False Doctrine–Then and Now

There is a school of thought out there among some Christians today that says because Jesus died for our sins we can continue sinning because Jesus has these future sins covered as well as the sins we have already repented from. This concept is not new and Paul also had to confront it in his day as well. Here is what Paul said in Romans 6:1,2:

Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Some people seem to have been of the opinion that it would actually glorify God more if they continued to sin because it would show even greater grace by God when he forgave them! This is nothing short of a perversion of the gospel.

who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality ¹

While people today don’t try to make this claim anymore, there are Christians out there who believe they don’t have to change their lifestyle because they have Jesus in their back pocket. Jesus is their “get out of jail free” card.

Still others in Paul’s time were saying because Jesus fulfilled the law, and because we are now living under grace instead of the law, that we could continue to sin. There are some today who make the same claim.

Paul answered this in Romans 6:15, 16:

Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶ Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and repent a true change of heart should begin to take place. God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance,² it is not a license to continue to sin. The idea that we can continue to sin because we are now under God’s grace is nothing but an attempt to use scripture to justify sinful living. It is a clear abuse of “once saved, always saved” and this mindset is still out there in some Christian circles today. They honor God with their lips but their hearts are far from him.³

This is the symptom of an unrepentant heart, and I would argue it means they have not fully accepted Jesus Christ as savior. Sure, they might have confessed Jesus with their lips, but they must look inside to see if they truly believe in their hearts.⁴ It is like Jesus is their backup plan and not their focus.

Jesus and the Downtrodden

Some people try to justify their sinful lifestyle by pointing to the fact that Jesus “hung out” with less than desirable characters and that he accepted them.

At one meal a woman who was a sinner washed his feet with her tears, this upset the Pharisees:

“If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”⁵

And what was worse, he even-gasp-ate with them!

And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. ³⁰ And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”⁶

It is true that at times Jesus associated with sinners, thieves, and tax collectors but the people making this claim are missing one very important aspect.

Sin No More

Yes, Jesus did associate with less than savory characters, he even ate with some of them. While he did eat with them and he did forgive their sins, he expected a change in behavior. And from what we read in the Bible it appears as if they did change their ways when they began to follow Jesus.

We cannot ignore Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees:

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”⁷

And this is the point people are missing: Jesus called them to repentance, he accepted them while they were sinners, but he expected them to change their ways in return. He healed a lame man at the Pool of Bethesda,⁸ and he saved an adulteress from being stoned to death,⁹ but what did he tell both of them? Three little words: sin no more.

Jesus died for us all while we were still sinners¹⁰ and he expects us to change our ways in return. Following Jesus Christ does not give us an excuse to continue sinning, following Jesus Christ gives us a desire to change.

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1. Jude 4 NIV ↩︎
2. Romans 2:4 ESV ↩︎
3. Paraphrase of Matthew 15:8 ↩︎
4. See Romans 10:9 ↩︎
5. Luke 7:39 ESV ↩︎
6. Luke 5:29,30 ESV ↩︎
7. Luke 5:31,32 ESV ↩︎
8. John 5:7-9 ESV ↩︎
9. John 8:3-11 ESV ↩︎
10. Romans 5:8 ESV ↩︎