God Forbid!

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1-2) A person who has truly repented, believes in Christ and has known grace should not be self-indulgent, sin at will and despise God. If one is truly repentant and saved, one must have a heart under the illumination of the Holy Spirit that knows, regrets, admits to and determines to leave sin. He must also acknowledge earnestly and sincerely that Jesus Christ is the only Savior and accepts Him as the Lord of Life. If a person knows the corruption of his own sinful nature, how abominable and hateful is iniquity, and how hopeless and horrendous is the fate of a sinner, he will know the preciousness of God’s salvation. After we become believers, we must not willfully sin and then ask God for forgiveness, thinking that God’s grace is sufficient. That is behavior that despises God, misuses grace and tramples underfoot the redemptive blood of the Son of God. We must not live in sin and wantonly draw on grace. God forbid!

“What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the Law, but under grace? God forbid!” (Romans 6:15) Christians are no longer under the governance of the Old Testament Law and constrained by its ceremonies of offerings made to redeem sin. That is because God has been pleased to accept the ransom offering fulfilled by Jesus Christ on the cross. Under law, no one is righteous, but now the righteousness of God is bestowed on those who believe in the name of the Lord through the redemption of Christ. By the abundant grace of God, we receive forgiveness for our sins, release from the law of sin and death, true freedom, reconciliation with God, proclamation of righteousness by the Lord, the standing of children of God, the Holy Spirit, holiness, and the blessing of eternal life. Since we have received such bountiful grace from God, how can we continue to sin and squander His great love? We must not yield to lust and sin while under grace. God forbid!

“Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid!” (1 Corinthians 6:15) Christians unite as members to form the Body of Christ. It is a place filled by the Holy and Glorious Spirit. We must strive to separate from the world and pursue holiness. Paul lists certain sins, especially sins of immorality, that must be steadfastly rejected and avoided by Christians in order to inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). If a person who has received grace and been saved still does not determine to leave sin after admonition by the Lord’s servants and conviction by the Holy Spirit, but remains blithely ignorant, clings to self-delusional excuses, and obstinately stays the course, he will lose the blessing of eternal life. We must not allow immoral sins to continue to fester and not confront them. God forbid!

Belief in the Lord can be a brief, resolute decision, but confrontation of sin is a life-long struggle for Christians. Peter has the following characterization of those who have turned away from the truth: “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” (2 Peter 2:20-21) Ezekiel even has this admonition: "But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.” (Ezekiel 18:24) If there are any among us who continue to offend the Lord with any of these God-forbidden behaviors and refuse to repent and turn back, their ending will be quite terrible.

By: Daniel To