Romans
7:15-19 “I do not understand
what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if
I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it
is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know
that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I
have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do
not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on
doing.”
Professor
Jeff Jue writes that father of the
Reformation, Martin Luther is famous for the Latin phrase “simul Justus et peccator”, which means “simultaneously just (or
righteous) and sinner”. By faith, Christians are justified before their just
and holy god as their sins are pardoned and the righteousness of Christ is
imputed to them. Yet, in the ongoing pilgrim life of the Christian this side of
eternity, there is still a struggle with sin that is discouraging and that, sadly,
may lead to devastating consequences. So, how does the Christian, who is justified
in Christ, deal with the continuing presence of sin.
Ephesians
1:3-6 “Praise be to the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the
heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose
us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in
his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through
Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise
of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
Dr.
Jue suggests that we, first, must remember who we are as those united to Christ
by faith. The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 1 that we have been redeemed,
adopted, forgiven, and given spiritual blessings, have obtained an inheritance
and eternal life in Christ by the grace of God. How we respond to sin comes
from our understanding of who we are in Christ and what Christ has done for us.
Secondly, be a part of a Bible-believing
church that preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The preaching of the Word of
God and the administration of the Lord’s Supper in Communion are means of grace
that encourage us in our lives and again remind us of who we are and what we
have received in Christ.
Galatians
5:16-18 “So I say, walk by
the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For
the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is
contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you
are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you
are not under the law.”
Even
with our understanding of who we are in Christ, we still face regular temptations
from our sinful nature of our flesh, from the God-rejecting world system, and
from the devil. The fact is that we all struggle with sin as we seek to pursue
the holiness that God desires. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6 calls us to stand firm by putting on the “whole armor
of God” in truth, righteousness, faith, salvation and the Word of God. The
battle imagery is absolutely appropriate. We must battle with things that would
cause us to fall away from God. This is a constant fight that will not end
until we reach heaven. Thankfully, the indwelling Holy Spirit is at work in us
and will help us in our struggle until that day when we will be glorified and
our struggle with sin ultimately will end.
Blessings
in Christ
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