You Should Turn From Sins, But Not To Be Saved

2nd Timothy 19-21, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.”

The inspired Holy Bible has much to say about God's children forsaking sin, and living a holy life for the Lord. I don't ever want to give the impression as a free grace preacher, that I am lackadaisical about sin. Psalms 97:10, “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.” Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Obviously we are incapable of being completely perfect, but God wants us to try with His help. This has absolutely nothing to do with the gift of eternal life. You could just as easily receive God's gift, and choose to continue living in sin, and still be safely secure in God's gift of salvation. However, the Lord will scourge and chastise you as His child (Hebrews 12:6-8). God is not an absent parent. Proverbs 3:12, “For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”

Galatians 5:13, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” The moment we were born-again, we were set free from the captivity of Satan. The law's curse no longer has dominion over us as God's redeemed saints. A believer CAN live in sin and still know with certainty that they are going to Heaven! God will hold a disobedient child accountable (2nd Corinthians 5:10-11; 1st Thessalonians 4:6; Romans 12:19-21; 14:10-12). The truth is that we are all disobedient children sometimes. There is no such thing as turning away from one's sins. Even the most faithful saint still struggles with sin. The apostle Paul struggled with his flesh (Romans 7:14-25). No believer ever gets to the place spiritually, where they can slack off and relax, thinking they have attained a level of maturity that makes them less vulnerable to temptation and sin. As long as you are breathing and in the flesh, sin will be a struggle.

Every saint of God should try to live above reproach. NO ONE can live above sin. Living right is a matter of how much we love God. Many people disregard the Word of God, wilfully choosing to live in sin, but there is always a consequence. Ecclesiastes 8:12-13, “Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.” 

Fear God And Keep His Commandments

My goal in life is not to avoid sin, but to fear God and keep His commandments. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” We can only live life the way God gives it to us, one day at a time. We may not be alive tomorrow, so I don't worry about the future. I am going to serve God right now, today, and do what I can to make an impact for Heaven!

Psalms 72:3, “The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.”

Proverbs 16:12, “It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.”

Daniel 4:27, “Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.”

I love that last Bible verse. The prophet Daniel exhorted king Nebuchadnezzar to get right with God, to break off his wickedness BY RIGHTEOUSNESS!!! The way you stop lying is to start telling the truth! The way you get a counterfeit gospel out of your church, is to start preaching the true Gospel of free grace! The way to overcome adultery is to be faithful to your own marriage. The way to stop stealing is to start working hard to be an honest person. I would rather die than cheat someone! All sin starts when we leave off doing right! The apostle Peter didn't sink in doubt into the sea, until he removed his eyes from watching Jesus (Matthew 14:30). 

Our worries, fears and doubts in the Christian life, all begin when we take our eyes off off the precious Savior! Complaining begins with a lack of gratitude toward God. Hatred begins with a lack of love for our neighbours. I prayed for all my neighbours today, because I love them very much. They are my neighbours. Proverbs 3:29, “Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.” So many people today are filled with anger, hatred, envy and all manner of wicked thinking. The reason why is that their mind has never been renewed by the precious Word of God. Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” That's the key right there folks! 

You Don't 'Turn From Sins' To Get God's Free Gift

We hear a bunch of junk theology about being required to “turn from your sins” to be saved. That just shows how ignorant and foolish most of today's Bible professors, evangelists and pastors really are! Romans 12:1 teaches us that a person's mind needs to first be RENEWED before they can be TRANSFORMED. Getting saved is a free gift. Eternal life is free because Jesus paid the price for it with His blood! That is what the Holy Bible says (1st Peter 1:18-19). 

I have been saddened as I listen to 'UNSHACKLED' by Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. In an attempt to glamorize their ministry, they've sensationalized the Gospel, demanding that Skid Row drunkards, addicts, prostitutes and hardened sinners be willing to transform (turn from their sins) as a prerequisite to saving faith. I've listened to hundreds of their programs, many of which are ridiculous in their claims. PGM's 'Unshackled' is packed full of junk theology! Yet, most of it is very good. The stories are heartbreaking. Unfortunately, in many of the episodes, it is clear that the new birth has not taken place, the person has merely found religion. 

I will go to my grave preaching the free grace Gospel, which is without works of any sort. You simply trust Jesus as your Savior to go to Heaven, not as your Lord or King. What saith the Scripture? 1st Timothy 4:10, “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.” I love that Bible verse! Jesus is the Savior of ALL MEN, especially of them that believe! This refutes the Calvinist false teaching of Limited Atonement (i.e., the false claim that Jesus only died for Christians on the cross). Since Jesus is the Savior of all men, He had to die for ALL MEN. Romans 5:6-8 says that Jesus died for THE UNGODLY!!! That includes you and me friend, and every other rotten sinner on the globe! Aren't we blessed and fortunate that our Creator is a loving God? I shudder to think if Satan were in charge of the universe! The Devil may be the god of this planet temporarily (2nd Corinthians 4:4), but God is in charge of the entire universe, including the earth (1st Corinthians 10:26). 

“There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ; discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can't be lost because it depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness.” —Pastor M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965), 'Hebrews'; Zondervan Publishing House, 1959 (p. 117)