Friday, December 5, 2008

Do Not Let Sin Control You


“Do not let sin control your puny bodies any longer; do not give in to its sinful desires. Do not let any part of your bodies become tools of wickedness, to be used for sinning; but give yourselves completely to God-every part of you-for you are back from death and you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for his good purposes.” Romans 6:12-13

A couple of postings back I wrote on how our Lord gives us 'Do Overs'‘ when we mess up and sin. I feel the need to follow up that posting by clarifying that all though we know that our Lord Jesus is merciful, quick to forgive us, and gives us ‘Do Overs’ when we sin, that does not mean that we are to take advantage of that. His kindness is meant to lead us to repentance. We are Christians saved to be living testimonies for the world to see Christ. We are the walking Gospel. Our lives will either be an encouragement and inspiration to others, drawing them to Christ or our lives will be a hindrance to others faith and could possibly be the reason why they stumble and fall away.

We must stay away from sin. We are not to make plans to sin doing things that we know are unpleasing to our Lord. We are called to live holy and pure lives. This is not an impossible request from our Lord. He would never ask us do something that He has not empowered us to do. It is by His power, the power of the Holy Spirit that we can resist the temptation to sin. It is by reading and hearing the Word of God that our minds are renewed and our desires are changed. When we are constantly in the Word we will desire to please our Lord instead of gratifying our own sinful desires. The secret is staying close to the Lord, being in the Word of God consistently because our Lord promises that if we keep looking steadily into His Word that we will not only remember it but we will do what it says, and God will greatly bless us in everything that we do. (1 Corinthians 10:13, James 1:25)

But those who keep on sinning are against God, for every sin is done against the will of God. So if we stay close to him, obedient to him, we won’t be sinning either; but as for those who keep on sinning, they should realize this: They sin because they have never really known him or become his. Oh, dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: if you are constantly doing what is good, it is because you are good, even as he is. But if you keep on sinning, it shows that you belong to Satan, who since he first began to sin has kept steadily at it. But the Son of God came to destroy these works of the devil. The person who has been born into God’s family does not make a practice of sinning. Because now God’s life is in him; so he can’t keep on sinning, for this new life has been born into him and controls him, he has been born again. (1 John 3:4, 6-9, 1 John 5:18)

There should never be an area of our lives that is reserved and devoted to sinful practices. We are to give ourselves completely to God. Instead of being defensive and self excusing, we must acknowledge our sins and renounce them. We should continually look at all areas of our lives asking our Lord to reveal to us anything in us that is unpleasing to Him. By not exempting any part of our life from continuous self-scrutiny I believe the Holy Spirit will show us any hidden sin that hinders us and may even be a stumbling block to others around us.
Just as you used to be slaves to all kinds of sin, so now you must let yourselves be slaves to all that is right and holy. You choose your master. You can choose sin (with death) or else obedience (with acquittal). The one to whom you offer yourself-he will take you and be your master and you will be his slave. (Romans 6)

Holy Spirit search us through and through. Show us any unconfessed sin that we need to renounce. We long to be slaves of righteousness. We do not want to be slaves to sin. Thank you for the power to resist temptation and sin. May our lives bring you glory and draw others to your Son, in Jesus name. Amen..

2 comments:

dtbrents said...

It looks like you have it right. We are to walk with the Spirit. I like how you write. As Christians we can show love to everyone and forgive everyone. We can live a Godly life. God has give us the Holly spirit to help us live a good and pleasing life for him Doylene

Lisa C. aka Trophy of Grace said...

Thanks for your comment. I am glad that you are enjoying my writing..glory to God who inspires me to share the truth that He shows me in His Word.

Thank God for His Holy Spirit that helps us to live our life pleasing to Him. May we bring glory to Him by walking with the Spirit.

My God is Faithful!

My God is Faithful!
Psalm 40:1-3 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.He lifted me out of the slimy pit,out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.