Live in Him - Will Not Sin
Look, we all sin. Nobody’s perfect. Everyone struggles with sin. You will continue to sin until the day you die. God doesn’t expect you to be perfect.
Have you heard these said before, perhaps even from the pulpit? While on the surface some of these statements are true, the intent behind them can be downright blasphemous. While it is true that none of us are perfect, (in fact, Jesus was the only perfect, sinless person to ever live) the goal in our lives should be perfection.
“But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
“So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-15)
“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1)
We can’t reach perfection or holiness on our own, that’s the point, but we can reach it through Christ. So, when we make excuses like the ones listed above, we are in fact diminishing Christ’s power in our lives to make us holy and perfect.
“Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.” (1 John 3:6)
Did you catch that? Anyone who continues to live in Christ will not sin. Haven’t we heard the pastor say that we all sin and we will all continue to sin until we are made perfect in Heaven? That’s contrary to what John says here. Continuing to sin isn’t an option if we are living in Christ. However, if you are finding that you are continuing to sin, that it is a constant battle that you are losing and you are choosing your sin over and over and over again, you need to seriously evaluate if you are in fact living in Christ or if, in reality, you don’t know Him or understand who He is. John knew this was a very serious and perhaps difficult claim he was making because look at what he writes next.
“Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:7-8)
Don’t let anyone deceive you about this. Isn’t that what’s happening in our churches? Christians today have gotten very good as excusing sin. Christians have gotten good at admitting defeat in this area, surrendering to the false idea that we are doomed to continue sinning until we die. That’s not Biblical! We may struggle with sin, but we don’t have to choose it! Struggling with sin is not the same as choosing it and living in it. All sin is a choice and as Christians we are aware of the choices!
“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
The whole reason the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was put in the garden in the first place was so that there would be a choice. Without free will of choice there is no love and God wants us to choose Him. If there was no option to disobey then it isn’t obedience, it’s obligation. God wants obedience from us and He has promised that He will not allow the temptations in our lives to more than we can stand. He will show us a way out but we must look to Him for that way out when those temptations come.
“Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.” (1 John 3:9-10)
Sinning is not some fate we are resigned to, not when we have accepted Jesus payment for our sins and chosen to follow Him. If we have been born into God’s family then we do not make a practice of sinning. Sinning is not something we do habitually. So how are you living, constantly choosing the same sins over and over again, living in a way that shows you don’t know or understand Jesus, living in a way that shows you don’t belong to God? Or are you choosing His way when temptations come, do you see sin for the ugly trap that it is and when temptations come you look for the way out?