LEARNING DAILY

 

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate; Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into Hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven; And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; The Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; The forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.   The Apostle’s Creed

 

Paul and John said much the same about sin – there is not one person who does not sin.  I often relate to what Paul said in Romans 7:15, “For what I am doing, I do not understand.  For what I will do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.”  John wrote in 1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  So, we say with Paul, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24)

 

We live in a sinful world!  There is sin all around, all day long.  It has become more open, more obvious, more unashamed and more unapologetic.  If Paul, living in the days he lived, struggled, think about the struggle with sin today.  Sin is not restricted to sexual sin.  Think about the amount of cheating and other forms of deception that occurs in the business world, the political world, and at all levels of the world of sports.  It’s tax time – will there be deception by individuals and corporation of all sizes?  I’m not sure that sin escapes any aspect of life.  The person in Romans 7 that Paul is talking about is under the power or control of the sinful nature.  This person is trying to obey God’s commandments without the saving grace of Christ; he is trying to do so by following a set of rules and laws.  He attempts to justify his sinful lifestyle and actions only to fight a losing battle to the sinful desires that remain in control.

 

But, here comes two important verses.  Romans 8:1, There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but walk according to the spirit.”  We have already seen that Jesus Christ came into this world to redeem all who would give their life to Him to save them from all the sin they had committed, all they commit, and they would commit in the future.  “Case dismissed!”  Rules and laws are powerless to deliver us from the sinful nature and its sinful desires.  Here Paul tells us that freedom from condemnation, victory over sin, and fellowship with God come through our saving relationship with Jesus and through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. 

 

But, you might ask about what John said; you know about deceiving ourselves about no longer having sin.  Unfortunately, even after we are forgiven, we continue to sin.  The narrow way is not a sinless way because we continue to stumble every day.  Does that mean we are not saved?  No!  The narrow way is a journey filled with temptations of all sorts.  Sometimes we are victorious over the temptations; other times we fail. 

 

Here comes the second verse we must remember (and I have written it several times before), I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.”  Yes, you will sin!  But, the grace of God picks us up and places us right back on the narrow road to His Kingdom and eternity with Him when we confess our sin to Him.  Do not let a moment go by when that impure thought comes, or when those ugly words slip from your mouth, or when your eyes look upon that which they should not see; confess it and ask for forgiveness right away.

 

Forgiveness frees us from the power of sin in our lives.  When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives (When Christ becomes our Savior), He gives Believers a new power to overcome sin.  For that power I am forever grateful and desire to be more like Christ every day.

 

If you receive this blog through email, you can go to the regular blog page by moving your cursor to the top of the page and click on LEARNING DAILY header.  Then you can see the archived articles and comment section. You can also leave a comment by clicking on the date in the Comment Section.