A Point of no Return

Message / Question

Dr Dave, ever met a Christian and thought "how can this person be a Christian with all that Sin in their life?" Is there a point of no return, where the level of Sin in that person's life means that they are not a Christian?

Response

I hope that I would be more likely to say “Isn’t God’s grace amazing, He even saved someone like me!” Sure, there a people whose life is not as reflective of God’s grace and truth as it ought to be. As someone once said “In the body of Christ we seem to find a lot of loose livers!” But how do we measure the sin in someone else’s life? Is making that call an act that is judgmental? Is that a sin? (Remember Jesus’ story of the splinter and the plank). When we see “all that sin in their life”, what kind of sin do we mean? Do we mean gossip, pride, intemperate, withholding tithes, lack of Biblical submission etc, or do we only see the person who smokes, swears and lies as having “all that sin in their life”? “Therefore, whoever knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.” (James 4:17).

The story is told of a policeman who saw a driver speeding, weaving through the traffic, yelling at others who got in his way, ran a red light and drove in the bus lane in order to get a few cars ahead. The Policeman pulled over the drive, ordered him out of the car at gunpoint and made him stand with his hands on the bonnet of the car while he put the handcuffs on. “Whose car is this” the Policeman asked. “It’s mine” the man replied. With that the Policeman put down his gun, took off the cuffs and said “Sorry, but with all of the Jesus stickers over the back of the car, when I saw how you were driving I presumed you had stolen the car!”

The question of “Is there a point of no return” is one that has long been debated. I guess the answer to that question is the same as the answer to another question – How much sin is too much for God to forgive? I think I know the answer to that one, so I need say no more.