When a Christian sins, are they automatically rejected by God? Does this mean they are no longer a Christian\u00a0until\u00a0they repent?<\/p>\n\t
Men put up a barrier between themselves and God with their sins. “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear<\/em>” (Isaiah 59:1-2). The problem is men rejecting God, not God rejecting men.<\/p>\n When an Israelite sinned, he did not stop being an Israelite. He was under a covenant with God that lasted his entire lifetime. He might not be accepted by God because he won’t let go of his sins, but if he does, it did not mean he had to become an Israelite all over again.<\/p>\n When someone becomes a Christian, he too has entered into a lifelong covenant with God. “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses<\/em>” (Colossians 2:11-13). In doing so, he becomes a child of God. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ<\/em>” (Galatians 3:26-27).<\/p>\n A Christian can sin, straying from the truth, but it doesn’t mean he ceases to be a Christian. “And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother<\/em>” (II Thessalonians 3:14-15). If a sinning Christian returns to the truth, he doesn’t have to become a Christian all over again because he never stopped being a Christian. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous<\/em>” (I John 1:8-2:1).<\/p>\n Of course, the world is full of people who claim to be Christians but who have never done as the Lord commanded. Since they never truly left their sins in the first place, they would need to become a child of God in truth to be freed from their sins (Romans 6:3-7).<\/p>\n\t Thanks for your time and for sharing the Word of God with me. May God continue to bless you.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: When a Christian sins, are they automatically rejected by God? Does this mean they are no longer a Christian\u00a0until\u00a0they repent? Answer: Men put up a barrier between themselves and God with their sins. “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[179],"class_list":["post-39441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25414,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-an-israelite-have-to-be-born-again-under-the-old-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":39441,"position":0},"title":"Did an Israelite have to be born again under the Old Law?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 6, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have two questions: Did the Old Testament believers' experience being \"born again\" or \"regeneration\" as experienced with the New Testament believers through Jesus Christ? Are born again believers still considered to be \"sinners\" or \"saints\" and why? Answer: There are several passages that use the allegory of birth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93131,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-old-law-unintentional-sins-and-the-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":39441,"position":1},"title":"The Old Law, Unintentional Sins, and the Christian","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Timothy D. Stringer via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 19 No. 3, September 1993 In Leviticus 4:1-6:7, God, through Moses, gives the Israelite nation provisions for the forgiveness of sins. The priest, the congregation, the leaders, and the common people are given different sacrifices and rituals to perform to receive forgiveness for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29760,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-it-mean-there-is-no-one-who-does-not-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":39441,"position":2},"title":"What does it mean “there is no one who does not sin”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please explain to me what II Chronicles 6:36 means as per the issue of sin: \"for there is no one who does not sin...\" What is the meaning of holiness? What happens to a Christian who sins but has yet to acknowledge, let alone repent or confess it? Answer:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53644,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-a-christian-who-teaches-error-still-a-brother-in-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":39441,"position":3},"title":"Is a Christian who teaches error still a brother in Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A big fire started after our morning services this morning! One of our members here adamantly disagreed with me when I mentioned that when a brother sins by teaching doctrinal error, he must repent, and if he refuses to repent he is \"a brother in error.\" Until he does\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46977,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-keep-finding-sins-in-my-life-do-i-need-to-get-baptized-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":39441,"position":4},"title":"I keep finding sins in my life. Do I need to get baptized again?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Brother Hamilton, This has been bothering me for a while, so I am going to explain my situation. I was baptized as an infant and grew up knowing all about Jesus and what is expected of a Christian. However, as a young adult, after studying the Bible, I realized\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32087,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-christian-sins-is-he-no-longer-part-of-the-family-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":39441,"position":5},"title":"If a Christian sins, is he no longer part of the family of God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If a Christian struggles with sin in his life and broke a promise he couldn't keep, is he not part of the family of God anymore? Is it possible to sin to such an extent that there's no way back home -- basically you lose your salvation? Is there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39441\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Response:<\/h2>\n