Here’s the simple definition of legalism in a religious setting: it’s when we treat laws as if they are the means to salvation. As if they’re more important than the reason they exist.

It can involve adding to the law beyond what the Bible teaches. It’s rule-keeping without a real relationship with God. And it puts more emphasis on ourselves and what we can do than on our Savior—Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, the term “legalism” can get misused. For example, it has sometimes been used to describe any commitment to God’s law. But striving to obey or promote obedience isn’t the same as legalism.

Legalism stems from the heart and the motives more than anything else (1 Samuel 16:7, Proverbs 27:19, Romans 2:29). There’s a big difference between people who obsess over laws or technicalities, and Christians who obey God out of genuine love, faith, and Holy Spirit conviction.

That’s why it’s important to understand what the Bible says about legalism. It helps us guard against two extremes: 1. The law without Jesus, and 2. Lawlessness. And it gives us wisdom to recognize and confront true legalism.

Today, we’ll learn how the Bible answers questions like:

• What is legalism?
• What are biblical examples of legalism?
  • Paul (pre-conversion)
  • The Prodigal Son’s older brother
  • Pharisees (and their friends)
• How does legalism contrast with grace?
• What are the dangers of legalism?
• How do legalistic practices show in churches today?
• Is all obedience legalism?
• Is lawlessness a danger?
• Why does legalism happen?
• How can we avoid legalism?

Let’s start by digging deeper into the definition of legalism.

The definition of legalism

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The Cambridge dictionary defines legalism as,

“The practice of following the law very closely, especially by paying more attention to rules and details than to the intentions behind them.”¹

Fun fact: The word “legalism” doesn’t appear in the Bible. Not even once. That’s because the term wasn’t used by Christians until the 1600s.² But the Bible addressed this concept long before it had a formal name.

For example, Paul addresses legalism in Galatians 2:14. He tells early church leaders to stop holding new Christians to obsolete laws and standards.

Jewish moral and ceremonial laws no longer applied after Christ died (Mark 14:24). So continuing to enforce them added pointless burdens on the people. It’s a bit like asking someone to bring horse feed to the barn every morning even after the horse is gone, just because it’s still on the farm owner’s checklist.

Let’s look at some key aspects of legalism, according to the Bible:

• Emphasizing personal efforts over a relationship with Jesus (Matthew 7:21-23; Ephesians 2:8-9)
• Valuing laws over love for God and others (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 7:6-9; John 13:34)
• Obedience without love or sincere faith (Hosea 6:6; Psalm 78:36-37; 1 Samuel 15:22; Romans 5:1)
• Obsessing over small details while missing what matters (Matthew 23:23-24)
• Depending on rules and good works for salvation, not on Jesus as our Savior (Galatians 2:16)
• Favoring human rules and traditions over biblical laws (Mark 7:8-9)
• Doing good works for the admiration of others (Matthew 23:5-6)
• Trying to appear perfect, but having no active faith (Matthew 23:27-28)
• Adding unnecessary burdens to the plan of salvation (Galatians 5:1)

Keeping God’s commands isn’t bad. In fact, Jesus says, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15, ESV). But true obedience to God comes from loving and understanding His character (John 14:23-24).

Legalism stems from trying to obey God’s law without understanding His love and grace—which His laws are meant to promote.

It’s the mindset that by keeping God’s laws down to the letter, we can somehow earn our way into heaven. And we end up trying to rely on ourselves rather than on Jesus—who God sent to save us.

To get a better picture of what this looks like, let’s talk about some people in the Bible who struggled with legalism.

Examples of Legalism in the Bible

When it comes to legalists in the Bible, Pharisees often come to mind. But others who struggled with legalism include:

• Paul (before his conversion)
• The Prodigal Son’s older brother in Jesus’ parable
• The Pharisees (plus Sadducees, scribes and lawyers)

Let’s start by looking at Paul.

The Apostle Paul: The reformed legalist

Paul (aka Saul) discusses the concept of legalism at length in the books and letters he wrote in the New testament. And it makes sense—he knew the dangers of legalism better than most (Acts 8:1-3).

Before Paul knew Jesus, He was passionate about protecting Jewish law in the name of God. But it was in the wrong spirit and he sent countless Christians to their deaths.

When he got to know Jesus, however, he realized his legalistic efforts were worthless. He began trusting in God’s grace instead of in his own efforts:

“But [the Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV).

The Prodigal Son’s older brother: The relatable legalist

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Next, let’s talk about the older brother in Jesus’ parable known as “The Prodigal Son.” Jesus describes a wayward young man who leaves home, lives recklessly, then loses everything and realizes the error of his ways. He returns home intent on becoming a servant, but his father welcomes him back home with open arms (Luke 15:11-24). The father represents God—and it’s a beautiful representation of His love for every human being, no matter their circumstances.

But Jesus didn’t end His story there. He went on to describe the older brother—the dutiful one who never left his father’s side. The older son got angry at his father for outright celebrating his younger brother’s return when he had been so selfish and disrespectful (Luke 15:25-32).

His father says to his oldest son,

​“Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:31-32, ESV).

The older son represents Christians who do everything they’re supposed to do—and find it depressing to see others who aren’t as obedient receiving love and recognition. In the story, the older son even asked his father why he hadn’t been celebrated for being so obedient.

“But he replied to his father, ‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him’” (Luke 15:29-30, CSB).

Jesus uses the older brother’s character to expose this aspect of legalism. It’s the belief that meticulous obedience or making fewer mistakes is what makes up a person’s self-worth and earns more of God’s love and mercy. It can even lead to thinking that some people don’t deserve salvation.

But we know God loves all his children the same. He longs for everyone to come to Him and accept salvation (John 3:17).

Legalists tend to put a limit on God’s grace and forgiveness (which we’ll talk more about later). The father gave grace to the son, who returned humbly seeking forgiveness. But the older brother felt that the “prodigal son” should have to earn his way back into his father’s good graces.

Pharisees: The classic legalists

Now for the last of the legalists we’ll talk about today: Pharisees. Jesus confronted them (along with some scribes and lawyers) about their legalistic traits. He said they:

• Appeared perfect on the outside but were corrupt at heart (Luke 11:39-40)
• Obsessed over small details while ignoring justice and love (Luke 11:42)
• Added unnecessary burdens to new Christians (Luke 11:46)
• Misrepresented scriptures, which misled others (Luke 11:52)
• Lacked humility and thought they were better than others (Luke 11:43; Luke 18:9-14)
• Cared more for the law than for their fellow humans (Matthew 9:12-14)
• Valued man-made additions to the law over God’s law (Matthew 15:1-9)
• Kept God’s law in vain because they didn’t love God (Matthew 15:8-9)

But one scribe stood out from the pack when he said,

“‘To love [God] with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God’” (Mark 12:33-34, ESV).

The scribe’s legalistic friends were keeping the law, but missing a key ingredient—love. And the Bible says love is the entire foundation of God’s law (Romans 13:8-10).

Imagine a husband and wife who have been married for twelve years. When the husband comes home from work, he pulls out a checklist that says, “Kiss wife.” So he gives her a quick kiss, takes out a pen, and checks it off his daily list. Then he reads the next one, which says, “Ask how her day went,” so he does. And as she responds, he nods while checking off, “Nod to show I’m listening.” And the same goes for all his “duties” as husband.

That example might sound extreme. But that’s how legalism turns a loving relationship or a set of profound beliefs into something that feels more concrete and controllable. Those operating under this legalism appear committed and do all the “right” things, but there’s no real interest or love behind the acts. They’re simply going through the motions.

Kind deeds and duties build lasting relationships when they come from sincere hearts. But when they get reduced to a list of to-dos, those acts become empty, sad, and meaningless.

Legalism vs. the grace of God

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Legalists place a limit to God’s grace and forgiveness. And it can make us think we need to work our way back into God’s good graces when we mess up. Or keep Jesus at arm’s length while we try to fix ourselves.

But grace means we can come to Jesus as we are, accept His free gift of salvation, and let Him grow us. And if we mess up (which we all do), we can turn to Him for encouragement and restoration.

The Bible says it’s impossible to save ourselves—only Jesus can do that (Romans 3:20, 8:1-3; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17). So without accepting Jesus’ grace, our good works amount to “dead works” (Hebrews 9:14, ESV).

Grace is a gift, already earned for us by Jesus (Romans 1:4-6; 3:4; Romans 5:15-21). We don’t need to earn something Jesus already earned for us. That’s why the Bible says we can “approach the throne of grace with boldness” (Hebrews 4:16, CSB).

Jesus lived a perfect life for us because He loves us and knew we couldn’t do it on our own (Romans 3:23-24, Romans 5:8, Titus 3:4-7). Letting go of legalism means admitting we can’t save ourselves (Romans 7:18, 24-25). Instead, we can accept God’s grace and receive His Holy Spirit (John 3:3, 6).

But that doesn’t mean we ignore the law, stop obeying, and forget good works (Matthew 5:19). That’s what some refer to as “cheap grace.”³ Because it’s devaluing God’s grace. It’s “a denial of the true effect of God’s grace.”⁴ The Bible says when we accept grace, we desire to do good works and obey God’s commandments (Galatians 2:20).

Paul explains the effects of grace (which he experienced himself):

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager to do good works. (Titus 2:11-14, CSB).

When we accept God’s grace, He helps us grow more like Jesus (2 Corinthians 9:8, 2 Peter 1:4-8). Then we obey and do good works from a heart of gratitude. It comes from looking to Jesus instead of ourselves (James 2:14-26; 2 Corinthians 3:18, Jeremiah 31:33, Psalm 119:66-73).

It doesn’t mean we won’t still struggle. But when we do, we know we can go immediately to Jesus for forgiveness and guidance (1 John 1:8-9, Jude 24).

Abraham is a solid biblical example of the kind of obedience that flows from receiving grace. God called him righteous—not because of good works, but because of His faith (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:1-8). Yes, He obeyed when God asked Him to sacrifice Isaac. Not because he was a legalist—but because he had a trusting relationship with God (Genesis 11:17-19).

Here’s the bottom line. Christians who accept grace gain “a passion for righteous­ness, a passion for obedience to God’s revealed will both in the Old and the New Testament, not out of the pressure of law, but out of this new relationship to Christ (Romans 7:6).”⁵

Obedience without receiving grace is one danger of legalism. Here are some more.

12 dangers of legalism

We’ve already learned that legalism can cause us to look to our own efforts instead of relying on Jesus and His grace (Galatians 2:16-21). But it’s also dangerous because it often grows out of an internal psychological process. Which also makes it hard to detect until it spreads. It relies on keeping God’s commands—which is biblical—but in the wrong spirit. That’s why it’s a dangerous counterfeit to the Gospel of Christ. It can be a weapon of the devil.

Here’s how the Bible talks about 12 personal and spiritual detriments that result from legalism:

1. Lack of self-awareness. There’s a danger of thinking strict law-keeping is “enough.” So legalists may not sense a need for spiritual growth or introspection (Ecclesiastes 7:16-18, Matthew 19:16-22).

 

2. Making salvation unattainable. It pressures us to make ourselves perfect instead of relying on Christ (Philippians 2:13). So it can make salvation feel impossible.

 

3. Self-righteousness. Emphasizing what we can do over what Jesus did can cause us to compare ourselves with others. So we make ourselves judges in place of Jesus (Luke 18:9-14, Romans 12:3, Habakkuk 2:4).

 

4. Distorted view of God. Legalists often have a lot of knowledge about God. But they lack a personal relationship with Him (John 5:39, Mark 7:6-7). Without a relationship, we lack the correct motivation for the laws to begin with. They become like the fictitious marriage checklist example from earlier, which paints God as one to be appeased, rather than the loving God He is (Proverbs 29:18).

 

5. Unnecessary burdens. We might have healthy traditions or well-meaning and effective human-created rules. But it’s dangerous when we treat them like Bible doctrine, it takes the focus off what truly matters (Colossians 2:20-23, Galatians 3:1-3). Love and conviction have to come first, otherwise the laws are just tasks or rituals without the deeper context and mission. This can make coming to God appear exhausting, while the Bible says otherwise (Matthew 11:28-30).

 

6. Skewed view of Christian life. Jesus came so we could “have life and have it abundantly”(John 10:10, ESV). As we’ve learned, legalism add unnecessary burdens on Christians. So it can make the Christian life seem miserable (Galatians 5:7-10). And it paints a skewed picture of the life God wants for His children (Romans 7:22).

 

7. Misunderstanding the purpose of laws. Legalism views laws as the solution to sin. But laws can’t fix sin—they only reveal our sins and our need for the Savior (Romans 3:31-26, 5:13).

 

8. Hypocrisy. Legalism leads us to keep up perfect appearances and profess love for God. But without a heart fully committed to Him (Isaiah 29:13, Mark 7:20-23, Luke 20:46047). So we seem one way and act another (Matthew 15:18-19), which makes Christians seem two-faced and untrustworthy to others.

 

9. Missing the big picture. There’s a danger of getting focused on the nitty gritty details while missing what God is trying to teach us. We might be strict law-keepers, but never develop Christlike characters (Luke 11:42). So we miss the whole point!

 

10. Loveless law-keeping. Where there’s no grace or love to lay the foundation, we obey to get ahead and save ourselves. Then we lack selfless love and a desire to help others and reflect Christ’s character (Matthew 12:9-14, Luke 10:25-28, Philippians 2:3).

 

11. Taking God’s glory: Good works done out of a changed spirit give God glory. But legalistic works (like trying to earn salvation) draw attention to ourselves (John 7:18).

 

12. Biggest danger–missing out on a saving relationship with God: Legalism aims to depend on self rather than on Jesus. But God says eternal life only comes through Jesus (1 John 5:11-13, Romans 8:1-3).

So, how do we detect legalism around us? We’ll talk about that next.

Legalistic practices to watch for

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Legalism can creep into just about anything that has guidelines, rules, expectations, etc. So how can we tell if a Christian community is Holy Spirit-filled, or promoting a spirit of legalism? Well, it can involve asking ourselves questions based on what we’ve learned about legalism so far. For example, is the community generally:

• Joyful?
• Loving?
• United?
• Encouraging?
• Quick to forgive?
• Inclusive and welcoming?
• Not focused on externals?
• Focused on a relationship with Jesus?
• In line with the law of God, but not relying on it?
• Experiencing spiritual growth among members?
• Promoting service to others out of love, not as a rule?
• Committed to the Bible (both Old Testament and New) as the Word of God?

No matter how grand or simple a church’s people, programs, or ministries, they should always point the way to Jesus. Churches need to emphasize reliance on Jesus and his righteousness (Romans 10:2-4). Even passionate Christians can get legalistic if the focus becomes about personal efforts. If that’s the case, we can follow Paul’s example and pray out of love (Romans 10:1).

We also see legalism at individual levels. For example, say a church member tells a newcomer they’re not dressed right for church. This form of legalism stems from elevating human tradition over love for God and His children. And from not recognizing that we need to allow people to come to Christ as they are (just like in His parable of the Prodigal Son). Then Christ can come in and make the kind of difference that truly matters.

What if the Holy Spirit convicts us to confront a legalistic church member? The Bible says to pray for help to do it with gentleness (Galatians 6:1).

When it comes to detecting legalism in peers, the Bible warns against judging others (Matthew 7:1, Romans 14:1-4, 13, 22). But we’re also told to “test the spirits” of spiritual leaders (1 John 1:5, ESV). Leaders can have great influence over us and our loved ones.

What if we suspect a leader of setting an example of legalism? The Bible tells us to use discernment and pay attention to how they live (Matthew 7:15-19; 1 John 4:1, Galatians 5:19-24). Paul even said if any leaders seem godly but lack the power of the Holy Spirit, to “avoid such people” (2 Timothy 3:5, ESV).

No church, leader, or belief system should place obstacles between a person and Jesus. Like the father in the Prodigal Son parable, Jesus welcomes us with open arms. God doesn’t ask us to go through any human-made ritual to receive forgiveness or salvation.

What about baptism? We know it’s biblical—even Jesus got baptized. But lack of baptism didn’t keep Jesus from promising salvation to the thief on the cross (Luke 23:42-43). Jesus read the criminal’s heart and saw his faith. Baptism (like obedience and good works) is the evidence of a life surrendered to Christ—not the mechanism that saves us.

Legalism vs. loving obedience

We mentioned earlier that legalism is different from loving obedience to God’s laws and instruction. Unlike legalism, true obedience doesn’t spring from thinking the law has power to save. A true desire to obey God results from a life surrendered to Christ, understanding that what He asks of us has a higher purpose and promotes love toward others.

In Psalm 119:97, David says, “Oh how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (ESV).

Let’s look at an individual example we might see in modern times:

Let’s say Jesus calls someone out of a pattern of destructive habits. That person will likely recognize that keeping God’s law brings more peace, joy, and protection. It’s a lot like a child who later realizes that the rule “don’t touch the stove” is actually for their protection. Or a sheep that recognizes the shepherd’s boundaries protect it from a ravenous wolf (1 Peter 5:8).

That kind of law-following involves wanting to align with Christ’s character.

But in large communities, whether faith-based or not, legalism can surface unintentionally because we have a human tendency to want to control or categorize things. So just because legalism pops up somewhere doesn’t mean the whole community, cause, or company is bad. But it does mean that some spiritual refocusing is in order.

If in doubt of motives, we can always ask individuals and leaders why observing God’s law matters to them. And we can ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes (1 John 1:4).

Lawless churches: The extreme opposite of legalism

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The opposite of legalism—lawlessness—is just as dangerous (1 John 3:4, 8-10). In its purest definition, it’s a disregard of law altogether, in favor of whatever a person sees fit from their perspective.

The Bible says God’s law reflects who He is, so His people won’t abandon it (Matthew 5:17-18, Revelation 12:17, Isaiah 42:21).

One example of lawlessness could involve keeping (or fixating on) some of the Ten Commandments while throwing out others. Or it could mean abandoning them altogether.

The Bible cautions, “Whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19, ESV). And that’s because all of God’s laws are meant to promote love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.

Another form of lawlessness can exist in the “once saved always saved” theory, which claims if someone accepts salvation once, they can’t lose it. It makes biblical laws and obedience meaningless.

But like marriage, true commitment leads to an ongoing relationship and continual surrender to Christ (Ephesians 5:31-33).

Think about it. If a couple gets married and thinks, “Well, once married always married, no matter how I treat my spouse”…you can see how that doesn’t bode well! And if that was the case, you might even think, then what was the point of getting married in the first place?

That’s why God’s laws promote balance instead of either of the extremes.

Now that we have tips to recognize legalism (and lawlessness), we’ll sum up what causes legalism.

Why legalism happens

Legalism happens because as humans, we find that it takes continual effort to weigh every decision against a few basic, underlying principles. We have a tendency to want our decisions in black and white. And we have historically struggled with grey areas.

So we might make spiritual to-do lists instead of trusting an unseen Creator to guide us. And in doing so, we can easily start adding to His laws—to make them easier to be tracked in checklist form.

But we make things rigid that God left open to Holy Spirit-filled interpretation and choice. And we forget the original principles of the laws.

It’s been a struggle for people, communities, and countries throughout history.

For example, settlers founded the United States based on the freedom to worship God. But those same freedom-seeking settlers soon tried to enforce religions within their communities.⁶

Free choice leaves grey areas we’re not always comfortable with. Or maybe there just isn’t one or two solutions that work in all situations. So we try to fill in the gaps. The settlers forgot their whole purpose for establishing the “New World.” And sometimes we forget the reason God established His law.

We also tend to get more legalistic about the traditions and laws everyone can see.

For example, it’s easier to show off that we put money in the offering plate and kneel for prayer every week. But it’s harder to show off that we don’t covet. So we fixate on the concrete and visible efforts. And we then forget that it’s all a representation of the bigger laws based on love.

Acts of legalism might come across as making life easier or setting a good example. But they actually complicate what Jesus came to simplify for us (Galatians 1:6-9).

That’s why we want to do what we can to prevent these human tendencies from affecting our beliefs, relationships, and communities.

How to avoid legalism

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The best way to avoid legalism is to accept Jesus’ grace and have a personal relationship with Him. Righteousness comes down to having faith in the Lawmaker—not in the laws themselves (Romans 1:17). And a relationship with our Savior grows our faith.

Paul uses the story of Abraham to explain this to us:

“He did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, because he was fully convinced that what God had promised, He was also able to do. Therefore, it was credited to him for righteousness. Now it was credited to him was not written for Abraham alone, but also for us. It will be credited to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:20-26, CSB).

We can believe God’s promise to save us because of what He’s already done through Jesus Christ (Genesis 15:6). And as we rely on Him, our faith will continue to grow (Galatians 5:6).

It sounds simple. But as we’ve learned, it’s tempting for us as humans to reassure ourselves by covering all the bases.

True love for Jesus leaves no room for legalism (1 John 4:13-21). As we get to know Him, we learn that God is love and there’s nothing else we can do to make Him love us more. We are God’s “beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1, ESV). When we grasp that, we’ll long to obey Him because we love and trust Him.

That’s where active faith comes in.

Avoiding legalism doesn’t mean we stop trying to obey and do good. With legalism, we try to do good works but the heart isn’t in it. When we accept God’s grace, our old self dies away. And we start becoming more like Jesus (Ephesians 4:22-24, Romans 6:1-7, Galatians 6:15).

Here’s what happens:

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules” (Ezekiel 36:26-27, ESV).

That means we still keep God’s laws, but out of faith—not fear. And with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Good works done out of love will draw others to their Creator (Romans 7:4-6). Think of all the good works Jesus did when He lived on Earth. It wasn’t because He needed to earn His Father’s favor, but to show God’s loving character to humanity.

As we take on that same loving character, we can’t help but serve, love, and obey the way Jesus did (Galatians 5:13-14). And good works done in the right spirit give people a glimpse of who Jesus is (Matthew 5:16, John 3:21).

Again, the best way to avoid legalism is to spend regular time with God. And a few ways to start that is through a combination of:

• Bible study
• Talking to God through prayer
• Joining a Holy Spirit-filled church community
• Asking God to help you trust Him and His promises
• Daily devotionals (reading the Word of God along with prayer and reflection)
• Building trust in God by going to Him for help in every situation (Psalms 34:8)

Legalism is a skewed view of salvation, self-worth, and even God. It demonstrates a belief that God isn’t the compassionate, loving, and forgiving God He claims to be.

We learned it can stem from tendencies of our fallen human nature coupled with a lack of personal connection with Christ (John 15). And when it wins out, legalism treats obedience, rules, and good works as the way to gain salvation for later, and value as a human being for the here and now. And it leaves love out of the law and tries to make humans the heroes instead of our Savior.

But here’s the good news!

Understanding the dangers of legalism shows us that the true Gospel isn’t complex. It’s supposed to be simple and within reach for everyone!

Salvation is already ours through grace—it’s not something we earn. That means we don’t have to let fear govern our decisions. We can come as we are to Jesus, whose “yoke is easy” and “burden is light” (Matthew 11:30, CSB), and He will be “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2, ESV).

Want to learn more about how salvation works?

1. “Meaning of Legalism in English.” Cambridge Dictionary. Cambridge University Press and Assessment. [↵]
2. Yinger, Kent. “Defining Legalism.” Andrews University Seminary Studies Vol. 46, no. No. 1 (2008): 93. [↵]
3. Dominguez, Nicole. “Legalism Vs. Grace.” ANN English. Adventist News Network, July 3, 2021. [↵]
4. Maxon, Benjamin C. “The Wonder of Grace.” Stewardship Ministries. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, January-March 2000. [↵]
5. Professor of Systematic Theology, Andrews University C. “The Law in Adventist Theology and Christian Experience.” Ministry International Journal for Pastors. General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists. [↵]
6. Facing History & Ourselves, “Religion in Colonial America: Trends, Regulations, and Beliefs”, last updated March 14, 2016. [↵]

More Answers

If you’ve heard a Christian say Jesus is the only way to heaven, or the only way to be “saved,” you might be wondering,

What does that mean, specifically?

Does the Bible really teach that?

It does indeed. John 14:6 tells us that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life,” meaning He’s the only way to heaven.

Sin has separated human beings from God and made it impossible for us to live in heaven, or in God’s direct presence, because sin can’t exist there. In fact, the ultimate result of sin is separation from God and eternal death (Romans 6:23).

But God isn’t giving up on us. Through Jesus, all of humanity has the chance to become reconciled with God, go to heaven after Jesus returns, and then live eternally on the New Earth.

Jesus, as the Messiah and humanity’s Savior, chose to live a sinless life on this earth and then die for our sins so that He can give us His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

This gift is available to all. God wants us with Him for eternity more than anything and has done everything possible—including suffering on the Cross and giving His own life—to offer us that gift.

We’ll break this down by looking at:

• What the Bible says
• Why Jesus is the only way
• How salvation through Jesus works
• Whether people who’ve never heard of Jesus will be saved

You may notice that common Christian concepts and phrases like “going to heaven,” “being saved from sin,” and “having eternal life” are often used interchangeably. That’s because in the Bible, all three are closely tied together. Unless we’re saved through Jesus’ death, we can’t go to heaven and then experience eternal life with Him on the newly recreated earth.

With that in mind, let’s start by looking at some of the most common Bible passages on this topic.

What the Bible says about salvation through Jesus

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Throughout the New Testament, we find a strong theme of Jesus being the only one through whom we can be saved, go to heaven, and experience eternal life. Here’s a list of those passages:

• John 14:6
• Acts 4:12
• 1 Timothy 2:5
• Romans 5:17-19
• John 3:16, 36
• John 8:24
• John 10:9
• John 17:3
• Acts 10:43
• Romans 6:23
• Romans 10:9
• 1 John 5:11-12

We’ll dig into the first four in this list since they’re the most well-known.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6)

Jesus told His disciples that He is the way to heaven and to the Father (who is in heaven): “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6, ESV).

These verses show up in the context of Jesus talking about His ascension to heaven and then His Second Coming. He’s telling His disciples that He’s going to heaven to prepare a place for them so He can come back and bring them with Him (John 14:1-3).

From the get-go, we can establish that this passage is talking about salvation and eternal life with Jesus.

Then, Jesus tells His disciples,

“And where I go you know, and the way you know” (verse 4, NKJV).

One of His disciples, Thomas, counters Jesus and says, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” (verse 5, NKJV)

And that’s when Jesus responds with His famous words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

This isn’t the first time Jesus uses the phrase “I am” to describe Himself. Here are a couple other examples:

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51, NKJV).

“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9, ESV).

In each case, Jesus is presenting Himself as the one who offers salvation and eternal life.

It’s helpful here to understand the significance behind “I am.”

By using this phrase, Jesus is actually looking back to the experience of Moses at the burning bush when God called Himself “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14, NKJV).

In the Hebrew, this phrase “implies the attributes of self-existence and timelessness.” It’s a title for God that shows He is “the living God, the Source of Life.”¹

By calling Himself “I am,” Jesus showed that He is one with God the Father and, because of that, He is the source of life for us.

We are saved and given eternal life through Jesus (Acts 4:12)

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In Acts 4:12, Jesus’ disciple Peter proclaims that Jesus is the only one through whom we can be saved from sin, making it possible for us to receive eternal life at the Second Coming. He said, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (NKJV).

Peter was preaching about Jesus to the Jewish religious leaders. He and John had just healed a crippled man, and this drew a large crowd. When the religious leaders heard Peter and John preaching about Jesus, they had them arrested.

Notice what else Peter said right before the verse quoted above:

“Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man [the lame man] stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:10-12, NKJV).

Peter was showing the supremacy of Christ. The same power that healed the crippled man had also resurrected Jesus, who is able to give spiritual healing—salvation.²

In other words, Jesus could offer salvation from sin because of His death and resurrection. And that’s what makes it possible for Him to save us from sin and give us eternal life.

Jesus is our mediator who makes it possible for us to receive salvation (1 Timothy 2:3-6)

Because of the corrupting power of sin, humans need forgiveness and cleansing to be able to go to heaven or live in a perfect existence in the presence of God. Jesus, as our Mediator, makes that possible: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5, NKJV).

Many people quote this verse, but some important context is missing when they don’t mention the verses before and after. Here are verses 3-4:

“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (NKJV).

Jesus being the only mediator isn’t meant to be exclusive, as this verse makes clear. God lovingly made each human being that has ever and will ever exist. So it makes sense that God wants all people to be saved! And He’s made it simple for us through Jesus.

Continuing on to verses 5-6:

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (NKJV).

Verse 6 helps us realize that Jesus isn’t our only mediator because of some arbitrary reason or some special rule or code. He is the only mediator because He gave Himself for us. Because He died and took our sins upon Himself.

We can be saved because of Jesus’ free gift of righteousness (Romans 5:17-19)

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Romans 5:17-19 explains how sin and death came into our world through one man (Adam). Because of this sin, we aren’t able to experience eternal life or heaven while in this state. But because of one Man, Jesus Christ, we receive the free gift of righteousness so that we can be reunited with God and experience eternal life with Him:

“For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:17-19, NKJV).

Scripture is specific. Eternal life comes through Jesus because of His “righteous act”—His death for us on the Cross after living a loving, sinless life on earth.

Now let’s solidify the “why” behind this.

Why Jesus is the only way

Jesus is the only way to heaven because He lived a sinless life and died for our sins so that He could give us the free gift of His righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). Because of our sinful tendencies, we can’t be righteous in our own power. We need to accept this reality and instead rely on Jesus’ righteousness, who makes it possible for us to turn in a new direction and be reunited with God (Romans 5:1).

Jesus, and everything He modeled for us and did for us, has what we need. That’s what the Bible ultimately teaches about the plan of salvation. Salvation and Jesus are interconnected. One and the same.

First John 5:11-12 highlights this:

“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (NKJV).

Jesus = life

When we humans sinned, we separated ourselves from God, who is the source of life. God is love (1 John 4:8), and sin is the very opposite of love. So, just like the opposing forces of magnets, they can’t exist in the presence of one another without serious strain or conflict—the kind that cannot be resolved without the removal of one.

The path of sin inevitably ends in death (Romans 6:23) because life can’t exist without the Lifegiver.

But Jesus came from heaven to live a human life on earth (John 3:13). By maintaining His relationship with the Godhead, He lived a perfect life—never choosing to sin even when tempted with all the same temptations any human struggles with (Hebrews 4:15).

And because He wasn’t guilty of sin, He could take our sins and the consequence we deserved (2 Corinthians 5:21). It’s an exchange.

No other human being could take that on.

Think about it this way: Let’s say you owe a debt that you cannot possibly repay. Only someone who has enough to pay off that debt could save you from having to pay it yourself.

Similarly, no other human being can take our place and save us because all humans are sinful and the consequence of sin is eternal death (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Sin left us with a vast deficit—a debt we couldn’t possibly repay on our own. A mountain we could never climb over without the hand of Jesus lifting us over it.

Jesus is the only way because He’s the only one who’s walked this earth as a human being without sin.

What’s more, Jesus is one with the Father (John 14:9-11). He is God, meaning He’s the only one who could come from heaven to show us the love of the Father (1 John 4:8). And He’s the only one who could save us into the kingdom of God—a kingdom of perfect love.

Jesus is the source of life and love, and only He can bring us to live forever in His kingdom of love.

And there’s nothing that He wants more!

So, what does that look like practically for each one of us?

How salvation through Jesus works

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Salvation through Jesus alone starts with the choice to believe in Him and accept His gift of salvation (John 3:16). By His death, He’s already given us the beautiful gift of righteousness, and it’s up to us whether we accept it and build a relationship with Him.

As Paul says in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (NKJV).

This belief goes beyond acknowledging God’s existence (James 2:19).

It’s about faith, trust, and a relationship with Jesus.

John 17:3 highlights this idea:

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (NKJV).

The Greek word for know is ginōskō, and it carries the idea of intimacy and a deep knowledge of someone. Perhaps this is also why the Bible so often uses relational language (bride, spouse, child) to refer to God’s connection with His people.

It’s this knowledge and belief that changes the way we live (James 2:14-26).

Jesus is all about love and relationships and unselfishness, and as we come to know Him, we learn more about those beautiful qualities and how to live them out. We learn to show His law of love in the way we relate to Him and others (1 John 5:3).

And it’s this love that draws people to Jesus—even those who may not yet know Him by name.

More on that in the next section.

What about people who’ve never heard about Jesus?

Jesus is the only way to heaven because there’s no one else who has accomplished what He did in taking our sins and dying for them (Isaiah 53:5). In doing this, He made the gift of salvation and heaven available to anyone who chooses it throughout all of history (Romans 5:18).

Some may even follow the ways of Jesus without knowing Jesus by name because they desire love, goodness, patience, peace…in other words, they listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, who reveals the character of God (Galatians 5:16-24).

To better understand how this is possible, let’s go back to the early Christian church.

Right before Jesus returned to heaven, He gave His followers the Great Commission to preach the Gospel throughout the world—in other words, to tell the world about Him (Matthew 28:18-20).

But Jesus didn’t leave His disciples to figure this out on their own.

He gave them His representative to empower them in their mission: the Holy Spirit (John 15:26; Acts 2).

Still today, the Holy Spirit represents Jesus to us and enables us to fulfill the mission God has given us. And that mission is very important. Romans 10:14 highlights the need for someone to tell people about Jesus:

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (NKJV)

First and foremost, God has given each of the followers of Jesus the role of sharing about Jesus’ gift with those who don’t know Him.³

But even in places where there might not be a Christian witness, the Spirit is still at work. That’s because He wants all to be saved.⁴

Scholars at the Biblical Research Institute put it this way:

“Jesus, through the Spirit, continues to be ‘the true light that gives light to every man’ (John 1:9, NIV). This suggests that non-Christians who live out of contact with the people of God, when touched by the Spirit, sincerely yearn for something better (cf. James 1:17). They then experience the saving power of God on the mind and character. Their knowledge may be extremely limited, but they have been transformed by His grace and unknowingly became children of God through Jesus.”⁵

Of course, this isn’t to say that all religions or belief systems automatically lead to God. Or that all of them are equally acceptable ways to salvation. No, not at all. The Bible still teaches that Jesus is the only way to be made righteous with God and go to heaven. And any belief system that doesn’t support what Christ stands for (love, free will, compassion, selflessness, empathy, accountability, etc.) will ultimately come into opposition.

But Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is at work in the lives of every individual person of every belief system. He’s seeking to reach their hearts with His loving ways so they can follow those ways—even if they don’t know Him by name.⁶

In this way, they come to know Jesus through His Spirit.

And Jesus never forces His way in. Instead, He knocks at the door of their hearts (Revelation 3:20). They can choose to follow the promptings of His Spirit, which will direct them to ways of love instead of ways of selfishness and sin (Galatians 5:22-24).

They may not know it’s Jesus they’re following, but their hearts become changed. They long for more than the ways of this world.

And imagine their excitement when they learn about Jesus and the Gospel! They’ll realize He is the one they were following all along.

The beautiful news of salvation through Jesus

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The teaching that Jesus is the only way to heaven isn’t meant to exclude or push people away. Rather, it’s a beautiful message because Jesus is the only way and He wants all to be saved. Because of what He’s done, He earned the right to that role. And He’s still doing everything possible to reach every single one of us.

At the same time, we’re at liberty to choose.

Jesus wants our love to be freely given, so He allows us to decide whether we want to follow His ways of love and build a relationship with Him.

Sometimes, that might even mean that someone who doesn’t know Jesus by name is simply saying yes to the whispers of the Holy Spirit.

And Jesus will gladly hear their response.

For more about what it means to receive salvation, read our page

1. Nichol, F. D., Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, p. 172. [↵]
2. Nichol, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 167. [↵]
3. “‘No Other Name’—Why Not?” Adventist Theological Society, 2011 Fall Symposium, Lecture. [↵]
4. “Salvation Without Knowledge of Christ?” Biblical Research Institute, April 11, 2009. [↵]
5. Ibid. [↵]
6. Wogu, Chigemezi, “The Salvation of Non-Christians in Africa: An Adventist Perspective,” Ministry, Sept. 2015. [↵]

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While this might seem like a complicated question, there’s a simple way to look at it. Sin is a failure to love God and love others. It is the opposite of love.

This is why the Bible’s definition of it is lawlessness, or transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4).

The law we’re talking about here is what Jesus Himself called the two greatest commandments: love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36–40).

It is selfishness, then, that breaks the law of God. And it’s something every human being struggles with. Romans 3:23 reminds us: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (ESV).

But all is not lost. God is “merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth…forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6–8, NKJV). Because of the gift of forgiveness we’re offered through Jesus Christ, He will always help us if we look to Him.

His desire for us is never condemnation; it is always forgiveness.

But what does this mean for us day by day? How do we know if we’re “sinning”?

Even when we feel like we know right from wrong, some of the choices life offers us can throw us for a loop. So we’ll break this down into the basics:

• The origin of sin
• Its definition
• Its ultimate result
• What is the unpardonable sin in the Bible?
• How can we experience God’s grace and forgiveness?

Let’s look into this topic.

What was the original sin on earth?

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Sin on Earth began in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve took it upon themselves to try and be like God (Genesis 3). But sin actually originated in Heaven among the angels. It started as a thought in the mind of Lucifer, who used to be a high-ranking angel but is now referred to as the Devil, or Satan (1 John 3:8).

Lucifer coveted Jesus’ position in Heaven (Isaiah 14:12–15). He wanted to be worshiped over God. When he could not become like God, he caused rebellion in Heaven and convinced one-third of the angels that God couldn’t be trusted (Ezekiel 28; Revelation 12).

God couldn’t let sin exist in Heaven, so Satan was cast out to the earth, along with the angels he deceived (Revelation 12).

Fast forward to the Garden of Eden.

God created Adam and Eve in His image—to be perfect and sinless. He gave them all they could ever want, but He gave them specific instructions:

“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Genesis 2:16–17, NKJV).

However, when Satan, in the form of a serpent, tempted Eve at the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he lured her to commit the same sin he committed in heaven—to know what God knows and be as powerful as He is:

“Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’” (Genesis 3:4–5, NKJV).

Ultimately, Adam and Eve decided to distrust God and uphold their own desires, choosing selfishness over love.

They doubted He had their best interest at heart and chose to outrightly disregard the command of God by following their own desires. They chose to trust their own wisdom instead of His wisdom and believe the serpent’s words that He was withholding something “good” from them.

The consequences?

Distance from God of many kinds: emotional, physical, and spiritual distance.

They experienced emotional distance from Him because they were embarrassed, ashamed of their nakedness, and guilty. Physical distance, because they had to leave the Garden. And spiritual distance, because they couldn’t commune with God face to face anymore.

It resulted in distance and distrust in human relationships as well when Adam blamed Eve to avoid shame.

So, sin ruptures both our relationship with God and our relationships with each other. It twists the two greatest commandments—love God and love others as you love yourself—into lies:

• God is to be feared and cannot be trusted.
• Uphold yourself over others to avoid guilt and shame.

How does this story in Scripture show us what makes something a sin and what its effects are?

Let’s find out.

What is the definition of sin and what are its effects?

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Sin is the breaking of God’s law (1 John 3:4), which is summarized by Jesus as loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36–40). This law goes beyond actions to a person’s motives—whether the heart is in sync with that law. In essence, then, sin is selfishness, the opposite of love.

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament is a good example of this.

Here, Jesus cites two of the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament, “You shall not murder” and “You shall not commit adultery,” but He makes it clear that the action is not what constitutes the sin. Rather, Jesus says:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matthew 5:21–22, NKJV).

And,

“I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28, NKJV).

Murder is the result of hate in the heart.

Adultery is the result of lust in the heart.

The state of the heart is what initiates the sin.

So, we have to ask ourselves, honestly, At the core of this action, thought, or word, am I failing to love God and love others?

Even the Ten Commandments given to the children of Israel in Exodus 20, when boiled down, are instructions for loving God and loving others.

These two greatest commandments and the principles that highlight them, the Ten Commandments, can guide us to find what makes something a sin rather than looking for an unambiguous and exhaustive list that says, “This is a sin” and “This isn’t.”

What it comes down to is that the concept of sin is much more about the state of the heart than breaking a set of rules.

Why?

Because each of our individual situations is different.

While the Ten Commandments are essential biblical principles we use to govern our lives, the moment we determine that we can leave our hearts unchecked because simply following the rules is “enough” is the moment we forget the purpose of the Law: to teach us how to love God and how to love others.

This love requires the examination of one’s heart.

But wouldn’t it be easier if we had a complete list of sins that detailed every situation possible?

Probably. Then we could just check the list every day and that would be that.

But then, our whole faith would be based on avoiding specific actions. No relationship, no personal growth, no critical thinking or empathy needed.

That’s not a life of love in Christ. Simply following rules without examining the heart doesn’t lead to spiritual maturity.

That’s what happened to the Pharisees and Sadducees. They created additional rules to help them keep the Ten Commandments and became so focused on the minute details that they lost sight of the ultimate purpose of the law. They were missing a loving relationship with God as their motive.

More than anything, God wants us to have a relationship with Him in which we choose to love Him. That’s what makes it real.

We choose to examine our hearts and find what harms others or hurts God or inappropriately upholds self over others.

Let’s flashback, one more time, to the Garden of Eden.

The sin wasn’t about eating a random fruit. It wasn’t even about listening to the serpent.

Humankind’s original sin was choosing to place self over God.

When Adam and Eve chose what was right or wrong on their own terms and ignored God’s direction, when they chose to love themselves over Him and distrust Him, that’s when they sinned. And that’s when they felt they needed to distance themselves from God by hiding (Genesis 3:10).

Same for us today. When we distance ourselves from God, we continue to hurt ourselves, others, and God since He longs to be in a close relationship with us.

This leads us to our next question…

What is the ultimate result of sin?

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Scripture is clear in Romans 6:23 about the effects of sin in the grand scheme of human existence: “For the wages of sin is death” (NKJV).

This doesn’t mean that right when we sin, we die. Think of Adam and Eve in the Garden—they were told they would die, but rather than dying immediately, they began to experience the process of death.

In this verse, Paul is saying that without Jesus’ salvation, the consequence of sin is eternal death. But the remedy is expressed in the next section of that same verse. It says that “the gift of God is eternal life.”

Without Jesus, humanity would face the natural consequences of sinning: pain, suffering, and eternal death. Without His forgiveness, sin would impact our lives here on earth and for eternity. That’s what forever looks like when sin rules instead of love.

Eternal death is the ultimate effect of sin in the grand scheme of humanity (Revelation 20:14), but what is the effect of sin on the individual? What happens to our hearts?

What happens when we sin?

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Whenever we sin, the effect is separation from God. Because He is complete love, sin can’t exist in His presence. It fills us with a sense of condemnation and guilt that makes us want to stay away from Him.

Prophet Isaiah says this: “Your iniquities have separated you from your God” (Isaiah 59:2, NKJV).

But He doesn’t want to be separated from us. It’s just the opposite. He longs to be near us and in a relationship with His children.

Sin separates us from God in both a metaphorical and physical sense because it becomes more difficult to love Him and others—emotional and spiritual distance—and because, ultimately, the choice to cherish self over God will lead to eternal physical separation from Him.

Imagine if you wronged a friend and then, without apologizing, continued to wrong the friend again and again. Wouldn’t the natural result be more distance between the two of you and, eventually, a falling out?

Distance without reconciliation often results in more distance, and the increasing rupture of that relationship makes it easier and easier to act in ways that hurt both ourselves and our friend.

Sin does the same to our hearts.

The more we sin without repentance, the further the distance we drive between ourselves and God, which eventually leads to the unpardonable sin (we’ll talk about this in the next section).

As a general guideline, things that separate us from God are things that break the two greatest commandments that Jesus shares. Again, a good place to see how this kind of relational rupture happens is the Ten Commandments.

When we fail to love God and others, it will be more difficult for us to know what is right and wrong. We do what is right in our own eyes and deceive ourselves into thinking bad decisions are good ones.

We act for our benefit at the expense of others.

This doesn’t mean that you need to loathe yourself. To look at yourself and say, “I am worthless,” or “I am undeserving of love” is also to say that God’s creation is worthless and undeserving of love. Being selfless is not the same as self-loathing. In fact, self-indulgence and self-loathing are both forms of selfishness, and to loathe yourself would be a mistrust in God—again, prioritizing a human definition of right and wrong versus a God-ordained definition.

The key to not deceiving ourselves into thinking that we know what is best is to listen to the calling of the Holy Spirit on our conscience.

The Holy Spirit guides us away from sin and reminds us that God is the source of wisdom (James 1:5).

Specifically, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit can convict us of wrong and lead us to truth (John 16:8,13).

But how do you know if the Holy Spirit is calling you to truth and it’s not just some random impression?

In this case, familiarizing yourself with the Bible and testing the tug on your conscience with its principles can be helpful.

The Holy Spirit is also important for understanding the unpardonable sin and how to avoid it. Maybe you’ve heard about it before and have questions. Hopefully, the next section can provide some answers.

What is the unpardonable sin in the Bible?

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The unpardonable sin happens when we reject the Holy Spirit so many times that we no longer sense His calling on our conscience.

You may ask, Why is it called “unpardonable”?

Well, it’s because God has no other means to reach a heart. The person has rejected Him so much—expressed repeated defiance towards Him—that there is no way for the heart to receive pardon. Hence, “unpardonable.”

The idea of the unpardonable sin comes from one of Jesus’ teachings in Matthew:

“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven” (Matthew 12:31, NKJV).

So how does one blaspheme against the Holy Spirit?

Time after time of ignoring and rejecting Him makes His tug on our consciences duller and duller. At the point of the unpardonable sin, we have chosen a life that will only ever reject God. Ultimately, we have chosen selfishness over selflessly loving Him and others.

Keep in mind, though, that the unpardonable sin isn’t something that happens accidentally.

And if you’re worrying that you have committed it, chances are, you haven’t. You are sensing your need for salvation, and that means the Holy Spirit is there, still being heard and felt in the conscience.

The point is, it’s a process that takes time and persistent rejection of God’s offer of mercy and pardon. A process of repeatedly failing to listen to the call to love God and others to the point of rejecting the Holy Spirit. This process is intentional.

Thankfully, until that point, we have a merciful and gracious God who abundantly forgives.

The hope of forgiveness

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To sinners, which includes all of us, the story of Jesus is the best news ever.

When Jesus was on this earth, He didn’t fail to love God, and He certainly didn’t fail to love others.

The Bible is clear that the plan of salvation was made so that we could be saved from our sin, and Jesus’ death on the cross is that redemption in action. In fact, the Bible tells us that because Jesus, the Son of God, died for us, “we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Romans 6:6, NKJV).

These are just a few verses that remind us that God is merciful, abundant, and forgiving, even before we ask:

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1–2, NKJV).

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV).

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18, NKJV).

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption, through His blood the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13–14, NKJV).

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins… But God, who is rich in mercy because of great love with which He loved us…made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 2:4–5, NKJV).

It’s such a blessing that we can fully trust in God. He knows our hearts.

Jesus’ salvation gives us hope for an abundant life full of love for Him and love for others. Let’s live out that love and remember that He always desires us to draw nearer to Him.

Struggling to draw close to God because you worry He won’t be able to forgive your sin?

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A covenant, or “a binding promise” in a relationship between two people or parties,¹ is a major theme of the Bible. It’s similar to what we call contracts today.

From the moment Adam and Eve sinned, God made a covenant with them, promising to send the Messiah to deliver them from sin (Genesis 3:15). And He repeats that covenant over and over to His people throughout the Old Testament. It’s referred to as the “everlasting covenant” (Genesis 17:19).

So, what is the new covenant?

The new covenant, mentioned in the New Testament in Hebrews 8:8-12, is God’s renewal of that everlasting covenant, confirmed when Jesus Christ died on the Cross. It’s His promise to ultimately deliver us from sin, give us eternal life, restore our relationship with Him, and put His law of love in our hearts through the Holy Spirit—even though throughout history, we haven’t been faithful to our part of God’s covenant.

What’s changed in this new covenant is that Jesus came to this earth, lived a perfect life, and took the punishment we deserved—all to fulfill our end of the promise on our behalf.

We’ll explore this topic in depth in the following sections:

• How the Bible defines the new covenant
• Why we needed it renewed
• What it means for us today

Let’s begin by looking at the passages in Scripture that talk about this special promise.

How the Bible defines the new covenant

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The new covenant is a set of promises God gave to His people and confirmed through Jesus’ death on the Cross. We find the term new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34, which Paul later quotes in the New Testament:

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 8:8-12, NKJV).

Did you notice the four important promises from God to His people?

• He will put His laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.
• He will be their God, and they will be His people.
• All will know Him.
• He will give them mercy and no longer remember their sins.

These four promises were really not new promises but rather renewed ones.² From the beginning, it was part of God’s plan to fulfill all these promises to His people through Jesus. Notice what the book of Hebrews tells us about it:

“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ” (Hebrews 13:20-21, NKJV).

This passage mentions “the blood of the everlasting covenant.” Since its context is Jesus’ resurrection, we can safely assume it’s referring to Jesus’ blood and death.

Already in the Garden of Eden, God had promised to give the Offspring of the woman as the Messiah (Genesis 3:15). This Messiah would bruise the head of the serpent and deliver His followers from sin and evil.

Fast forward to Abraham. When God called Abraham, He made a covenant with him, promising to bless him, his descendants, and all the world through them (Genesis 12:1-3). This promise simply reflected back to that first promise in Genesis—one of Adam and Eve’s descendants would become the Deliverer of the people.

Many times, God repeated that promise to Abraham, and He promised it to Abraham’s son, Isaac:

“I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him” (Genesis 17:19, NKJV).

The descendants of Abraham who received this covenant were the Israelites. God once again spoke the covenant to them (Exodus 19-24) and gave them symbols and illustrations in the sanctuary service (Exodus 25-31)—such as the animal sacrifices that pointed to Christ’s death (in addition to the symbol of circumcision He’d given to Abraham).

All of these reminded them of when Christ would come and confirm the covenant (Daniel 9:27).

When was the new covenant established?

The everlasting covenant, as we’ve seen, was established right after Adam and Eve’s fall into sin (Genesis 3:15). The new covenant, which repeated the original one, was established at the death of Jesus.

All three Gospels (and 1 Corinthians 11) record that right before Jesus’ death on the Cross, He gathered His disciples together for a special meal (we know it today as the Last Supper). During this meal, He took a cup of grape juice and said,

“Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28, ESV).³

Jesus’ blood would seal the new covenant (Luke 22:20). This is significant because “the old covenant” God made with the Israelites was also sealed with blood.

Paul brings this up in Hebrews 9:15-22. In this passage, he points out that Moses “took the blood of calves and goats…and sprinkled both the book [of the law] and all the people, saying ‘This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you’” (ESV).

This covenant was a renewal of the everlasting one with Abraham. And we’ll cover more about the old covenant in a moment. But first, an important question…

Who is the new covenant for?

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The new covenant is for all of God’s followers—both Jews and non-Jews—because the Gospel is for everyone (Matthew 24:14; 2 Corinthians 3:6).

In one of his epistles, Paul wrote to Gentile believers, reminding them of how the blood of Christ brings them the same blessings God promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants:

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:13-14, ESV).

Jesus broke down the dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews). Everyone can participate in the promises given to God’s people through Abraham:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:28-29, NKJV).

So now that we understand more about this covenant and how it has existed from the beginning, you may be wondering why a renewed one was necessary. Let’s go there next.

Why we needed a renewed covenant

God’s everlasting covenant given at the Fall has never changed: God’s desire has always been to free His people from their sins and bring them near Him. He repeated that promise from Abraham down through the generations to the people of Israel. The new covenant was only necessary because the people of Israel failed to uphold their end of the covenant with God.

Here’s the backstory.

When the Israelites came out of Egypt to go to the Promised Land, they were immature in their faith, having forgotten God’s principles while enslaved for hundreds of years.

So, God made a covenant with them (often known as the first covenant, old covenant, or mosaic covenant) at Mount Sinai. As part of this covenant, He gave them the sanctuary system and the Ten Commandments.

After so many years in Egypt, they had lost sight of what it means to live a life of love. Though God’s law of love had always existed, He gave them the Ten Commandments as simple principles for loving God and others. Because the Israelites were like children who needed specific directions, He elaborated on those principles through the many laws in the books of Leviticus and Numbers.

God also intended that the animal sacrifices, which were part of the sanctuary service, would be real-life lessons of the seriousness of sin and point them toward the Messiah’s sacrifice.

So, since God had made this covenant with Israel, why was the new covenant needed?

The apostle Paul, right before sharing about the new covenant, gives us the following reason:

“For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second” (Hebrews 8:7, ESV).

What was the fault with the first covenant?

“For He finds fault with them” (Hebrews 8:8, ESV).

Them is talking about the Israelites, the ones who entered into the covenant with God.

Remember, a covenant involves two parties committing or making promises to one another. It’s conditional on those promises being kept. So, for a covenant to be faulty, at least one of those parties has to break their promise.

One modern example of this concept is marriage. Marriage is a covenant between two parties who make promises to one another.

If one spouse in that covenant decides to date someone else, the covenant becomes faulty. The fault is due to that spouse’s action—even while the other spouse might be completely innocent.

Let’s carry this illustration over to God’s covenant with His people, the Israelites. When God gave His laws and the sanctuary system to them at Mount Sinai, notice what happened:

“Then [Moses] took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.’ And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words’” (Exodus 24:7-8, ESV).

The people promised to do all God said and be obedient to Him.

But a quick trip through the Bible books of Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings shows us very clearly that the people failed to keep their promise. They didn’t hold up their end of the covenant, which made it faulty.

All along, God wanted them to recognize their dependence on Him and the sacrifice of Jesus, but they depended on themselves and failed. Theologian Jiří Moskala says, “They took God’s law merely as a command, something to do in order to be righteous and holy, instead of keeping God’s precepts out of gratitude for His kindness toward them.”⁴

For this reason, the old covenant failed; God’s people couldn’t hold up their end.

But Jesus changed all of that.

He came to this earth and lived a perfect life of obedience to fulfill our end of the covenant (Matthew 5:17-18). Sinful human beings aren’t capable of being faithful to the covenant, but through Jesus, we are.

The new covenant, as Paul emphasizes, is built on better promises—Christ’s promises:

“Christ [as our High Priest] has obtained a ministry that is much more excellent than the old as the covenant He mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6, ESV).

Rather than our promises to keep God’s commandments, the new covenant is about Jesus’ promise to put His laws in our minds and write them on our hearts (Hebrews 8:10). His promises won’t fail:

“For all the promises of God find their Yes in [Christ]” (2 Corinthians 1:20, ESV).

What the new covenant means for us

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The new covenant and its promises are, in essence, the Gospel message (Romans 1:16-17). The new covenant is Jesus’ promise to save us from our sins and to give us His power in our lives. And that promise was confirmed by His death on the Cross.

Thus, rather than us trying to do the right thing and obey Him in our strength, we now have His promise to do that in us. Let’s look again at the incredible promises of the new covenant as mentioned in Hebrews 8:10-12:

• He will put His laws in our minds and write them on our hearts.
• He will be our God, and we will be His people.
• All will know Him.
• He will give us mercy and no longer remember our sins.

And this was God’s purpose for His people all along! Notice the similar promise in Ezekiel 36:26-28:

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be My people, and I will be your God” (ESV).

Because we aren’t capable of obeying God and upholding the covenant, Jesus came and upheld our end of the covenant.

What’s our role then?

Simply to believe—believe that He will do this work in us.

A well-known passage about salvation reflects this role and the promises of the new covenant:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10, ESV).

The new covenant is God’s promise to do a beautiful work in our lives, a work we can’t do ourselves. Even when our promises fail, God’s promise to us is unfailing.

A covenant on better promises

The new covenant, when we understand it correctly, is just the Gospel message God gave to humans when sin entered our world. Throughout the Old Testament, He promised to send someone to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21).

When Jesus came, that promise became a reality in His perfect life and death for us. He was faithful to the covenant that we humans couldn’t keep.

In this way, He renewed the covenant for us. We, through Christ, can enter into that covenant in which He promises to give us the Holy Spirit and write His laws in our hearts and minds. Christians today can live in the assurance that Jesus makes it possible for them to be faithful to the covenant.

And we can look forward to the day when we will be fully reunited with God:

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3, ESV).

It’s all possible because of the better covenant based on what Jesus has done for us.

Related Articles

1. Mendenhall, George, “Covenant,” Encyclopedia Britannica. [↵]
2. Moskala, Jiří, “What Is New in the New Covenant?” Ministry. [↵]
3. See also Mark 14:24 and Luke 22:20. [↵]
4. Moskala, “What Is New in the New Covenant?” [↵]

More Answers

Poverty, genocide, a school shooting. A tsunami or earthquake that wipes out thousands of lives and leaves behind mourning family members.

Or something more personal—childhood trauma, chronic illness, or a loved one battling a cancer diagnosis.

Suffering looks different for different people. It might happen on a large scale or a small scale. Each experience is valid. And each one is noticed by God.

But if God notices, why doesn’t He do anything about all these bad things?

You might have even asked a Christian this question and received an unsatisfactory or incomplete answer.

But the Bible encourages us to ask the hard questions. And to wrestle with the difficult realities of living as a human being with a “fallen nature.”

And it offers us a surprising answer: God allows sin and evil to run its course, not because He wants us to suffer—but because it’s the only way for freedom and love to exist. They both require free will.

But there will be an end to human suffering. God has a plan that will make it possible for us to one day live forever in a sinless, perfect world.

But how?

Let’s seek out the Scriptural explanations to tough questions like:

• Where did suffering and evil come from?
• Is suffering part of God’s plan?
• How do we find hope in the middle of suffering?

And as we discuss this, we want to be clear that no one’s suffering should be taken lightly. It’s real. It’s deep. It’s painful. And no one, not even God, is asking you to dismiss it or ignore it.

Know that you’re seen and heard as we study this heavy topic.

Where did suffering and evil come from?

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Suffering and evil aren’t things that God created or established. But the record of their earliest appearance came about when the angel Lucifer (now Satan) became power-hungry and chose to rebel against God’s kingdom of love.

As he rallied other angels around him, his inner rebellion turned into a full-out revolt that resulted in him being exiled from heaven (Revelation 12:7-9). He brought his ideas to earth, where he convinced the first humans to accept them, giving suffering and evil entrance to our world (Genesis 3).

This means God is not the source of evil. He didn’t create it.

But that still leaves us with plenty of questions.

Why did He allow Lucifer to rebel? Or why did He create a being with the capacity to rebel? And why did He allow Satan to have contact with humanity?

The Bible helps us understand that God operates on the principle of freedom (Joshua 24:15). He Himself embodies love (1 John 4:8), and pure love cannot exist without free will.

So, yes, God could have created beings who were incapable of choosing evil.

But then He would have made a being that wasn’t much more than a robot.

In the world of AI, we know all too well that a robot can’t love. A robot doesn’t choose how to feel and act towards others. It’s only doing what it’s been programmed to do—and that makes it impossible to have a truly mutual relationship. It wouldn’t even feel real.

In this sense, then, even an all-powerful God chooses to work within limitations, as Seventh-day Adventist Pastor Nathan Renner, MDiv, points out.¹ God cannot force love because that would prevent the exact kind of relationship He wants with us.

Renner says,

“True love must give the right to not love.… [and that] freedom involves risk…. Why would God take the risk? Because He wants to achieve the best possible world. … [a world of] absolute freedom and universal love.”

By creating beings that could love Him in return, God took the risk that they also could choose not to love Him. They could even become enemies.

The possibility of an enemy

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In Matthew 13, Jesus Christ tells a parable that helps us understand the conundrum of a world of suffering and evil. In the parable, a landowner planted seed in his field. Not just any seed but “good seed” (Matthew 13:24, ESV).

Unfortunately, that landowner had some enemies who decided to play a mean trick. They planted weeds in his field—specifically those that would look very similar to the grain growing there. It would be nearly impossible to separate the weeds from the grain until harvest time.

“So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also” (Matthew 13:27, ESV).

The landowner’s servants were truly confused. They asked him:

“Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?” (Matthew 13:26, ESV)

The landowner answered:

“An enemy has done this” (Matthew 13:28, ESV).

This parable offers us some important thoughts about the evil and suffering we see in our world. The Bible teaches us that God created a world in which everything was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). But as we look around, we can see that everything is clearly not good.

What happened?

It’s tempting to blame God. To assume He’s responsible.

But this parable reminds us: An enemy has done this.

First Peter 5:8 goes further and identifies that enemy:

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (ESV).

Let’s learn a bit more about where this “devil” came from.

The rebellion in heaven

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As mentioned earlier, Revelation 12:7-9 tells us of a war in heaven in which the devil and his angels rebelled against God, resulting in their removal from heaven.

But it didn’t start out as an open rebellion.

It all started as subtle doubts in the mind of the angel Lucifer, who was a “covering cherub,” one of the angels who stood before God’s throne (Ezekiel 28:14; Psalm 99:1).

He began to feel a sense of pride and self-importance (Isaiah 14:12-17). These thoughts grew in his heart, eventually turning into a rebellion that many of the other angels joined. He was opposing God’s rulership, which meant he was opposing the way God ruled—by His law of love.

Lucifer, who became known as Satan or the devil, carried his angst and lies with him to the earth after being cast out of heaven. And there, he spoke those lies to manipulate Eve, the first woman:

“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1, ESV)

When Eve explained the warning God had given her, the devil went on to contradict the warning:

“You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5, ESV).

The serpent implied that God was holding something back. He’s selfish and hoarding power. He’s not worth obeying.

But even with all his lies, there was a grain of truth.

He revealed to them that there were two sides to things, when up until then, they had only experienced one side. So now they’ve been told that they could know evil as well as good.

And so, Adam and Eve, by choosing to do what the devil told them, did come to know the other side. The other choice.

They had begun to know evil. And they would keep learning more and more about it, as it would wreak havoc on our planet from then on.

But then that leads us to another question. Why didn’t God stop it sooner? Why are we still experiencing evil’s effects?

Is suffering part of God’s plan?

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Suffering was never part of God’s ideal plan for humans.

He doesn’t desire any of us to suffer. But because of free will, we now live in a broken world that has welcomed the knowledge of both good and evil. We experience suffering on a personal level, a collective level, and a historical level. We now know pain, injustice, betrayal, neglect, envy, greed…

But the good news is that someday, this will all be made right. And we will be able to live in a world completely free from sin, because each of us will know full well the path it leads to. We will fully understand the opposing forces: good vs. evil, love vs. sin, right vs. wrong, etc.

No one will be able to say that they never got a chance to fully explore what sin was all about. No one will be able to say that we never understood the options.

So yes, God could have wiped out the rebellion in heaven. In fact, He could’ve wiped Lucifer out before any of the other angels joined him in his rebellion.

But don’t you think that would’ve left everyone else feeling afraid? Wouldn’t they have wondered, Could Lucifer have been right about God’s character after all?

God would’ve stopped the rebellion, yes, but He also would’ve stopped the opportunity for free will. He would’ve set a new precedent. And He’d look more like a dictator who was to be obeyed without question.

That’s not who He is.

God welcomes our questions and our doubts. He wants us to see the evidence for His goodness and love. And that requires time—time for evil to play out so that we can truly see the results of going against God’s law of love.

And for the time being, that means we also experience suffering—the effects of evil in this sin-filled world.

These effects could be consequences of our own actions, consequences of others’ actions, or random unfortunate circumstances that result from a long, twisted history of sin-affected events.

Again, though, God doesn’t take delight in our suffering by any means (Lamentations 3:32-33). Rather, He has done something incredible:

He came down to our level and suffered with us.

He is there with us through our suffering. And what’s more, He can even take our pain and suffering and use it for good (Romans 8:28; Psalm 119:71). In the midst of everything we go through, we can find something to hang onto—something to give us purpose through it all.

Can suffering sometimes be a good thing?

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We also need to address something else at this point.

A common perspective is that suffering can be one of life’s best teachers. And while this can indeed be true, we also have to be careful with this perspective.

There’s no denying that suffering can often teach us some painful yet powerful lessons that help us in our current, earthly lives. But that doesn’t mean that every time we suffer it’s “for our own good,” or it’s deserved, or it’s the direct will of God.

But there are times when suffering can steer our lives in a better direction. And there have been plenty of times in Scripture when God let the rebelling Israelites experience the consequences of following their own fleeting desires.

It might seem like God could simply tell people about sin and warn them to stay away from it. But humans often choose to learn the hard way—through experience.

This was the case with Adam and Eve. Though God warned them about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:16-17), they were attracted to the idea of knowing good and evil for themselves (Genesis 3:5-6). And they did—through very painful consequences.

One way to think about this might be similar to a child² who is told not to eat too much candy, or they’ll feel sick.

But the moment the parents leave the room, the child goes for the candy.

This keeps happening, over and over. The parents have to keep stopping the child, hiding the candy, or giving them yet another talk about how too much sugar is bad for you, etc.

But the child has never had too much sugar before. The child thinks they’ll be fine. And they just really want the candy.

So instead of having to keep policing their child’s candy intake, or wondering if they’ll ever be able to leave their child alone with candy, the parents decide that it’s time to leave the choice with the child. Even with the risk of disobedience.

And not long after, the child ends up eating a ton of candy and feels awful for hours. Maybe they end up actually getting sick.

It certainly wasn’t the parents’ will for them to get sick. They take absolutely no joy in watching their child suffer. But they also knew that their child needed to learn the consequences of their actions and become able to take responsibility for them.

(Otherwise, they’d probably be micromanaging their child’s candy intake indefinitely.)

But even considering the previous example, not all suffering is directly constructive or the result of personal cause-and-effect. And no one should make you feel like every time you suffer, you surely brought it on yourself. Or that every experience of suffering means you’re being taught a lesson.

When good and evil are constantly in conflict every day, in a world where everyone has free will, evil things happen on a chaotic and global scale as well.

And often it’s not fair.

Often it’s not personal—it’s random, coincidental, circumstantial, and outside of our control.

Often it feels like there’s nothing anyone could have possibly done to deserve it.

That’s the nature of sin that causes suffering. And as history progresses, we see more and more of its true colors.

Sin is so awful…but it can also be so deceptive. And collectively, we’ve demonstrated that we have to see it to believe it. So we’re getting the very knowledge we were enticed by in the Garden of Eden.

And after all of humanity has witnessed and experienced this world’s sinful history, there’s no way we’ll fall for that again.

We’re seeing the big difference between sin, selfishness, and fear…and the perfect, loving way of God.

But even after we grasp this…what about right now? We’re still living in this sinful world fraught with pain. What can we do in the meantime? What hope do we have for the present day?

How do we find hope in the middle of suffering?

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Even with the understanding that sin and suffering will one day end, the Bible doesn’t teach us to gloss over or ignore our pain. Rather, it gives us room to struggle, to grieve, to question. It shows us a God who suffers with us, empathizing with what we’re going through. And finally, it offers us hope for a better world to come.

Humans weren’t made to suffer. When suffering slams us in the face and pushes us down, we question it. Why the car accident? Why the ugly divorce? Why the crippling anxiety?

The way we feel toward suffering reminds us that we weren’t meant for a world like this. We were meant for something so much better.

But until then, how do we find the strength to get through today?

It’s okay to struggle

If you’re facing a difficult situation and feeling frustrated and broken, first acknowledge what you’re going through and how difficult it is. There’s no guilt or shame in wrestling with your situation and asking the hard questions.

Job, a God-following man who experienced the devil’s attacks on his life, did just that.

After losing his livestock and livelihood to raiders, losing his children to natural disasters, and coming down with a horrific skin condition, Job didn’t know what to think. All he could do was cry out to God, feeling helpless and angry (Job 1-2).

Many chapters in the Old Testament book of Job record the way he questioned, cried out to God, and wrestled with the seeming hopelessness of his situation. And that can be a comfort to us: It’s okay to grieve the suffering we’re in.

In fact, it’s good and right to grieve these things. Our grief is a way of recognizing the injustice and unfairness of sin and longing for the good God wants to give us.

Jesus Himself grieved. He gave us an example of what to do in suffering. While in Gethsemane and on the Cross, He cried out to God and was open and honest about His pain (Mark 14:32-36; Matthew 27:46).

God suffers with us

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God doesn’t watch us suffer from afar, the way you might turn on the TV and watch a catastrophe unfolding in a far-off country. Instead, He’s right there with us, feeling our pain.

This was the case with the people of Israel, as Isaiah 63:9 tells us:

“In all their affliction, He was afflicted” (ESV).

What’s more, Jesus Christ also came to this earth to suffer for us. He became a human to go through the same pain, struggles, and temptations we face and affirm that there is a way out (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:14-16).

He knows what it’s like to go through:

• Deprivation
• Abuse
• Prejudice
• Pain
• Betrayal
• Rejection

Just to name a few.

He experienced all of that so that we could have even a small amount of comfort in the middle of our suffering and hope for a better future. God wants so much good for us—and the suffering of Jesus is evidence of that:

“He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32, ESV).

And ultimately, when He died on the Cross and experienced the fullness of separation from the rest of the Trinity…He did that so we don’t have to. Instead, we can accept His sacrifice with our own free will, and be changed and cleansed for eternity when He returns at the Second Coming.

Suffering will come to an end

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Jesus’ suffering on the Cross and His victory over death assures us that we don’t have to live in a world of suffering forever.

Rather, we are living in a world that will eventually lead to “the best possible world,” as Renner put it.

Revelation 21 paints a picture of this world of perfect harmony, peace, and love. In it, God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4, ESV).

When will we be able to access this world?

Revelation 20 and 21 show us that after the complete destruction of sin, evil, and wickedness on this earth, God will recreate the earth. It will be like Eden all over again.

Only better.

This time, everyone on earth will have so clearly seen the results of sin and Satan’s ideas that no one will desire any other way than the way of love. Evil will not rise up again (Nahum 1:9).

The apostle Paul, who himself faced many challenges—persecution, rejection, beatings, imprisonment, a personal struggle (possibly blindness), a shipwreck, and more—reminds us:

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, ESV).

That’s truly a hope to hold onto.

Finding meaning through suffering

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Suffering is one of those parts of life that we’d much rather avoid, and when it hits us, we’re quick to question, to cry out, to seek answers.

The Scriptures acknowledge our pain and grief rather than minimizing them. It empathizes with the harsh realities of a sinful world, helping us to see that sin is no more God’s desire than it is ours. And yet, for love to exist, God had to take the risk of giving us freedom.

And the Bible goes beyond just explaining where suffering comes from. It shows us that God loves us so much and suffers for and with us.

With this perspective, we can find meaning and hope even while we are suffering. Pastor Ty Gibson, MDiv, offers this perspective:

“If we begin with a resting premise of faith that God exists and God is love, then we can legitimately:

• long for and expect the triumph of good over evil,
• hate the evil that confronts us,
• throw our own volitional weight into that ultimate triumph,
• validate the pain and rage of those that suffer,
• and rest in the assurance that all will be made right in the end.”³

We don’t have to like what we’re facing, and no one is expecting us to. Instead, we can see it as a reminder that we were made for a better world. A better world that is coming soon.

Related Articles

1. Renner, Nathan, “Goodness, Suffering, and God.” [↵]
2. (This would be a school-aged child, one who is old enough to willfully obey or disobey and understand the consequences explained to them.) [↵]
3. Gibson, Ty, “When Evil Strikes,” Light Bearers Ministry. [↵]

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Do your choices, actions, and habits really matter to your eternal destiny? Or is the path you choose in life predetermined, and your life is just following a script that’s been laid out for you?

If you’ve ever wondered about these things, you’re not alone. These questions have been the subject of much discussion, especially in Christian circles.

Some believe that God has already decided who will be saved and who won’t be—a teaching called the doctrine of predestination.

But in this post, you’ll see that God’s desire is for each and every one of us to be saved, and He’s provided everything to make that possible (2 Peter 1:3). The determining factor is whether we’ll accept His salvation or not.

Here’s what we’ll explore on this topic:

• What predestination is
• What the Bible says about predestination
• Bible passages that seem to teach predestination

First, let’s understand what people typically mean when they use the term predestination.

What is predestination?

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Predestination is the belief that God has already determined our eternal destinies—whether we’ll be saved or lost—and that our choices or actions make no difference in the matter. The idea of some being chosen for eternal life is referred to as election. And that of some being chosen for destruction is called reprobation. Together, they are called double predestination.¹

The word predestination comes from the Greek proorizo, which simply means to direct someone or something to a particular goal.² The exact word is used six times in the New Testament (we’ll look at them in a later section), though other verses have been interpreted to support the doctrine.³

For example, some use Romans 9:15, which quotes God’s words to Moses:

“I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion” (NKJV).

But what we have to figure out is this: What does the Bible as a whole say on this topic? And is this teaching consistent with God’s character?

What’s more, think about the implications of predestination:

It may lead some to see no need for repentance if they believe they are predestined to be saved. Or others may resign to living a sinful life, thinking they’re predestined to be lost anyways. Still, others may see no need for evangelism, arguing that if God already knows who will be saved, why try to convince anyone of their need for salvation?

And reading this, you may feel frustrated and confused, wondering, Why would God decide our destiny without our consent? Or you may fear that you’re predestined to be lost.

The good news is you don’t need to fear. The Bible’s teaching on this is one of hope and assurance that we all have the opportunity to be saved into the kingdom of God.

But before we get into that, let’s take a quick peek at how this doctrine developed in the course of Christian history.

Where did the doctrine of predestination come from?

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The beginnings of predestination as a doctrine can be traced to church father Augustine of Hippo in the fourth and fifth centuries. He taught that we’re free to follow our desires, but we can’t decide what those desires are.

He also argued that because of our sinful natures after the Fall, we’re not able to obey God’s laws unless God chooses to save us through election by grace. This teaching came to be known as unconditional election.⁴

Interestingly, Augustine’s teaching was similar to something taught by Aristotle and other Greek philosophers around the same time: fatalism. This is the idea that our destiny depends on fate.⁵ It’s possible that Augustine was influenced by this idea.

But before Augustine, the apostles and the early church had always taught that the gift of salvation is available to all, and we have the free will to accept or reject it.⁶ Even earlier church fathers like Tatian (AD 160), Irenaeus (AD 130–200), Tertullian (AD 160–220), and Origen (AD 185–254) didn’t believe in predestination.

But after Augustine, the new belief took root and continued into the Protestant Reformation, where reformers like Martin Luther, Zwingli, and John Calvin believed in it.

In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, though, a Dutch theologian by the name of James (or Jacob) Arminius countered this teaching. He said:

“The scriptures know no election by which God precisely and absolutely has determined to save anyone without having first considered him as a believer.”⁷

Drawing its argument from Scripture, this teaching came to be known as Arminianism and drew a great following in later centuries.

Today, some Christian denominations still believe in predestination, while many others, including the Seventh-day Adventist Church, believe in Arminianism.

But to find out exactly why Adventists believe in this, let’s look into Scripture.

What does the Bible say about predestination?

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Scripture shows that God wants all of us to be saved and no one to be lost. But at the same time, He won’t force anyone to choose Him. That means that no matter how much He wants us to be saved, He allows us to decide whether we’ll receive His gift.

And here’s why:

The Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8). And out of His great love for us, He wants to save us from the curse of sin that Adam and Eve fell into in the Garden of Eden (1 Timothy 2:4).

But for true love to exist, there has to be complete freedom—the freedom to choose to receive God’s love and reciprocate it. Otherwise, if God forced us to love Him, we would be like robots.

And that’s not really love at all.

God wants a relationship with us in which we’ve chosen Him because we know who He really is. For that reason, Jesus came to reveal the character of God so that we could choose to serve Him out of love. He draws us rather than using force or determining our destinies for us (Jeremiah 31:3).

And that’s all of us. We know this because of verses like Titus 2:11:

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people” (ESV).

When Paul wrote this letter to Titus, a church elder who was a Gentile convert to Christianity, many Jewish Christians still believed they were God’s elect by the fact that they were Abraham’s descendants. But Paul wanted to clarify that anyone who accepts the gospel will be saved.

Other Bible verses teach the same thing:

• “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11, NKJV).

• God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4, ESV).

• “The Lord is…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, NKJV).

Jesus Christ Himself welcomed all to Him when He said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, CSB). Who hasn’t felt weary and burdened at one point or another? This promise, then, applies to every person who has ever lived!

And the famous verse, John 3:16, says:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (NKJV).

We are all free to accept or reject that invitation of salvation (Matthew 22:14; 20:16).

Otherwise, why would it be necessary to preach the gospel (Matthew 28:18–20) or pray for the salvation of others (Romans 10:1) if God has already decided everyone’s destinies?

God will never force anyone to receive His love. But when we do receive it, He offers us the comfort and assurance of salvation. We can walk with Him in faith, not having to worry about or question it.

You may be wondering, though, what about the passages in the Bible that seem to support predestination? Let’s take a look at them next.

Bible passages that seem to teach predestination

Proorizo, the Greek root for the word predestine, shows up in the Bible six times in the following four verses:

1. “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (Romans 8:29–30, NKJV).
2. “Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will…. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:5, NKJV;  Ephesians 1:11, NKJV).
3. “To do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before [proorizo] to be done” (Acts 4:28, NKJV).
4. “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained [proorizo] before the ages for our glory” (1 Corinthians 2:7, NKJV).

A close look shows that all of these verses use the word predestined or proorizo in the context of God wanting us to be saved—all of us.

Romans 8:29–30

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (NKJV).

Photo by Ivan Samkov

In this passage, Paul looks confidently to the future, knowing that God’s purpose is for everything to work for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28). And those who love God are those who have accepted His call, the call for everybody to receive the gift of salvation.⁸

Verses 29 and 30 show the stages through which God takes those who accept this gift.

Verse 29 begins by acknowledging God’s foreknowledge.

God knows what will happen in the future because He is all-knowing (Hebrews 4:13). Isaiah 46:10 says He declares the end from the beginning. He knows the past, the present, and the future, and that’s what makes Him God. But just because God knows what will happen in the future doesn’t mean that He controls the outcomes or our decisions (1 Peter 1:20; Revelation 13:8).

Then, after establishing God’s foreknowledge, Paul says God has predestined those whom He foreknew.

God knew every person who would come into existence in the world. And He predestined/planned for them all to be saved— “to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus.” Again, though, that doesn’t mean all will choose His plan.

But for those who take that personal walk of faith, verse 30 shows the “steps” of becoming like Jesus in character:

1. We are called when we hear the gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:14).
2. We are justified—our sins are forgiven and we receive the goodness of Jesus in place of our sinfulness (Romans 3:20, 28).
3. We are glorified—Jesus said that He would give us the glory He received from the Father (John 17:22), but the ultimate glorification will be at the Second Coming (Romans 8:18).

So in summary, the verses portray the progressive stages of God’s plan to save all who accept His offer of salvation.

Ephesians 1:5,11

“Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will…. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will” (NKJV).

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Ephesians 1 talks about the great blessing of salvation through Christ Jesus.

The apostle Paul includes himself with the believers at Ephesus as having received this gift. And while he says they have been chosen before the foundation of the world and predestined for adoption as children of God, he doesn’t mention that anyone or any other group has been chosen to be lost.

When he says “us,” he’s speaking to all Christians who have chosen the Lord Jesus Christ and are therefore accepted by God. And if we choose that gift, we too receive those promises.

Verse 11 shows that because we are adopted as God’s children, we have the inheritance of eternal life, which God predestined (or purposed beforehand) for us.

As in the case of Romans, predestination has to do with God’s will to save all who accept His gift of salvation. And it applies to everyone, not a select few.

Acts 4:28

The apostles had just been threatened with punishment if they preached the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection. They turned to God and prayed these words:

“For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your will had predestined to take place.” (Acts 4:27–28, CSB).

They drew courage from how even the opposition against Jesus worked to fulfill God’s predestined purpose for Christ in the plan of salvation.

And just like any other event in history that has fulfilled Bible prophecy or accomplished a milestone in God’s great plan of redemption, individuals always exercise their own will to decide which side of the conflict they’ll stand on. But God’s supreme plan for the salvation of humanity still advances (2 Corinthians 13:8).

1 Corinthians 2:7

“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained [proorizo] before the ages for our glory” (NKJV).

This passage speaks of a hidden wisdom that God ordained or predestined before the ages.

1 Peter 1:20 uses similar wording:

“He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (NKJV).

They both point to Jesus coming to this earth and redeeming us through His death on the cross—which 1 Timothy 3:16 refers to as “the mystery of godliness.”

So again, predestination here has to do with God’s wisdom revealed in the plan of salvation. Each one of these passages is consistent with the theme of Scripture that God intends to save us all but won’t overstep free will to do so.

God desires to save us all but gives us free will to choose our destinies

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The Bible consistently emphasizes the role of free will in following God or not following Him (take Joshua 24:15 for example). Salvation or condemnation is possible—but not because of God’s sovereign or arbitrary decision to save some and condemn others. In the end, it’s our choice.

That’s why Paul, the same Bible author who used the word predestination, also said:

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13, NKJV).

And those who will be finally saved are referred to as being “called and chosen, and faithful” (Revelation 17:14, NKJV). Each one is called and chosen, but it’s up to us whether we’ll accept that calling and be faithful to it.

The apostle Peter even says that God has provided all that we’ll ever need to ensure we’re saved—forgiveness through Jesus, the guiding presence of His Holy Spirit, and His abundant mercy, love, and forgiveness (1 Peter 1:3).

What’s left is our choice of whether or not we’ll receive these gifts. He continues:

“Be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:10–11, NKJV).

By God’s grace, we can receive salvation and begin a journey of daily choosing to trust God and follow His Word. That way, we cooperate with Him in His greatest desire for us.

To learn more on what the Bible teaches about salvation,

1. “The Doctrine of Double Predestination: A Summary.” [↵]
2. “What the Bible Says About Predestination,” Zondervan Academic.[↵]
3. Matthew 22:14; 24:22, 24, 31; Mark 4:11–12; Luke 10:21–22; 18:7; John 15:16, 19; Acts 4:28; 13:48; Romans 8:29–30, 33; 9:6–23; 11:5, 7, 28; 16:13; 1 Corinthians 1:27–28; Galatians1:15; Ephesians 1:4–5; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; James 2:5; 1 Peter 1:2; 2:9; 2 Peter 1:10; 2 John 1, 13; Revelation 17:14.[↵]
4. “Free Will & Predestination,” Philosophy Now.[↵]
5. “Fatalism,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Psychology.[↵]
6. John 3:16; 1 Peter 1:19–20; Titus 2:11; 2 Timothy 1:9. [↵]
7. “#403: Jacob Arminius Founds Arminianism,” Christian History Institute.[↵]
8. Romans 1:6–7; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 24; Jude 1; Revelation 17:14.[↵]

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Knowing you’re forgiven is a big part of finding freedom in Christianity. The Bible tells us that after we’ve prayed for God’s forgiveness, we can believe we’re forgiven and accept His gift of pardon.

But have you ever prayed for forgiveness, then felt the same after that? The same lingering guilt and remorse, or a sense of unworthiness before God or others?

You might’ve wondered how forgiveness works and how you can know for sure that your sins have been put away.

If that’s you, then here are three points from the Bible to help you have that assurance:

• God’s promises of forgiveness
• How to receive forgiveness
• The result of being forgiven

Let’s start by looking at how God views us when we come to Him in sorrow for our sins.

God’s sure promise to forgive you

The Bible has many promises of God’s eagerness to forgive our sins when we ask Him for that gift. He is more than willing to free us from our guilty consciences and give us the opportunity to live for Him (Hebrews 10:22). He doesn’t hold hard feelings toward us.

God longs to be in a close relationship with us.

But the one thing that comes between Him and us is sin. That’s why He made a way to restore that relationship with us through the sacrifice of Jesus.

When we confess our mistakes and receive Jesus’ goodness in place of our wrongdoing, we can be assured of the following promises:

He will blot out all our sins—no matter how bad they are

The apostle John assures us that “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NKJV).

In fact, the Psalmist says that God is very merciful and pities us the way a father pities his child. When we make mistakes, He considers our frailty and vulnerability and remembers that we are made of dust. So He is “merciful and gracious.” And though our evil ways break His heart, He is still “slow to anger, and…will [not] keep His anger forever” (Psalm 103:8–9; Psalm 103:14, NKJV).

He invites us, saying, “Come now, and let us reason together,… though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18, NKJV).

He doesn’t treat us the way we deserve

Psalms 103:10 says that God doesn’t deal with us or punish us as our sins deserve.

Though we may feel very sinful and deserving of the worst, He looks at us with compassion. Even when the world around us may think we don’t deserve mercy, God remains gracious toward us and doesn’t handle us as we should be handled.

When He forgives us, He separates us from our sins

The Word of God says that when we ask for forgiveness, He forgives us and removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

The prophet Micah marveled at this incomparable capacity that God has to pardon us:

“Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:18–19, NKJV).

God sees us without our sins

And beyond forgiving us and separating us from our evil deeds, God says He will not remember them.

It’s not that God forgets our sins. After all, He knows everything. But his purpose in saying this is that He chooses to view us as though we had never committed that sin.

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25, NKJV).

“For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12, NKJV).

Imagine that you’ve offended a friend, and when you sincerely apologize, the friend forgives you and never brings up that offense again. And they do it every time you make a mistake.

That’s how God relates to us when we ask for pardon.

Let’s see how we can experience this gift that God gives His beloved children.

How to receive forgiveness

While God’s forgiveness to us is a gift, and there’s nothing we could ever do to deserve it or “make” Him forgive us, here are some steps we can take to receive that gift and be assured that it is ours.

And we don’t have to do it alone! The Holy Spirit walks with us through the whole process.

1. Repent and confess your sins to Him and ask for His forgiveness

God doesn’t force us to let go of our sins and seek reconciliation with Him.

Instead, He tenderly draws us to Himself through His lovingkindness (Jeremiah 31:3).

And as we see His goodness in contrast to our evil ways, we feel sorry for our wrongdoing and sincerely long for a closer walk with Him. This is called repentance.

His Spirit convicts us of our sins and leads us to confess them. As we do so, God receives us and gives us the gift of forgiveness (Romans 2:4; John 16:8).

So while His forgiveness is always available for us, we must feel our need for it and ask for it to receive it.

2. Forgive those who have hurt you

In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus instructed His disciples to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12, CSB).

It’s not that we have to forgive others to earn God’s forgiveness. Rather, forgiving others shows that we have received His forgiveness. He said:

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14–15, NKJV).

And we should not just forgive once or twice, but as often as we are wronged (Matthew 18:21–22).

(Remember that forgiveness doesn’t necessarily mean reconciliation, particularly with an abusive individual. Forgiveness is a way of allowing us to let go of bitterness and resentment toward another person while still maintaining healthy boundaries.)

As we receive God’s forgiveness, He asks us to extend that same mercy and grace to others. It’s one way we learn to be like Him as His children (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 2:3–11).

Now to the big question in your mind:

After you have asked for forgiveness, how do you know you are forgiven?

What if you don’t feel God has forgiven you?

Even when we don’t feel like our sins are forgiven, we can remind ourselves that our feelings don’t always tell us the truth. God has indeed promised to forgive us, and He doesn’t change, so we can rest our full weight on that.

But feelings of guilt can seem so real!

They may continue to linger in our minds even after we’ve prayed. We may still feel shame, regret, and, unfortunately, a sense of condemnation from those around us.

In Mark 9, a man brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus for healing. Jesus told him that all he needed was to believe in His power to heal his son.

But the man felt he didn’t know how to overcome his unbelief, despite his deep desire to believe in Jesus. Knowing that so much was at stake for his son, he cried out with this sincere prayer:

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24, NKJV).

And his son was healed.

In the same way, we can come to God when our feelings conflict with our desire to believe in His saving grace.

And He encourages us, “Do not be afraid; only believe” (Mark 5:36, NKJV).

Even when we feel like we are drowning in unbelief, God’s Holy Spirit will help us trust His Word above our feelings when He says that the blood of Jesus Christ was shed “for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28, ESV).

Commenting on the story in Mark 9, Ellen White, one of the co-founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, writes:

“Many feel that they lack faith, and therefore they remain away from Christ. Let these souls, in their helpless unworthiness, cast themselves upon the mercy of their compassionate Savior. Look not to self, but to Christ. He who healed the sick and cast out demons when He walked among men is the same mighty Redeemer today. Faith comes by the Word of God. Then grasp His promise, ‘Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out’ (John 6:37). Cast yourself at His feet with the cry, ‘Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.’ You can never perish while you do this—never.”¹

Believe that your sins are forgiven. God loves you and has secured your salvation. And His promises of eternal life are possible for you.

Live like you’ve been forgiven

With the assurance of forgiveness, you can move forward and live as though you’ve received that gift.

Imagine one thing that you greatly desire but can’t afford. Then someone offers to buy it for you. They buy it, present it to you, and even leave it with you.

The gift is yours.

But if you don’t unpack it and begin enjoying it, then the whole process your friend has gone through to give it to you is useless.

All that’s left to do is accept the gift in a personal way and adjust your mindset and way of life to live as someone who owns the gift.

In the same way, our Lord Jesus has given us the gift of forgiveness at such a great cost. He left the glory of heaven and came to be our Savior from sin.

If you receive it, then you can begin to enjoy the blessings that come with knowing you are forgiven. The experience of peace and freedom is yours.

Forgiveness sets us free from condemnation

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The blessing of knowing you are forgiven can best be described as an experience. And in both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible, we find examples of individuals who experienced it.

Take David for example.

David was one of the greatest kings of Israel. God Himself referred to him as a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

But at some point, he messed up—big time. He committed adultery with the wife of one of his faithful soldiers and tried to cover it up by ordering the soldier be murdered (2 Samuel 11).

Soon after, God rebuked him, and David realized the gravity of what he’d done. Overwhelmed with guilt, he went to God with tears of humility and prayed the prayer we find in Psalm 51.

When God forgave him, he described this experience in Psalm 32:

“How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How joyful is a person whom the Lord does not charge with iniquity and in whose spirit is no deceit!” (Psalm 32:1–2, CSB).

Forgiveness transformed him. He was relieved from the torment of sin and could experience the blessed peace of knowing he was forgiven (Psalm 32:3–5).

We may not have made the same mistakes as David, but the results of forgiveness are still the same: peace of mind and knowing in your heart that you are free from the condemnation of sin.

And Paul’s words will become true for you:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, NKJV).

Whenever Satan tries to harass you with feelings of guilt and shame, you can find refuge in these promises.

You can be grounded in the truth that in Christ, “we have…the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7, NKJV).

To learn more about Jesus’ gift of forgiveness and salvation,

1. White, Ellen G., Desire of Ages, (Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1898), p. 429. [↵]

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More Answers

You might have heard the phrase somewhere about “gaining victory over sin” through “the power of Jesus Christ” or “through the blood of Jesus,” etc. But what does that mean exactly, and how does it all work…especially if we’re still having to live out our lives in a world that’s still full of sin?

It’s a process. And it’s not necessarily something we “win,” like a race with a trophy at the end. Rather, this kind of victory means that we belong to Jesus—so the “wages of sin” (death) will no longer keep us from eternal life with Him (Romans 6:23).

But we don’t have to wait until Judgment Day to experience this victory. With Jesus as our Savior, He promised us His Holy Spirit to help us learn, grow, and become stronger in our faith, which helps us become more and more resistant to the many temptations life throws at us.

And the more time we spend with Jesus through prayer and Bible study, the more empowered we’ll become to reflect His sinless character.

But even as we draw closer to Jesus, overcoming sin isn’t easy.

There are many people out there wondering if they can live a true, Christian life, without the desire to act in self-serving ways. How can we overcome that strong desire to do things our own way?

Let’s look to Scripture to find the answers to the following questions:

• What is sin and why do we need to overcome it?
• What does it mean to gain victory over sin?
• What does the Bible say about overcoming sin?
• Do saved people still struggle with sin?

Let’s begin with definitions and background information.

What is sin and why do we need to overcome it?

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According to the Bible, sin is anything that separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2).

When most people think of sin, they think about things they’ve done wrong. But sin doesn’t just lie in our actions—it comes from our nature or character (Luke 6:45).

Sure, we’re capable of doing good works, too. But because we’re born into a sinful word, we’re born with a sinful nature. We’re weak against temptation, and we often give in to the tendency to put ourselves over others.

Humans are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26), which includes the power of free will. That’s how sin even came into existence on our earth—when Adam and Eve, the first humans, chose their own ambitions over God’s guidance (Genesis 3). By choosing to know both good and evil (Genesis 3:5, 22), constant decisions between the two became part of human life from then on.

And with the capacity to freely choose between something selfish or unselfish (or some mishmash in between), it’s all too common that we choose the path of least resistance—or the one that requires the least amount of willpower.

For example, it’s easier to keep a wallet you find instead of trying to track down its owner. It’s easier to avoid a person we find annoying instead of answering their many phone calls. It’s easier to goof off at work when the boss is gone than to stay on task—especially when you know you can get away with it.

And the more we cave in to our selfish tendencies, the more we feed them—and the more they grow.

But selfishness can never be satisfied. So in that way, sin keeps us from experiencing the blessings of living a life of love for God—such as peace, contentment, joy, etc.

And to make matters worse, sinning being “easy” isn’t the only complicating factor when it comes to our sinful nature. Satan, the Devil, is also trying to deceive us (John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15). He makes sinful things look satisfying and fun, when ultimately they leave us empty.

So it’s no wonder that sin can ruin relationships—with ourselves, with others, and ultimately, with God.

That’s how sin separates us from God—the only one who will truly, unconditionally love us.

Without Him, we can’t experience true happiness.

So in order to close the gap between us and God, we must obtain a new nature—one that reflects His just and merciful character.

But the thing is, we can’t obtain this nature on our own. We have to ask God to help us be more like Him.

This is the first step toward victory over sin.

What does it mean to gain victory over sin?

We can only experience victory over sin by accepting Jesus as our Savior.

This is because the first part of gaining a new nature is recognizing the problems with our “old nature.”

When we accept Jesus, it starts with acknowledgment. We acknowledge that we have a sinful nature and can’t become sinless and loving on our own. We need a savior.

We also acknowledge that Jesus is a loving Savior with the power to forgive our sins (Colossians 2:14). So we ask for forgiveness of the sins of our old ways and ask Jesus to help us become a new creation in Him. We allow Him to help us become the best version of ourselves.

And like all good things, it’s a gradual process. This transformation doesn’t happen overnight. Remember…sin isn’t all about our actions, it’s about our nature. And the change of our very nature is done through baby steps.

Jesus, through His Holy Spirit, works with us each day. And as we grow, we’ll slowly become less self-serving and more attuned to the needs of others.

Spending time with Him in prayer and Bible study facilitates this growth.

We’ll become more like Christ, who is our example, and we’ll desire more and more to follow God’s loving law (Hebrews 8:10).

One verse summarizes this new nature pretty well:

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18, NKJV).

Overall, the process of obtaining a new nature can be best understood by breaking it into two stages: Justification and sanctification.

Justification

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This occurs when we sincerely accept Jesus as our Savior. This happens in our minds, and it’s a decision no one can make for us.

Often, once people accept Jesus’ justification, they decide to become baptized. It’s a way to formally demonstrate this decision; and the symbolism of dying to our “old self” and being resurrected through Jesus to a new life helps us internalize what this decision really means.

When we are justified, we believe Jesus’ perfect sacrifice makes atonement for our sins and takes them away. We step forward in faith, asking Jesus to renew our hearts daily.

In this way, He gives us victory over sin by forgiving our sins and giving us assurance that sin won’t win in the end. We will receive salvation (eternal life with Jesus) through the acceptance of His sacrifice on the cross.

Sanctification

This stage occurs after justification and continues throughout the rest of our lives.

Even after we’re justified through Christ and determined to live as a Christian, we’ll still experience the ups and downs of an imperfect life.

We may still struggle with selfishness, but now we know we have a Savior who can forgive us and lead us back to following Him and pursuing a life based on love.

And gradually, the more we follow Jesus, the more we’ll want to be like Him. While we may fall back into old habits at times, we can know that we don’t have to fight against these things alone. We know our willpower isn’t strong enough, so we rely on God.

In this way, Jesus continues to give us victory over sin by helping us put aside our selfish desires in favor of serving others. He inspires us to live perfectly through the example of His own sinless life that He lived among us. And while the process will be gradual, the results will be well worth it.

Sounds simple, right?

All you have to do is accept Jesus, and accept the new nature He gives you.

But many Christians wonder if adopting Jesus’ nature means adopting His sinless perfection (and if achieving such a state is even possible).

After all, we know the Bible says we can’t be perfect on our own (Ecclesiastes 7:20).

So how exactly does this work?

Let’s break this down in simple terms.

There are three things to know about obtaining victory over sin:

• We can’t achieve perfection on our own. We can only be perfected through our Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:14).
• Sanctification is an ongoing process.
• God provides us with ways to combat temptation, and overcome sin. And the more we follow His ways, the more we’ll be able to resist it.

And with that, let’s start with one of the most powerful ways to fight temptation—relying on the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit as our guide

Above all else, Jesus sends us His Holy Spirit to guide us through our fight against sin.

The Holy Spirit helps us by:

• Acting as our conscience, helping us discern between right and wrong (1 Corinthians 2: 10-13; Galatians 5:16).
• Showing us the will of God and helping us understand the spiritual truths of Scripture (John 16:13).
• Helping us remember and apply Bible verses and concepts in everyday life (Luke 12:11-12; John 14:25, 26).
• Reminding us to live like Jesus (Galatians 5:25).
• Helping us desire a closer relationship with Jesus, making us stronger Christians (John 14: 25, 26).
• Helping us pray (Romans 8:26).

When we sincerely pursue God and seek to understand His ways, our relationship with Him will be that much stronger. And it’ll become easier to discern His will for our lives.

On the other hand, if we neglect to spend time with Jesus, we’ll find that we have a harder time hearing and understanding the Holy Spirit. This is because our neglect demonstrates a choice to prioritize other things over the Holy Spirit.

And because the Holy Spirit would never force us to follow Him or listen to Him, He steps back—respecting our free will. And when that happens, it becomes much more difficult to discern His will as clearly as before.

This is why it’s so important to actively and continually invite the Holy Spirit into our lives. Our victory over sin comes from accepting Jesus’ sacrifice, and attuning ourselves to His Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Prayer

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Prayer is another essential in the Christian journey.

We can use prayer to tell Him about our worries, struggles, joys, and hopes. We can also use it to ask for forgiveness. Prayer can be a wonderful way to ask God to help us be more like Him.

And the more we pray, the better we’ll be able to discern God’s will for us and desire to live a more Christ-like life.

When you pray, you can even ask God to help you take advantage of other tools He’s given us—like the Bible.

Though Scripture may take some studying to fully comprehend its many helpful concepts, God promises that the Holy Spirit will also guide you in your understanding of it (John 16:13).

Reading the Bible

The Word of God also contains everything we need to know about Jesus.

Living a Christian life means modeling our characters after Christ’s. And the rest of Scripture gives us stories, letters, poems, and prophecies that show us God’s plan and the wonderful things that are in store for those who choose to follow Him.

Besides that, the Bible contains a record of how the Holy Spirit has led Bible heroes and prophets to accomplish great things, even though they started out as average people like us.

And the Bible’s wisdom also helps us in our day-to-day struggles. We can put on the “armor of God” (Ephesians 6:17-20) to defend us against temptation, helping reinforce our victory over sin through Christ.

But one important lesson from Scripture that stands out here is that many people failed when they convinced themselves they could attain sinless perfection on their own.

In fact, this very mindset can lead people to fall deeper into sin.

If someone feels they’re doing a good job being perfect on their own, they can become prideful, and become blinded to their need for a savior.

On the other hand, if someone feels they need to achieve God’s standard of perfection on their own, they can become incredibly discouraged and depressed when it doesn’t work out.

The Bible shows us just how much God wants to help us. To love us. To guide us. It’s only by accepting Jesus that we are able to overcome sin. His power is the only thing that can help us resist temptation, and show us what living a sinless life is all about.

What does the Bible say about overcoming sin?

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Let’s look at how the Bible can lay out a step-by-step process for finding victory over sin through Jesus Christ. You might want to note several of these passages of Scripture for further study.

• The first step is accepting Jesus as your Savior: The Bible tells us we can only overcome sin by accepting Jesus (John 3:16; Hebrews 10:14; Acts 4:12; Hebrews 5:9; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 John 1:7-9).
• Those who served as spiritual leaders in the Bible all had personal relationships with God: Some of them were even able to talk to God directly, seeking His guidance and wisdom for the challenges they faced. Others would pray all throughout the day, asking God for wisdom and direction. Here are some good stories to start with:
  • Noah (Genesis 5:30 – 9:29)
  • Joseph (Genesis 30-50)
  • Moses (Exodus 2 – 40)
  • Abraham (Genesis 11:27 – 25:11)
  • Ruth (Ruth 1-4)
  • Deborah (Judges 4-5)
  • David (1 Samuel 16 – 1 Kings 2:11)
  • Daniel (Daniel 1-12)
• Baptism is a big part of the transformation process: Baptism ties into the whole concept of conquering sin because baptism is a way of announcing your choice to follow God’s wisdom instead of human wisdom. It’s making a commitment to live a new life, to no longer walk as nonbelievers do, “in the futility of their thoughts” (Ephesians 4:17, NKJV). It also plays a role in helping us formally accept the new nature Jesus will give us when we are “born again” (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:4; John 3:3-7; 1 Peter 3:21).
• Jesus guides Christians through the Holy Spirit: When Jesus left for heaven in His ascension, He promised Christians He would send the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of God, to empower and guide them.

We saw this manifested in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Similarly, the Bible promises that any Christian can accept the Holy Spirit, who will guide them to a life of following Christ. (Acts 2:38; John 3:6; John14:17-18; John14:26;  Titus 3:5; 2 Corinthians 3:17).

• How faith “works”: Many Christians get hung up on the subject of faith and works. What many of them fail to realize is that faith and works are equally important. That’s because our faith in Jesus saves us, and our works stand as evidence of our faith and transformation in Christ.

After all, someone who only works and never believes will not get to heaven because they don’t believe in Jesus. In contrast, someone who believes but acts contrary to how Jesus would act is not a true believer of Christ. So the real way we conquer sin is by believing in Jesus and stepping forward in active faith and service to Him (Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 11:6; John 3:36; John 15:5;  Matthew 3:8; 1 John 2:3-6; 5:1-5, James 2:14-26; Romans 4).

• We must strive towards obtaining a Christ-like character: While we can’t achieve a perfectly blameless character on our own, we won’t make any progress if we’re not actively pursuing Jesus. Paul describes this like a race we run for our entire lives (Philippians 3:12-15; 4:1; 1 Peter 1:14-15; 2 Chronicles 15: 7; Hebrews 12:1; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Colossians 3:1-4).
• Even the strongest Christians fall sometimes: Remember the righteous Bible figures we just talked about? Well, even they messed up sometimes. Sometimes in very big ways.

Noah got drunk and embarrassed himself, Abraham lied to a king, Moses killed someone, and David murdered a man and stole his wife. Even the apostle Paul was guilty of murdering numerous Christians.

So what actually made these men righteous? The fact that they acknowledged their sins, approached God for forgiveness, and repented. And they would often praise God for His love and mercy. In the end, it was their relationship with God that kept them from being ensnared by their sins (Genesis 6:9; 9:18-28; 15:6; 20; Numbers 12:6-8; Exodus 2:12; 1 Samuel 13:14; 1 Corinthians 15:9-11; 2 Samuel 11; Psalm 51).

• It’s not a sin to be tempted: Temptation is inevitable. What’s not okay is to give into the temptation. After all, even Jesus was tempted. But He refused to listen to Satan. Because He had studied the Bible, He could see the ways Satan tried to twist Scripture and was able to refute him. In the same way, we should read our Bibles to prepare ourselves to resist temptation (Matthew 4; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 4:15-16).
• God wants to free you from the power of sin because He loves you: Because God is all-knowing, He oftentimes sees what we can’t. He wants to free us from sin because He can see the way it ultimately hurts us. God wants us to live a prosperous, happy life (Romans 5:8; 6:23; John 3:16; 1 John 5:18; Galatians 2:20).
• God wants you to choose freedom from sin today: God is patient and merciful. He knows that overcoming sin is the work of a lifetime. At the same time, He doesn’t want you to delay in making a firm decision to deny sin’s power over your life. Because until then, sin will guide your life, and the longer you live that way, the harder it will be for God to reach you.

God wants you to step forward today and claim His promise to deliver you from sin. It is only with this daily decision to choose Christ that we are able to move forward in victory over sin (1 Peter 3:9; Acts 22:16; Ezekiel 33:11; Psalm 40:11; Romans 5:10-11; Isaiah 55:6).

Do saved people still struggle with sin?

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Once someone commits their life to Jesus, the issue of sin doesn’t entirely go away. This is because we still live in a sinful world where temptation exists. And until we’ve been wholly transformed at the end of time (1 Corinthians 15:53-55), we will still have to resist our selfish nature.

But that doesn’t mean justified Christians are left to fight the battle against sin on their own.

We know that Jesus has given us what we need to fight against temptation—like prayer, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit’s influence. And the “armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10-18).

But like any battle, the fight against sin can be challenging. We have to constantly turn to the tools Jesus gave us to stand a chance against temptation.

That’s why Christianity isn’t just a matter of getting baptized and going to church. It’s a daily choice to surrender your life to God’s will (Philippians 3:12-15).

It will take time. But Jesus understands that all good things take time. He doesn’t expect immediate perfection—He just expects us to grow.

Christian author, C.S. Lewis, phrases it this way:

“And yet—this is the other and equally important side of it—this Helper who will, in the long run, be satisfied with nothing less than absolute perfection, will also be delighted with the first feeble, stumbling effort you make tomorrow to do the simplest duty.”¹

We don’t have to stress over becoming sinless before Jesus comes again. We just have to accept that as long as we’re opening ourselves up to Jesus, He will transform us at our own pace.

It is true that the idea of surrendering to Jesus might seem difficult at first.

That may be because it sounds an awful lot like giving up, or like losing control.

Some people hold back from fully surrendering to God because they’ve been told that they have to give up everything they enjoy to serve God.

But that’s not true. And that kind of thinking paints an inaccurate picture of God as someone who restricts and deprives His people of any joy or pleasure.

But this isn’t how God intends us to view Christian living at all. God longs to give us every good thing (Psalm 34:8-11). The only times He keeps something from us is when He knows it will harm us in the end.

And that’s precisely why He wants to keep us from sin.

After all, when we choose sin, we give up the opportunity to experience the love and blessings of our creator, heavenly father, and friend. It also keeps us from loving those around us.

In short, sin is the opposite of love.

But Satan likes to hide what sin is by making it appeal to our tendency toward selfishness. He gives us temporary pleasure at the expense of long term satisfaction, or the happiness of others. And then he tries to make God seem cruel by convincing us He doesn’t want us to have any joy or peace.

But the Bible tells us the fruit of the Spirit, or the result of following Jesus, leads to joy and peace (and love, gentleness, faithfulness, kindness, patience, generosity, and self-control) (Galatians 5:22-23). He offers to give us what our hearts most desire (Psalm 37:4), as well as peace (John 14:27). And these blessings in no way encourage selfishness because God then encourages us to share His blessing with others, as a means of multiplying the joy God has given us (1 Peter 3:9).

The truth is, gaining victory over sin doesn’t mean giving up everything we’ve ever loved or enjoyed. It’s not even about getting rid of anything that might potentially tempt us in the future.

It’s about allowing Jesus to transform our lives.

Want to deepen your relationship with Jesus or further your study of His Word?

A church pastor, elders, Bible workers, etc., can get you all the resources you need to better understand the different ways we can fight temptation and grow closer to Christ. 

 Even if you just need a listening ear, it can be a good idea to find someone who can sympathize with and help you overcome your struggles.

Want to know more about surrendering to Jesus, and claiming power over sin?

Above all, remember that the path to righteousness is a long one, but a fulfilling one. Keep striving, but be patient with yourself. Jesus will help you be more like Him one step at a time.

Related Articles

1.  Lewis, C.S., Mere Christianity, p. 202 [↵]

More Answers

Ever felt like you face the same temptation day after day? The one temptation that always seems to resurface?

It can be frustrating, yes. But be encouraged—being tempted doesn’t mean you have done anything wrong! And even if you give in to temptation, you are never too imperfect to come before God.

He actually wants us to approach Him in our time of need and to lean on Him when we are in a tempting situation.

And He will never forsake you because you are struggling with temptation. In fact, His Word is full of wisdom that can help you overcome temptation with His help.

Keep on reading to learn:

• What is temptation?
• Why are we tempted?
• How do we resist temptation?
• What promises can we claim to overcome temptation?

Let’s jump right into how the Bible defines temptation.

What is temptation?

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According to the book of James in the Bible, temptation is when an individual is “drawn away by his own desires and enticed” (James 1:14, NKJV).

In other words, temptation is anything leading us towards desires that, if followed, would distance us from God. The choice to follow these desires is called sin.

But temptation and sin are not the same thing. While temptation can lead us into sin, being tempted is not a sin. James continues by describing to us the end result of temptation that is followed:

“Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:15, NKJV).

The Bible defines sin as “lawlessness” (1 John 3:4, NKJV)—transgressing God’s law of love. It is the natural consequence of choosing to obey temptation instead of living in accordance with God’s law of love.

(If you want to know more about how the Bible defines sin, read our page “What Is Sin?”)

However, a person can face temptation without giving in to those desires and, therefore, without sinning.

Here are some examples:

• Joseph was tempted by Potiphar’s wife, but he fled from her (Genesis 39).
• Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, but He used the Word of God to defeat Satan’s advances (Luke 4). More on this story later!
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were tempted to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue and worship him, but they remained faithful to God (Daniel 3).
• Job was tempted by his friends and family to lose faith and deny God. But through his suffering, he still clung to God (Job 2:9–11).

These individuals faced temptations of all kinds, yet because they remained faithful to God, they found a way of escape from their cravings and temptations.

On the other hand, there are plenty of examples in the Bible where people were tempted, listened to the temptation, and sinned as a result.

Here are a few:

• Adam and Eve were tempted to distrust God and did so. Our sinful world is the result (Genesis 3). 
• Peter was tempted to deny Jesus and did so three times (John 13).
• David was tempted to use his kingly power to take advantage of Bathsheba. It resulted in a chain of lies and ultimately led him to murder Bathsheba’s husband (2 Samuel 11).
• Judas was tempted to betray Jesus and hand him over to the Pharisees (Luke 22). 
• Moses was tempted to ignore God’s instructions and follow his own way. As a result, he could not enter the Promised Land (Numbers 20).

But in most of these examples, we find people who believed in God and desired to keep His commandments. David repented of his sins, Peter helped spread the gospel after Jesus’ death, and Moses led the children of Israel and directly communicated with God.

All this to say that being tempted doesn’t make us “bad”—it makes us human.

While giving into temptation is a sin, making a mistake or occasionally lacking self-control doesn’t constitute bad character. And it certainly doesn’t mean that God will not meet you where you are.

The apostle Paul reminds us how compassionate and gracious God is. He understands our struggles and wants us to lean on Him no matter what:

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15–16, NKJV).

Still, the question remains:

Why does someone who lives a Christian life face temptations? Shouldn’t we be completely free from temptation if we’ve given our lives to God?

The short answer is no. Even Jesus was tempted, and He was completely sinless and committed to His Father.

And while Jesus bestows His righteousness on us when we choose Him and promises that we can be made free from sin (Romans 6:18), that doesn’t mean we will be free from temptation.

Why?

Keep reading.

Why are we tempted?

Put simply, we face temptations in this life because we live in a sinful world.

And behind the scenes, Satan—not God (James 1:13)— tempts us to deny God and choose our desires instead.

While we can’t see this conflict, it is very real. The Bible tells us that “the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8, NKJV).

The world is full of things that the devil tempts us with, and a lot of the time, he tempts us by subtly twisting gifts God has given us, including but not limited to money, food, sex and sexuality, material things, and power. In this way, the devil both tempts us and deceives us.

At the core of all his temptations is the abuse of God’s greatest gift to us: freedom of choice.

Free will, which is foundational to God’s love for us, is also a big reason why we struggle with temptation in the first place.

It makes sense. After all, if we weren’t free to choose, we couldn’t be tempted in the first place.

And if we had no choice but to obey God—in other words, if God forced His love on us—then it wouldn’t really be a relationship formed on love. Instead, it would be a relationship born out of fear.

That’s not what God wants!

He gives us freedom of choice so that we can choose to enter into a loving relationship with Him. That also means that we can make choices that don’t contribute to a loving relationship with Him.

Ultimately, these selfish choices lead to pain and suffering.

But there is hope!

God’s Word gives us insight on how to resist temptation and make choices that glorify God and bring us true joy.

Let’s explore some of those insights now.

How do we resist temptation?

One of the best methods of resisting temptation is to follow the example of Jesus. We’ve already discovered that Jesus sympathizes with our temptations and suffers alongside us. And He’s also shown us a way to resist temptation.

Let’s set the stage:

Jesus goes to the wilderness and fasts for 40 days. At the end of His fast, the devil approaches Him and puts Him through a series of temptations, which we will detail soon.

Jesus’ experience in the wilderness gives us four important principles to withstand temptation:

• Submit to God
• Remember your identity
• Don’t reason with the devil
• Turn to Scripture for wisdom

We’ll look at each of these.

Submit to God

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The first temptation that Jesus faces is one that targets His physical needs. His response teaches us to submit to God and trust Him to provide.

The scene goes like this:

“Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”’” (Matthew 4:3–4, NKJV).

Satan knew that Jesus would be famished, and he knew that Jesus could turn the stones into bread. Yet, Jesus counters Satan by saying that it is not bread that sustains Him.

Rather, God sustains Him.

Jesus commits His life and all His physical needs to God. He depends on Him, and when the tempter comes, He remains unshaken.

You can do the same when faced with temptation. If you encounter a situation that challenges you, no matter what it is, you can pray a prayer of submission to God.

Something simple like, “Jesus, I submit my whole life to You. I pray for Your sustaining power. Amen.”

The act of prayer not only takes the power from our hands and puts it in God’s hands but also helps us to stop and think. With a prayer of submission to God, we can keep from making rash decisions that might harm us.

Remember your identity

During the first and second temptations, Satan questions Jesus’ identity. He says, “If you are the Son of God” and then completes the temptation.

But Jesus remained unshaken. He knew His identity as the Son of God.

In fact, in the chapter of Matthew before the temptation, when Jesus is being baptized, He hears His Father say to Him, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17, NKJV).

As the Son of God, Jesus was not to worship the devil or obey his commands. He served God and God alone.

The same can be said for when we face temptation. When we remember our identity as children of God, we recognize that the only being worthy of our worship is God, not ourselves or our temptations.

But perhaps even more importantly: when we remember that we are children of God, we can also know with 100% certainty that we are deeply loved by God. Even if we do give in to temptation, we can reclaim our identity as children of God and start over again.

Don’t reason with the devil

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During His temptations, Jesus doesn’t try to reason with the devil. There is no conversation or back and forth.

Rather, Jesus simply negates the temptation and moves on. He doesn’t allow the devil to take up any more space. He shuts him down.

And at the end of the three temptations, Jesus exclaims, “Away with you, Satan!” (Matthew 4:10, NKJV).

We can use the same method when we are faced with temptation. When the devil tries to tempt us, we can say a prayer for Jesus to send the devil away from us. The Bible tells us that when we humble ourselves before God, He will help us resist the devil, and the devil will “flee from [us]” (James 4:7, NKJV).

We can also refuse to give the temptation any room in our minds.

This method is called “changing the channel” in John Mark Comer’s book Live No Lies. When a deceptive thought comes into your mind, a simple way to combat it is to “change the channel” to truth rather than allowing yourself to be deceived into temptation:

“Every time an identified lie comes into my conscious awareness, I don’t fight it head on; I just change the channel.”¹

In other words, rather than trying to reason with the temptation or fight it, shift your focus.

You can change the channel to anything truthful or lovely (Philippians 4:8), but a great channel to change to is Scripture. That leads us to the last method that Jesus used to resist the devil…

Turn to Scripture for wisdom

All throughout Jesus’ temptation in the desert, He responds to the devil with Scripture. He leans solely on the Word of God.

When Satan tempts Jesus to:

1. Turn stones into bread
2. Throw Himself off a cliff so angels will rescue Him
3. Bow down and worship the devil

Jesus responds with Scripture:

1. “Man shall not live by bread alone” (from Deuteronomy 8:3).
2. “You shall not tempt the Lord your God” (from Deuteronomy 6:16).
3. “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve” (from Deuteronomy 10:20).

Jesus had verses in His scriptural arsenal, and He used them when He was faced with temptation.

Likewise, when we are faced with temptation, we can turn to God’s promises for support. The Psalmist said that he had hidden the Word of God in his heart so he wouldn’t sin against God (Psalm 119:11). The same can be true for us.

It’s especially helpful if you commit Bible verses to memory. That way, when faced with temptation, you can immediately “change the channel” of your mind to those verses.

If you want some ideas for Bible verses to claim when faced with temptations, check out the list below!

What Bible promises can we claim to overcome temptation?

The following verses are excellent places to turn to when trying to resist temptation.

Check them out and maybe memorize a few of your favorites!

• Put on the full armor of God with Ephesians 6:10-17.
• You won’t be tempted beyond what you can bear. 1 Corinthians 10:13
• God gives you the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16-17; 22-25
• When you submit to God and resist the devil, he will flee from you. James 4:7
• You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength! Philippians 4:13
• God will continue and complete His good work in you. Philippians 1:6
• Pray the Lord’s Prayer. Matthew 6:9–13
• Jesus can empathize with your suffering. Hebrews 4:15
• Though we have trouble, Jesus has overcome the world. John 16:33

Jesus will not leave you in your time of need

If you’re in a place of discouragement, feeling like your temptations are challenging and overpowering, never lose sight of God’s endless love, mercy, and grace!

No matter what temptations you face—or even what temptations you give in to—Jesus is there with open arms to restore you and make you whole again.

You can always approach Jesus. He wants you with Him more than anything.

And the amazing thing about coming closer to Jesus? The better you get to know Him, the more temptation loses its power.

Do you want to learn more about how to build that kind of relationship with Him? Read all about it at the button below.

1. Comer, John Mark. Live No Lies (WaterBrook, 2021), p. 89. [↵]

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