I continue to be swamped with inquiries concerning things people have done or things they are currently involved in that are causing great emotional turmoil. Most of those seeking counsel profess a belief in the Lord and have belonged to a church before. Because of this circumstance they feel that God is angry with them and has cast them aside. The Bible tells us God is love. The selected verses above cover much ground and several Biblical doctrines ( Salvation, adoption, perseverance, etc.). If you are having any doubts about your salvation because of something you have done in the flesh read Romans chapter eight. I want to show you two important facts in this article. First, you were saved because God loved you, not because of what you had done or would do. Second, just as the love of God for you will not fail, neither will His salvation.

QUESTION: In consideration of the above, is there anything you can do that will cause God to toss you out of the family of God?

Yes a Christian can sin and sometimes with much forethought. Yes, a Christian can commit awful sins, not just little slips of the tongue. Yes, Christians can remain in sin often for a period of time. In the end they will come to their senses and repent. Nonetheless they can have their season of living in or with sin in their lives. When His children sin God feels the hurt and the Holy Spirit is grieved. Because of sin God may remove his grace from the believer, but the believer is not cast out of the family.

QUESTION: What does it mean that God removes His grace or blessing, yet you are still saved?

God uses the same circumstances to harden some hearts so they deny the Lord and curse God, to soften and bring others closer to Him. Sometimes God will leave His chosen child in sin to punish them for past sins, to teach them how depraved their own hearts and minds are, or many other just reasons He determines to be for their ultimate good. God could remove sin and temptation from the path of His children but chooses to use these trials to build the character and personality of His people so that one day they can rule with the Lord in glory. Saint Francis is quoted as saying "Man does not know the width, depth, or breadth of his faith until he comes to the rough spots in the road of life." God told the nation of Israel He left them in the midst of the nations to test their will and ability to faithfully serve Him. I believe that the believer today like Israel finds itself surrounded by those opposed to his beliefs and values as a test of his willingness to serve God and only God.

QUESTION: What sin or circumstance should keep you from attending your church?

What disturbs me most when this subject comes up is the person involved invariably uses this circumstance for not being active in their church. They cannot go back to church or come into the church until they have removed this circumstance from their life. That will never happen. If man could clean up his own act and turn over a new leaf at will, he wouldn't need a Savior. Then, they are sure that everyone knows what they are doing or have done and will look down on them. I wish I could tell you this wasn't true. But, in a small town everyone probably knows what you are or have been involved in. Being humans and having an ego that wants to be better than the next person, many will use this to put themselves into a holier than thou position. First they are wrong and have no right to judge you. We will all stand before one who is able and worthy to judge the world one day. Second, God hasn't shut you out. God loves you just as much now as the first day He called you to salvation in Jesus Christ. If God is for you, who can stand against you? If God stands for you, does it matter what another mere mortal thinks? "There is now no CONDEMNATION."

In the family we aren't here to judge each other. The commandment of our Lord is to love each other! This does not mean we don't point out sin and wrong doing to each other. It does mean that we do so within the context of love and not condemnation. We are here to comfort and strengthen each other as we await the unknown and perhaps immediate return of our Lord. Everything we do or say must be surrounded by the precondition of unconditional love for each other. We must confront and face the sin in our lives and the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We use the same weapon the world uses to destroy, to build up and lift another above the flood waters of life; peer pressure. Gentle but firm confrontation, undergirded with love is far removed from judgment and condemnation.

God still loves you and is there for you. The majority within the family will readily accept you and help you overcome your problem. The few who aren't willing to do this are not really of the family. Harsh words? No, the words of our Lord who said that those who love Him will keep His commandments. His are commandments of love. Therefore the ones who hold your actions and past out as making you a lesser citizen of heaven are not of that heavenly city themselves. Are you going to let the forces of darkness who masquerade as angels of light make you remain apart from the God who loves you?

Remember the church wears a human face and holds all the faults of the world within its walls as well as the blessings of heaven. The Bible has many stories of fallen saints being restored by God to their place in glory, and no where can you find God leaving one of His to be lost forever. In the story of David we see a man who is introduced as a child with the words "here is a man after God's own heart." Yet we see David commit adultery and murder. God firmly points out David's sin to him through Nathan the prophet. But, God doesn't cast David out of the kingdom. Our Lord tells the story of the Prodigal Son who runs away from the family and wallows in the lusts and sins of the world. Yet, God doesn't cast him out. God welcomes him home to the family.

If you have ever sincerely received the Lord you will never be lost. God has left a lamp on (His Holy Word, the Bible) to guide you home. If you haven't turned to God, that same light will guide you to a place of safety. Seek and you shall find, knock and the door will open are the words of our Lord to the lost and hurting. Where you are this moment pray these words, "Dear God, I know I am a sinner. I accept your gift of Jesus Christ as payment for those sins and invite you to take charge of my life. Thank you Lord for saving me. Amen."

Seek out anyone you know to be a Christian, they will gladly help you find a church home and guide you into a fuller relationship with God. They will not belittle or make fun of you. They will not doubt the ability of God to forgive you. They will not doubt God's ability to blot out your past and make you a new person. They cannot, for they just came down the same road and are saved by the same blood of the same Lord. Jesus says that those who come to Him, He will in no way cast out. The door is not locked, knock and it will be opened by a God of love, not wrath and condemnation.