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.

Oh, to be a Daniel!

Daniel 6:4
.. but they could find no occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.

Oh, to be a Daniel! A man standing strong in what he believed. Living a life without error according to the laws of God and His commandments. We can only admire the integrity and character of this man. The pressure was on for Daniel to let down his convictions and give in to the temptation of human preservation. I don’t believe that Daniel was super human, he no doubt made mistakes of human nature, but when it came to the principles of God’s word, he remained faithful. He knew whom he believed in, and was willing to keep that which he committed unto the end of his days. Oh, to be a Daniel! Determine to stand true, come face to face with pending death and trust God to carry him through. We live in a culture where the word of God has been put aside for perverted thinking and liberal progressive ideology. We are the only Bible that others may see. ”Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men” (2 Corinth 3:2) Oh to be a Daniel! A man living holy and blameless in this present world. Such a life is possible living in these vessels of clay. Submitting daily to God’s will is to daily take up the cross of Jesus and live a blameless life before others, that it may be said of us. “No occasion, nor fault is found, they are true and faithful to the God they serve.” Oh, to be a Daniel! Oh, to be like Jesus!

Think on His Word

 Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
The scripture in the days of King David consists of the Torah, the first 5 books of the Bible in the Old Testament. It is regarded as the Law of the Lord. The writing of Moses, the inscriptions of the Ten Commandment, the statues that God required from His people. It is also filled with God’s promises to His people. If they would keep His law, He would be with them and would not forsake them. The man, woman, or child that made the Law of the Lord the focus and centrality of their lives was blessed by God. “Blessed is the man...” The Psalmist writes that this person will be like a tree planted by water, his life will be fruitful and prosperous. We now have the whole counsel of God given to us by holy men of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit. The message of full salvation, abounding love and grace. We delight in His word, we take the time not only to read His word, but apply the word to our hearts. Take time to think on the teachings of Jesus, muse yourself in His word, hide it in your heart to help you live right and godly in this present world.

Sweeter Than Honey

Psalm 19:10
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
His law, His statues, precepts, and commandments are not grievous, they refresh the soul, they are the source of what is right and good. His word brings joy to the heart and opens the eyes to truth and the way of righteousness. His word brings eternal life. Silver and gold, the riches of this world fade away in light of what is most important in life. We desire many things in this life, and God has provided us with such blessings, but our daily bread is the word of God. We seek first the things of God and all other desires in life will fall in place. Living in His word is more than reading a morning devotion, it is the source of our life that guides our every action and reaction. He is the living Word, and through Him we find our purpose in life. Jesus is more desirable than gold, finer than the things of this world, He grows sweeter every day, making life worth living.

Found in Christ

Phil 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Many are lost in the perception that they are good people because they go to church and follow a set of liturgical rituals. Their righteousness, or sense of goodness is founded in keeping rules that govern behavior. Following a code of conduct is good, but one can still be spiritually lost if they have not come to knowledge of faith in Christ. To be found in Christ is to have fellowship with Him. Good meaning people often say, “It is not a religion, but a relationship”. Good theology, is better worded, “My religion is having a relationship with Christ, and daily fellowship with Him”. Our relationship with Christ will influence our behavior. The commandments of God are not disregarded, but they now take on a new meaning. We now keep His commandment to love Him with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves because that is how Christ lived His life. To be found in Christ is to live in Christ and follow His example of pleasing the Father. Perfection is not found in what we do, but in whom we place our faith. We are lost without Him, but can be found in Him when we put our faith in God.

The Table of our Heart

Proverb. 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

It is good to obey the law and to follow the commandments of God, but doing so out of obligation is not what God desires. The ten commandments were written on a tablet of stone by the finger of God. These commandments are the cornerstone of society that our nation was built on. The laws of the land have been established on the premise of these commandments. Essentially, love God with all your heart, and treat other people the way you would want to be treated. Living by these laws provide for us a wholesome and safe environment to live in. They have allowed our land to become prosperous and blessed. But following such laws does not provide eternal life. The law must go deeper than following a set of rules and statues. The law of God that is written on the table of our heart is the law of love given to us by Christ. His love that is shed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, allows us to love beyond what is humanly possible. The nature of sin keeps us from loving God and others with all our hearts. Sin must be forgiven and the Holy Spirit must come to purify our hearts. Mercy and truth become part of our lives when our hearts are made clean and the finger of God can write them on the tablet of our heart.

Respecting People

James 2: 9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

Committing sin when professing to be a follower of Christ is to do something that you know violates God’s word. God’s word makes many things clear about what is sin. The world often scoffed at the word and blows it off as antiquated and irrelevant in our progressive society. They pick and choose what they thing is wrong and right. Choosing their own morality base on their own desires. Treating people differently because they are richer or poor, white or black, smart or ignorant is to commit sin. Racism and having social prejudices that leads to injustice is to disregard the mercy of God. The Word of God requires that we show respect to all human beings, that our origin of birth or social and economic class should not dictate to us how we treat others. God is no respecter of person. For God so loved the WORLD that He sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins and provide a way to live forever with God in this life and the life after.

Wondrous Word

Psalm 119:18 “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.”-

Blinded by sin, it is not natural for people to see the truth of God’s Word. God in His love, grace, and mercy illuminates the mind and opens the eyes of sinners to see Jesus. To see that we are sinners and need of a Savior. As Christians, we need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to see the deeper things of God. The Law of God is more than a rule book of things to do and not to do, but a love letter that God gives us to help us understand what it means to live and what it means to love Him. His Word is filled with wondrous things, and the half as yet to be told of all that He has for us. It is The Good Book in every sense of the word. His Word is food to the soul and the air we breathe. 

Pleasing Self

2 Corinth 5:15 “and that He died for all, that those who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again.”-

Living to please self is an indication that one has not come face to face with the One who died for sin. Weather we realize it or not, we were all born into this world as sinners. We inherited the fallen nature of Adam, and the seed of sin is within us. The accountability of this sin nature is revealed to all men at some point in their lives. The law of God reveals to man the thing that are sinful and break the heart of God. Living life to satisfy the desires of the flesh and thinking only of oneself is at the root of sin. Unbelief in the One who died for sin is manifest in the way one lives their lives. When we come to Christ for forgiveness of sin, He takes our sin, they are nailed to the cross, and cast into the sea of forgetfulness. He begins to change the desire in our heart. We start to focus on the needs of others because that is what Christ did when He died for us. He died that man may live. God wants us to live a life of loving and giving. For those in live in Christ will no longer live unto themselves, but live to please the One who died for them.