them of some devastating lies. We are not automatically protected from the devil and his minions just because we believe. Our protection comes in building a stronger relationship with God. Our believing in Jesus gives us the promise of salvation so long as we continue to believe. Our protection comes from building our faith by working on our relationship with the Lord.