Wrong.

This blog post is going to step on some toes. It’s going to be convicting. I hope that if you feel offended by what I say in this blog post, you will recognize it as conviction rather than getting mad at me. I’ve lost friends over this topic, but the Truth has to be spoken.

Sinning vs. Living in Sin

There’s a huge difference between sinning and living in sin. We cannot continue with this topic without discussing the two. I also want to be clear about the difference, so feel free to comment a question if you have one.

What is Sin?

While the definition of sin seems to vary from pastor to pastor and from website to website, we can all agree that sin is something that goes against the Word of God. There are the 10 Commandments, which we can look to as a general list of sins to avoid committing. There are many other things that go against the Word of God, like doing drugs, watching pornography, judging others, and more. If you study the Bible and read through the Words of Jesus, you will get a great idea of what sin is. All sins are equal in God’s eyes, which is important to note as well.

Once you accept Jesus as your Savior, you should avoid sinning at all costs. As humans, sin unfortunately lives inside of us. There’s not a single human being on this planet who hasn’t sinned except Jesus Christ himself. I sin, you sin, your pastor sins, we all sin. And guess what, Jesus died for us to receive Grace, so we are forgiven for our sins. We are forgiven for the sin we committed 10 years ago, and we’re forgiven for the sin we commit in 10 years. This is great news because followers of Jesus are going to go to Heaven! But, should we take advantage of this Grace and lie, steal, cheat, do drugs, and continue to live in sin? No.

What is Living in Sin?

Living in sin is living for yourself and for the world. It’s living as if you do not believe in Jesus. You can absolutely believe in Jesus Christ but continue to live in sin, which is very important to know. Do you make zero effort to steer clear from sin and temptation? Do you still do recreational drugs and partake in sexual sin frequently? Do you wear promiscuous outfits to get the opposite gender to notice you? Do you still cuss during every single conversation you have? You may be living in sin still.

Again, we all make mistakes. To be transparent, instead of saying, “Oh my gosh,” I accidentally said, “Oh my God” just this past Friday. That’s blaspheme that I committed. As soon as it came out of my mouth, I repented for my sin because I felt horrible. If you say the ‘a’ word on complete accident one day, if you make a huge mistake and fall back into sexual addiction, as long as you truly repent for that sin, you are forgiven.

What’s the Difference?

In my opinion (which could be completely wrong and I will find out when I go to Heaven one day), sin is the accidental or unplanned mistake against the Word of God due to temptation. Once someone commits a sin, they repent for their sin because they regret defying God. Living in sin is the purposeful, way of life that defies the Word of God where frequent sinning occurs. With living in sin, there is a lack of forgiveness and repentance once sin occurs as well. I hope that makes sense. I do not want to shame a fellow sinner and make them feel as if they are living in sin when they are not.

Jesus Forgave My Sins. Can I Live in Sin Anyways?

NO. Please do not continue to live in sin. When you continue to live in sin, you are allowing Satan to win and control your life. As a believer in Jesus, you should strive to have Him control your life and live for Him.

Will I go to Heaven Either Way?

I cannot answer this question. Only God knows the answer to this question. I can tell you what the Bible says about this topic though.

Jesus made it very clear that he forgives all sins if you accept Him as Lord and if you repent for your sins. If you remember what I said about living in sin, those people do not feel any regret for their sins, nor do they seek God for forgiveness.

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’” Mark 1:14-15 NKJV

“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…'” Acts 2:38 NKJV

The Bible is clear, you must repent for your sins and truly feel sorry for defying God’s Word. You may be thinking. Okay, I’ll sin and just say sorry and I’ll be fine. This worldly mentality has been spoken about by Jesus Himself.

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.” Luke 6:46-49

So, according to Jesus, if you accept Him as Lord but continue to live in the ways of the world, you will fall like a house with no foundation. So please, stop living in sin. Hear the Word of God and change. Jesus does not say that those who continue to live for the world go to Hell, but His commands are clear. Even if Jesus said “If you continue to sin without repentance but still believe in Me, you will go to Heaven” you still shouldn’t. As a follower of Christ, you are called to put aside your life for Him.

Following vs. Believing

You have probably heard both “following Jesus” and “believing in Jesus”. Let’s be clear about this: You can believe in Jesus but not follow Him, but Jesus calls you to do both.

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:24-25 NKJV

My goal of this blog post is to bring awareness of the difference between these two common words. Please, ask yourself, Am I following Jesus along with believing in Him? If you hesitate, you might be living in sin. The great news is, it’s never too late to change your life and be a follower of Christ. Jesus did not come to judge us, but he came to save us.

Please feel free to let me know what you think about this topic. Did I get it right? Are there some things I didn’t get right? I hope this blog post was helpful and convicting. Jesus loves you no matter what, and I hope I made that point clear in this post. If you’re ready to dive into your relationship with God, I have a blog post that will give you a quick guide on how to get started.