Do A Christian's Sins Damn His Soul?
(Editor's Note: This article is taken from a tract written by the Reverend Sam Morris, Pastor of First Baptist Church, Stamford, Texas. It shows the terrible lengths to which false doctrine will drive a man; we print t it because we have some sincere Baptist readers of this paper who simply could not believe that any Baptist preacher would ever take the position taken in this tract. See editorial.)
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We take the position that a Christian's sins do not damn his soul. The way a Christian lives, what he says, his character, his conduct, or his attitude toward other people have nothing whatever to do with the salvation of his soul. That is settled in Christ and Christ alone. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law." "Being justified by faith we have peace with God." "He that believeth on the Son hath life and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth in him." "By grace are ye saved through faith lest any man should boast." "Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven among men whereby we must be saved." "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." "He that believeth on him is not condemned and he that believeth not is condemned already."
These and many other scriptures teach that man's salvation and the justification of his soul depend entirely upon his faith in Christ. The sin question is a Son question. All the prayers a man may pray, all the Bibles he may read, all the churches he may belong to, all the services he may attend, all the sermons he may practice, all the debts he may pay, all the ordinances he may observe, all the laws he may keep, all the benevolent acts he may perform will not make his soul one whit safer; and all the sins he may commit from idolatry to murder will not make his soul in any more danger. The justification of the human soul is through the atonement of Christ and not through the efforts of man. The way a man lives has nothing whatever to do with the salvation of his soul. The thief on the cross is an illustration of this truth. He taught nobody the Bible. He joined nobody's church. He wasn't baptized. He did not observe the Lord's Supper. He paid no debts. He rectified no wrongs. He led nobody else to Christ. He turned over no "new leaves." He did not "straighten up his life." He did not "change his way of living." He trusted Christ; he died. But Christ assured him; "This day shalt thou be with me in paradise."
"Do you mean to say it doesn't make any difference how a man lives?" No. I do not mean to say anything of the sort; it does make a big difference how he lives but that difference relates to his fellowship with God, his prayers, his conscience, his joy, his influence, and his heavenly rewards and not to the salvation of his soul. The human soul is damned not by "sins," but by "sin" — one sin — the sin of "disbelief in Christ" and the human soul is saved not by acts but by an act — one act — the act of faith. Belief saves; disbelief damns. And though what a man does has nothing to do with salvation of his soul, it has everything to do with his joy, his usefulness, and his reward in eternity. A Christian's sins will not damn his soul but they will damn some other things for him.
1. They Will Damn His Fellowship With God
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)
Light has no fellowship with darkness; right has no fellowship with wrong; good has no fellowship with evil. God has no fellowship with sin. The Christian that walks in sin travels a lonely road. He travels a road of discouragement. He travels a road of discontent. He travels a dark road. "The way of the transgressor is hard." He gropes, he stumbles, he worries, he frets, he is illusioned, he has no fellowship with God; but if he walks in the light he has fellowship with God for God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. Those sins won't damn his soul, but they will damn his fellowship with God and Christ.
2. They Will Damn His Spiritual Joy
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, 0 God, thou God of my salvation and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness, 0 Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. (Psalms 51:12-15)
The scripture quoted above sets out the expression of David following his sins of murder and adultery. After the prophet Nathan rebuked him David prayed this penitential prayer. He did not ask for the restoration of salvation. He had not lost salvation, but he had lost the joy of salvation. He could not sing of God's righteousness; there was no note of praise in his life. His sin had corroded his heart; the joy of salvation, the song of salvation, the praises of God had been damned by sin.
Take also the case of the apostle Peter when he denied the Lord and cursed so bitterly when Jesus was being tried. The scriptures say, "when he thought thereon he went out and wept bitterly," and you, too, dear friend, by sin can drive the joy out of your soul, but you cannot drive salvation off the books of God. No sinful Christian will be a happy Christian; he will get to heaven all right, his soul will be saved, but he will have lots of sad hours between here and there.
(Editor's Note: The tract (too lengthy to print in full) goes on to teach that a Christian's sins will damn (3. His Conscience), (4. His Prayer Life), (5. His Influence), and (6. His Reward In Heaven), but will never, never prevent his getting to heaven!)