I recently read a quote by Oswald Chambers that said "If sin rules in me, God's life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is no possible ultimate but that."
There is no simpler statement to a life of pursuing Christ than this.
I used to think in such a way that did not believe that God could purify me from all sin.
My thought processes went something like this: "I will never be sinless (true), I will never be a perfect follower of Christ (true), so I will just try a little harder and it's ok if I slip cause I know He will forgive me later."
All of those are true statements, but it was the state of my heart that was wrong.
You see ultimately what it boiled down to was this: I didn't fully believe that God could rescue me from my sin and set me in a place of freedom. I lacked faith in who he is and the redemptive work He did on the cross. I didn't fully believe in the power that the Holy Spirit freely gives to us who believe.
That sounds a little harsh and you're probably thinking that if that was the case then I should have gone back to "christianity 101".
But I truly think that many well meaning believers get caught in this thought process.
We feel held captive by a specific sin. Maybe it's seems little like overeating or gossiping, maybe it seems big like lust and sexual sin. (All sin is equal, but I think believers can still get caught in thinking that the "norm" such as gossiping is less sinful than something such as sex before marriage.) Either way, you don't think you could ever escape it- and what it comes down to is a lack of faith in the power of God.
I attempted to stop specific sin patterns on my own. I would try a little harder but guess what..I would always end up unable to stop out of my own will.
The truth is, we are all going to sin and fall short (Romans 3:23). We will never be perfect. But the same power that rose Jesus from the dead lives in us as believers. He empowers us to say no to sin and to pursue righteousness. We just have to be diligent, be on guard, and seek after God for all we're worth.
1 Peter 5:8-9a says:
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in your faith.
Honestly, I was so sure of God's sovereign care, but I took it as a means to live carelessly. Carelessly in the fact that I was not standing on guard in my faith. I was not prayerfully watching my steps and seeking God's guidance. I would read my bible every day but not fully commit to change my actions because in the back of my mind I knew that I would screw it up again. On my own, I could not escape it.
I was living in a state of defeat, not standing in the victory God had already given me.
The devil and his forces are constantly on the prowl. He is looking for way to distract, tempt, and discourage believers.
This is the greek word for devil. It means "slanderer".
The devil would like nothing more than for Christ followers to believe that they cannot escape sin. Sin causes divisions in your vertical and horizontal relationships.
Vertical: your relationship with God
Horizontal: your relationship with others
Satan will do anything he can to put a division in your walk with Christ and in your ministry to others. Satan is not dumb. Take a look at this verse:
The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life - life in all its fullness. (John 10:10)
He knows how to tempt you , and his mission is to kill, steal, and destroy.
Jesus tells us that He came to give us LIFE. LIFE IN ALL IT'S FULLNESS!
Let's take a look at the second part of that quote. It says "If God lives in me, sin will be killed."
If following God's ways is our highest priority, sin in us will be killed. Just taking one day at a time, choosing to obey Christ .
And as believers we have the Holy Spirit.
WOW. Just take a minute and read that again...we have the HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD
living in us
empowering us
equipping us
What more do we need?
Nothing.
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence."
2 Peter 1:3
No comments:
Post a Comment