Please help in this disagreement?

Question

My hubby and I are both Christians, but not the most knowledgeable in the Bible (yet). Here's the beef. I think as Christians we should keep God's commandments, turn away from sin, avoid temptation, etc. My husband believes that Jesus saved us so we "can" be sinful as long as we still believe.

Who is right?

Answer 1

Brian in China makes important points about what constitutes sin; there are sins of Omission as well as COmission. Perhaps using that can help with your disagreement in this sense:

As a wife, you are to respect and support your husband as much as a Christian wife possibly can. He is the head of your household, so for you to disagree with him is a serious matter. Given that you are certainly correct in your view of sin, can you add Brian's point to reason with your husband? If you just present your husband with a print-out of these many answers and say, "See! I told you so!" you will not be showing respect, and you could alienate him from you. To win him over, first pray earnestly to God for dealing with this correctly; search your heart and make sure your motives are pure, then pick a good time to discuss this with your husband. Ask him what he intends to do, as the Christian head. Get him to realise he has to take the lead is setting a Christian agenda in your household; ask him if he will lead in home / family Bible study regularly; ask if he will lead you in prayer; ask if he will set the example in Sunday worship and the rest of the week, at work etc - how will he reach out to his friends and colleagues? Once the size of his responsibilities becomes his focus, he might realise he needs to grow up as a Christian. If there are mature Christian men in your church, they might be encouraged to get alongside your husband to encourage him. May God richly bless you both.

Answer 2

You are right, but although 1 John says no-one with the Spirit of God continues to sin, in the same book he also says that anyone who claims he is without sin is a liar.

So the problem is, what is sin? There are the obvious sins of the flesh, such as smoking, drinking, fighting etc. But there are many more subtle and even more dangerous sins, such as envy, judgmentalism, factionalism, self-righteousness and neglecting of hospitality, charity etc.

You should bear in mind that love is God's first concern, and that any behaviour, whether going out boozing or staying in reading the Bible, should be judged by how much love is involved. To sit around bored and inwardly unsatisfied in order to "avoid sinning" is a contradiction, and your husband would be better off out with his mates (or better, you).

Everyone quotes what we can DO to miss out on Heaven; Jesus' strongest and most frightening words were about what those He turns away did NOT do.

Answer 3

I can't understand people like your husband. What does he think Jesus died to save us from if it is not from our sins.

Does he really believe our lord and savior died so we could have permission to live in the shame misery of your sin? If you don't believe Jesus can save you from sin then there is not much left to believe in.

I know many people are only worried about being saved from the pain of Hell but if you don't yet see the Hell of living in sin right now then you are not quite ready to be saved.

I think Christians should want to keep God's commandments, turn away from sin and avoid temptation.

Let's pray for the Holy Spirit to open our husbands eyes to Gods love for him.
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Answer 4

You are right and your husband is wrong in his theology-because he wants to justify "whatever" he's doing. Read I John 3:4-8 In the NIV it has a sub-title which says: "What is Sin" (4) Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. (5) But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin. (6) No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him. (7) Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous. (8) He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to DESTROY THE DEVIL'S WORK. I just want to plug this one in as a believer if you can purchase a "Nave's Topical Bible" or anything related to it and do a word search, it will list scriptures pertaining to that topic which will greatly help you and your husband in any area.

Answer 5

You are. I think your hubby has the 'once saved, always saved' mind set going on. You can lose your salvation, so, please, you and your husband need to go and talk to a knowledgeable pastor, and he can help to explain things. Also, your local church should have classes that fit you (I'm not sure if your young adults or not). many have them for college and career, parents, newly-weds, the whole nine yards. But, back to the original question, we do need to keep God's commandments, avoid sin and temptation when possible, and keep a clean heart. (sorry, my answer kind of got off subject)

Answer 6

These scriptures should answer the question.

There is a Christian Good Works page here with more info:
http://bythebible.page.tl/Christian-Good-Works.htm
First scripture is copied from that source:

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or know ye not that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not led astray. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate men, nor homosexuals, 10nor greedy men, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor the slanderous, nor the predatory will inherit the kingdom of God. (ACV)

Jude 4
(NW) My reason is that certain men have slipped in who have long ago been appointed by the Scriptures to this judgment, ungodly men, turning the undeserved kindness of our God into an excuse for loose conduct and proving false to our only Owner and Lord, Jesus Christ.

(NJB) 4Certain people have infiltrated among you, who were long ago marked down for condemnation on this account; without any reverence they pervert the grace of our God to debauchery and deny all religion, rejecting our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

If you read Paul's letter to the Romans more should be found.
Romans 6:6 . . . henceforth we should not serve sin. (Webster)

Answer 7

Both you and your husband need to read your bibles.

Hebrews 10:26-27 says,
"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God."

1 John 3:6 says,
"No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him."

Check out the links below if you want to see my sources.

Answer 8

You are. God does not save us "in" our sins but "from" our sins, Luke 3:3,8, Acts3:19, 8:22, upon the condition of repentance. Basically, Christ's death saved us from a physical death, guarenteed us resurrection, and abolished "Original Sin". Now it's for us to walk in Christ's example so we can earn the title of "Christian." Acts20:32

James says that "faith without works is dead."No minister I know, in any Christian religion, would agree with your husband on this point of doctrine.

Personally, your husband's religious philosophy sounds like the one that got Pres. Clinton into trouble. Rationalize= rational lies.

Answer 9

Satan believes in Jesus Christ and His atoning death.
Demons believe in Jesus.
Belief in Jesus does not get you into heaven.

Show your husband the parable about the man who had a banquet and invited all his friends. His friends didn't come so he invited the people on the hiways and the biways. At the supper there was a man that was not in the correct attire. He was thrown out of the supper.

Tell your husband that the man in the parable could be him if he doesn't watch it!

Answer 10

Lack of knowledge is what caused the fall from grace in the beginning...

and your husband is way off base...

that's like saying.. I'm going to be an Athiest all my life....till a minuite before I die, then accept Christ and suffer no reprimand or judgement for the other 85 years or whatever.... Ummm No...

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed

Prverbs 15:22