“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31
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Sunday, May 27, 2012
Free Indeed
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Thank you for your comment, Lydia! It is good to know that we are free from the desire to sin, once we have accepted the Lordship of Christ in our hearts and lives.
Nevertheless, the Bible is clear that because of our sinful nature and flesh, we still sin sometimes. The apostle Paul reminds us of this in Romans 8. He says, "For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate…For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish.” So even though our hearts and minds no longer desire to sin, our sinful nature still dwells in us, until the day we will be released from this sinful body for all eternity. This is exactly why we are in such desperate need of a Saviour, not only for His forgiveness and justification, but also for His continued sanctification in our lives.
1 John 1:8-9 also reminds us of this sin nature, and gives us the wonderful message of hope: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Thanks again for your comment, Lydia, and I hope the mini-theology lesson is helpful!:-)
Your view on this subject is truly interesting, and the scriptures were incredible! I especially liked 1 John 1:8-9 that reminded u of our sinful nature. It correlates perfectly with Romans 3:23 which reminds us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But isn't the end of 1 John 1:9 refreshing? If we confess, we will be cleansed from all unrighteousness. You are right, though. Christians, do sometimes sin, when they forget to let the Holy spirit dwell in them. Galatians 2:20 says it best: " My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Wow! Christ is living in us, and so long as we keep it that way, Christ will never lead us into sin.
the catch, he allows us to be lead into temptation. So long as we keep letting Christ dwell in us, and lead us, we will, indeed, be free from sin. To be more clear, I should have stated that if Christ is truly dwelling in us, we will no longer sin. Thankfully, Christ forgives when we do forget to let him lead us, though. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your response to my statement.
Thank you again for your comment. Like you, I wish to be more clear about what I believe the Bible teaches, in relation to sin and salvation.
I agree with you that “Christ will never lead us into sin.” In fact, James 1:13-15 reveals that we are led into sin by our own evil desires. Does this mean that when we sin, it is because Christ is not dwelling in us? I do not believe so. Consider what 1 John 2:1 says: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” John is not writing this to unbelievers, but to believers (see 1 John 2:12-14, 19; 3:1 and 5:13). It is clear from this, therefore, that believers—those in whom the Spirit dwells, and who are credited with Christ’s righteousness—still sin. Why? Because we are still sinners. It is only through Christ’s atoning work that we are made righteous in God’s eyes. And if we sin, Christ Himself advocates for us to the Father, claiming us as His children.
The Bible teaches us that “there is no one who can do good.” (Psalm 14:3). But we are also assured in Romans 8:26 that the “Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness…the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” So to say that “if Christ is truly dwelling in us, we will no longer sin” would seem to negate our need for this intercession by the Spirit on our behalf. More accurately, we can say that our desire to sin does—and should—decrease more and more, and we should be sinning less and less, as Christ sanctifies us, and makes us more and more holy in heart and conduct.
By the way, in my previous response to your comment, I quoted the apostle Paul in Romans 8. The passage I quoted, however, is actually in Romans 7. So you can find it there!:-)
Excellent scriptures, Lydia. No one who lives in Him “keeps on” sinning. No one who “continues to sin” has either seen Him or known Him. So the believer’s life is not characterized by sin, but by doing what is right. There is not a “pattern” of sinfulness in a believer. However, this is not the same as sinless perfection. Looking back a little further in 1 John, we see in 1:10 that “if we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” Taking these two scriptures together, along with the others mentioned previously, I would conclude that a true believer does not continue living in a pattern of sinfulness, but when he does falter and sin, he is quick to confess, repent, and seek forgiveness from the Lord, whom He knows He has offended.
Thank you again for your thoughts and comments, Lydia. It is good to be challenged and spurred on to dig deep in scripture!
this is my all time favorite verse, here: "but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Philippians 2:12b Nobody's salvation story, or their beliefs that follow are going to be exactly the same. I love this because God is going to help us each, individually work out our own salvation.... and that will be a different story for each of us.
freedom from sin. As Christians, we no longer in bondage sin. Thus, we no longer sin.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, Lydia! It is good to know that we are free from the desire to sin, once we have accepted the Lordship of Christ in our hearts and lives.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, the Bible is clear that because of our sinful nature and flesh, we still sin sometimes. The apostle Paul reminds us of this in Romans 8. He says, "For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate…For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish.” So even though our hearts and minds no longer desire to sin, our sinful nature still dwells in us, until the day we will be released from this sinful body for all eternity. This is exactly why we are in such desperate need of a Saviour, not only for His forgiveness and justification, but also for His continued sanctification in our lives.
1 John 1:8-9 also reminds us of this sin nature, and gives us the wonderful message of hope: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Thanks again for your comment, Lydia, and I hope the mini-theology lesson is helpful!:-)
~ Betsy
Your view on this subject is truly interesting, and the scriptures were incredible!
ReplyDeleteI especially liked 1 John 1:8-9 that reminded u of our sinful nature. It correlates perfectly with Romans 3:23 which reminds us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
But isn't the end of 1 John 1:9 refreshing? If we confess, we will be cleansed from all unrighteousness.
You are right, though. Christians, do sometimes sin, when they forget to let the Holy spirit dwell in them. Galatians 2:20 says it best: " My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Wow! Christ is living in us, and so long as we keep it that way, Christ will never lead us into sin.
the catch, he allows us to be lead into temptation. So long as we keep letting Christ dwell in us, and lead us, we will, indeed, be free from sin. To be more clear, I should have stated that if Christ is truly dwelling in us, we will no longer sin.
Thankfully, Christ forgives when we do forget to let him lead us, though.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your response to my statement.
Hello again, Lydia:-)
ReplyDeleteThank you again for your comment. Like you, I wish to be more clear about what I believe the Bible teaches, in relation to sin and salvation.
I agree with you that “Christ will never lead us into sin.” In fact, James 1:13-15 reveals that we are led into sin by our own evil desires. Does this mean that when we sin, it is because Christ is not dwelling in us? I do not believe so. Consider what 1 John 2:1 says: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” John is not writing this to unbelievers, but to believers (see 1 John 2:12-14, 19; 3:1 and 5:13). It is clear from this, therefore, that believers—those in whom the Spirit dwells, and who are credited with Christ’s righteousness—still sin. Why? Because we are still sinners. It is only through Christ’s atoning work that we are made righteous in God’s eyes. And if we sin, Christ Himself advocates for us to the Father, claiming us as His children.
The Bible teaches us that “there is no one who can do good.” (Psalm 14:3). But we are also assured in Romans 8:26 that the “Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness…the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” So to say that “if Christ is truly dwelling in us, we will no longer sin” would seem to negate our need for this intercession by the Spirit on our behalf. More accurately, we can say that our desire to sin does—and should—decrease more and more, and we should be sinning less and less, as Christ sanctifies us, and makes us more and more holy in heart and conduct.
By the way, in my previous response to your comment, I quoted the apostle Paul in Romans 8. The passage I quoted, however, is actually in Romans 7. So you can find it there!:-)
~ Betsy
I will let the scripture speak:
ReplyDeleteNo one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him (I John 3:6).
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
( John 8:34-36)
Free Indeed!
Excellent scriptures, Lydia. No one who lives in Him “keeps on” sinning. No one who “continues to sin” has either seen Him or known Him. So the believer’s life is not characterized by sin, but by doing what is right. There is not a “pattern” of sinfulness in a believer. However, this is not the same as sinless perfection. Looking back a little further in 1 John, we see in 1:10 that “if we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” Taking these two scriptures together, along with the others mentioned previously, I would conclude that a true believer does not continue living in a pattern of sinfulness, but when he does falter and sin, he is quick to confess, repent, and seek forgiveness from the Lord, whom He knows He has offended.
ReplyDeleteThank you again for your thoughts and comments, Lydia. It is good to be challenged and spurred on to dig deep in scripture!
~ Betsy
this is my all time favorite verse, here:
ReplyDelete"but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
Philippians 2:12b
Nobody's salvation story, or their beliefs that follow are going to be exactly the same.
I love this because God is going to help us each, individually work out our own salvation.... and that will be a different story for each of us.
Thank you for the verse, Lydia--and for your comment!:-)
ReplyDelete~ Betsy