Rep Your Faith in Christ Jesus with Christian streetwear
Sin is described in the Bible as "lawlessness" (1 John 3:4), and every accountable person is guilty of sin. The Apostle Paul affirmed, "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard." (Romans 3:23). Even those who have committed their lives to Christ and received forgiveness for their past sins are still capable of sinning. The Apostle John wrote, "My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world." (1 John 2:1-2).
Although God freely offers forgiveness, it comes with conditions for both those who are new to the faith and believers who have fallen into sin. These conditions differ but must be met in order to receive pardon.
When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He instructed His disciples, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:15-16). Similarly, in Luke’s account, Jesus emphasized that "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47).
The book of Acts provides examples of the gospel being preached, the terms of forgiveness being outlined, and numerous conversions taking place. One such account, in Acts 8, demonstrates God’s two laws of pardon—one for those outside of Christ and another for believers who sin. Philip the evangelist preached in Samaria, performing miracles that confirmed his message (Hebrews 2:3-4). Many Samaritans, including Simon the sorcerer, believed Philip’s preaching about the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ and were baptized (Acts 8:12-13).
When Peter and John later arrived to impart the Holy Spirit’s miraculous gifts, Simon sinned by attempting to buy this power with money (Acts 8:18-19). Although Simon had already been baptized and forgiven of his previous sins, his new sin required repentance. Peter instructed him, "Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts," (Acts 8:22).
Since Simon still believed in Christ and had already been baptized (Galatians 3:26-27), rebaptism was unnecessary. However, he needed to repent and seek God’s forgiveness, which involved confessing his sin. As 1 John 1:9 promises, "if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness."
Through Simon’s example, we see God’s two laws of pardon in action. For those outside of Christ, forgiveness requires faith in Jesus and baptism for the remission of sins. For believers who sin, pardon involves repentance, confession, and prayer.
All have sinned, and those seeking salvation must follow God’s conditions for forgiveness. By believing in Jesus, being baptized, and living faithfully, one becomes a child of God. If they sin after this, they must repent, confess, and seek God’s mercy to be forgiven.