Tuesday, January 23, 2018

The Struggle with Sin


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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