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Are you aware that there are two extreme views regarding forgiveness of sin that Christians commit? Perhaps you are NOT aware and hold to one of them as I once did.
One is the idea that once one is saved there is nothing one can do to be lost - that it is impossible to fall from God's grace no matter what you do or how you live your life.
The other is the idea that any sin Christians commits, no matter whether it is a sin of ignorance, inadvertence, neglect, or whatever, that person instantly falls from grace and is lost until he repents of it and confesses it.
Neither of these views are supported by the Scriptures and both have very serious consequences.
There is a wonderful truth that is between these extremes. It is based on the teaching found in 1 John 1:7. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." This passage sets forth the teaching that one who walks in the light is continuously cleansed of all sin by the blood of Christ. Understand that people who "walk in the light" are not sinlessly perfect - it is about one's general character.
The apostle Paul wrote:
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
God judges us based on our "walk," which means "how we conduct ourselves." He judges Christians based upon our life in Christ.
Psalm 19:12-13 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
Does this passage sound like one cannot fall from grace? Does it sound like any and every sin causes one to fall from grace? To the contrary, it defeats both ideas and supports the teaching in 1 John 1:7. The thrilling part about this passage is the awareness that the word translated "cleanseth" is present, active, indicative. Translated literally, it might read, “keeps on constantly cleansing us from all sin." Of course, this is contingent on the conditions set forth in the text: "But IF we walk in the light."
Some Christians have so thoroughly misunderstood and modified grace, they make it appear that the only ones who receive it are people who are so good they hardly needed it in the first place. Now, perhaps some brethren are a lot more righteous than I realized. With their vast knowledge, flawless performance, and impeccable memory, they face each new day with confidence and assurance, needing no mercy because they never sin.
But the confidence and assurance the rest of us have is based on the promise of grace and mercy. "God, have mercy on me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13, 14). After a humble man offered this simple prayer Jesus said he went home justified. This was in stark contrast to the Pharisee who boasted of his righteousness, but was not justified.
If our only hope is to be a sinlessly perfect individual when we die, perhaps we could save more people if we shot new converts after the new birth and before they dried off. Obviously, that is not the solution. But neither is pretending to be perfect when nobody but Jesus can claim that attribute. We all need the grace and mercy extended by our Lord because not a single one of us is sinlessly perfect.
If you would like to study this topic further there are two articles and a debate that I had with Dr. Lloyd Olson on my website that you can download:
www.totalhealth.bz/continual-cleansing.pdf
www.totalhealth.bz/The_Security_of_the_Believer.pdf
Eternal Security of the Believer in Christ - A debate between Dr. Lloyd Olson and Robert Waters
http://www.totalhealth.bz/EternalSecurity.pdf
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