Can we accept Jesus, keep sinning, and continue asking for forgiveness? Can a saved person continue to live in sin since it’s all forgiven anyway? This is a question that’s brought up a lot sort of as a joke. “If this is true, then I’ll accept Jesus and continue doing whatever I want. Since it’s all forgiven anyway. Right?” Then everybody just laughs at the idea and the conversation stops. But let’s look at this question closely because this applies to everyone. Myself included.

The Bible has A LOT to say about this. The New Testament clearly communicates that if you have trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you are forgiven! Jesus has paid for all your past, present, and future sins. Every single sin that you and I commit is a debt against God. A debt that we can’t pay. So Jesus paid it for us. In the book of Colossians, we read that Jesus canceled the debt that stood against us and nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:14). When Jesus died our sins died and were buried with him. This is why Romans 8 teaches that “there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” The New Testament also teaches that you are saved only by the completed work of Jesus. No amount of good deeds can save you. It’s a gift of grace from God. It’s pretty clear in Ephesians 2:10 “For it is by grace you have been saved. Not by works so no one can boast.” All sins are forgiven through Jesus. Not just some, not just the really bad ones, all of them.

Now here comes the complicated part. Literally, all of our sins are forgiven. So are we free to do whatever we want? Can we just rack up a life of sin that Jesus will just forgive? The New Testament addresses this question. In short, the answer is no. Apostle Paul addresses this head-on in Romans Chapter 6 by saying “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!” Basically saying don’t take God’s grace for granted. I think someone who truly believes this is an option hasn’t truly understood what Jesus has done for them. The New Testament uses strong language to describe us before we were saved. For example, it says that we were dead in our sins and were children of wrath (Ephesians 2). It says that we were enemies of the Cross. (Philippians 3). Think about that for a sec. I was an enemy of the cross! Yet “while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son (Romans 5:10).” Through Jesus we have been reconciled to God and our sins are no longer counted against us (2 Cor. 5:19). Through Christ we have been made into something new. That’s the part I want to focus on.

Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 5:17. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” So since we are new creations we are to live as such. Further in the chapter he says that we should be “ambassadors for Christ” and make him appealing to others (2 Cor.5:20). We are to live our lives to try and be more like Jesus and share the Gospel with everyone. Every Christian still sins because they are going through a process called Sanctification. That’s a fancy way to say “to be made holy.” Christians are to be holy as Christ is holy. Of course, we are not perfect. Sanctification is a work in progress. One day we will be made perfectly holy in heaven. Until then… we still sin but we shouldn’t feel comfortable with our sin.  I think that’s where the big difference lies. I believe that there’s a big difference between someone who sins and works to stop that sinning in that way; and the person who is comfortable with their sin and is not looking to change it. One of those people has repented. The other hasn’t because they see no reason to repent.  

To bring this all home one of my favorite passages in the Old Testament gives a beautiful description of what God does when he saves someone. It’s in Ezequiel 36:26-28. “ And I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit into you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit into you and move to keep my decrees and be careful to keep laws… you will be my people and I will be your God.” I believe this fits with Paul’s description of being made into a new creation. Someone who truly repents will have a heart change and receive the Holy Spirit. It will lead to radical life changes through the process of sanctification. It will lead to a real relationship with Christ that will last forever in heaven.

Hope this helps!