The entire matter is this; When we God changes us into a new creation we are completely changed by Christ, we do not change ourselves. The old things are gone and we are all new. Christ comes to live in us and has said that we are "sealed" with His Holy Spirit of Promise as a Guarantee of our inheritance.
Then the Father treats us like sons, when sons disobey they are disciplined. 1 John 1:9 was written to believers, we have an advocate with the Father. Why do we need an advocate? Because we are sinful creatures, Christ had to die to cover our sin and our sin is accounted to what He did for us. When we disobey God we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. Only those who belong to Christ have an advocate, the unsaved do not have this.
1 John 2:1-2 "1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours alone, but also for the sins of the whole world.…"
There is no good humanly speaking that we could do to keep what we did not earn. We made the initial choice to trust Christ's sacrifice for us and then He responded with love and changed us, lives in us and keeps us until He comes for us.
Ephesians 2:8-10 "…8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.…"
The sacrifice on the cross would have been silly if we had to try to be good to earn any measure of salvation or to keep what we did not earn. We would have to die ourselves but that wouldn't work because only a perfect sinless man could do that and that was Christ the Lord.
We do have a choice to walk away, but we don't want to, our heart has been changed into something entirely different from what it was before. Our Spirit is now that of Christ's but we are trapped in this body of Sin that we must battle with continually until we are taken out of this world.
2 Corinthians 5:16-18 "…16 So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:…"
Since we regard no one according to the flesh any more we do not look at their sinfulness but at Christ. Every born again believer has fruit from the Holy Spirit that changes the way they think and live, but they still battle that old man flesh.
Galatians 5:16-18 "16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to one another, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.…"
Ephesians 1:12-14 "…12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory. 13 And in Him you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, having heard and believed the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. 14 The Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.…"
Hebrews 12:6-8 "…6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.…"
Christians can act very badly, they will have consequences in this life and lost rewards in the next but they remain born again.
1 Corinthians 3:14-16 "…14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as one being snatched from the fire. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"
In these last days of rebellion it is difficult to tell the difference as to who is born again and who is not. If we see someone walking contrary to Christ then we need to ask them to go and pray to ask God if they have ever been born again. If they are convinced they are saved then we need to obey God and avoid them to help them to see the seriousness of ignoring the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 5:21-13 "5 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2 [a]You have become [b]arrogant and [c]have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.
3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and [d]I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord [e]Jesus.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?
7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.
8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;
10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.
11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?
13 But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves."
God never said that the one in the church acting immorally was not a brother in Christ. He called Him a brother, and the purpose of discipline, God's discipline and man's for the brother is to bring him back into obedience. No one comes back into "salvation", but we can be brought back into obedience through discipline, man's and God's.
Galatians 6:1 "1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ.…"
Hebrews 12:6 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, or lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
It makes no sense that we could hop back and forth into and out of salvation, that would mean that Christ never changed us into a new creation, as He said He did.
Ephesians 2:9-11 "…9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life. 11 Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)—…"
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