Mistakes are part of life, and no one can reasonably expect to avoid making their fair share of them. Dealing with the consequences is unpleasant, and sometimes we can get so caught up in regret and guilt over our bad choices that we may think God has rejected us. However, born-again Christians will never lose their salvation.Our right-standing with God doesn’t depend on what we do, but rather on what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.

When we get discouraged because we feel we failed in some way, God still sees us as righteous because of the finished works of Jesus. Being in Christ, and having Him in us, means we’re members of God’s family. Satan attacks our identity in Christ by always pointing out our flaws; God’s Word shows us that the effects of what Jesus did are far greater than what sin can do. “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Romans 5:17-19).

We could never earn our salvation. Being saved from the spiritual death that took over the world because of Adam’s sin in the garden of Eden was a gift of unmerited, undeserved favor from God. Righteousness from Him means we’re no longer sinners, but saints. “Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness”(Psalm 30:4). The implications of this are huge.

When the world or religion tell us we’re sinners because we sinned, it’s not true. We’re not what we do, but who God says we are. Committing a sin doesn’t mean we have sinful natures, because God takes away our old natures the moment we get born again. Believers are God’s children, and His children have been given new natures as holy and perfect as Jesus, Himself. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

God knows we’ll continue making mistakes and falling short, but He made provisions for that when Jesus went on the cross to make forgiveness and salvation available to us. The devil tells us we’re no longer right with God when we mess up. The truth is that we’re justified in His eyes by our faith in Jesus. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1, 2).

Under the Law of Moses, the people had to work for their righteousness. Under grace, we receive it by faith. The cross changed everything. “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight” (Colossians 1:21, 22). Because of Christ, our mistakes can no longer keep us out of God’s presence.

For more on the salvation available to us because of the finished works of Christ, click on the link below for the single message, The Contrast: Righteousness vs. Condemnation.