Saving Imperfect People
by Marvin Moore

A Signs reader recently wrote asking me how he could be assured of salvation when he still had sins in his life that he had not overcome. I'm sure this question is on the minds of other readers, so let's talk about it.

To begin with, salvation doesn't depend upon our success in overcoming sin. This is not to say that God is indifferent to our sins. Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, "Go now and leave your life of sin." God is anxious for us to do good works, for Jesus also said, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."2

However, while God is not indifferent to our sins. He knows that we are incapable of overcoming them on our own. Our minds are sinful, and it's impossible for a person who's sinful on the inside to produce good deeds on the outside. That's why Paul said that "no one will be declared righteous [KJV: "justified"] in his sight by observing the law."3

God's solution is to save us first. He accomplished this by doing two things. He sent Jesus to die for our sins so that He could forgive us, and He attributes Christ's righteousness to us, actually making Christ's righteousness our righteousness. Now we are holy-sinless in God's sight, if you please—in spite of the fact that we are still very flawed on the inside. The theological term for this transaction is justification.

At the same instant that God justifies us, He also changes us on the inside through the power of the Holy Spirit. Christians call this transformation "conversion" or "the new birth."4 Through conversion God plants within our minds a principle that begins to mold the way we think and feel. As we maintain our trust in Christ's righteousness that covers our sinful-ness, and as we cultivate the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, our inner life conforms more and more to God's pattern of holiness. And as this change progresses within us, we grow in our ability to live God's way of life.

However, we do not overcome all of our sins at once. If ever there was a saintly Christian, it was the apostle Paul, yet he acknowledged that he was imperfect. At the same time, though, he said that he was "[pressing] on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. "5

While God is glad to see His people grow toward perfection and at some point even to reach perfection,6 He isn't looking for perfect people to save. He saves imperfect people and moves them toward perfection. And He assures these imperfect people that they are in a saving relationship with Him throughout the entire process of their growth toward perfection.

That's the answer to the question of the reader who asked how he could be assured of salvation when he still had sins in his life that he had not overcome. Salvation comes first, and victory over temptation is increasingly the result of that salvation, not the cause or basis of it.

Now let's talk about another aspect of this question. It would be easy for someone reading this editorial to say, "I know that I'm saved because I'm overcoming my sins." The problem is that when we don't overcome we'll feel like we aren't saved. Either way-whether we win or lose, we're basing our assurance of acceptance by God on our accomplishments. We have a perfect right, of course, to rejoice every time we gain the victory over a particular temptation. But it is justification—Christ's forgiveness and His righteousness attributed to us—that forms the basis of our salvation.

Here's a prayer that puts our victory over sin in a proper perspective relative to salvation: "Thank You, Jesus, for saving me by Your death that made possible my forgiveness and by Your righteousness that covers my sinfulness. And thank You for the power of Your Spirit that has been transforming me, making it possible for me to gain another victory over my temptations."

So here's my response to my correspondent: Praise God for every victory over temptation. However, you must always base your assurance of salvation on Jesus' death that forgives you and His righteousness that covers you, never on your victory over sin.

End Notes: 1John 8:11,2Matthew 5:16,3Romans 3:20,4See John 3:3-8, 5Philippians 3:12, 6I believe that perfection is possible, but we will never know when we've achieved it, and we can never claim it (see 1 John 1:8) this side of Christ's second coming.

TSS

September / October 2005 The Sabbath Sentinel