What happens when a Christian sins?

As  Christians, we have all at once stumbled and fallen at least once in our Christian walk (hey…some honesty please..). We have at some moment been guilty-stricken after falling to the point that we felt so far away from God; we felt like God has withdrawn His Presence (uzimu onse wasungunuka). I have heard many people attribute this guilty-feeling to the Holy Spirit. I will address two questions in this article; Does God’s attitude towards us change when we sin? Is it really the Holy Spirit responsible for our guilt when we sin? To both questions I will answer with a big NO. 

Let us start with God’s attitude towards a Christian who has just committed sin. I say again God’s attitude toward you does not change when you sin. Most people have the idea that God is taken by surprise when they sin (that He has this OMG expression on His Face). Well God is neither surprised by your sinning nor does He panic because He already devised a way for the remission of your sins; this way is Jesus’ sacrificial death. When Jesus died, He died for your past, present and future sins (Yes even future, why are you looking surprised?). Well Jesus died more than two thousand years making your sins, before and after you were born again, future sins(unless you were alive two thousand years ago).  After Christ’s death there’s only one sin that man can ever commit, it is not getting drunk, having sex, stealing…stop judging , it is NOT BELIEVING IN JESUS (unbelief)[ Hebrews 3 and 4 emphasizes this]. The only sin a believer can commit after falling or stumbling is not believing in the forgiveness of God; that by Christ’s death all their sins were paid for. By feeling guilty about our sin we implicitly say that we are justified before God by our works acting contrary to scripture [But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. – Romans 4:5] [But that no man is justified by the law (Do’s and Do Not’s) in the sight of God, it is  evident: for, The just shall live by faith. – Galatians 3:11….brackets mine]. If we were made righteous not by our good deeds then how can we make ourselves unrighteous by our bad deeds?  Your salvation was bought by the infinitely-priced blood of Jesus and no sin is strong enough to cancel that transaction. The attitude of God toward you is dependent on how He sees Christ so as long as Christ remains righteous God will see you in His Eyes as righteous. YOUR SIN DOES NOT DISCREDIT YOU BEFORE GOD.

Moreover, God gives you a new spirit when you are born again [A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh – Ezekiel 36:26]. This new spirit remains unadulterated by any sin you commit.  This new spirit is one with God [But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. - 1 Corinthians 6:17]. Your spirit stands before God as pure as it was the day you got born again.

I know there are questions like but doesn’t God want us to be holy?  Yes and Yes [For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. – 1 Thessalonians 4:7] [1 Peter 1:16]. Is holiness a product of our works? A Big No.  Holiness is a fruit of righteousness which we have obtained in Christ [even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness – Romans 6:19] [Romans 6:22][Ephesians 4:24].

Second question, does the Holy Spirit convict us of sin? Well not believers [And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  Of sin, because they believe not on me – John 16:8-9 ]. The Holy Spirit only convicts those who have not believed in Christ of sin. To believers He convicts us of Righteousness that we have attained through Christ and convinces us of our sonship [The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God –Romans 8:16(ESV)]. The Holy Spirit continuously reminds us that we are children of God therefore when we sin we feel unusual because we have acted contrary to our nature not that God is mad at us. When we sin our spirit says “as a son and co-heir with Christ how could I scoop that low?, it’s like a king eating garbage or wearing rags…this is not my nature”.

I am encouraging sin? NO. As Christians we no longer have a desire to sin because it is inconsistent with our nature as children of God [No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God – 1 John 3:9(ESV)].  When God freed us from sin, He made us servants of righteousness therefore we no longer desire to sin but to do righteous works [Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness – Romans 6:18].  GO AND SIN NO MORE….