How does a person stand with Jesus if they are sinful?

Answer 1

First you have to become a Christian. You cannot do this by yourself. God has to draw you to Himself through His Son Jesus Christ. During this time you confess your sins to God by prayer in Jesus' name. Then you have to obey God and do the things He tells you to do (you find this out by prayer and Bible reading mostly). If you sin and you surely will, you confess those sins to God (I John 1:9) and you will be restored to God and Jesus. When you sin you do not lose your salvation, but you fall out of fellowship with God and your life will become very difficult until you confess your sins and come back into fellowship with God. By confessing your sins you will be able to stand with Jesus.

ANOTHER ANSWER:

All men are sinners, so the formula hasn't changed from the creation of Adam and Eve: God commands and demands THE OBEDIENCE of His creation. Sin is the "transgression of God's Law - the Ten Commandments" (I John 3:4)

The Ten Commandments are God's revealed Laws of Love; how to show Love and Respect for and toward God and one another. And since all men have disobeyed God's Commandments [sinned] then God commands all men to "repent" of having disobeyed Him: to be sorry for disobeying Him and turn to Him for His Mercy and Forgiveness, be Forgiven, and begin Living anew -- to begin Obeying Him and treating one another with His Love and Respect.

It's not a new thing! It's just the same old thing that man has kept refusing to do.

"Now IF YOU WILL OBEY ME and keep My covenant [the Ten Commandments, that He spoke to them three days later], you will be My own Special Treasure... And you will be to Me a Kingdom of Priests, My Holy Nation..." (Ex.19:5-6 NLT New Living Translation)

"I will do this because Abraham LISTENED TO ME and OBEYED all My requirements, COMMANDMENTS, REGULATIONS, and LAWS." (Gen.25:5 NLT)

This "Old Testament" Almighty Creator God was and is none other than the New Testament "Jesus Christ" [see John 1:1-3].

And Jesus' expectation, command and demand for all the "sinners" who are His creation is still the same as it always was -- to "repent" of their disobedience, cry out to Him for His Forgiveness, and begin to OBEY HIS VOICE and Love one another.

"With My Authority, take this message of REPENTANCE to ALL THE NATIONS, beginning in Jerusalem: 'There is Forgiveness of sins for all who turn to Me[for all who repent].'" (Luke 24:47 NLT)

That's where "sinners" stand with Jesus, the soon-returning Almighty, All-Powerful, King of God's coming Government on earth:

"'At last the time has come!' He announced. 'The Kingdom of God is near! TURN FROM YOUR SINS [repent] and BELIEVE this Good News [gospel]!'" (Mark 1:15 NLT)

And that's where the problem occurs with the false religions of this world. Even [and especially] most of the ones professing Jesus' name. They "skip Step One" in "where a sinner should stand" with Christ... they don't teach "repentance" [turning away from their disobedience to His Commandments of Love]. And they go straight to "belief" -- without a clue as to what it is that they should be "believing."

"...'What should we [sinners] do?'" ... asked the murderers of Christ when they suddenly knew the Truth of what they'd done and were convicted by Peter on the day of Pentecost. And Peter told them what they should do regarding their potential stand with Jesus:

"...'EACH OF YOU must TURN FROM YOUR SINS and RETURN TO GOD [repent: stop hating... start Loving], and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for THE FORGIVENESS OF YOUR SINS. Then you will receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:37-38 NLT)

It bears repeating... it's not a new message. It's the same plea and Command of God to His special creation, man, whose potential is to be re-born into His Divine Immortal Family: Obey Me! If only they can begin to learn the most important lesson this life has to teach us all -- to LOVE ONE ANOTHER with the SELFLESS LOVE OF GOD!

But Adam and Eve had their selfish [I'll decide for myself what's right and wrong] nature awakened by the god of this world... and sin's lessons began for God's future Children.

"When you Obey Me, you remain in MY LOVE, just as I Obey My Father and remain in His Love. I have told you this so that YOU WILL BE FILLED WITH MY JOY. Yes, YOUR JOY WILL OVERFLOW![how many people stand there with Jesus?]." (John 15:10-11 NLT)

That's all any parent wants for their children... for them to know Joy and Happiness. Even as we all pursue our paths of disobedience... and wonder why we're frustrated and unhappy. It's because we don't know [or believe] that we need to repent of disobeying God's Laws of Love, and start doing it through God's Power, Knowledge and Understanding. To "Obey His Voice" is all He's ever wanted from the "sinners" who are His future Family:

"'I COMMAND YOU to LOVE EACH OTHER in the same way that I LOVE YOU. And here is how to measure it - the Greatest Love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends. YOU ARE MY FRIENDS IF YOU OBEY ME.'" (verses 12-14 NLT)

It doesn't matter what generation of man it is; God's expectation for all of them is the same. And where each "sinful" man stands with his Creator will be his choice. To "repent" of his disobedience, "believe" the Truth of God's revealed Word, have his past sins blotted out and be forgiven, and live. Or absolutely refuse to selflessly Love and care about others and embrace the hatred, greed, envy, jealousy, misery, and suffering of the disobedient ways of this world.

"You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the Power of the Air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to Obey God." (Eph.2:2 NLT)

So, how a sinful person stands with Jesus "all depends on the heartfelt direction of that person's obedience."