Walking in a Continuous State of Sin
February 28, 2009 | 
Author Tonight I was reading through chapter seven of “Grace Walk” by Steve McVey. We are going through it in my church small group. While I was reading the chapter, I highlighted a couple of sections that are worth sharing and commenting on.
Christians who are not abiding in Him [Christ] are walking in a state of continuous sin, regardless of their actions.
Christians, myself included, have the tendency to gauge our spiritual success based upon our feelings and outward appearances. If we are not overtly engaging in sinful behavior then we feel good about our spiritual condition, regardless of whether we are trusting and abiding in Christ or not. However, this is short-sighted and does not describe sin as the New Testament characterizes it. The biblical definition of sin extends far beyond behavior and even thought patterns. It very simply is the condition of living with a broken relationship with God.
Jesus assures us in John 15:5 that, “apart from me you can do nothing.” Yet we strive to keep ourselves from sinning day after day, having no real fellowship with Jesus. This is a guaranteed recipe for failure. We have cut ourselves off from the only source of power to do anything as a Christian – Christ Himself. This is a state of sin no matter what we do.
So what does it look like to abide in Christ? Very simply put, it is to live by faith in Christ. Many references in the New Testament affirm that trusting in Jesus is the only way to live a righteous life. This isn’t just trusting Him for salvation in the sweet by and by. Much more, this is trusting Christ for the resources to overcome temptation and experience the abundance that Jesus said he came to deliver (John 10:10). It is maintaining our relationship with him, not merely doing things for him.
Validating McVey’s point in the quote above, Paul taught that “…everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Rom. 14:23) If we are not approaching life’s decisions and temptations from a place of trust in Christ and our relationship with him, then we are walking in a state of continuous sin, regardless of our behavior.
I have made the additional mistake of viewing the Christian life as a car battery that must continuously be charged to keep my spiritual motor running. This is not to discount the importance of spiritual disciplines. However, as stated previously, if those disciplines are not an overflow or in maintenance of a trusting relationship with Christ, they are of little value.
McVey put it this way…
I’ll never think of getting my spiritual battery charged again. When we abide in Christ, it is like turning a switch into the “on” position and allowing the full power of Jesus Christ to flow through us. When we choose to rest in His life, we experience victory. When we choose not to abide, we flip the switch to the “off” position and we fail.
So what does any of this have to do with sexual purity? Well, I’m glad you asked!
God does not hide his face from us when we have slipped up. Having a few weeks or months of behavioral purity under our belts doesn’t mean that we are any more acceptable to God. We can turn to him at any time because of Jesus. That is what the cross is all about! We don’t do so because of our deep shame, but that is a topic for another post!
The bottom-line is this: if we have a long stretch of sexual purity behind us and yet we are not abiding in Christ, it is only a matter of time before our continuous state of sin (broken fellowship with God) expresses itself in specific sinful behavior. For those like me whose flesh has a bent toward sexual sin, that is the likely candidate.
By contrast, even if we have been recently sexually acting out, we can repent and turn to Christ. We can receive his grace afresh and allow his love that has never changed to begin changing us once more.
I also want to make this last point: I am not talking about losing our salvation. Rather, I am talking about those who have trusted Christ for salvation cutting themselves off from the process of sanctification by breaking fellowship. Fortunately for us, God has promised never to break fellowship with us because of Christ! We can return to him and pick that relationship back up at any time.
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John, that is a great post and very encouraging. I pray all active members of HC read and take the truth of your post and what McVey has written to heart and apply it to their lives! You write well mate and portray your points very well.
Thanks Peter. There is so much to say on this topic. Obviously, McVey has written several books on it!
John:
I disagree. When I sin, I am a sinner. When I don't sin, I am not. A "state of sin" is only continuous until the moment I do right. Then, it is no longer continuous. It is important for us, as Christians, to be clear about such things and to use words as they are technically defined so we can be easily understood by Christians and non-Christians alike.
To postulate that we are in a continuous, or even constant state of sin, nullifies the assertion that we are "new creatures."
I don't mean to zero in on what could be viewed as such a small detail. Especially since I agree with the spirit of what you are trying to articulate. But just I cannot get behind it as it is currently worded. It just comes across as confusing to me, and worse, demoralizing.
Also, and I am not speaking authoritatively here so please correct me if I am wrong (as if you wouldn't, hehe), but referring to Rom 14:23 in that way looks like a classic case of taking a quote out of context, or zeroing in on a small fraction of a sentence and applying it in a broad and careless manner. In that section of Romans, Paul is summarizing a conclusion. He is wrapping up an argument. And the argument he is wrapping up is concerned with Christians judging each other, causing disharmony within the church, and making moral "gray-area" choices when they clearly have doubts about whether or not they are sinning. To pick the tail-end of one sentence like that, and make such a significant blanket statement, really gives me pause. But not the good kind.
I think we have plenty of obvious, black and white sin in our life to deal with, without heaping on extra helpings inappropriately. Not to mention that doing so isn't neutral. It's harmful.
Love you man
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peace|dewde
If you define sin only as an action, then I completely agree with you. However, I do not think this view appropriately describes the depth of human depravity. What you are describing is the external expression of sin: behavior. There are more internal expressions of sin, thoughts, but again, those are an expression of a deeper issue. When I do not behave like a sinner externally, but am living apart from Christ I am living in the flesh, which is sin.
As Christians, we are indeed regenerated. We have been made perfect in our spiritual union with Christ. He has taken up residence by the Holy Spirit within our spirits. However, we are still unregenerated in our minds and in need of progressive sanctification. The flesh is still present and needs to be dealt with mercilessly where we discover its influence.
Simply describing sin as actions and thoughts puts us into the moral wranglings of, "How close can I get to the line without going over?" Understanding sin as the state of a broken relationship with God cuts through all of that mess. It is the only standard by which we can truly judge our thoughts and behaviors. There are no gray areas in our relationship with Jesus.
In this sense, I do not believe that quoting Rom. 14:23 is incorrect. Paul is describing our conduct among other believers and how we may violate each others conscience based upon various practices. Again, these are the externals. The internal bottom-line is can I engage in them by faith? That is to say, can I with a clean conscience profess that what I am doing is a genuine expression of my relationship with Christ. If not…it is sin.
I guess I had a mixed reaction to the different viewpoints. I couldn’t immediately fully identify with either one. Having thought about, I would support the traditional Lutheran view characterized by this quote:
“Justification is an act, a declaration. It is not a process. Through faith in Christ, and only through faith, sinners are declared to be forgiven and to be perfectly right with God. This declaration is whole and complete, totally independent of any inherent goodness in us sinners. In short, because of God's act on the cross received through faith, we sinners are declared to be perfect saints in God's sight. But this does not mean that forgiven sinners, when judged by God's law, do not continue to be sinners. "Forgiveness is needed constantly," says Luther. "Because we are encumbered with our flesh, we are never without sin".”
Both the Hebrew (het) and Greek (hamartia) words for sin mean “to miss the mark.” I think this is one of those cases where close doesn't count. Colossians 3 says “for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” I would conclude that “the mark” is a life totally surrendered to Christ, or, to put it another way, to fully abide in Christ. Anything less than that is to be off the mark. I see the proof in my daily struggle to set aside selfish desire. Going back to the Colossians verse, if I’m fully surrendered to God, it’s like I’m completely hidden behind Christ. I'm invisible. When I lean out (move slightly off the mark), even though you can’t see all of me, I am no longer hidden.
Just my $0.02 :>)
I agree with you. I have come to believe that "missing the mark" is at its core living apart from Christ and not merely having a bad thought or a bad action. Those are just outward expression of a heart attitude that says, "I can do it on my own."
I would suggest that our thoughts and actions are more than mere expression. But rather, they are concrete components in the process that constitutes a full expression of sin. In other words; sin in full bloom is sin acted upon. My behavior does more than just express my hearts condition, it solidifies it.
I use faith as an example of this principle.
James 2: 17; So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
My good deeds (behaviors) are more than mere expression, but an essential part of what constitutes a full expression of faith. So much so that faith cease to be with out them.
Great point, Wesley. I agree, as much as thoughts and actions are a full expression of sin. However, to my point, it is not thoughts and actions that damn us, but rather the broken state of affairs into which every human is born. Sinful thought and deed are evidence of the deeper state of sin. That state is not made more real by those thoughts and deeds just exposed.