 Lies I believed when I first became a Christian part one. If you sin, you're not truly a Christian. I don't know about you guys, but when I first became a Christian, I struggled with my assurance. I put my faith in Jesus, I repented for my sin, and yet I was still struggling with sin. I'd feel like I was making progress, and then all of a sudden I'd fall back into the same sin. I thought my struggle with sin was an indication that I wasn't saved, until I read what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 7. For I do not understand my own actions, for I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Honing on that last part, Paul hated his sin, and that's the distinction for Christians. We hate sin. An untransformed heart stews in it, it justifies it, it lives in it unapologetically. But a heart transformed by God hates sin and delights in God. There's definitely a place to examine yourself to see if you're in the faith, but understand that it's not your own personal goodness that keeps your salvation. And if you discover you don't truly hate sin, in fact you love the things of this world, well repent, turn to God, ask him to change your heart, and he will.