We are justified and saved by Faith alone. Without works of the Spirit, our Faith is null and dead. Faith, being unjustified without works, is condemnable. I am drawn to temptation, repeatedly. And I fold to it. I fear that my continual failure to uphold the Law will cause me to lose my inheritance.
Hello Lagopus, if you are contrite/penitent after you have sinned, and therefore someone who regularly obeys the command that we (believers) are given (in
1 John 1:9) as the remedy for the sins that we commit at times, then why would you believe yourself to be, "
without works of the Spirit"
Once God has caused us to be born again and justified/saved us, He continues His mighty work in us to sanctify us (make us more and more Christlike .. e.g.
Philippians 1:6). And a big part of being made more and more Christlike means being made less and less sinful, yes, but this is neither an easy, pleasant, nor quick process .. e.g.
Hebrews 12:7-11.
So, hang in there brother, continually doing your utmost everyday to grow in your knowledge and understanding of God, His word, and the faith ..
cf Deuteronomy 11:18-21; e.g. Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-3; 119:105; John 17:17; Romans 12:2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
I left a VERY sinful life behind (at age 30, 35+ years ago) when I finally became a Christian, and I struggled for a long time as a young believer because of all of the mental "baggage" (if you will) from my sinful life that decided to come along for the ride. I practiced the principal Christian spiritual disciplines, Bible Study, Prayer, Fellowship and Witnessing, but my life didn't change all that much (certainly not as much as I was hoping that it would anyway) until I began to put the 5th discipline into practice, that of treasuring/hiding God's word in my heart by memorizing* it (certain/pertinent verses and passages, that is, not the entire Bible
).
The word of God is the principal means that God uses to sanctify us ..
John 17:17, so memorizing it (& thereby coming to know it that well as a result) actually makes it MUCH harder to sin, because whenever a temptation comes our way after that, the Holy Spirit brings one or two or three perfectly memorized verses/passages to the forefront of our minds, reminding us (clearly) why we shouldn't fall for it
As King David once said (and I have now found to be very true),
Psalm 119
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word.
11 Thy word I have treasured [hidden] in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.
God bless you!!
--David
p.s. - as a final bit of encouragement, here's something that theologian/pastor A. W. Pink had to say in regard to this topic.
*(if you'd like to give Scripture memory work a try, but you'd like to have a little help getting started, just ask me via PM as I would be happy to do so
)
edit: if you'd like to do so immediately, just let me know right here in this thread (because you need 25 posts/5 likes to be able to start a PM with other members, so I'll send one to you instead)
