GALATIANS 5:24 – And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
THEME OF THE DAY. WE REALLY DON’T HAVE TO. Sin. It is real. It is powerful. It won’t go away in this life. Every single human being is under its influence. Even the Christian, but with one distinction. For the non-Christian, sin is all they can do. They are powerless to defeat it or put it to death. Not so for the Christian. Do Christians sin? Yes. Do Christians have to sin? No. And this is an important truth to believe and live. In the person born again by God’s Spirit, and made a new creature in Christ, sin is always a choice. When tempted to sin, all Christians will do one of three things.
First, they will fight it off in the power of God’s Word and Spirit leading to defeat of the temptation and not sinning – No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13). But pay attention to Paul’s instruction in overcoming temptation. Focus on God and His way of escape not the pleasure of the temptation leading to sin. Keep our eyes on Jesus and the deceptive allurement of sin will fade.
A second thing Christians may do when faced with temptation to sin is just run headlong into the temptation and enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. This is intentional. This is going against God’s command with knowledge. Be very, very concerned if this defines us. If we are willfully living in sin, knowing there are things and relationships that are contrary to God’s Word, two things are true about us; we are not real Christians for a true Christian cannot live like this – No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God (1 John 3:9). The other truth related to this choice is we will be miserable as true children of God under His heavy hand of conviction. True Christians will not continue in sin. The pain is too much. They will repent, confess, and turn to the Lord. – For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin (Psalm 32:3-5).
A final thing Christians may do in the battle against temptation that leads to sin is simply give in. It might be couched in words like, “I am only human. It’s just the way I am.” All this choice when facing temptation reveals is spiritual immaturity and laziness. We simply don’t want to do battle against temptation and sin. We want an easy Christian life that requires little gut-wrenching self-denial and self-discipline. Oh, we may not run to temptation to fulfill sin. No, we roll over passively and let it run over us. The Apostle Paul’s instruction to the Romans is also for us . . . So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live (Romans 8:12-13). If we are not “fighting against sin Christians” then we are “defeated by sin Christians.” There is never a day of passivity in the warfare God has called us to wage.
Sin. Yes, it is reality, but it is also defeated by the one in Christ Jesus. And because this is true, we need not sin. The choice is ours. Always.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to not only believe, but to appropriate by faith the truth of me being dead to sin.”
QUOTE: “In the life of a believer, sin is always a choice. We either commit sin on purpose or fall to sin by passivity.”