This is so true brother, we have to escape our sins before we can say we have been saved from them.
This takes courage and faith in Jesus from the side of the believer. For years i tried stopping my sin in my own ability, because i felt i had to do that. In effect i locked my inner sinners up within my own self. Jesus wasn't pleased when He came for a visit and threw the doors of my inner jails open. That really taught me a hard lesson!
What a mess did i make of it trying to do it myself. Years deep in my pit i finally realised i had to let Jesus change me. And so in the end He saved me from my sins by putting me to death in my desires to do wrong and raising me up into newness of life through His loving truth, in my sinner selves, time and again, until in union my divided self served and praised the Lord each day again.
That is the secret of stopping our sin, to learn to love Jesus more than doing wrong, and to eat grace and so learn to love Jesus for His salvation. He grew me anew out of my sin, like a beautiful flower growing in mere dirt. Every day He reaps me from my sinful existence into His heavenly Kingdom. Every day He puts sins to death and raises me up in to His loving truth.
This work of love is an ongoing process, which like my life in Christ, will have no ending, but will always continue building me in the kingdom of Christ.
So glad he did away with my fleshly passions, i struggled with them for years, before i learned to love Jesus more than those fleeting pleasures and realised i wanted to die being like that. Sure i took some time to die in some sins, rivers of blood, that is what such times are in our lives, rivers of blood as we die to wrong and find new life in Christ's loving truth.
i found Scripture to be extremely helpful fighting my sin, each time i found birth in its truth, i would grow bigger in His kingdom of love. Amazing how that goes.
All praise to Jesus.
Isaiah 30:19-22
People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”
Beloved one,
I hear a voice of sincerity from you.
For we heard:
“Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,”
I Timothy 1:5 NKJV
Beloved one, with many living idolatry, my heart cry that many were lost and go astray.
Many didn’t perceive the light of the gospel
of our Lord, that bring grace, that strengthen them, that leads them to the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Your sincerity to love Christ, bring joy to Him, for you respond to His love. Though many things we may yet not understand, let us place them in His Hands, believing that all things work for good for those who love Christ who are called to His purpose in union with Him.
Talking about fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is
idolatry, this is seldom discussed,for I believe that when we abide in Christ’s words, we shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free.
Many were blinded by fornication in pursuit of indulging in sensual pleasures. In their blindness, they said that indulgences as love.
If only they repent like a sinful woman who was forgiven in Luke 7. For the Lord said:
Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven'for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." -Luke 7:47
When they who have been guilty of fornication, they respond to the grace of repentance like the sinful woman who was forgiven— their sins, which are many, are forgiven, for they have much loved Christ.
When sinner repent, that becomes a source of love for Jesus. So let us daily bring our sin before Him, repent in truth and contrition. He will thoroughly wash our iniquities, and cleanse us from our sin. Our repentance bring joy not only to our Lord, but also to us, that we believe that we have met the condition to be forgiven, that we heard:
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, -Matthew 6:14
but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. -Matthew 6:15
Yes, we met the condition when we released forgiveness to those who wronged us. What bring us joy is that our Heavenly Father forgave our wrongdoings. Where is this joy ? The joy of the Lord is our strength. The joy that our Heavenly Father no longer counting out wrongdoings against us. This joy of the Lord gives us strength to walk according to His commandments.
For this is what we have heard:
“And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them,
purifying their hearts by faith.”
Acts 15:7-9 NKJV
How did Gentiles who were once in fornication, with unclean mouths, with ungodly passion, evil desire, and covetous of the things of the world,
that their hearts be purified by faith ? This is what we have heard:
“Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who
have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:”
II Peter 1:1 NKJV
So we were purified by faith, that we have obtained by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
What is the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ ? This is what we have heard:
“My tongue shall speak of Your word,
For all Your commandments are righteousness.”
Psalms 119:172 NKJV
So the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ are His commandments.
What are His commandments that we heard ?
“And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”
I John 3:23 NKJV
“And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
I John 4:21 NKJV
“This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.”
II John 1:6 NKJV
“But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.”
II Thessalonians 3:6 NKJV
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”
I John 5:3 NKJV
So we were purified by faith, that we have obtained by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, for we have believed on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
Beloved one, the commandments of our Lord are not burdensome, as many who have been living in idolatry have perceived, but the commandments of the Lord is the love of God that make us right before Him through faith in Christ Jesus.
Beloved one Jeshu, may your testimony bring deliverance to many, that His grace strengthen you to abide in the truth of His love. Let us long that many taste and see the truth of His love.
So beloved ones, consider this that we heard:
“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments.”
Psalms 119:176 NKJV
So beloved ones, let us not forget the Lord’s commandments, and trust the Lord that He will seek you who have gone astray like a lost sheep.
May God’s grace be with you.
To God be all glory and praise. Amen.