If it is not possible for a follower of Jesus to fall out of God's good grace, how come there is such turmoil and tumult in my life when I sin against God?

We are filled with emotional angst attempting to behave right—perform as you ought to—and thus achieve the feeling that we have returned to God's good graces. For some, this means God is happy with us again. For others, that He once again accepts us as His children. Or, that God can once again look at us with favor.

The counsel of Scripture says there is nothing that can separate us from Him (Rm. 8:38-39). It says we have become His children, have received redemption, have been reborn into His lineage. You cannot go backwards from your new identity in Christ into your old identity in Adam, in other words.

Salvation is about two things: a) forgiveness of our sinful selves as descendants of Adam, and b) forgiveness for what we do and have done, i.e. sin.

The greater problem, although both failures carry the death penalty, is forgiveness of who you are in Adam. God resolves this problem through our redemption into the lineage of Christ and God's family.

Your performance—or lack thereof—is a matter of forgiveness and character building and acts as a catalyst to inspire you to walk in the Spirit and trust Christ. But be clear: Your inability to perform is not what originally separated you from God, neither is it what will gain you favor with Him. Once you are His, there is nothing you can do to either enhance or detract from His opinion of you. You are His by identity and heritage.

Before closing, don't skew the point: We are talking about identity and the importance of being in Christ. We have engaged in very little discussion about the important place performance plays in the life of a follower of Jesus. Performance is important, but not for salvation. Just to be sure I'm communicating, if you conclude this reading with a newfound freedom to sin all you want because you are irrevocably accepted by God, you neither understand grace, identity, or your heart's desires as a new creation.

Stay tuned.