6.  RELATIONSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP


DO CHRISTIANS SIN?
    Yes, Christians sin  every day in  thought, word and  in deed.  
They are guilty of sins of omission as well as sins of commission. 

SHOULD CHRISTIANS SIN?
    No, God's will is that Christians should not sin.  1 John 2:1.

WHEN A CHRISTIAN SINS, DOES HE LOSE HIS SALVATION?
    No, salvation is a free gift of God, and once it is given,  it 
is never taken back again.  Romans 6:23.

BUT DOESN'T THE PENALTY OF THOSE SINS HAVE TO BE PAID?
    Jesus Christ  bore the penalty  of those sins  when He died on 
the Cross of Calvary.  God does not require the penalty to be paid 
twice. 

YOU MEAN, THEN,  THAT A CHRISTIAN  IS STILL A  CHILD OF GOD,  EVEN 
THOUGH HE SINS?
    Yes, his relationship in the family of God is eternal.  When a 
son is born into  a human family, he  will always be a  son of his 
parents.   He may subsequently disgrace  them by his behavior, but 
he  is  still  their   son.   So  it  is  in  the  Divine  family; 
relationship is established by the new birth  and nothing can ever 
change it.  John 1:12.

WHAT DOES HAPPEN, THEN, WHEN A CHRISTIAN SINS?
    Fellowship  is the happy  family spirit that  results from all 
the  members  having  the  same  interests,  and sharing things in 
common.   Consider  the  following  illustration.   A judge in the 
criminal court finds a  robber guilty and sentences him  to twelve 
months  in jail.   When the  judge goes  home that night, he finds 
that his little boy has been naughty.  But does he sentence him to 
twelve months in jail?  No, he no longer acts as a judge, but as a 
father  in  a  family.   The  child  is still his son, even though 
naughty.  Because of sin, the happy family spirit has  been broken 
and  it  remains  broken  until  that  sin  has been confessed and 
forgiven. So  the child is  probably sent upstairs  and he remains 
there until  he is willing to confess  his wrong.  The great point 
is that relationship was not affected but fellowship was. 
    When a person is  a sinner, God is  his Judge.  But when  that 
person becomes saved, God is henceforth his Father.

THEN YOU MEAN TO SAY  THAT ONCE A PERSON IS SAVED HE  CAN NEVER BE 
LOST? 
    That is what the Bible says.  "They shall never  perish." John 
10:28.   "Shall  not  come  into  condemnation, but is passed from 
death  unto life.   John 5:24;  Romans 8:38,39;  2 Timothy 1:12; 1 
Peter 1:5; Jude 24,25. 

CANNOT A PERSON DECIDE TO BE SAVED AND LATER CHANGE HIS MIND?
    When  a person has  once committed his  life to the Lord Jesus 
Christ, then his eternal salvation becomes the sole responsibility 
of the  Savior.  John 6:39.  The Lord  is honor-bound to take that 
person home to  heaven.  And because the Holy Spirit dwells in the 
true believer, he will never change his mind about being saved. 

DOES THAT MEAN THAT A CHRISTIAN CAN SIN ALL  HE WANTS AND STILL BE 
SAVED? 
    A true Christian  will not want to  sin, because he has  a new 
nature that hates sin.  2 Corinthians 5:17.

BUT SUPPOSE A CHRISTIAN GOES ON IN WILFUL AND HABITUAL SIN?
    If  a person lives  that kind of  a life, it  is certain proof 
that he was never truly born again.  1 John 3:9,10. 

CAN A CHRISTIAN SIN AND GET AWAY WITH IT?
    No, he can  not.  While is it  true that the legal  penalty of 
his sins has been  paid once for all  at Calvary, it is  also true 
that  God administers parental discipline  to his erring children.  
Galatians 6:7,8. 

HOW DOES GOD DISCIPLINE HIS CHILDREN?
    Sometimes  it is through sickness  or adversity and in extreme 
cases through death itself.  1 Corinthians 11:30.

DOES SIN IN  A BELIEVER'S LIFE HAVE ANY OTHER CONSEQUENCES IN THIS 
WORLD?
    Yes.   He  loses  his  joy.   His  prayers  are hindered.  His 
fruitfulness is marred.   His guidance become obscure.  He suffers 
shame  and  remorse.   Opportunities  are neglected and privileges 
forfeited.  Finally his testimony is ruined.

DOES SIN IN A BELIEVER'S LIFE HAVE ANY ETERNAL CONSEQUENCES?
    Yes,  he  suffers  loss  at  the  Judgment  Seat of Christ.  1 
Corinthians 3:15; 2 Corinthians 5:10.

SUPPOSE THAT A CHRISTIAN SHOULD DIE WITH UNCONFESSED SIN?
    As mentioned previously, the penalty for all a believer's sin 
was borne by  the Lord Jesus.   When He died,  all the Christian's 
sins were future.  Since He paid  the complete penalty, we can say 
He died for the believer's past, present and future sins.

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR A CHRISTIAN TO BACKSLIDE?
    Yes, any child of God may wander away from the Lord.

HOW MAY WE GUARD AGAINST BACKSLIDING?
    By reading the Word of  God, by spending time in prayer and by 
maintaining fellowship with the people of God. 

WHAT IS THE REMEDY FOR BACKSLIDING?
    The  cure for backsliding is  confession and forsaking of sin, 
and,  if  possible,  making  restitution  for wrongs which we have 
committed. 

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