Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness… But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. — Rom 6:18, 22
1) A person that desires to become a child of God must bring forth fruits to God that are consistent, worthy, keeping with, and befitting repentance (Mat 3:8). Fruits befitting repentance have no merit in becoming a child of God, but are scriptural requirements.
2) A person must have godly sorrow (2Cor 7:10) for their sins and repent of their sins (Luk 13:3) to become a child of God. Sorrow and repentance have no merit in becoming a child of God but are scriptural requirements.
3) Repentance is a complete change in attitude toward your past sinful life and a commitment to completely change and reform your life by the power of God.
4) Becoming a child of God is by grace through faith and is not based on the merit of any works, but is the gift of God (Eph 2:8).
5) When by grace with godly sorrow and repentance through faith you believe in your heart (Rom 10:9) on the merits of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and ask God for forgiveness of sins, and believe by faith God has forgiven you (1Joh 1:9; Act 4:12 1Pet 1:9), you are converted and have become a child of God.
6) Freedom from sin (Rom 6:18) is obtained at the moment a person becomes a child of God (1Joh 1:8).
7) The sin that a person is freed from is willful acts of sins of commission and omission (Jam 4:17).
8) In order for a child of God to maintain victory over sin, the flesh, and the world (1Joh 2:15, 16), they must abide in Christ (Joh 15:4-6), in prayer obtain grace to help in time of need (Heb 4:16), be diligent to add the fruits of the Spirit to their life (2Pet 1:4-10), humble themselves before God (1Pet 5:5), built up their faith through reading the Word of God (Rom 10:17), hunger and thirst after righteousness (Mat 5:6), work out their salvation with fear and trembling (Phi 2:12), and be led by the Spirit of God (Rom 8:14).
9) If at any point a Christian commits a willful sin, they no longer have eternal life abiding in them (1Joh 3:15) and have become a child of the devil (1Joh 3:10).
March 12th, 2010 at 2:12 am
“9) If at any point a Christian commits a willful sin, they no longer have eternal life abiding in them (1Joh 3:15) and have become a child of the devil (1Joh 3:10)”.
I have taken the liberty to quote you above to ask: Is there a possibility that such who have fallen could be restored back to life in Christ again?
-Lawrence.
August 25th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Lawrence - absolutely. If we fall, we repent as at first and follow the more fully. Remember King David? He sinned in horrible ways, but was restored to fellowship because he heartily repented (Psalm 51).
December 28th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Hi Daniel
The answer you gave to Lawrence while sounding good on the surface, doesn’t quite work when you take into account, David was not saved, but under the LAW. So when David asked God for forgiveness, and repented of His sin, he then still had to make a sacrifice, at the Temple, and only thereby was atonement made for his sin, as was prescribed by God. This could be done over and over, but we are under a better covenant, whereby Christ died “ONCE” for all sin.
Heb 9:12-14
12) Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
13) For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?