"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works." —Romans 4:5,6
Yes,
that's correct! A man recently wrote me, expressing his frustrations
over my teaching that a person can be saved without works. He
sarcastically asked... "Do you mean to tell me I can get saved and live
anyway I want? I can murder, steal, commit adultery?" I wrote
back and told him... "Yes!"
Get mad at me if you want, this is what the Bible teaches. Romans 4:6 plainly states that salvation is WITHOUT WORKS! If a person has to stop sinning to be saved, then that is self-righteousness! Romans 10:3,4 condemns a man trying to establish his own righteousness... "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."
Now before you get all bent-out-of-shape, let me say that the Bible also teaches that a saved man will become a new creature (2nd Corinthians 5:17). That new creature is Jesus Christ. Paul plainly stated in Romans 3:31 that just because we are no longer under the curse of the Law doesn't alleviate our obligation to keep the Law as believers. We are now under grace. God will chastise the believer who lives in sin (Hebrews 12:6-8). God will hold every believer accountable for the good AND THE BAD done in the body... "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2nd Corinthians 5:10).
The very fact that the Scriptures make this statement is PROOF that believers do BAD things. Every believer is going to be judged by the Lord (Romans 14:12). So, no believer has God's permission to sin. Jesus saved us from our sins so we wouldn't live that way anymore. Pastor Lester Roloff said, "Real repentance is putting your trust in Jesus Christ so you will not live like that anymore." In other words, we give up our sins because we ARE SAVED; not to GET SAVED.
Brother Roloff didn't mean that you have to stop committing sin to be saved; he meant that genuine repentance brings forth a changed life. Although a person doesn't have to stop committing sin to be saved, God does expect each believer to obey the Bible because they are believers... Be ye holy; for I am holy (1st Peter 1:16).
We must never drift away from the simple Gospel truth that salvation is a free gift (Romans 5:15;6:23). Salvation is receiving, NOT giving. Our only part in salvation is to BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive our sins (Acts 16:30-31). Jesus came into the world to save sinners... "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Jesus came to save us from the condemnation, penalty and guilt of sin.
This is why Jesus Christ came in the flesh—TO SAVE SINNERS! Luke 19:10 states, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Oh, how foolish, when false prophets require lost sinners to forsake their sins to be saved. Salvation is of God, not mankind. You mean I can get saved and still live in sin? Yes, that is 100% correct! You mean I can live just like the unsaved heathen and still go to Heaven? That is exactly right. HOWEVER, if you have experienced genuine repentance, then you WON'T have that type of arrogant and flippant attitude toward sin.
A gift, if it's a genuinely free gift, only requires for the recipient to receive it. I recently saw a commercial on TV, where a bank was offering a "free gift" to anyone who opened a new account with them. The truth is that it's false advertising. The gift is no gift at all, because it requires you to open a new bank account to get it. It's actually a reward, not a gift. A gift must be unconditionally given, with no strings attached if it is a genuine gift. All we need to do is receive it.
Romans 8:29 tells us that God the Father has predestined each believer to be conformed to the image of his Son. God's ultimate plan for every believer is for us to be just like Jesus. What a precious promise! Every believer should want to be like Jesus. However, most believers DON'T live like Jesus. This does not mean they're unsaved. Peter cursed the name of Jesus. Noah got drunk. Samson went with a prostitute. David commit murder and adultery. Jonah ran from God. Peter denied Jesus. Solomon built alters for his heathen wives. John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he were actually the Christ.
I am not condoning sin, not at all. I am simply saying that the Word of God teaches that Jesus came to save sinners, because we could not save ourselves. Who is without sin? Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. The very notion that we must stop sinning to get saved is impossible, because no one can stop sinning. As long as we are in the flesh, we will sin (Romans 7:14-25). At best, all we can do is saturate our minds with the Bible, and pray for God to help us live right in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus doesn't want to help us live the Christian life, He wants to live the Christian life through us. We cannot do it alone. We need God's help.
In 1st Corinthians 5:1-5 we read about a believer who was entangled in the sin of fornication. The Apostle Paul states concerning the man... "To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."
Although sin often destroys a believer's health, happiness, and home—the Bible says that his spirit will be saved in the end when the Lord Jesus returns. We read in 1st Corinthians 3:15, "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." Some believers will have NO rewards in Heaven. They will have barely escaped the fires of Hell.
The Bible is filled with Christians who committed horrible sins. Anyone who tells you that you have to depart from sin to be saved is a LIAR! Is there a believer who doesn't sin? No! 1st John 1:10 makes this clear... "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." We are all dirty, rotten, hell-deserving sinners.
Thankfully, Jesus came to save us sinners. When one feels like an utter failure, and that everything one does is wrong, and that one is hopelessly lost in sin—it is at those times that we must be reminded that Jesus came to save such people... "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick" (Matthew 9:12).
Yes my friend, you can still be saved and commit horrible sin, but you will answer to God for it (Romans 14:12; 2nd Corinthians 5:10). We all must give account to God for the good and bad done in the flesh. Salvation is based upon the precious literal blood of Jesus Christ, and not upon man's self-righteousness. We need HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS (Matthew 6:33) to get to Heaven (Matthew 6:33); not our own, and a good thing, because we have no self-righteousness to offer God (Isaiah 64:6). Jesus paid our sin debt, which is why eternal life is a free gift from God (Romans 5:15; 6:23).
