2018-07-27
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Holy Spirit directs me to continue writing about sin, which is at the very heart of our need to make changes, so that we can pass through the “narrow gate and along the hard path to eternal life [MT 7: 13-14].” Remember the Greek words for sin is hamartia, or paraptomasin, to trespass. Sin is a type of failure, disobedience to God, or missing the mark. Sin often begins to live a new life. We are no longer slaves to sin. Death no longer rules over us and now live with Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Beforehand, we had no choice to sin; now having professed genuine faith in Christ, we can choose not to sin. This is another way of saying we no longer live under the law, but now live under grace. The old Covenant of the Law has been replaced in our lives by a new and better covenant, the Covenant of Grace. RO 3: 23- 24, “…Everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence. But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with Him through Christ Jesus.” We can’t take any credit for this grace, because it is from God and is His doing. Grace is defwith coveting and goes down the slippery slope from there. The concept of being dead to sin when in union with Jesus Christ is discussed in EPH 2: 4-6 and RO 6:10-23. EPH 2: 4-6, “But God’s mercy is so abundant and His love for us is so great, that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience He brought us to life with Christ. It is by God’s grace that you have been saved. In our union with Christ Jesus He raised us up with Him to rule with Him in the heavenly world. RO 6: 10-11, “And so, because He died, sin has no power over Him; and now He lives His life fellowship with God. In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus.”
It must be understood that it isn’t our baptism that renders us saved. However, we are buried with Christ and raised with Himined as unmerited favor from God. Nothing we do brings this unmerited favor. We are saved by grace and grace alone. In RO 6: 23, God says, “For sin pays its wage-death; but God’s free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus, our Lord.” At the time we are saved [JN 3: 16], we are also justified (deemed acceptable by God-RO 4: 3] and our sins are eternally forgiven [1 JN 1: 9]. As for good deeds, they are something God has already prepared us to do [EPH 2: 8-10]. It must be understood that the serially unrighteous people will not go to heaven; they are stubbornly willful and reject God’s teaching.
2 COR 5: 21, “For our sakes God made Christ share our sin, even though He is sinless, in order that in union with Him, we might share the righteousness of God.” This notion is not only read in the NT. If we return to my favorite chapter in the OT, IS 53, we see it expressed in the OT too. IS 53: 5-6, “He (Christ) was beaten and wounded because of what we did. We are healed by the punishment He suffered, made whole by the blows He received. We are like sheep gone astray, each one going in His own way. He was given the punishment we deserved.” These things are not being said to evoke guilt in us, but instead, so that we can truly appreciate the great gift from God that our salvation really is. This is why JN 10: 14-15 tells us, “I [Christ] am the Good Shepherd. As the Father knows Me and I know the Father, in the same way I know My sheep and they know me. And I am willing to die for them.” And we also read, in 1 PET 2: 24-25, “Christ Himself carried our sins in His body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by His wounds that you have been healed. You were like sheep that had lost their way, but now you have been brought back to follow the Shepherd and Keeper of your souls.”
We should ask, “what results if we break only one point of the law?” That question is answered in JAS 2: 10, 12-14, and 17, “Whoever breaks one commandment is guilty of breaking them all…Speak and act as people who will be judged by the law that sets us free. For God will not show mercy when He judges the person who has not been merciful; but mercy triumphs over judgment…So it is with faith; if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead.” We are told to “not just talk the talk, but to also walk the walk.” JN 8: 31b-32 helps us to better understand verse 12 here. Jesus said, “If you obey My teaching, you are really My disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”
PRAYER: O Lord, we stand before Your mighty throne as imperfect sinners enormously grateful for Your love shown to us by saving us through the extraordinary sacrifice of Your only begotten Son on the cross and our faith in Him. This faith is the kind that is power in acknowledgement of our weaknesses and need to rely on Him. The power comes from knowing and believing the truths in Your teaching and obeying Your commands. It is power that comes directly from You to us through the Holy Spirit. It is the power to recognize what is true and to overcome our sinful natures by obeying You. You give us discernment that allows us to avoid trouble in our lives, trouble that is the work of the evil one. We choose to eschew foolish pride, greed, arrogance, materialism, and other idols of a fallen world. We delve into ourselves to discover the sins we commit (even the subtlest ones), to confess them before You, and to await hoped-for forgiveness. You are unbelievably generous with that forgiveness when our confession comes from genuine contrition. We praise and thank you for that. You have told us, in COL 3: 13, “Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you.” We take this time to confess our sins [confess yours privately now], and to offer this prayer in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: This discussion of sin will be wrapped up in next week’s devotion. In the meanwhile, all of us should spend some time confessing sins before God whenever we discover them. This is how we can keep up our end of the Covenant of Grace. God always keeps up His by moving us forward in our spiritual maturity, ever closer to the day we are glorified (are taken to heaven to enjoy eternal life with Him) by His decision. He is rooting for us to succeed in that with ever strengthening faith in Christ. With all of us, the learning (spiritual maturation) curve moves upward and forward with plateaus that are straight in between. Those plateaus are when we are absorbing God’s teaching through our experiences with Him. In my own experience, I was late in figuring out that God was taking one of my sins at a time and working with me until I acknowledged the sinful thoughts and behavior with an understanding of the truths of His teaching. Two of those sins are impatience and pride. Maybe it’s because I live in the computer age, but whatever the reason, I expected things to lay out faster than they do. I would get irritable, and God wanted me to recognize this weakness in myself. As usual, I proved a “hard nut for Him to crack.” As He worked with me, I eventually figured out that I needed to expect things to happen on His time-table and not my own. I came to know, I was being arrogant in thinking I could make them happen faster. These are times when we must respect what is in God’s control and what isn’t. As I caught on, the quality of my life and my mood improved. So, I claim God’s words in 2 COR 12: 9, “My grace is all you need, for My power is greatest when you are weak.” Like Paul, I too have a painful condition which “acts as Satan’s messenger to beat me and keep me from being proud.” Similarly, I’ve prayed that God will hold my pain at bay. His answer to Paul above also applies to me or anyone with a painful physical ailment. It is in the times when my own pain is at its worst, that God shows me His power, and I am grateful for that. It’s how I am able to write these messages from my heart to each of you. God is to be thanked and praised!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2018. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives