I Still Sin A Lot And Am Worried I Might Not Be Saved

Romans 10:12-15, “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”

Many people have been lied to by preachers, misled to think that they are not saved unless their life has changed for the better, but that is not true. One of my favorite quotes is from Pastor M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965)...

"There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ; discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can't be lost because it depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness." —Pastor M.R. DeHaan, “Hebrews”; Zondervan Publishing House; 1959 (p. 117)

If I were to ask you the question dear reader—Do you know for sure that if you died today, would you go to Heaven?—what would your answer be? If I were asked that same question, my answer would be—I know I am saved because my only hope for forgiveness of sins and eternal life is what Jesus Christ has already done through Calvary's cross to pay for my sins. I realized as a 13 year old boy that I was a guilty sinner in God's sight, and by faith I received what Christ did to pay for my sins on the cross. I am only trusting upon Jesus' death on the cross, His burial and physical resurrection from the dead three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). That is all that I am trusting in to get me to Heaven. If you're answer is different, then you need to get saved friend.

Your behavior, sins and feelings have nothing to do with being saved. You are either solely trusting what Christ did to pay your debt of sin through Calvary's cross, or you're not. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work. The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

“Sound doctrine is like a sound ship. There are no holes in it.” —Pastor David Baker

I say “through” because Jesus after He raised up from the dead, still needed to take His literal liquid blood to Heaven to sprinkle upon the Mercy Seat in the presence of God the Father on our behalf (Hebrews 9:12, 22-24; 10:1-4, 12:14). Redemption wasn't “finished” on the cross, for Christ hadn't even died, been buried or resurrected yet. When Christ said “it is finished” (John 19:29-30), He was referring to all the Messianic prophecies concerning Himself up until that point, right after He uttered the words “I thirst” (thus fulfilling Psalms 69:21).

Your behavior, sins and feelings have absolutely nothing to do with being saved. You are either solely trusting what Christ did to pay your debt of sin through Calvary's cross, or you're not. Many people are trusting Christ PLUS something else, and they are not saved. You must put your trust (reliance) upon Jesus only, believing that He is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God (John 20:31). I again recommend that you read Michael P. Bowen's helpful book, "I Never Knew You."

Many people are trusting Christ PLUS something else, and they are not saved. You must put your trust (reliance) upon Jesus, believing that He is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God. I again recommend that you read Michael P. Bowen's helpful book, "I Never Knew You."

I encourage you to listen several times to the Gospel of John, which is God's Gospel tract.

The sins of bitterness, gossip, lust, hate, drunkenness, worry, gluttony, hatred, covetousness and other vices are something that every believers struggle with. Even the best Christians still sin every day and struggle with the sinful flesh. We all have a Skeleton Closet of sins that we don't want other people to know about. That doesn't mean you're not saved. Faith is the only righteous thing that anyone can do to be saved.

You cannot turn away from your sinning and neither can I or anyone else. You might be able to reform and clean up your life, so that you feel more self-righteous and others may think you are a good person, but you still sin and are a sinner. We are saved by trusting in Christ's righteousness, not ours. That is critically important for you to understand. Every Christian should memorize this Bible verse from Philippians 3:9, "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:" You need HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!!! That is, we are saved by God's imputed righteousness (Romans 4:4-7). By the way, all Bible citations are ONLY from the inspired King James Bible, because all of the modern revisions are corrupted by Satan.

You need to understand that eternal life is a "FREE GIFT" (Romans 5:18) from God. A gift cannot be merited, earned or deserved in any way. Salvation is not a reward, it is a gift for the guilty. You may say that you still sin horribly and worry you're not really saved, but that is exactly who Christ died for, "THE UNGODLY" (Romans 5:6-9). Please don't make the common foolish mistake of looking at your behavior, instead of trusting completely in what Jesus has already done through the cross to pay your massive debt of sin.

The way that you choose to live as a saint is a separate matter of service (Romans 12:1), not salvation (Galatians 3:26). How you choose to live as a born-again believer will determine your rewards and happiness in Heaven, but it has nothing to do with getting saved, which Christ alone did for you, paying for your ticket to Heaven with His precious blood (1st Peter 1:18-19).

I also encourage you to look up these Scripture passages that I have shared with you and memorize many of them. You'll never be able to settle the assurance of God's salvation if you are not familiar with the Word of God. I know I am saved because I can stand upon the promises of God in the Holy Bible. But I have memorized hundreds of Scripture passages in my 43 years as a born again believer since age 13, which help me immensely.

If you still have doubts, pray and ask God to give you the peace you seek, by helping you to understand His great plan of salvation. As long as you associate the new birth with your change of behavior, you will remain confused and worried. One thing has absolutely nothing to do with the other. If I offer you a gift, but then require you to live a better life to keep it or to prove that it actually is yours, it wouldn't and couldn't truly be a "gift." Romans 6:23 and Ephesians 2:8-9 teach us that eternal life is the "gift" of God. You simply TAKE a gift.