Defiled Saints?
A recent questioner asked, “Can our words and deeds make God not loving to us? Can our words make God’s blessings not for us? What does the Lord speak unto the saints who have become defiled?”
Here is what the Lord says to His saints:
“I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me.” (John 17:23, NASB 2020)
“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Ephesians 1:6, KJV)
God's Love for us and our acceptance by Him are not conditioned upon our behavior.
Ephesians 1:3 tells us that He has (past tense) blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
God’s blessings have been given to us in Christ and His gifts and calling are irrevocable, according to Romans 11:29.
1 Corinthians 13:5 & 8 tell us that Love keeps no record of wrongs and that Love never fails.
Given all this, what is the outcome of ungodly attitudes and actions?
Saints suffer the earthly consequences of their ungodly attitudes and actions. (What this questioner calls "defilement.") God chastises and corrects His children (see Hebrews 12:6). He does not leave them alone (see John 14:18).
Holy Spirit is grieved within them, and they are unsettled in spirit when they behave according to the flesh. This is sometimes very unpleasant and when viewed from our perspective, it could look like God’s blessing has been removed, but Scripture does not teach that outside the covenant of Law with the Hebrew people of old.
The covenant of Grace puts the onus on God. In this new covenant, we find things like “it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13, NIV). We find that “the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,” (Titus 2:11–12, NIV)
When saints wander into the wilds away from the green pastures and still waters into which the Spirit shepherds them, He does not leave or forsake them. He has promised that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6, NIV)
