It is sad that a statement by Paul “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that race may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2), should need explanation and defense. And yet, because of error and the current cultural climate, it certainly does.
Paul taught salvation by grace, which just about every religious person believes. He taught that sin precludes any individual being saved by perfect obedience, which just about every religious person accepts as a true statement. Here he taught that continuing to sin after being saved by grace was unacceptable. This truth, which is clearly stated, can’t be accepted by individuals who believe the Calvinistic precept of the Perseverance of the Saints, colloquially known as “Once saved always saved.”
Where Calvin and other theologians contend that God’s sovereignty requires that the elect be secure in their standing with God, Paul argued otherwise. Calvinism teaches that God’s sovereignty posits that God’s control of redemption requires man have no part at all in it. He is saved only because God chose to save him. So, if God made the choice, the decision is permanent and immutable. This means it matters not if we continue to sin after receiving God’s grace. The remission of our sins is accomplished exclusively by Him, and so our continued standing is purely in His hands as well.
So, where Paul said we can’t continue to sin after our salvation, others say doing so will not impact our standing with God. It is a position that brings false comfort, but that comfort is something that many cling to, whether the doctrine it’s based upon is legitimate or not. And it is not! Paul wrote, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (6:4).
The possibility of a Christian losing his salvation because of returning to sin is all too real. Peter agreed with Paul, “For it would have been better for them not have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Peter 3:21-22).
The Christian life is a beginning! Our standing is not immutable until judgment! (Hebrews 9:27). God requires his disciples live a holy, sanctified life! (Romans 12:1-2).
