In Matthew 9:29, Jesus restored the sight of two blind men. He said to them, “…according to your faith be it unto you.” My question is, can habitual sin stop God from fulfilling His promises in the life of a born-again child of God if he/she has the faith to believe God and take Him at His word?

CK

Hello CK,

Thank you for your question. Defining habitual sin can get ambiguous, yet I think I understand your real question. A couple of thoughts factor in.

First, if there is repeated stumbling, walking in the light through honest agreement with God accesses cleansing every time (1 John 1:7,9). For this person, the need is to move on to maturity in trusting God to obey in the area of stumbling. The real issue is knowingly hanging on to sin even after the Holy Spirit convicts. This is walking in darkness, not agreeing with the light. In such a state there will not be faith because the individual is walking in unbelief (self-dependence). Going to God to trust Him in one area while harboring known defiance in another is presumption.

Second, faith is not a work, but dependence on the worker (on God). Answers from God are not earned through performance; they are accessed by faith. So if there is faith for cleansing, there can follow faith for something else.

Third, if faith is genuinely exercised, what happens if an individual stumbles in some area? Perhaps this is the heart of your question. God blesses faith. If blessing from God is based on perfection in performance, no one would be blessed. However, should a stumble occur, a believer can get honest and get back on the position of faith. Abraham believed God regarding the promised son, but he had several lapses of faith. Ultimately, he returned to faith, and God blessed his faith.

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