Part 2

In light of all that Jesus has done for the believer, it is amazing to me to see most Christians don’t live lives of victory over sin. It is reminiscent of what Peter said in his second epistle chapter 1 vs 9; “For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.” It is my hope and prayer in writing this, that you might find Jesus to be faithful to His promises, and that you might live the life of abundance He promises to you.

In the last article, How do I Stop Sinning, we saw that when Jesus died on the cross, we, who are Christians, died with Him. That His death was imputed to us and our old man, that is our flesh, was crucified with Him. We saw how we are instructed by Paul in Romans 6:11 that we are to reckon the old man to be dead to sin and alive to God. Paul is emphatic in his words to the Romans giving them, and giving us, what should be the obvious conclusion to the matter; Romans 6:12 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” However, it would seem, even after understanding that I have died with Him, I still have difficulty not allowing sin to reign in my body. It is like a bad horror movie (none of which I recommend by the way) such as, Night of the Living Dead. I see my old man to be dead, so I tried to put it to rest only to find out that it comes out of the grave. Or worse, like Pet Cemetery, I burry it only to find out it comes back more evil than before. What we need to learn is how to bury our old nature, in such a way that it’s power over us is put to rest for good, but how?

It helps us to understand that this is a universal problem that we all must face when we are born again. In Romans chapter 7 Paul describes his difficulty with burying his fleshly nature. He says, “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do” Romans 7:15. You can sense the frustration, and for those of us who are Christians, we know the frustration of wanting to be free from sin. We often start out trying to put to rest our sinfulness, and finding no victory over it. We try 5 step plans, we make resolutions, we make promises, and take vows to live perfectly from here on out, only to agree with Paul, those things I want to do, I can’t, and those things I hate, I practice. It is at this point that many give up the Christian walk and decide that it is just too hard. However, we don’t find that attitude in Paul, in fact he shows us his struggle with sin, but then he gives us a solution, not how do I deliver myself, but rather, who can deliver me. Notice, Romans 7:24 “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” It is not a method or a plan that can deliver us, only a person, only Jesus Christ.

In the believer’s life, the first thing we must realize is that we are not able to stop sinning. In fact, when it comes to sin, we are completely helpless against overcoming it ourselves, but Jesus Christ has given the victory over sin to all who put their trust in Him for salvation. Hebrews 12 veses 1 and 2 say, “ Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” The writer of Hebrews tells us to lay aside the sin, notice, that so easily ensnares us. How? By looking unto Jesus, who is not only the author, but also the finisher of our faith.

It turns out that the best shovel to bury the flesh, is a close relationship with Jesus Christ. Not just to go to Church, or to make the claim that you are a Christian, but to look unto Jesus as the one who will develop and complete our faith. The only one who can deliver us from the power of these besetting sins. But, you may ask, how do I look unto Jesus? How do I have that type of relationship with Him? That is what we will explore.

Most Christians today believe that Jesus died to pay for their sins, and that He rose from the dead to give them eternal life, but they don't see how to have victory in this present life. They don’t see Jesus as someone who is close to them, but rather someone who is probably mad at them for being less than perfect, and that is why they feel distant. The truth is that through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we who believe have been reconciled to God, not by our own works, but by what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us. See Titus 3:5. God desires to look past your faults and accept you as His son or daughter, so that He might change you by the power of His Holy Spirit. This is something He knows you cannot do on your own, something that only can be accomplished as we spend time with Him, and learn to put our trust in Him.

I have found it to be true in my own life, the more I get to know Jesus, the more I desire to please Him. The more time I spend with Him, the more I am willing to trust Him to take care of my problems, and the more I am willing to allow Him to work through my life. That is what an increase in faith is, in practical terms, trusting God; not only for His promises, but also for His provisions and power. It is no different in our natural relationships. If I have a close friend or relative, I might trust them to watch my children, drive my car, and stay at my house. If I just met someone yesterday, I tend to be guarded; it is unlikely that I would trust them with things that are important to me. As I get to know them, that might change, or I might be even more guarded depending on how trustworthy I find them to be.

Whether we like it or not, we are the same way when it comes to God. If we don’t trust Him we tend to try to handle things on our own, to not allow Him to be involved in our lives, with disastrous results, I might add. But as we surrender to Him, spend time getting to know Him and being changed by His power. We find that those old tendencies of sin fade away into the background. To the point, that it seems strange to us that they ever seemed to have such a powerful hold upon us. Through this process, we are changed more and more into His image and our heart begins to reflect His heart.

I see so many people struggling over sin, trying to overcome it on their own, thinking they need to conquer it in order to please God. It is like my 2 year old son trying to dress himself. He struggles and tugs and fights until he is frustrated and angry, but he has not developed to the point where he can do it on his own yet. Oftentimes he doesn’t want me to help him either, but once he surrenders, I am able to help him. Only then is he is free from his struggle, and can let me do what is impossible for him. So too, fighting against sin, we often strive to put on our own righteousness, looking at our sin, trying to overcome it. He watches with a broken heart, longing to help, urging us to look unto Him. When we do, then immediately He comes and clothes us in His righteousness and showers us with His forgiveness, and helps us in our struggle.

Though there is no shortcut to developing a relationship, there are things that make it easier. He left you His Word, the Bible. Read it prayerfully, starting with the New Testament asking Him for help to understand, and to obey what you read. Next, fellowship with other believers: To develop a relationship with God, He desires us to be a part of a local body of believers. Proverbs 18:1 says, “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.” Find a fellowship where the Word of God is taught and practiced, a place where the people love one another. 1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” Lastly develop a life of prayer, Paul said, “Pray without ceasing” 1Thesolonians 5:17. The idea is that as I go throughout the day, I bring each thing to Him, trusting Him to guide me, and speak to me. It is also helpful to find a quiet place to pray when I feel overwhelmed with the pressures of life.

He does not want us to do these things out of religious practice, but rather to develop and maintain a relationship with Him. George Muller said, “If you live by faith, it is impossible to live in sin.” The idea Mr. Muller was trying to communicate was that if we are completely looking to Jesus, we are not distracted by sinful things or attitudes. George Muller not only believed this, he lived it. And so can you, by God’s grace through Jesus Christ.

All bible references are taken from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible unless otherwise noted.