Have you sinned lately? I have. Do you now feel disqualified in your faith in Jesus Christ? I know that I am tempted to feel this way, but I also know that temptation springs from the father of lies, Satan. Have you ever considered why the Bible testifies that David was a “man after God’s own heart” even though he committed such heinous sins as adultery with his best friend’s wife and then murdered that friend because he had made his wife pregnant? How could such a man be considered a man after God’s heart? One would think that when David committed these atrocities he would forever be disqualified in the faith and finished so far as following God was concerned. But he wasn’t. Why not?

The answer to this question reveals the fundamental doctrine of Christianity, of God’s work with man, the doctrine of faith. Paul succinctly states this to the Romans.

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,[a] as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”[b] (Romans 1:16-17 ESV)

The Old Testament and the history of Israel proves beyond all reasonable doubt that men cannot please God or perfect themselves in the power of their flesh. Although God revealed his perfect law to them and told them to obey it, their record reveals that they could not do so. The New Testament then relates the true story of Jesus the Messiah (Christ) who became the sacrifice for their (and our) sins in place of the many sacrifices which the Israelite law constantly demanded. The New Testament teaches us that we apply Jesus’ sacrifice to our own lives by faith, by accepting, accenting to, and believing the testimony of the Biblical apostles and prophets who were eye-witnesses of Christ’s glory. We often say that one who has come to such a faith has “been saved” or come to “salvation.” The New Testament writers always make it clear that such a salvation comes to us be faith and not by our own works of righteousness. They clearly set forth that men cannot earn their salvation by their good works. This salvation speaks of the salvation of our spirits. This salvation reconciles us to God and allows a relationship with God to begin.

On the other hand, however, Paul often speaks of another salvation differing from the salvation of our spirits. He says, for example,

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)

This second salvation requires work and obedience. This refers to the salvation of our soul, not our spirit. Christ effected the salvation of our spirits by his one-time death for our sins and his resurrection from the dead. We apprehend, or become cognizant of, this salvation by faith (belief) in Christ’s work for us. When we truly believe that Jesus did in fact reconcile us to God and thus restored our relationship to him we begin to learn how to walk with him on the “narrow path” of the type of life he expects from us. When we first believe in Jesus most of us still live with and in many sins. As we learn of him we learn how he defines sin. If we really believe he is who he said he is, then we repent of those sins revealed to us and try to live free of them. Sometimes we fail, but since our relationship with God rests on faith our salvation does not depend upon our perfect obedience. This refers to both the salvation of our souls and the initial salvation of our spirits. So long as we truly repent of a sin, whether or not we will ever commit that sin again, our relationship with God remains intact and in good standing.

David committed atrocious sins. He knew they were wrong. He even made plans to commit both his sins of adultery and murder. Yet, when God’s prophet confronted David with his sins he truly repented. He did not make excuses for himself as did King Saul before him. No, he simply said to the prophet, “I have sinned against the LORD.” (2 Samuel 12:13)  After this he penned his great psalm of repentance.

Here in Psalm 51 David exemplifies a principle Jesus proclaimed in his sermon on the mount, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) In David we see no feigned false repentance. We see one truly mourning, one crying over his carnal grossness and many sins. Here we see the picture of the man after God’s own heart, the man whom God can use to teach other “transgressors” and “sinners” about God’s ways.

So long as we really repent for the sins we commit we will never become disqualified in our faith. The righteous man may fall into sin seven times, or even seventy times seven times, but he gets up each time, repents, and continues to walk the narrow path of life… by faith. We only become disqualified when can no longer repent of our sins, when we begin to call evil good because we choose to indulge in evil ways.

So long as our hearts rise in faith to the God who created us in his image and who gave everything for us so that we might become fully perfected in that image we will never become disqualified in the faith. Think on these things.