Falling Isn\'t A Permanent Failure

I think one of the saddest things I have seen is a person who is a believer but fell into sin, made a mistake and think God has rejected them.  They believe they are a failure.

The Word of God is very clear about falling and failure.  
Proverbs 24 :16 (KJV)  “For a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again…”

The believer is justified by their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, redeemer and justifier.

Romans 3: 23 – 26 tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  It also tells us that we are justified freely by His grace.

It is very clear that even though we have been saved, forgiven and justified, we will still fall sometimes.  But that doesn’t mean we have become a permanent failure.

I love the word, integrity.  Some people think that if you have fallen, that you don’t have integrity.  To God all that matters is where we stand at the end of our lives.  If you have fallen, remember according to the scriptures we have just read, we have a Father God to whom we can go to confess our sin and repeat.

According to I John 1: 9 “If we confess our sins, he if faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The word, integrity, actually means the ability to stand even after pressure is applied.  If you have fallen and you repent, and change your ways, you have proven integrity because you were able to stand back up and go on in obedience to the Word of God.

All what I have described is to tell you that if you have fallen in the past and repented and changed your ways, you are not a failure.  Believe you are forgiven, get back up and continue to obey the Word of God and prove that you have been able to stand the pressure that tried to get you to permanently walk away from God.

 - Pastor Jim