Sunday, May 6, 2012

Sin Less

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 
Galatians 5:24


Christians are not sinless, but they should sin less.
Dr. Mike Fabarez


Believers are responsible to crucify their sinful nature. Since Roman crucifixion was a merciless, painful means of execution, Paul's statement describes an absolute and irreversible renunciation of evil...it means that Christians have said an absolute, unconditional "no" to all of their sinful desires and passions...it is a practical every day discipline. When my sinful nature subtly suggests paging through a pornographic magazine, I shout a defiant "no" to my sinful nature. When I hear a juicy bit of gossip and start to repeat it, I close my mouth and say "no way" to my sinful desire. When another Christian criticizes me unfairly and my flesh screams for revenge, I say "absolutely not" to my sinful passion.
The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Galatians


If you are a Christian, you are at war. 

You may not feel that way, but it is the absolute truth.  As long as we live on this earth, our war will never end.

It is the war against our flesh.  No, not our skin.  In Greek, the word for flesh describes the part of us that is "prone to sin and opposed to God." (Strong's Lexicon)

Fighting sin is more than just resolving to end a bad habit.  This is an every-day-for-the-rest-of-your-life commitment to saying no. 

No, I will not envy my neighbor.

No, I will not say whatever I want to my husband.

No, I will not be bitter over what I want but do not have.
 
You and I will never perfectly defeat sin to the point where our lives are perfected.  That won't happen until we get to heaven.  But, as it says in the last quote above, we are responsible to continually fight the sin in our lives, moment-by-moment, sometimes second-by-second.

It will not be easy, and sometimes we will lose the skirmish, but with commitment, time, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to see evidence of less sin in our lives.

Thank You, God, that You do not ask me to do anything that You do not equip me to do.  Thank You that just as a baby falls when she is learning to walk, as a good parent You want to help me learn to walk without falling.  Thank You for responding to my requests for forgiveness with love and grace.  Equip me as I strive to keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

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