- Aug 20, 2020
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For the best part of my life I thought we can’t stop sinning. That sin is a part of human life and we can never stop it.
Whenever I read Romans 6 it bothered me. It bothered me because it didn’t seem to be true to me. It says there:
„What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.“
We died to sin. We may live a new life. We have been set free from sin. It bothered me, because I kept sinning still.
You know what bothered me, too? That Jesus said „Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.“ (Mt 5:48)
Perfect? Really?! I was not even trying to reach that mark.
1 John 2:6 says „Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." I can tell you, it bothered me! I believed to be a good Christian, to live in Jesus and he in me, but… I certainly did not live as Jesus did.
One day I got enough of being bothered by God’s word. So I said to God „Okay Lord, if this is true, if your death on the cross does not only save me from hellfire but also enables me to be free from sin (which is apparently what you want me to be) then please show me, how!“
And what did God do? He changed me from a lukewarm Christian to a real, living Christian!
Are you one of those who sit on their couch at home, saying „we’re all sinners“ – or are you one of these who go out into the world to hunt lost souls in the midst of hate and persecution to bring them back to righteousness, back to God?
If you don’t have this blazing fire of love for the living God inside your heart then you should ask yourself whether your Christianity is more than pure knowledge.
That day I understood that being a Christian is not about knowing and believing things, it is about living those things! To be a Christian is not a one-time decision. It is a decision you make each and every day again, the decision to subordinate your own will to God’s will.
We often forget that God is not a machine without feelings. We have a personality because God has a personality. Everytime we sin we hurt Him. God is merciful and forgives us, but do you think you make God happy when you disobey Him day after day after day after day? Do you think you can have a functioning relationship with Jesus when you don’t even try to make Him happy, to do what He asks you to do?
My life has changed a lot since then and whenever I sin now my conscience tells me immediately. Did you know that the conscience is used by the Holy Spirit (Romans 9:1)? If sinning does not burden your conscience then you got a serious issue in your relationship with Jesus.
In Eph 4:29-31 it says „Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.“
The Holy Spirit is called „holy“ for a good reason: everything unholy, every sin grieves the Holy Spirit and damages your relationship with the living God. If you commit a sin and it doesn't burden your conscience then the Holy Spirit inside you must be heartsick already.
Because of my conscience I am unable to talk to God after sinning before I repented, and now sinning is like a train accident in my life.
Half the New Testament tells us that we are supposed to obey God’s laws in the power of the Holy Spirit, and while I used to think that it is impossible I now know that nothing is impossible when God is living inside you. Paul knew this 2000 years ago already.
I used to be one of those people who denied the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank God He showed me the truth!
The Bible says about such people: „Having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people“ (2 Tim 3:5).
PS: There are people who don’t want to hear the truth and pick verses like 1 John 1:8 and claim we’re all sinners. But they miss the whole context of that verse. 1 John 1:8 says that all of us have been sinners and all of us need a saviour. Absolutely correct. There is no single human being besides Jesus who never sinned. But now that we are justified and received the Holy Spirit we don’t have to sin anymore. Jesus freed us from sin completely. When you continue reading 1 John you will find the following: „We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.“
PPS: There is also people who say „you can’t know all the laws, so how can you claim that we are able to keep all of them?“ You might have a good friend. When you know someone for years and you’re really close to him then you know his taste, what he likes and what he doesn’t like. You don’t have to ask him whether he likes peanuts when you know that he doesn’t like nuts at all. And you won’t gift him a pink shirt when you know he doesn’t like that color in general. It’s the same when you have been in a relationship with God for years and got to know Him better and better. You don’t need to know all the laws word by word, because you know God Himself. You know what is good and what is bad in His eyes, you know what He likes and what He dislikes. And if there is a difficult situation and you’re not quite sure then you can just ask God, He will answer.
Whenever I read Romans 6 it bothered me. It bothered me because it didn’t seem to be true to me. It says there:
„What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.“
We died to sin. We may live a new life. We have been set free from sin. It bothered me, because I kept sinning still.
You know what bothered me, too? That Jesus said „Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.“ (Mt 5:48)
Perfect? Really?! I was not even trying to reach that mark.
1 John 2:6 says „Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." I can tell you, it bothered me! I believed to be a good Christian, to live in Jesus and he in me, but… I certainly did not live as Jesus did.
One day I got enough of being bothered by God’s word. So I said to God „Okay Lord, if this is true, if your death on the cross does not only save me from hellfire but also enables me to be free from sin (which is apparently what you want me to be) then please show me, how!“
And what did God do? He changed me from a lukewarm Christian to a real, living Christian!
Are you one of those who sit on their couch at home, saying „we’re all sinners“ – or are you one of these who go out into the world to hunt lost souls in the midst of hate and persecution to bring them back to righteousness, back to God?
If you don’t have this blazing fire of love for the living God inside your heart then you should ask yourself whether your Christianity is more than pure knowledge.
That day I understood that being a Christian is not about knowing and believing things, it is about living those things! To be a Christian is not a one-time decision. It is a decision you make each and every day again, the decision to subordinate your own will to God’s will.
We often forget that God is not a machine without feelings. We have a personality because God has a personality. Everytime we sin we hurt Him. God is merciful and forgives us, but do you think you make God happy when you disobey Him day after day after day after day? Do you think you can have a functioning relationship with Jesus when you don’t even try to make Him happy, to do what He asks you to do?
My life has changed a lot since then and whenever I sin now my conscience tells me immediately. Did you know that the conscience is used by the Holy Spirit (Romans 9:1)? If sinning does not burden your conscience then you got a serious issue in your relationship with Jesus.
In Eph 4:29-31 it says „Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.“
The Holy Spirit is called „holy“ for a good reason: everything unholy, every sin grieves the Holy Spirit and damages your relationship with the living God. If you commit a sin and it doesn't burden your conscience then the Holy Spirit inside you must be heartsick already.
Because of my conscience I am unable to talk to God after sinning before I repented, and now sinning is like a train accident in my life.
Half the New Testament tells us that we are supposed to obey God’s laws in the power of the Holy Spirit, and while I used to think that it is impossible I now know that nothing is impossible when God is living inside you. Paul knew this 2000 years ago already.
I used to be one of those people who denied the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank God He showed me the truth!
The Bible says about such people: „Having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people“ (2 Tim 3:5).
PS: There are people who don’t want to hear the truth and pick verses like 1 John 1:8 and claim we’re all sinners. But they miss the whole context of that verse. 1 John 1:8 says that all of us have been sinners and all of us need a saviour. Absolutely correct. There is no single human being besides Jesus who never sinned. But now that we are justified and received the Holy Spirit we don’t have to sin anymore. Jesus freed us from sin completely. When you continue reading 1 John you will find the following: „We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.“
PPS: There is also people who say „you can’t know all the laws, so how can you claim that we are able to keep all of them?“ You might have a good friend. When you know someone for years and you’re really close to him then you know his taste, what he likes and what he doesn’t like. You don’t have to ask him whether he likes peanuts when you know that he doesn’t like nuts at all. And you won’t gift him a pink shirt when you know he doesn’t like that color in general. It’s the same when you have been in a relationship with God for years and got to know Him better and better. You don’t need to know all the laws word by word, because you know God Himself. You know what is good and what is bad in His eyes, you know what He likes and what He dislikes. And if there is a difficult situation and you’re not quite sure then you can just ask God, He will answer.
