Scripture
If we claim to be already free from sin, we lead ourselves astray and the truth has no place in our hearts.
~I John 1:8, Weymouth
Quote
The only way to live above sin in this world is to rent an apartment over a honky-tonk.
~Bob Harrington
Our salvation involves all three tenses: past, present and future. We have been saved; that is regenerated or born again. The Holy Spirit has taken residence in us. But that is a mere down payment, the complete package is yet to be seen because we are being saved daily. We call this process sanctification. God is presently working in us to save us from our selves and the power of sin. Ultimately we will be glorified and sin will be history but at present, sin is still a problem. Paul explains this struggle in Romans seven. Our new birth has given us the desire to please God and not sin but we find it impossible to carry out our good intentions. Paul said to the Galatians… Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. You can sin all you want but if you have been born again, you will not want to sin but in spite of your good intentions, you will continue to sin and the frustrating thing is; you will repeat sins that you hate. Yes I know, it is very humbling. I have asked the LORD more than once why He did not eradicate my old sinful nature.
The only way to get this thing right is to live dead to self. As Paul said in Romans 6, reckon or account the old nature or self as being dead. Potentially, the old nature was crucified with Christ. The only way this can be accomplished is to live by faith and walk in the Spirit. It is not humanly possible to please God any other way. God designed it this way so that when it is done right, He gets the glory. But even the most mature believers have carnal moments. I can promise you one thing: being dishonest about your sin will not help anyone. First you are deceiving yourself and secondly you are destroying your credibility with others. You are not sinless. You don’t live above sin. I know it, your spouse knows it and anyone who reads and believes the Bible knows it. The problem is that religion has wormed its way into Christianity. Christianity is spelled DONE. It is a perfect and finished work and Jesus did the work. Religion is spelled DO, I do this, I do that, I do the LORD’s work. Martha was busy doing for Jesus while Mary was simply enjoying His company and learning from Him. I am not down on Martha but you need to understand, you can never do enough for Christ to become acceptable. This works theology is rooted in religion and pride. I don’t care what you do or how much you do; it is not about what you do for Him –it is about what He did for you. I don’t care what church you attend, I can almost promise you there are some Pharisees in the mix and they talk constantly about what they do for Jesus instead of what He did for them. Try having a testimony service and see what happens. Someone will pop up and began telling you what they do for HIM. I want to say, “sit down and shut up. It is not about what you do for Him.” Of course, I simply think that, I do not say it. We lose our credibility when we pretend to be better than we are.
Extra
Been battling the old stomach bug for a couple of days but I feel better today. I want to get cleared up so I can start visiting folks. It has not been a good year for CHRISTMAS OFFICE PARTIES. E-Tech had to cancel because they couldn’t find a place and I don’t think DBC is going to pull their party off either. I don’t think the restuarants can get workers.