09 Are You Saved If You Still Struggle with Sin?

by Krisan Marotta | Apr 1, 2026 | 01 Podcasts, Start Strong

Are You Saved if You Struggle with Sin? | WednesdayintheWord.com

Summary

If you've confessed faith in Christ but still struggle with sin, especially one particular sin you can't seem to stop, you might wonder if your salvation is in doubt. This week's episode unpacks Paul's warning in 1 Corinthians 6:9-14 about who will inherit the kingdom of God. It explores the crucial difference between stumbling in sin and settling into it, and why that difference matters eternally.

Key Takeaways:

Paul warns against self-deception, not against ever struggling with sin
True believers are both forgiven and changed by the Holy Spirit
The issue is not perfection but direction: what is your life characterized by?
Justification and sanctification cannot be separated
Your attitude toward sin reveals whether the Spirit is at work in your life
Freedom in Christ is not a license for settled, unrepentant sin

Context: Paul's Concern for the Corinthians

The passage we're looking at today is part of an argument that began back in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Paul has been explaining some of the ways in which the Corinthians were not living like they believed the gospel. In fact, some of their choices are red flags. They claim to believe the gospel, but then they refuse to use a Christian worldview to evaluate their choices, their life, and their circumstances.

Back in chapter 5, he starts this section by confronting them with their casual acceptance of shocking and blatant immorality in the church.

12 When the Church Looks the Other Way (1 Corinthians 4:17-5:5)

13 What Paul Means by ‘A Little Leaven Leavens the Dough’ (1 Corinthians 5:6-13)

Then he scolds them for taking each other to secular courts.

14 When Christians Sue Each Other (1 Corinthians 6:1-8)

In the section we're looking at, Paul counters two arguments that the Corinthians used to justify their choices. Those are "all things are lawful" and "food is for the stomach."

The Fundamental Question: What Is True of Christians?

9Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 12“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. - 1 Corinthians 6:9-14

In verse 9, we have an explicit statement by an apostle that these kinds of people will not inherit the kingdom of God. That raises the question: What should I think if I find myself wrestling with the qualities in the list? Is my salvation in doubt if there's a trace of any of these in my life?

Two Common Responses (Both Flawed)

Traditionally, there are two common answers to this question.

Mistake #1: "This list doesn't matter because we're forgiven."

First, some try to diffuse the warning by saying, "Well, this list doesn't apply to Christians anymore because we're forgiven. Paul is describing what we used to be before we were saved, but now Jesus has forgiven us. So end of story. Paul isn't talking to us."

There's something right in that point of view. Christians really are forgiven, being a sinner does not disqualify us from being a believer, and Christians are changed.

But that argument doesn't really fit the context because Paul doesn't say, "don't worry about sin, because you're forgiven." He says, "don't be deceived." That tells us that he thinks self-deception is a real danger. This is not the kind of warning you give if the list is irrelevant.

He wrote this to people who claim to be genuine believers and he warned them: don't be deceived about what kind of life is headed for the kingdom of God and what kind of life is not.

Mistake #2: "This list doesn't apply to Christians anymore"

The second way people respond to this section is by tightening the screws the other direction. They say, "Well, if you're a genuine believer, you won't struggle with these sins anymore." And again, there's something right in that instinct, but also something wrong, because genuine believers continue to sin.

The New Testament repeatedly talks about our struggles with sin and calls us to repent and stand firm in the faith. The Christian life is not described as a sinless, easy, uphill climb. It's described as a war. Christian experience, church history, reality just indicate that many sincere believers will continue to struggle with the things on this list.

The Key: Direction, Not Perfection

The key is that Paul is warning a person whose life is defined by the items on the list, someone whose lifestyle and choices are characterized by them and who is content to remain there. He's not talking to someone who struggles and repents.

The deception is not "I have never sinned in my life." Neither is it: "I will never struggle again with these things." The deception is the lies we tell ourselves like, "Oh, this choice doesn't matter. God doesn't care what I do here. I can follow Christ while continuing to pursue this kind of a life. My choices doesn't say anything about where I'm headed."

And Paul is saying, don't kid yourself. A life that is given over to unrighteousness is not a life on the road to eternal life.

What God Does for His People: Titus 3:3-7

Compare with what Paul wrote to Titus.

3:3For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:5-7

Paul says, "We used to be foolish. We used to be disobedient, deceived, enslaved to sin, but we are that no longer." We were guilty and without hope. We had no right to make any claim to God or expect to receive eternal life.

But because of what Jesus has done for us, we have been justified (that is, we have been made right with God). We now stand to inherit eternal life. Because of the blood of Christ, we now hope to receive mercy and a place in the kingdom of God.

More Than Forgiven: Washed and Renewed

What does Paul say caused that change? Nothing we did. In His mercy, God poured out His Holy Spirit upon us.

Notice Paul describes us as more than people who have been forgiven. We have been forgiven, but we have also been washed and renewed.

Paul describes those who stand to inherit eternal life as having gone through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. We no longer reject God, because the Holy Spirit washed all that hardness and resistance to God from our hearts. We no longer rebel against Him. Instead, we want to obey Him even if we do it imperfectly.

The direction of our lives has changed.

Not Sinless, But Changed

Why do we repent? Because we have been washed by the Holy Spirit so that we don't view sin the same way anymore. We don't enjoy it the way we used to. We don't justify it the way we used to, and we're not enslaved to it the way we once were. Eventually we will repent and admit we were wrong because the Holy Spirit convicts us of what is true.

To throw in the theological terms, we have been justified, and that leads to being sanctified. You can't separate those two ideas. Being justified is being forgiven, being made right with God, and that leads to being sanctified or a changed life.

Corinthians: Where Is Your Heart?

In this section of Corinthians, Paul rebukes the Corinthians for their choices and their values. He treats them as believers who are still sinning, but he's worried because they seem to have settled into that sin instead of repenting of it.

But notice he doesn't say to them, "Because you failed in this area, you're out. You're no longer believers." It's not a one-strike and you're out policy.

He's saying to them, if you have genuine saving faith, ultimately you will see change in your life. If there is no change, if there's no repentance, if there's no new direction in your life, then it's likely there's no Holy Spirit at work in your life, and you're deceiving yourself. How you respond to these issues like the items on the list matters a great deal because it reveals whether or not the Holy Spirit is at work in your life.

The Dividing Line

"Inherit the kingdom of God" (6:9) is a way of saying believers. When Jesus returns, some people will stand with him and be ushered into eternal life in his kingdom. Others will be cast out.

Whether or not you inherit a place in the kingdom of God is determined by whether or not you have been justified. And if you have been justified, you have been sanctified, which means your life should change.

What Your Attitude Reveals

Our attitude towards sin reveals a lot about where we stand eternally. Paul is challenging them to consider their attitudes:

What's the most important thing to you? Are you more worried about the things of God or the things of this world? Is there in fact a difference between you and non-believers?

In both of the cases leading up to this section, the Corinthians were acting as if there was no real important difference between them and the rest of the world. They were acting as if they can accept the world's view of sexuality and wealth and property and reject God's viewpoint. And Paul's saying, if you've been washed and renewed by the Spirit, you can't do that anymore.

We All Fail the List

This helps us put Paul's statement in perspective. Who among us has not been convicted by at least one of the items on this list? If we're going to be ruthlessly honest with ourselves, all of us fail the items on this list.

So when Paul says clearly and unmistakably that these people will not inherit the kingdom of God, that's a terrifying statement. But when we put it back into the context of the argument he's making, you can see his line of thought.

The person who lives his life in pursuit of the items on the list instead of pursuing the kingdom of God is not going to be in the kingdom of God. He's not describing someone who randomly struggles with thoughts of theft or coveting. He's describing the person who rebels against God, pursuing things like theft and coveting with passion and abandon because he doesn't care what God thinks.

Stumbling vs. Settling

Think of it this way: suppose a hiker is walking down a rocky trail and he trips. He stumbles and falls, but then he gets back up, brushes himself off, and keeps moving in the same direction. That's very different from the person who steps off the trail, climbs down into a ditch, pitches his tent, and decides, "This is where I'm going to live now."

Paul is not describing momentary failure. He's describing settled unrighteousness, a posture that makes peace with sin, excuses it, defends it, and refuses to turn away from it.

Repentance is the hiker getting back up and rejoining the path, even if he's limping. Settled unrighteousness is the hiker making peace with the ditch, staying there, and calling it home.

Paul is not talking about the stumble, he's talking about the decision to live in the ditch.

The Corinthians' Arguments

12“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. - 1 Corinthians 6:9-14

Most scholars believe, and I think they're right, that Paul is quoting the Corinthians here. He's quoting back to them the argument that they are making to justify and explain their behavior. They justify their behavior with two arguments: "Well, all things are lawful for me" and "food is meant for the stomach and stomach for the food, and God will do away with both."

Argument One: "All Things Are Lawful"

The Corinthians are running with this idea that we believers are no longer under the law. We've been rescued from guilt by the blood of Christ, and it doesn't matter how well or how poorly we keep the law, so we can do what we want.

"Well, all things are lawful for me. We know that the blood of Jesus covers sins, and having been saved by grace through faith, you're not going to suggest that God's going to reject me now because I commit a particular sin, are you, Paul? So all things are lawful. All those distinctions, rules and regulations, they don't apply to us anymore. We are free in Christ to live the way we want to live."

Paul answers, true, my justification and forgiveness are not on the line. But living my life in rebellion to God is to my peril. Because while God can forgive any sin I might commit because of the cross, if I live my life in rebellion to him, that calls into question the genuineness of my faith.

The question is not whether I have committed a sin, the question is what is my heart set on? Because part of being justified is being sanctified. Part of being saved is being washed by the Holy Spirit so that you no longer want to sin. But if you want to continue sinning, that calls into question whether or not you've actually been saved.

He has this phrase, "but I will not be dominated by anything." Ultimately, I am either serving God as my master or I am enslaved to an idol. And again, Paul is speaking to this question of where is your heart? What's the direction of your life?

This idea that I'm no longer under the law is no excuse to justify selfish, thoughtless, immoral behavior or a lifestyle of settled sin. Because part of faith and part of belief is making the choice to live in obedience to God. Part of saving faith is the desire to be holy and the longing to be righteous as God is righteous.

Argument Two: "Food for the Stomach"

The Corinthians argue: "Well, God made me with a stomach and he made food. Food and the stomach were made for each other, but in the end, all that physical stuff is going to be done away with. I've been designed to eat, and in the end, the body isn't really going to matter because God's going to give us new ones, so I should eat whatever I want.

"Likewise, my body was designed for sexuality. The body is for sex, sex is for the body. So when I get hungry, I eat. Why not when I have sexual desires, I fulfill them in whatever way I want? Doesn't that make sense? Because after all, the body has been designed for that, right?"

And Paul says, you've applied the analogy wrong. It's true, the stomach was made for food, but the body was not made for immorality. That's not the purpose of having a body the way you might say digestion is the purpose of a stomach.

God did not give you a body to use it for immorality. He gave you a body, so that you might worship and obey Him in that body. Immorality is not compatible with honoring and praising God.

The Body Matters

The body is part of God's design for who we are. We're not just disembodied spirits. We are people with a physical body, and our physical bodies are intended to be the medium by which we live out our faithfulness to God.

So, yes, God made the body to need food and desire sexual fulfillment, but it is also the place where we live out our faith and our commitment to God. He died to rescue our body from death and to bring us into the resurrection.

It makes a great deal of difference how we live in our body because our choices and the way we live reveal our inner faith and commitments and values.

15 All Things Are Lawful? What Paul Says About Sin and Freedom (1 Corinthians 6:9-14)

16 Glorify God in Your Body: What Paul Says About Sex and Belonging (1 Corinthians 6:15-20)

Bottom Line: Choices Reveal Faith

Paul argues, as does James and Peter, that becoming a believer matters. Genuine saving faith changes your life, your values, your attitudes, your actions, and responses. If none of those things ever change, then it's questionable whether or not you have genuine saving faith.

Now, nowhere in this argument in Corinthians has Paul discussed the person who agrees with God, who wants to do the right thing, but still struggles with the right thing to do, because that's not the issue that the Corinthian church was struggling with.

Their issue was: am I going to humbly submit to the things of God and let him change me, or am I going to run headlong after the things of this world? And Paul says, if you're running headlong after the things of this world, that's a problem.

Our Responsibility

The theme underlying this argument is that your choices matter. Paul's looking at the church in Corinth and saying, "Your actions aren't consistent with your claim to faith. And you need to take that seriously and figure out where you stand."

Why? Because the desire to be holy, the desire to follow God, is part of the gift of saving faith. And when we desire to follow him, it changes our lives.