There are those who believe born again believer never sin after they are saved. This could not be further from the truth. Our Spirit is perfect, that is Christ in us, but we are trapped in this body of death and must fight against the natural inklings of that body as well as the constant battering of the devil toward our minds. The devil influences many people because they do not pray, they do not ask Christ Who lives in them for wisdom or guidance. Or they ask for guidance for their own desires.
James 4:2-3
2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures."
Written to believers in Christ who are saved!
James 4:4-10 "4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
In the case in 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 there was a believer who was sleeping with his father's wife, not his mother. Paul chastised them for tolerating his sin, even being proud of their tolerance. We find that God commanded them to discipline him, putting him out so that he would be ashamed and confess to be cleansed. That man was not treated as an unbeliever, he was disciplined and allowed to return to the gathering after he confessed and turned from that sin. God referred to him as a sinning brother, not as an unbeliever.
Believer do sin and sometimes badly. The Spirit in us is Christ He never sins, but we still in our flesh are capable of sin. In these last days many believers are worldly making it difficult to know who is a tare and who is a wheat.
Matthew 13:28-30 "…28‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 ‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”
Romans 7:23-25 "…23 But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin."
Those who believe they never sin again after salvation are sinning in proclaiming so.
1 John 1:7-9 was written to believers:
"…7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
It is a horrible prospect to be married to a believer who thinks they never sin, they will never admit anything that might mend a problem. We must confess to be cleansed. Some people will give an account before the throne for sins they would not confess. They will not be punished for their sin but they will lose rewards they might have had.
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 if through the flames. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…"
James 5:15-16 "…15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."
This post will not give permission to sin, but warn that if we belong to God and we choose to sin then we will see the consequences of that. Perhaps even taken out of the world early losing many rewards they might have had, if they had only confessed their sin and turned from it.
The only choice God removes from us when we become born again is the desire to trust Christ. After that we do not lose our salvation but we invite Gods discipline, even life long misery because of a stubborn heart.
Let us not base our theology on what someone might do or think because we tell them the truth. Let's tell the truth and leave their thinking and choices to God.
Yes, there are many tares in the church today who are influencing born again believers who are weak. They are weak because they love Christ but are more concerned about fitting into the culture than they are in pleasing the One Who lives in them, that is Jesus Christ. Some of these people are born again and many are not. Don't be worried about figuring out who is who, just correct wrong thinking, warn those who walk disobediently that they might not be saved and send them to God to find out.
2 Corinthians 13:5-6 " 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can’t you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you— unless you actually fail the test? 6 And I hope you will realize that we have not failed the test.…"
It is good to challenge those who claim to be Christian to see if they are really born again or just a pretender. Send them to Christ and then leave it there in God's hands. What they do with His truth is up to them. If they remain in sin without confession and repentance, then they cannot be constant companions with those who are walking obediently, they will merely dilute the work of Christ in those who are fervent.
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