Will God condemn a new Christian who still has a lot to learn?
Question:
Will God condemn a newborn babe in Christ who is striving with every fiber of his being to grow and mature as the Bible commands?
This babe in Christ realizes the urgency of studying to rightly divide God’s word, and every time he learns he is guilty of sin, he repents. But because he is still a babe in Christ and has not come into the knowledge of all sin, he is still ignorantly practicing some sins. His attitude from the beginning has been that once he learns better, he will do better.
Answer:
That is the way it should be. Being a Christian is a life of constant growth and improvement.
"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love" (Ephesians 4:11-16).
The goal is to become like Christ. While we continue to approach that lofty goal, we all know that we will never obtain it. That is why judgment is not just based on what we do. "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God" (I Corinthians 4:5). It is why the Bible speaks often of God's mercy. "Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 5:20-21). However, Paul warns not to take that mercy for granted and use it as an excuse for sin. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Romans 6:1-2).
God knows when you are trying to do the best you know how.
Response:
Thank you very much for your response.
