COMPLETE SALVATION AND THE SIN ISSUE
- When a person makes his full commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, he is by the Spirit put into the Body of Jesus Christ. In this vital union (I Cor. 12:13, Gal.3:27, Rom. 6:5), he is declared righteous (Rom. 3:21-26, Rom. 5:1), he is forgiven all sins, past, present, and future (Col.2:13, Eph.1:7, Isa 43:25), he is totally accepted by God (Rom. 5:1-2, Eph. 1:6, Eph. 4:30), there is no longer any condemnation (Rom. 8:1, Heb. 10:15-18, Ps. 130:3-4), and he has a perfect, unchangeable access to God (Heb. 10:19-22).
- These truths are for every believer, whether or not he understands them or fully enters into a transforming realization of them in his experience. They are an absolute reality regardless of their apprehension by faith.
- At the same time, sins still do arise in the experience of a believer and these sins can lead to feelings of guilt and estrangement, thus quenching the Spirit and causing a person to lose the consciousness (but not the FACT) of what he is and has IN CHRIST.
- Sins must, therefore, be dealt with. This is accomplished primarily through the believer's acknowledging and confessing those sins (I John 1:9).