Questions Campers Ask Part 13-How much can I get away with and still be saved?

Q: Can’t I still be a Christian and _________________? How much can I get away with and still be saved?

A: If the question “Can’t I live however I want (listen to whatever I want, hang out with whomever I want, watch whatever I want, treat people however I want, do whatever I want with my boyfriend, etc.) and still be a Christian?” is still crossing your mind, the answer is no. Remember, to be a Christian, or Christ follower, means that you repent of (turn away from) your sin-you hate it, and want to be rid of it. You are no longer your own master-Jesus has paid for your Salvation, and your life is now His to serve and please Him as 1Corinthians 6:19-20 says: “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and your spirit which are God’s.”

Don’t be fooled into thinking you can just ask God to forgive you later; this shows what’s truly in your heart-the desire to sin and enjoy it rather than to please God. If you told a store owner you were sorry for shoplifting in his store, then turned around and shoplifted again the next day, were you really sorry that you did it, or only sorry that you got caught? Obviously, the store owner will know that you never really repented of your wrong deed. In the same way, God is not fooled if your tell him you are repenting of your sin and you are sorry for living in rebellion against him, then immediately sin in the same way again (justifying yourself by saying God will forgive you) and tell Him you’re sorry again.

In Romans 6, Paul asks, “What then? Shall we continue to sin that grace may abound [so God can keep forgiving us]? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”

Yes, as Christians we are free from living in obedience the law, but using that freedom as a license to sin shows a complete lack of understanding in what it means to be a Christian and a devaluing of what Jesus suffered to pay for your sins. To be a Christian is not to follow the law perfectly and please God by doing that; it is to trust that Jesus has followed the law and pleased God perfectly in your place, then to bring yourself under the Lordship of Christ and say, “Jesus, you have control over my music, my movies, my friends, etc.” The question then becomes how you can best glorify God with your life, not how much can you get away with and still be a Christian.

Listen to how Romans 10:9 says we are saved: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” It is not simply by believing God raised Jesus from the dead, but also accepting him as Lord over your body (the things you do) and your spirit (the thoughts you think: the influences-people and media-you bring yourself under) which are now His.

If your focus is constantly on living however you want and asking God to forgive you later (or not at all), I think you have serious cause to doubt whether you really are a Christian. Yes, all Christians will make mistakes, but this is more of where your desires lie-sinning and enjoying it, or seeking to please God.

Romans chapter six gives a more complete understanding of the Christian’s relationship with sin. Go ahead and put this down and read it!