Dave wrote:
DAVEH: From the perspective of a saved Christian, why does it matter
whether one sins or not? Do not Christians believe their salvation
will save them from any sins they may commit?
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Our actions indicate the condition of our heart, Dave. When one has
decided to follow Christ, we surrender our will to His. Our consuming
desire, if we love Him and live for Him, is to Live a life pleasing to
Him. A casual attitude toward sin would indicate that the old man is
still serving self instead of the new man serving the Lord, and that our
love is for our own comfort and pleasure rather than to do His will.
The logical question I see coming from you next is, "Why sin then, if
your desire is to please Christ instead of yourself?" I can't remember
his name, but one of the old time preachers put it in a way that I can
understand, so maybe you will too. He said, "Before you were born
again, you were walking in darkness. There was no struggle within, as
you lived selfishly, desiring only to please yourself. When you were
born again, you were given a new nature, a desire to love God and love
others, but the old nature still resides in the flesh, and must be dealt
with daily. It is a struggle that continues until the moment the Lord
calls you home".
You have the power to do right, but the desire to do wrong. "The Devil
made me do it", is a lie. We simply choose at times to serve self
because the flesh is weak. When that happens, we should, if we belong
to Christ, be broken over our failure rather than be nonchalant because
we are forgiven. Repentance is the mark of a believer. "So what", is
the mark of the carnal.
Terry
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"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you
ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org
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