After we believe in Jesus Christ, we know that we are forgiven of our sins. Yet we sin to Lord all the time. We know God does not like us to have a sinful lifestyle and will banish those sinful people to hell. So how do we know if we have a sinful lifestyle if we sin everyday? If we sin everyday does that mean we lead a sinful lifestyle? We all know that we will be forgiven if we ask, but will God be angry because we just can’t stop sinning? And how do we identify if we lead those sinful lives or not? Is there anyway we can know? We are like living in such a sinful world, is there anyway to stop that.
First of all, remember that God knew every sin of our lives before He went to the cross and died for all of them. If you’re a believer, there’s no sin that you can commit that can change your eternal status with Him.
Remember also that God judges us primarily by the motives of our heart. (1 Cor. 4:5) Knowing that we have a sin nature, He looks at the intentions behind our behavior, not just the behavior itself.
In Romans 8:5 Paul wrote, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”
So what is our primary intention in this life? Is it to gratify our sinful desires or is it to live by the Spirit?
Even believers who fully intend to live each day according to the promptings of the Holy Spirit sometimes fall into sin. When that happens God looks down upon us and says, “That’s not my precious child who did that, that’s the sin dwelling within Him.” (Romans 7:20) Then, as soon as we confess, He forgives us no matter how many times we sin (1 John 1:9) and drawing us back to His side, He forgets it ever happened.
So we know if we’re living sinful lives by looking at our intentions. When we wake up each morning is our primary intention to gratify the needs of our sin nature, or is it to try once again to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit? For believers the answer is obvious.