Paul has said one cannot claim the wonderful and gracious promises of God without separating oneself from every sin of the flesh and spirit. This means sins committed with the body and spirit, we have to cleanse ourselves from the dirtiness of both of these. We can do this by making a clean break from them. A person needs to get rid of anything that would hinder them from living a righteous and holy life, having nothing around to make all of this filthiness a desire to them.
A person must hate all sinful deeds of the body and spirit; they need to run from them. The more a person hates these sins the easier it is to get away from them. If you need help there is One that will help you, all you have to do is call on Jesus Christ. Leaving sin behind is not always easy but with Jesus it can be done.
If one cannot leave all this behind it may explain why some have lost their Christian joy, John 15:11; "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full".
You may feel you have lost your divine protection, John 17:15; "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil". Jesus pleads their case for them as He knows what the world is like. Jesus wants safety for everyone.
Do you feel your prayers are not being answered? John 15:7; "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you". Abiding in Jesus is the secret to answered prayers. The more we strive to be near Christ through prayer and studying the Word and have unity with Him the more our prayers will be in line with the nature of Him, wanting what He would wants for us.
Have you felt like you have lost the presence of God? John 14:23; "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him". When we truly love Jesus and will obey His words, we will experience the instant presence and love of the Father and Son. A person must realize the Father's love is conditioned on one's love for Jesus and their loyalty to His Word.
Compromising with the world means to lose the presence and promises of God. This is why we should leave sin behind even if this means ridding ourselves of things we enjoy. The joys on earth are nothing compared to what is in store for us when we reach our permanent home in heaven.
May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!
3 comments:
Yes...we should absolutely hate sin...we are 'CHRISTians.' That means to be like Christ. God hates the sin but loves the sinner. Praise the Lord! I can't imagine wanting to do what my Lord despises. I want the fullness of all He has to offer me and it's the least that I can do to work at NOT sinning. I want to please God. And pleasing Him means to not do anything that would cause Him to be unhappy [sin]. And being human...that is impossible...however, I am so thankful that He is a good and merciful God that is full of grace! Great post!
Yes, God is loving, compassionate, and merciful, but He is also Holy. I think we forget that sometimes. Because He is holy, He cannot and will not tolerate sin. Sin separates us from God. God takes sin seriously and so should we. Great post!
Excellent post! We must seperate ourselves from sin. He is a loving God but He is a just God.
Post a Comment