Believer, What Happens When You Sin?

What makes you doubt your salvation? Many will say, “When I sin I doubt my salvation.”

“When I sin there is the worst grief that comes in my heart. I have a heavy grief that I have grieved my Father and that I have grieved the Holy Spirit. But listen to me, my salvation does not depend on whether I sin or didn’t sin. My salvation depends on what Jesus Christ did with my sins on Calvary’s cross.” – Mike Morrow

I had this discussion not too long ago, back last year or a year or so ago. Little house church, folks sitting around talking about their testimony. And every one of them, I’m going to be honest with you, there wasn’t much of a testimony there. And then the question was asked, “What makes you doubt your salvation?” And just almost to the man, it was: “When I sin, when I sin I doubt that I’m saved.” And they came to me, and they said, “Brother Mike, what makes you doubt your salvation?” And I said, “I don’t.” And they said, “You don’t doubt your salvation?” And I said, “No, there are times when I go back and I make sure, I look at things again, I pray again, I seek the Lord’s face, but I know what happened to me.” 

And they say, “Well, what about when you sin?” I said, “Here’s what happens when I sin: there is the worst grief that comes in my heart… I have a heavy grief that I have grieved my Father and that I’ve grieved the Holy Spirit, but listen to me, my salvation doesn’t depend on whether I sinned or didn’t sin, my salvation depends on what Jesus Christ did with my sins on Calvary’s cross.” 

And not just my salvation, you listen to me. When I was saved I was made accepted with God. We are accepted in the Beloved. We are accepted in the Beloved. I’m trying to get you to see that something happens on the inside of you when God saves you, that changes you so that when you sin, you grieve the Holy Spirit of God, and because your spirit is joined with the Spirit of the Living God, when the Spirit of God is grieved, you are grieved on the inside. Your heart hurts! And you’re not satisfied until you find yourself in a place of repentance somewhere seeking the Lord’s face and crying out to Him. Not, “Oh, God, save me again!” Or, “Lord, please accept me again!” But it’s, “Oh, God, I’ve sinned against You. How can I sin against such love? How can I do that, O God? Have mercy on me.” What did David say? Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation. Peace and joy in believing.