Christian, Stop Saying “You can’t be a Christian if …”

To my faithful Christian brothers and sisters:

If you are tempted to start a post on social media with the phrase “You cannot be a Christian if …” then I have a serious plea for you: Please stop!

Regardless of how you finish that sentence, you run the very real risk of either painting with far too broad a brush, or being borderline heretical.

Please allow me the time to make my case from a biblical perspective before rushing to the comments below or on Twitter. I believe this has become a very serious, and very popular, issue on social media, even among my genuine brothers and sisters in Christ whom I greatly respect.

At the time of this writing, the current issue du jour on my feed seems to stem from the firestorm of rage that was ignited by the recent leaking of a Supreme Court opinion draft potentially overturning Roe v. Wade. From Leftists taking to the streets in fury, desperate to hold on to their ill-gotten “rights” to kill their own children, to apostate leaders in the evangelical community suggesting the issue of abortion is “nuanced,” Christians who value life inside and outside of a mother’s womb are rightfully (and righteously) speaking out boldly.

We should never stop calling abortion murder. And we should never give an inch on the debate; valuable, God-breathed, imago dei life begins at the moment of conception, not 15 weeks later or once the heart has begun pumping blood through the baby’s veins. This article is not a call for anyone to let loose of their biblical convictions here!

But time and time again, I am seeing post after post proclaiming “You cannot be a Christian and support abortion,” or “If you voted for pro-choice Democrats, you can’t be a Christian,” or “It is impossible to be homosexual/transgender and be a Christian.” Stop it! Yes, they can (I will get to the caveats in a bit)!

Let’s try to prove that radical statement biblically, shall we? Take a look at what the Apostle Paul tells us in a passage of Scripture often only used as a proof text to condemn the sin of homosexuality:

📘 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NASB95)

Now substitute the sin of abortion or homosexuality with any other sin that Paul rightly calls out in his letter to the church in Corinth:

“You cannot be a Christian if you’ve had sex outside of marriage.” (fornicators)

“If you put down or insult other people, you can’t be a Christian.” (revilers)

“It is impossible to desire anything that isn’t yours and still be a Christian.” – (the covetous)

“If you’ve looked at a woman and lusted for her, don’t call yourself a Christian.” – (adulterers)

A Christian can and will continue to sin long after their conversion. Sanctification is not an instant gift that the Lord grants us. Instead, He has sent His Holy Spirit to each and every believer at the moment of salvation and it is the Spirit who will guide us into what is true (John 16:13). But again, that work of the Spirit is not instantaneous.

It is possible for a Christian, especially new believers, to continue in this sin or that sin until the Holy Spirit has convicted them of that sin and completed the work of drawing them to repentance and sanctification in that area.

“But murder is a big sin!” Yes, it absolutely is! And it is made even more heinous when perpetrated against the most innocent and vulnerable of society. But it is not an unforgiveable sin.

Look at David, who was a man after God’s own heart, a true believer (according to 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22). Even so, David fell into great sin, including adultery, fornication, and murder several times (most famous: 2 Samuel 11). Would any of us dare to presume that David was not saved? No, he was a man after God’s own heart who committed horrible acts of evil.

We are to “work out [our] salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in [us].” (Philippians 2:12-13) This work begins at the new birth of salvation and will continue until the Lord returns or calls us to Himself.

It is important that we not police another believer’s sanctification. We can, and should, call out sin when appropriate, but to declare someone unsaved because they are sinning is not biblical. We do not know their heart as God does.

Consider the thief on the cross with our Lord. Is it possible that when he repented to Jesus that all of his thinking was corrected immediately? Possible, but not likely. It would not be a stretch to assume he died on that cross still believing some very grievous things.

When we declare a Christian must or must not do/say/believe a certain way about non-essential issues or they can’t possibly be a Christian, we are creating an undue burden and heaping coals onto a brother or sister’s soul.

Bottom Line: A new Christian can and will continue to be wrong on big sin issues until the Holy Spirit has done such a work in them as to bring them to repentance for those sins.

If a new Christian is voting for the “wrong” political party, or has a severely flawed understanding of abortion, or isn’t quite ready to damn their LGBTQ friends to hell, we need to slow down. Point to Scripture and lead them into a true understanding of God’s word.

The Spirit of Christ will convict them as He sees fit.

There are obvious exceptions and caveats!

All of this is not to say that a person who persists in sin, without any repentance in their heart, is truly saved. A Christian may sin and even persist in a sinful lifestyle for a brief time, but when their sin has been pointed out to them either by fellow believers or the Holy Spirit Himself, the true believer has but one response: immediate and genuine repentance!

Consider Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10). He was the leader of the wickedly sinful tax collectors in Jericho, a thief and a cheat. Today, perhaps, he might be compared to a pro-abortion or LGBTQ+ advocate. When Christ called him, Zaccheus did not simply descend that tree and hang out with Jesus. He repented!

📘 But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have extorted anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”

Luke 19:8 LSB

The same is to be expected of anyone who claims to have come to faith in Christ.