Sin, err, or other carnal behaviours ARE what keep us from TRUTH, and THE LORD! MANY, oh SO MANY believe solely that because CHRIST JESUS died for our sins, we are free to continue in them, and that by FAITH alone, we are saved! Let's get into this a bit...
People ask if they are saved and their sins are forgiven, why NOT continue to sin? This IS important to note, as FAR TOO MANY cling to this incomplete, and dangerous mindset! The answers lie IN FIDELITY TO THE LORD *GOD*, LOVE, and a turnabout TOWARDS HIS WILL...
The apostle Paul answered a very similar question in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” The idea that a person could “trust in Jesus Christ” for salvation and then go on living just as he/she lived before, is absolutely foreign to the Bible. Believers in Christ are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Holy Spirit changes us from producing the acts of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) to producing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The Christian life is a changed life because the Christian is changed.
What differentiates Christianity from every other religion is that Christianity is based on what God has done for us through Jesus Christ—divine accomplishment. Every other world religion is based on what we must do to earn God's favor and forgiveness—human achievement. Every other religion teaches that we must do certain things and stop doing certain other things in order to earn God's love and mercy. Christianity, faith in Christ, teaches that we do certain things and stop doing certain things because of what Christ has done for us.
How could anyone, having been delivered from sin's penalty, eternity in hell, go back to living the same life that had him on the path to hell in the first place? How could anyone, having been cleansed from the defilement of sin, desire to go back to the same cesspool of depravity? How could anyone, knowing what Jesus Christ did on our behalf, go on living as if He were not important? How could anyone, realizing how much Christ suffered for our sins, continue sinning as if those sufferings were meaningless?
Romans 6:11-15 declares, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”
For the truly converted, then, continuing to live sinfully is not an option. Because our conversion resulted in a completely new nature, our desire is to no longer live in sin. Yes, we still sin, but instead of wallowing in it as we once did, we now hate it and wish to be delivered from it. The idea of “taking advantage” of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf by continuing to live sinfully is unthinkable. If a person believes himself to be a Christian and still desires to live the old, sinful life, he has reason to doubt his salvation. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
It ISN'T that we will be perfect in REJECTING sin, or overcoming it, INSTEAD, it IS that we, THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE HE HAS GIVEN us, RECOGNIZE, ACKNOWLEDGE, and ADHERE TO HIS WILL, FOR WE ARE CO-PARTNERS TO THE COVENANT, in which case, HE HAS FULFILLED HIS END, therefore, the ball IS in our court, which we ARE able to be victorious in, BECAUSE we ALLOW HIM, THE HOLY SPIRIT, TO WORK IN us, and complete us! You bet we WILL trip, stumble, and fall ALONG THE WAY, but we HAVE CHOSEN TO get up, and move forward, NOT caving in, or submitting all over again, to err, sin, and death!!!
I HAVE given up various errs, and am happy to say, do not miss them; it IS a mindset, then self-control, AND constant reminders of THE FACT that we are NOT citizens of the world, BUT OF THE KINGDOM, and therefore, we ARE AIMING to be found blameless before THE LORD, even though it is NOT our works, INSTEAD, our ENJOINING TO HIS WILL, and our WILLINGNESS TO BE MADE WHOLE, and HOLY!!!
I am like Paul; WHAT sense DOES it possibly make to continue in chosen, and favourite sins, WHEN we are NO longer of the world, and KNOW that the world, and all who are of it, will perish, and suffer? AND, we discover in relinquishing their hold on us, that the pleasure found in them, was NEVER lasting, and left us wanting for more, BUT WITH *GOD*, we ARE satisfied, and KNOW there is WAY better to come!!!
There are Christian people who can't muster the self-control, or courage to keep their zippers up, or their skirts down; who can't put aside their lusts, or addictions; who can't accept that their beloved earthly ways ARE endangering them, yet they WANT to be saved, despite the fact that their understanding is FAR from correct! These NEED to SERIOUSLY, be taught, and to study, and to devour THE WORD, and PRAY TO *GOD* honestly...
1 PETER 1: 16...
for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
As the traveller, the racer, the warrior, and the labourer, gathered in their long and loose garments, that they might be ready in their business, so let Christians do by their minds and affections. Be sober, be watchful against all spiritual dangers and enemies, and be temperate in all behaviour. Be sober-minded in opinion, as well as in practice, and humble in your judgment of yourselves. A strong and perfect trust in the grace of God, is agreeable with best endeavours in our duty. Holiness is the desire and duty of every Christian. It must be in all affairs, in every condition, and towards all people. We must especially watch and pray against the sins to which we are inclined. The written word of God is the surest rule of a Christian's life, and by this rule we are commanded to be holy every way. God makes those holy whom he saves.
We MUST BE WILLING and cooperative in order to BE MADE HOLY! When we ignore HOLINESS, we ignore *GOD*, and HIS WILL, therefore, there is NO sense in imagining that we might continue in carnal ways, because it PROVES where the heart is, and endangers our standing! Ah, there are SO many arguments FOR being able to exist in the flesh, and the spirit, but THE WORD OF THE LORD teaches us otherwise!!!
EVER seek HIS WISDOM, and KNOWLEDGE, that understanding CAN root, and thrive! Ignorance SHALL find many wailing too late, and wishing they knew! The CHOICE to know, or to adhere ARE right before us, therefore, there are no excuses; *GOD* HAS MADE HIS POSITIONS CLEAR, and IS SERIOUS ABOUT THEM, BECAUSE THEY WORK FOR OUR GOOD, and OUR ETERNAL HOPE! Our REALITY IS NOT ABOUT the flesh, IT IS ABOUT the soul; the spirit!!!
LWINSOR © 2018
BIBLICAL, and/or other references marked BOLDLY IN COLOURS
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