Living without Sin

 1 John 3:6
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

I am not a Greek scholar, but I desire to read God’s word with an open heart.  Sin takes place when we break God’s law. It is a willful transgression against the known will of God. We are born into this world with a sin nature, and we come to realize that we are spiritually lost without a Savior. Christ, who knows no sin, came to earth to give His life as the supreme sacrifice to forgive us of our sin. This is salvation in a nutshell. By confessing our sins to Christ, we have acknowledged that we are sinners. We now abide in Christ and have turned away from our sinful way. We no longer willfully commit sin when we abide in Him. A person who willfully goes against the known will of God is ignorant of God and God’s will to set them free from the bondage of sin. We realize that we are human and born into a world where sin is ever before us. Temptation is real and Satan is relentless in his attempt to cause a follower of Christ to violate one of God’s commandments to live holy and righteously in this present world. Many Christians have fallen for the traps of Satan and have fallen into sin. Many have made shipwrecks of their lives and have left the Way for whatever reason. It is not God’s will that any person be lost, but His will that we live in fellowship with Him. God’s word is full of dos and don'ts, and keeping track of every law leads one to live in bondage and fear, but Jesus simplified it all by telling us that the law can be wrapped up in two statements. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. So how does one live a life without sin? Are our words and actions pleasing to Jesus? The Holy Spirit came to dwell in us and to guide us in all we do. We sin not, because we know Him, and because we know Him and love Him, we desire to please Him.

Walk Not in Darkness

 1 John 1:8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

From the fall of Adam and Eve, man is born with the sin nature. The Adamic nature is passed on to every person born into this world. We can deny this truth, but it does not change the reality that we are all sinners in need of forgiveness. Some teach that man is hereditary good. We must cultivate this goodness in us and overcome the evil that we face each day. Don’t believe this lie, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  John writes to set the foundation for why man needs a Savior.  As sinners, we confess our sins, and Jesus, who shed His blood for the remission of sin, cleanses our heart from sin. We no longer walk in darkness, we walk in the light, we walk with God without sin. As long as we continue to walk with God, the blood of Jesus will continue to cover us from all sin. A Christian no longer lives in sin because he is walking in God’s light, and the path that God provides is without sin. No darkness at all. We still live in a fallen world, and Satan works, tempting us to fulfill the desire of the flesh. We still have human desires, and God has a plan for those desires to be fulfilled. As we walk in the light, His will is accomplished in our lives. The promise of God is that He will not leave us or forsake us. If we fall into the temptation of Satan, His word says to confess our sin, and He is faithful to restore us to the light. It is not God’s desire that we walk in darkness, we can live each day in the light of God. We don’t have to sin and walk in darkness. God does not have fellowship with darkness. That is why John says, “My little children… sin not.” Eternal security is provided to all believers as long as they remain in the light. Keep walking in the light.

Forgiveness for All

 John 8:11
Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more.

The power of forgiveness by Jesus is found in the words, “neither do I condemn you.” Who can forgive sin but God. God hates sin and does not tolerate it. The Scribe and Pharisee were not incorrect.  The law was clear what happens to those who violate His commandments. I find it curious that they did not also bring the man who was also found in the very act. God in the OT punishment for adultery was for both the man and the women. It was a serious break of the law to violate one’s marriage vows. The deity of Jesus gave Him the power to overrule the law, for He is the giver of the law. As God in the OT often showed mercy, Jesus who knew the heart of this woman, spoke words of mercy. The laws of our land do not arrest or punish those who commit adultery, but God’s word is not mocked, whatever man sows, that shall he reap. Every man will answer to the deeds done in the flesh when they meet God face to face at the judgment. But as long as we live, there is forgiveness for all who will come to Jesus and ask. He reaches out with tender love and care, and there is no sin that His blood will not cover. It is not God’s plan that man continue in sin, Jesus told the lady to go and sin no more. “He who is born of God will no longer live in sin.” (1 John 5:18). The example of Jesus given to us here, should help us to see that there is hope for all who stubble in sin, and like Christ, we should also show love and compassion.

Grieve Not

Eph. 4:30
And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Distressing, or causing  the Holy Spirit to be sad happens when we do something or say something that is contrary to the nature of God. Our renewed vessel was made to bring honor to His Name. When we say things that hurt or demean others, we grieve the Holy Spirit. When we allow bitterness, anger, and evil speaking to dwell in our vessel of clay, the Holy Spirit will not abide. He will depart from us if we don’t take action. It is true that a vessel that is fully consecrated and sanctified to God will be sensitive to the checks of the Holy Spirit, and will guard against things that will grieve Him. But Satan is out to destroy what God has made new, and will bring temptations that will play with our emotions and humanity. We are still human, and subject to the temptations of the flesh. We are admonished to put off any behavior or actions that would cause the Holy Spirit to depart. God will never leave us or forsake us, but His Spirit cannot abide where sin abides. He will continue to deal with us and call us back to Him.

Walk in Light & Darkness

 1 John 1:6,7
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not tell the truth: But if we walk in the light…
Do born again believers still sin? This is one of the divides between Calvinist and Wesleyan teachings. Books have been written for centuries on this topic. Greater minds than myself on both sides of this topic have exhausted its depth. The scripture given to us in this passage does appear that it is possible for a Christian to sin. The real question is, are Christians able to live a life without sinning? Calvintist will say that because we are born with the nature of sin, we will always sin in thought, word, or deed because we are human and not perfect. Wesleyan teaches that the work of entire sanctification, will change the natural bent to sin to a bent to live holy. That as long as we walk in the light, keep our eyes on Jesus, that we can avoid walking in darkness. The secret is to stay in the light. When we allow the temptations of the devil to deviate us from walking in the light, we find ourselves walking in darkness. It is not God’s will that we walk in darkness. It is possible to stray from the truth, but God does not give up on us. He said if we acknowledge that we have sinned, and strayed from the light, He is faithful, He is merciful, He is a God that forgives when we come to Him in broken and contrite spirit. If we willfully remain to walk in darkness, and continue in our sin, we have broken fellowship with the Father, and we are living a lie. Making mistakes due to our humanity is not sin. We still need to ask God for grace and even forgiveness when such actions are brought to our attention by the Holy Spirit. That is walking in the light.

The Sinless Life

1 John3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

The teaching of John Wesley concerning the life of holiness is that Christians do not sin if they are living and abiding in Christ. The doctrine taught by Wesley is founded on Biblical teaching given to us by the Apostle John. Sin, a known transgression against the known will of God, a refusal to do what is right and a total disregard to the commandments of God. The desire or temptation to sin is not  a transgression. Humanity with all of its short comings will fail in judgement and may not always rise to occasion or expectations of others. The flesh is subject to illness, which weakens the body and mind to not always act and think correctly. The sinless life is made possible when one totaling yields themselves in full surrender, allowing the Holy Spirit to take full control of their heart and life. John Wesley called this Christian perfection, or the work of sanctification. The sinless life is for us all today, if we trust and truly pray for the fullness of His blessing to fill our hearts.

Christian Anger

Eph. 4:26a, 32 “ Be Angry…and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”-

In a perfect world, everyone would put aside their own wants and even their dignity to keep peace. It is natural to be angry when wrong is inflected and our shelf image is wounded. The natural tendency is to strike back, and inflict pain to those who say and do things that hurt. Anger is a natural emotion that in itself is not sin. As Christians, we have a choice how we are going handle our anger. Paul says that we are not to let our anger become bitter and malicious. Jesus, our God and Savior has shown us how we are to act in the face being treated wrongly. React with kindness, forgive those who despiteful use you. Show the same forgiveness to others that Christ has shown you. Such choices are not natural, they are super natural and come through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within us. We can lay our head down each night knowing that God has given us a heart of forgiveness and our feelings of anger can be given to God.

Be Anger, and Sin Not

Eph. 4:31.32 “ Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

Becoming angry is seen as an out of control emotion. Normally when one becomes angry it is because someone else has inflected pain or has treated us wrongly or carelessly. Becoming angry can also happen when we see an injustice take place, someone is hurting or abusing someone else. Anger is a normal human emotion, but God’s word says to put away anger. In the work of holiness, or sanctification, God deals with us about our carnal anger that stirs within our heart when things don’t go our way, or when someone has treated us wrongly. The Holy Spirit removes carnal self from the throne of our life and put the love of God that constrains us to treat others with love and kindness. Not all anger is carnal, but we must always beware of the reasons we are angry and allow the Holy Spirit to direct us in our actions and behavior. We can be anger at what sin does and how it destroys lives, but we must be careful to direct our anger toward the sin, and not the person, who God loves and desires to save and forgive. “Be angry, but sin not”

The Word of God

Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.”-

The secret to living a holy life, one that keeps the smile of God on us is to live in His word. To hide the Word of God deep in our hearts. It is good to read and to memorize His word, but we must simulate His word in our lives and let the Word of God live in us and through us. His Word is more that just a receipt for good living, it is the essence of our life. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of Life”- John 1:1 . He is the Word that lives within us. It is Jesus that we hide in our hearts that we might live a life holy and righteous before God. The written page, electronically or on paper is still holy and sacred, but they are only words if they don’t change our lives.

Putting on Christ

Num. 15:38, 40 “Put upon the fringe of the borders a ribbon of blue....that ye may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God”- 

God does not want us to forget who brought us out of sin. Keeping Christ at the center and focus of our life will help us to remember who saved us from sin and that He desires that we follow Him and do His commandments. We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. When we put on Christ it is our badge of identity. It reminds people who we are and who we belong to. Living a life of sin and putting on Christ are not compatible. We cannot say that Christ is living in us and through us when we live contrary to His commandments. When we are tempted to live in the flesh and fulfill the lust of the flesh, He is faithful and willing to deliver us. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us...” Being holy unto God is to be set apart and ready to be used by Him. To be holy does not mean that we live a perfect life without error, it means that our heart’s desires more to be like Jesus. Having put on Christ, we are reminded that in everything we do in life, it is done knowing that Christ is the center, and doing His will is the only things that really matters. “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.” Roman 13:14