By Ken Yates

INTRODUCTION

If you have listened to many sermons, you have probably been the victim of emotional manipulation. Sometimes, speakers use such techniques to promote their theology, whether that theology is Biblical or not. Such a speaker likely sees an emotional appeal as settling the issue.

I have heard one such appeal on more than one occasion. There are variations, but I can summarize the gist of it. It goes like this:

“Look at Jesus on the cross! Look at His suffering. Your sin put Him there. If you are a believer, you cannot live as if you can sin all you want. If you have ‘really’ believed, then you realize what your sin did to Him. You will not live like you did before you believed. If you do not live a holy life—if your sin does not cause you pain for what it did to Him—you are not saved.”

If these words are accompanied by an explanation of the horrors of crucifixion, or by music extolling the Lord’s love for us while He was on the cross, they can have a dramatic impact on our state of mind. The theology expressed in the words above teaches that a “true” Christian will live a godly life because he grasps the gravity of sin and realizes what Christ did for us. If a person claims to be a believer but does not live a righteous life or have that kind of contrite attitude, then he obviously does not believe what he claims to believe.

I am sure that many have been convinced that such a theology is true because of how much it tugs on one’s heartstrings. This argument is not based upon Scripture, but it seems logical. How could I continue sinning if I understand what pain the Lord endured on the cross because of my sin?

Many who hear this argument have been left wondering whether they are really believers. We all struggle with different kinds of sins. We succumb to those sins. How could we do that after what Jesus did on the cross? Many have been left with the thought that: “Maybe I don’t really believe after all.”

BUT IS IT BIBLICAL?

Those who use this emotional pitch will insist that the message is Biblical. The pitch is just another arrow in the quiver that supports what they are saying. They quote well-known verses such as, “Faith without works is dead” (Jas 2:17) or “You will know them by their fruits” (Matt 7:16, 20). GES has a substantial collection of material that demonstrates that those verses are taken out of context when used in that way.

The New Testament is full of commands for believers to live godly lives. These commands would not be given if all “true” believers automatically lived righteously. The Bible teaches that believers can indeed live according to the flesh. The New Testament offers many examples of Christians who did not live in a way that pleased the One who hung on the cross for them—the One who suffered for our sins. The church at Corinth, for example, had many believers who were well-accustomed to sinning in various ways.

In this article, however, I do not want to focus on the lack of Biblical support for the idea that “real” Christians won’t live sinful lives. I want to address the emotional issue. Is it logical to argue that if a person believes Christ suffered so cruelly for sins, they will not continue to live in them? To put it another way, can a person believe something but act contrary to what he really believes? Even if emotions are involved, the answer to that question is undeniably “yes.”

A PERSONAL EXAMPLE

I have high cholesterol. My grandfather and father both died from clogged arteries. My doctor has told me that this is the highest health risk I have. He put me on medicine to control it. He told me that I need to watch what I eat. I believe him. I am convinced that I need to watch my cholesterol.

I love cheesecake. Almost invariably, whenever there is a dinner at a church, cheesecake will be on the dessert table. I “truly” believe I should not eat it. I am convinced that it is detrimental to my arteries. I know it is stupid to eat it. I exercise to keep my cholesterol down, and I know that if I swim for two hours, eating a large slice of cheesecake will undo all that time and effort.

But 90% of the time, I will eat that cheesecake. If there are nuts in it, which probably makes it even worse, I will eat it 100% of the time. Every time I take a bite, I say, “I know this is bad for me. This is dumb. But I don’t care.”

If someone were to say to me, “Ken, you must not believe that cheesecake is bad for you; if you believed that, you wouldn’t eat it,” I would assure them that I really believe it. The problem is not that I don’t believe it. The problem is that I do dumb things.

My point is simple. Life teaches all of us an important truth: We can really believe something but act as if we do not.

In this case, there are many reasons why I eat something that I believe might kill me. I tell myself that I’m going to die anyway. Something else might kill me first, so I’ll take my chances. I tell myself that I will just go be with the Lord, and that will be better. Maybe the doctors will be able to unclog my arteries after I eat all that bad stuff. I can have my cake and eat it too. Finally, cheesecake is worth dying for, especially if it contains nuts.

AM I JUST WEAK?

I suppose the theologian mentioned above will accuse me of being weak. I am too easily conquered by temptation. Besides, he will maintain that the believer has the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit may not help our diet, but He will give us strength against sin. He will remind us of what Christ did for us on the cross and will guarantee victory in that area.

But once again, life has demonstrated that this is not the case. All believers sin. They sin every day. If the Holy Spirit guarantees victory over sin, why do we struggle? Couldn’t we look at the Lord on the cross and ask the Spirit to take over? Wouldn’t that keep the believer from sinning? These theologians say that the Spirit will allow you to sin a little, but not too much. That makes no sense at all. How could I look at Jesus on the cross and say I will only sin a little?

It is the experience of every believer who has ever lived that sin will be a part of our lives as long as we live in these bodies. Every believer mentioned in the Scriptures had the same problem. No amount of emotional appeal changes the fact that even the most spiritually minded believer, with the best of intentions, sins (1 Cor 2:14-16; Rom 3:23). His knowledge of what his Savior did for him at Calvary does not result in sinlessness on his part, even though that is his desire as long as he remains spiritually minded.

CONCLUSION

The Lord’s sacrifice on the cross removed the barrier of my sins so that He could give me eternal life when I believed in Him. His sacrifice is the basis of my ongoing forgiveness when I confess those sins. He suffered greatly for my benefit. I “really” believe that.

But I still sin. I wish I didn’t. The things I want to do, I sometimes don’t. That was Paul’s experience as well (Rom 7:15). Sin will be a part of our experience as believers until these fleshly bodies are resurrected (Rom 8:23).

Anybody who believes in Jesus for eternal life receives it as a gift that they can never lose. But there is a popular theology that wants to rob us of our assurance. It says that if a person “really” believes that Jesus died on the cross for their sins, they can’t continue sinning. Since we all sin, this can only lead to our doubting our eternal salvation.

But our experience shows this theology is not true. We don’t always live consistently with what we believe to be true. More importantly, the Scriptures also show this theology is false.

Preachers who hold that theology will often appeal to emotional arguments. Don’t let them get away with it. Don’t be duped.

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Ken Yates is a retired Army chaplain (Lt. Col). He has many theological degrees, including a Ph.D. from D.T.S. in New Testament. He leads the GES international ministry, cohosts the daily podcast, and assists Bob in all aspects of the GES ministry. His new book, Mark: Lessons in Discipleship, is a wonderful explanation of Christ’s call to discipleship. He and his wife, Pam, live in Columbia, SC.