So I can continue in sin because Christ had imputed righteousness in me?

Question:

So, I can continue in sin because Christ had imputed righteousness in me? Or I can commit adultery, watch porn, hate people, keep malice, cheat, and still have right standing with God?

Answer:

Christ’s righteousness imputed to you freely when you believe in Him is unaffected by the sins you commit. The reason is because it is HIS righteousness upon you, not your own righteousness or unrighteousness, Rom.3:21-22.

By the way: Your list of sins above can also include sins like stealing a pen from work, thinking a bad thought, hurting someone's feelings, causing your brother to stumble in faith, violating your conscience. These sins are as heinous and vile to God as the ones you listed above. Sin is sin whether it is intentional or unintentional.

Your sins do not affect Christ’s righteousness that God has placed upon you by grace. Without this grace gift you, me, and the whole world would be doomed to hell.

Rom 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Regarding your question, Paul answers it here,

Rom 6:1-4 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

In simple terms, grace is not a license to sin. In the verse above, being dead to sin means that God does not count sin against us since we have the righteousness of Christ. However, as Christ was raised up from the dead, we too should walk in newness of life. We cannot just continue in our old ways. Paul tells us to, “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”. We are to get the Word into us and let it change our lives. Conformity to the Word is this ‘newness of life’. We are to grow up by being transformed by the Word. Paul says in Rom.12:1 that renewing ones mind and being transformed according to the Word is your reasonable service.

One last point. A Christian should know that sin has consequences. Taking advantage of God’s free gift of justification by blatant or willful sinning will not cause you to lose your justification, but it will bring consequences in the flesh. That sin will bite you in this life. What you sow, you will reap. Paul says the following,

Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.

In order to understand God’s free gift of grace in the right context, you should understand His absolute righteousness too. God’s righteousness declares everyone guilty and deserving His judgement and wrath. Without His gift of grace, that is our fate, no matter how vile or righteous we are in our own strength. God’s grace does not demand you to change your flesh as it cannot be changed. You will always be a sinner till you die, but God’s grace kills the effects of sin on your soul and your position in Him. By our thankfulness for His grace, and by His word changing us from within, our flesh will be mortified more and more each day, not by our effort (by the law), but by His grace.

Question:

Who will read your answer and not continue in sin?

Answer:

Everyone will continue to sin. Don’t you get it? Nobody can stop sinning no matter how much they try to. This is EXACTLY why we need God’s grace.

However, if you are desperately trying to elicit a plain and simple answer from me, then I’ll say, (1) those who profess to be Christians and are not, and (2) babes in Christ who prefer the milk of the Word and have no interest in growing up in Christ and partaking of the riches and power of God’s grace in Christ (in this age, and the one to come), as Paul speaks of in Ephesians,

Eph 1:15-19 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

The Corinthians were carnal Christians. This church struggled with vile sexual sins, they exploited the spiritual gifts, there was envy, strife and divisions amongst them. In this regard, Paul called them babes in Christ who had to be fed with the milk of the Word as they would not be able to handle the meat.

1Co 3:1-3 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

Christians that continue in sin will remain saved (1Cor.3:15) but will also remain babes in Christ. They will be reprobate in mind and will sacrifice the ability to learn and grow up in Christ, to understanding the will of the Father, to understand the riches of God’s purpose and plan for them, and to become the vessels of honour in God’s household (2Tim.2:20). Besides the loss of these aforementioned rewards, they will also suffer the consequences of their sins in the flesh.

If Christians refuse to learn these things and prefer to play with sin, then as Paul says in 1Cor.14:38 … if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.