Devotionals

If I Fail a Lot as a Christian, Does That Mean I Am Not Saved?

by Michael Edwards 
07/19/26
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If I Fail a Lot as a Christian, Does That Mean I Am Not Saved? Many struggling believers ask this question when they look at their repeated failures. The good news of the New Covenant is clear: your failures do not cancel God’s promise. Salvation is not based on how well you perform but on whether you have believed the gospel and trusted Jesus as Savior. As a matter of fact, if your failures bother you, it is a sign you are saved. After all, before we were believers, we were not really concerned about our sins.

In the early church, there are numerous examples of believers who failed badly yet were still called saints. Paul wrote to the carnal Corinthians—Christians living in division, sexual immorality, lawsuits, and drunkenness at the Lord’s Supper—yet he addressed them as “saints” and “the church of God” (1 Corinthians 1:2 NASB). He told them they were still babes in Christ who needed milk, not solid food (1 Corinthians 3:1-2 NASB). They were carnal, but they were genuine believers.

Paul lists qualities required for elders and deacons—above reproach, not a drunkard, not violent, not quarrelsome, self-controlled, etc. (1 Timothy 3:1-13 NASB; Titus 1:5-9 NASB). The fact that he had to give these instructions to the believers in the in several churches shows that many believers in the early church struggled with these very sins. Yet Paul never said those who failed were false converts. He urged growth in love and the Spirit while affirming their faith. He always called them saints. Believers are never even called hypocrites in the New Testament when they sinned. Only Peter was accused of hypocrisy in Acts when he pulled away from the Gentiles and acted like a legalistic Jew to impress the legalistic Jews who showed up. Paul corrected Peter and reiterated that salvation is by grace through faith alone, not by keeping a bunch of rules. 

The New Testament never calls believers “sinners” even when they sin. It calls them saints, holy ones, and new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB). Paul himself struggled: “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh... Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:18, 24 NASB). Yet he knew his standing in Christ was secure.

Salvation is God’s promise to those who believe. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NASB). Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24 NASB). “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB).

John wrote so we could know we have eternal life: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13 NASB). If salvation depended on Jesus plus our perfect performance, we could never have assurance. But because it is by grace through faith, we can know we are saved. It is all about Jesus and we need to stop trusting in a perceived goodness we think we can offer God and fully trust in His love, forgiveness, kindness, mercy and sacrifice for us.

We cannot let unclear verses or our failures cancel out these clear promises. We walk by faith in God's promise in John 3:16 and a multitude of other verses, not by sight, what we see in the mirror when we fail. Satan often twists Scripture and uses other legalistic believers to do his work to create doubt, just as he tried with Jesus in the wilderness. God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19 NASB; Titus 1:2 NASB). He is for us, not against us (Romans 8:31-32 NASB). He loved us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8 NASB) and saves us by His grace.

If you have believed the gospel and placed your faith in Jesus, you are saved—eternally secure in Him and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Your failures show you still battle the flesh, but they do not change your identity as a saint in Christ. Rest in His finished work. Let His love cast out fear and produce the fruit of the Spirit. You are saved by grace. Believe it fully and walk in the freedom and peace Jesus died to give you.

Should we sin? No. Will we sin? Yes. As believers in Christ, we are no longer under the law but under grace. Jesus fulfilled the law for us and gave us three commands. Love God, love others as I have loved you and believe the gospel. Live one day at a time and do the next right thing.

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”  Gal 5:14 NASB

Many more New Covenant Bible Studies HERE. Jesus poured out His blood for the New Covenant of grace and truth, replacing the Old Covenant law of Moses. Believers are exclusively under the New Covenant, the last will and testament of Jesus that began after the cross. And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood." Luke 22:20