Am I still saved if I continue to struggle with a particular sin?

This is a question that many of our brethren in the Christian faith are asking, and I count it a privilege for me to give them a biblical answer for their enquiry. There are a sect of Christians who believe in the idea, that a born again christian can attain to the level of sinless perfection. This is one of their prooftext: ''Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God" (1 John 3; 8). The question is, does this text truly mean that a Christian, after salvation cannot literally sin or struggle with sin? At first glance you might think it is so, but further examination of the verse will prove the otherwise. kindly read my article, ''Can a christian be sinless in this life?'' for an in-depth study.   

Every Christian struggles with sin 

In the book of Hebrews, the author wrote: "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12; 1). There are certain sins which besets or entangles us and such sins may vary from each person. Some it may be gossip, pride, lust, anger, sexual immorality, covetousness etc. After salvation, we are still living in this sinful world, exposed to it's temptations and we still have our sinful nature where sin dwells. We can give in to temptation because of the presence of our sinful nature, but the good news is that after we trusted in Christ for salvation, the holy Spirit comes to live inside of us. The fact that by the aid of the Spirit, you are trying to overcome certain sin(s) is a sign that you are truly regenerated. Before, we sinned without godly remorse, but now when we sin, it hurts us deeply, we grieve over it, we ask for forgiveness and desire not to repeat it again. But as long as we are in this world, we will continue to battle with sin. An unregenerate person enjoys sin, but the converted believer hates sin, and desires not to sin again. 

Grace not a license to sin

Our salvation is by grace and nothing can make us lose this precious gift. No sin is powerful in itself to make us lose our salvation. Our salvation is eternally secure even when we stumble and falls into sin. True believers will not take advantage of the grace of God to wallow in sin. Paul wrote: What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (Romans 6; 1-2). Per the reasoning of the apostle, born again Christians will not turn the grace of God into licentiousness. Our sole desire is to please the Lord and to be delivered from the presence of sin. The fact that you are struggling with sin, and desiring to break free from a particular bad habit is a sign that you are spiritually alive. 

Maintain close intimacy with the Lord 

To have continuous victory over a particular sin, it necessitates that we maintain close fellowship with Jesus. We can do that by studying God's word every day, praying everyday and also fellowshipping with other brethren in the faith. Probably, you have been struggling to break free from a particular habitual sin, and you have employed all your powers, but all to no avail. I encourage you to check your walk with the Lord. Walking in the flesh will impede your relationship with God. The apostle wrote in his epistle to the Galatians: But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh (Galatians 5: 16). The flesh continuously sets itself against the Spirit and vice versa. Our motive should be to walk in the Spirit and we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. To do so, we need to study God's word for ourselves, pray daily and to lean on the Holy Spirit. As we do this, our level of intimacy with God will deepen, and our desire for that habitual sin will begin to diminish more and more, and will finally lose its grip over you. 

Sanctification is a process 

The Holy Spirit is the author of our sanctification (2 Thessalonians 2; 13). Sanctification of the Holy Spirit is not instantaneous, but a lifelong marathon. Sanctification is a process by which the holy Spirit sanctifies us to grow to become more and more like Jesus. He works on us to conform to the image of our blessed Lord. This process will only be complete when we shall be with the Lord in glory, until then, we need to submit ourselves to the sanctifying work of the Spirit. In the process of your sanctification, if you sin, you need to know that you have an advocate with the father, Jesus the righteous one, see (1 John 2; 1). One thing is certain that he who has began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1; 6). God bless you 

A thought to ponder 🤔 

Sanctification of the Holy Spirit is not instantaneous, but a lifelong marathon

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