Sinning After Salvation
But, now someone says, “I have heard, and I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and I repented of my sins, and I confessed, and then I was baptized. What if I do all of these steps, but, I still make mistakes and I still sin? Do I need to do all of these things again? Do I need to go through these steps every time I sin?” The answer to these questions is also found in God’s Word.
In Acts 8 there was a man named Simon, who was a magician in Samaria. He had been tricking the people and fooling them into giving him their money. But Philip went and preached to him, and to the people of Samaria. Simon heard what was said, he had a change of heart, he repented of his sinful lifestyle, and he was baptized. But then he made a mistake and he sinned. Peter, who had come down to Samaria, saw the whole thing.
The Christian continues to repent of sins,
confess them to God,
and ask for forgiveness.
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Remember, Simon had already obeyed the steps of salvation. He had already taken the steps to be saved. And yet now, he finds himself in a situation where he has sinned. What does he need to do? Peter sees that Simon has sinned after his baptism, and Peter says, “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.” (Acts 8:22)
The truth is, once we have gone through the steps of salvation, we are in fellowship with God. But, we can still sin. So, what do we do when we sin afterwards? We do the same thing Peter told Simon. We repent (change our mind about living contrary to God) and we pray to God and ask for forgiveness. And once we do that, God forgives us of our sins. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) And as we live our lives in prayer, asking forgiveness when we do wrong, then we will receive the reward that God has promised us.
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