If one is a thief and becomes born-again, will he still be a thief? If one is a drunk and becomes .........?

Question

born-again, will he still be a drunk? If one is a Hindu and becomes born-again, will he still be a Hindu? If one is a Buddhist and becomes born-again, will he still be a Buddhist? If one is a Catholic, Baptist, or Mormon and becomes born-again, will he still be Catholic or Baptist or Mormon?

If one is a Muslim and becomes born-again, will he still be a Muslim?

I ask this question because the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

11And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

**Thank you for your answers.

Answer 1

If a thief is born again, then he would have repented and no longer participate in thievery. Therefore, he is no longer a thief.

Answer 2

This is where God's Righteousness and His Justification comes in.
God is Righteous and He said that Because He is Faithful and Righteous, when we confess our sins He will forgive us of our sins and the stain of these sins.
Being Justified means that this sin is no longer held against our account before God.
We are a New Creature.. Old tihngs have passed away. BEHOLD! All things have become NEW.. this is God's word to us.
If we were those who struggled with a certain addiction or habit or come from a different religious background then day by day, as we spend time in the Word being nourished and supplied and infused with the Lord, He has a way to gradually ongoingly renew and transform us inwardly through His Spirit indwelling us.

There have been some cases where believers had addictions and the Lord cured them right away but most of us need to go through the gradual inward kind of metabolic change. Where the More of Christ we take in through the word and prayer and fellowship the more of this Christ is deposited into us bit by bit.
We are not here to try to do something for ourselves, we simply need to love the Lord, enjoy His sweet presence, read the Word.. drink of the Spirit in prayer.. meet and be with other believers to be strenghtened and daily the Lord will work all that we once were habitually OUT of us by His All sufficient Grace to us.

Anything genuine takes time.. this is one principle to remember and hold to:)

a sister
sandy

Answer 3

To be truly born again, one becomes a changed person. You cannot serve two masters - either you are a Christian or you are not. If you are, then the old nature dies. Do we continue to sin and do inappropriate things? Yes, because we are human and we do fail; however, as we grow in love for our Savior, our hearts change and we, slowly at times, turn toward Him and the evil things we covet in our hearts are less attractive. As we become closer to God, we desire less the things of this world and more the things that are pleasing to Him. Can you be a thief and a Christian - yes, but you are not in fellowship with Almighty God if you remain so. Can you be a Hindu and a Christian - no. Christianity is very clear on this, there are NO other 'gods'!

Answer 4

You are a Spirit.
You have a Soul.
You Live in a Body.

Only your Spirit gets Recreated when you get Born-Again.

Your Soul, where you Store your Habits, has to be Renewed to the Word of GOD.
Takes Time to Renew a Soul.

Once Born-Again, if you don't Stay Spiritual, you will Probably Revert Back to those Sinfull Habits Stored in your Soul.

If you die in that State, you Will Go to Heaven.

None of these Sins are The Unpardonable Sin.
The Unpardonable Sin knocks a Believer back into a NonBeliever and he,she is Lost for GOOD.
No Second Chances for a Believer who has Committed the Unpardonable Sin.

Very Few Christians Commit this Sin if You are Scared that you have Committed it, then You Have Not Committed it.

People who commit this Sin don't want Nothing to do with Jesus, Heaven, the Bible so on.

Answer 5

The bible also says that we all fall short of God's standard. The was the purpose for Jesus' sacrifice. Only this one perfect man could appease God. By accepting that, we are cleansed of all unrighteousness. But we are still imperfect and will continue to sin, though hopefully with less frequency. And the more study the word of God and commune with Him, again the less we will sin as we assume more of His nature.

Beleivers must continually ask forgivenss of sin, thereby renewing our right standing with God.

But to be born again means to follow the teachings of the bible so it is not possible to hang on to old religious beliefs. That would call into question the sincerity of the believer.

Answer 6

If one is a thief and becomes a born-again he will no longer become a thief if he changes his behaviors. It doesn't matter what the person's previous religion was as long as they are willing to repent, baptize and follow the commandments in the bible and try reading John 3:16.

Answer 7

Go back and read Verse 11 and that will answer your question. When Jesus saves your soul your sins are washed away. Yes we will still be in this old rotten flesh and will still be capable of the same sins we did before we got saved, but thats why Jesus tells us to put on our Armour. Eph. 6 so we may resist the devil.

Answer 8

When someone becomes born again (in the font of Holy Baptism) - he/she becoems a "new creation - behold, the old man has passed away, the new has come..."

Now...after that (post-baptism) - although Baptismal regeneration has taken place...it's still a choice as to what kind of person he/she will be. Otherwise, why would St. Paul have also said:

"Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." Eph. 4:28


??

"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling..."

One can always "return to his own vomit".

Answer 9

11 Say's it all And such were some of you :but ye are washed ,but ye are sanctifed ,but ye are justified in the name of the LORD JESUS ,and by the Spirit of our GOD.We are washed in the blood.we have a new spirit ,and a new name CHRISTIAN (CHRISTMAN)never to be the same again.Let GOD be the judge ,look at Soul how GOD touched him.READ Rev 22:17 And whosoever will ,let him take the water of life freely . PEACE TO YOU

Answer 10

if you are truly a born again Christian- the old is gone, the new has come. We are new creatures in Christ. this does not mean we will never sin again, hopefully we will desire not to and sin less and less, however if you and others, including myself who has accepted Christ as Savior, we are no longer what we were. God sees Christ when He looks at us. When we are washed by the blood we are robed with the righteousness of Christ. If not we would be lost forever.

Answer 11

if he is born again in the name of jesus, and that includes repentance, water baptism, and holy ghost baptism, he will have the power to turn away. sometimes it will be an instant thing, other times it might take a little while but it will be possible.