Must We Sin?

Do we have to sin?

That depends if you are speaking of sins we are aware of or things we do that offend God of which we are not aware. Praise our Lord Jesus Christ that his grace covers all things we are blissfully unaware of so the question then is, are we able to avoid sins we do on purpose. The answer to that is, yes.

People mistakenly misuse the scripture where Paul stated what his struggle was with sin before accepting Jesus:

I know that my selfish desires won’t let me do anything that is good. Even when I want to do right, I cannot. Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong. And so, if I don’t do what I know is right, I am no longer the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them. (Romans 7:18-20)

Paul is describing what it is to be a slave to sin, the sin that is revealed by the perfect Law of God. But earlier Paul also wrote:

Don’t you know that you are slaves of anyone you obey? You can be slaves of sin and die, or you can be obedient slaves of God and be acceptable to him. You used to be slaves of sin. But I thank God that with all your heart you obeyed the teaching you received from me. Now you are set free from sin and are slaves who please God. (Romans 6:16-18)

So why is it that so often we fall back into sin? Why is it that we end up so weak? For the answer to that I think we need to consider king David.

In some ways this is comparing apples and oranges because we are now indwelt by the Holy Spirit and David was not. God applied a lot of grace to David in the same way he did to Abraham but today we live in a constant state of grace because of the blood of Jesus. However, there are certain behaviours that are similar that still get us in trouble.

The big difference between David and us is that David had no choice in his sin; he was a slave to it. His best chance was to avoid situations that would cause him to fall. As he stood on the roof top looking down on a bathing Bathsheba, David was a slave to his desires, but he shouldn't have been there. When you read the scriptures you discover that it was the time when kings went off to war, but David was not where he was suppose to be. He sent off his army and he stayed home, bored. Boredom is never a good thing. If David had been fulfilling his duties he would never have sinned and an innocent man would not have had to die.

Too often we decide to sin because we are not where we are suppose to be. And yes, I chose the word "decide"on purpose. In this age of grace, with the indwelling of the Spirit and the broken bonds of sin, we have to make a conscience decision to sin. We know what we are doing and decide to do it any way. It is not as Paul described what it was like before Jesus. We know him, have been freed by him, have the ability to decide for ourselves and are strengthened by the Spirit to do the right thing.

If we are where we are suppose to be in the Spirit, doing what we have been called to do, serving our Lord Jesus, then no temptation could ever overwhelm us. There is no reason why we must give in to sin, but we can make the decision to do it. When we are weak in our relationship temptation is strong. When we are strong in our relationship, temptation is weak.

Are we where we are suppose to be? Are we bored? Are we lending power to temptations? Then turn back as quickly as you can to Jesus. Who the Son has set free is free indeed.

Because You Are My God!

I hate to be hated. I have a problem with people disliking me; it bothers me. My wife is even worse than I am. She will go way out of her way to try to win over anyone she senses has a problem with her. But the fact is that there will be people who dislike and even hate us, even though we have done nothing against them. They will hate us because of Jesus in us. They will hate the righteousness that we represent. I did not say they will hate our perfection because we aren't there yet, but they will hate our desire to do what is right and to shun what is wrong. They will hate our love of Jesus Christ. How are you going to handle that?

King David had a lot of enemies. One of his sons turned against him and stole the kingdom from him. David had to run away, fleeing from his own flesh and blood. And there were many who stood with his son, against him. David stated to God:

I have a lot of enemies, Lord.
Many fight against me and say,
    “God won’t rescue you!” (Psalm 3:1-2)

There's the kicker; when people attack your relationship with God. Understand the source of it. The enemy of our soul, the enemy of our God wants to destroy our faith. It has nothing to do with us and everything to do with inflicting pain on our Father. He hates our Father and tries to get at him through us. If he can steal God's child away and bring him into his own camp he knows he has inflicted pain on the Father's heart. So he tries to scare us:

"God won't rescue you."

"This is your mess. You caused it. God won't rescue you from it."

"Sure God loves you but you messed up. This is your punishment."

Whatever it takes to scare us away from our faith, to cause us to doubt our Father's love, to make us give up because he wants us to forget that nothing can separate us from God's love. Nothing. But David knew, refused to forget despite his circumstances, who his saviour was. He refused to doubt God. He refused to turn to any other source for rescue. He knew and refused to let go:

But you are my shield,
    and you give me victory
    and great honor.
4 I pray to you, and you answer
    from your sacred hill. (Psalm 3:3-4)

It doesn't matter if you created the mess. It doesn't matter if you have given people just cause to hate you. It doesn't matter if you made them your enemy; our Father will not abandon you. David created the mess he was in. He provoked his son by his inaction. He also refused to take steps to prevent what happened but his weaknesses did not cause him to deny God's strength or character. In this age of grace, when God has freely poured out his love upon his children and leads us by the hand, why do we doubt him and fear abandonment? David did not have what we have and yet he knew God well enough to be able to sleep at night and declare he was not afraid:

I sleep and wake up refreshed
    because you, Lord,
    protect me.
6 Ten thousand enemies attack
from every side,
    but I am not afraid. (Psalm 3:5-6)

But we fear everything. We fear our enemies, our finances, our health, our schooling, our future. We fear we will not get what we want because we are more interested in that than in the Father's will. What a crazy mixed up bunch we are, singing the praises of our God one minutes and not able to sleep because of fear and anxiety in the next.

I invite you to declare with me right now, ``You are my God!" and accept everything that comes with that declaration. Now put what you need in front of that declaration:

"I will not fear because you are my God!"

"I will rejoice because you are my God!"

"I am victorious and triumphant because you are my God!"

"I will sleep tonight because you are my God!"

"I will love those who hate me and show kindness to those who persecute me because you are my God!"

"I will bear witness to your love and grace by my actions and words today because you are my God!"

Because you are my God. Exercise your faith today. Trust. Allow his peace and joy to flow through you today so that it becomes infectious all around you. You are a witness so let your testimony be one of faith and trust today, even in the face of your enemy, because he is our God!

So Where Is This Faith You Claim To Have?

To say it's all about faith is an understatement. Either you believe God, everything he has said and everything he has done, or you don't. If you believe and act upon that belief then you have faith but if you don't then you don't. It is not all that complicated, but we make it complicated. We are willing to have faith until the possibility it may cost us something, look a bit risky, or may leave us looking like a fool. If we feel any of these things when it comes to acting on the promises of God, we do not have faith and without faith we cannot please God:

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  (Hebrews 11:6)

Why serve a God who you do not believe desires the best for you, who you do not think wants to bless you and increase you? It is amazing how many people think they serve a mean-spirited God. So it goes beyond having faith to believe and also encompasses what you believe.

We are told that Abraham is our father because he was the first to have this faith in God, so in this sense he is the father of our faith. This is important to take note of because then we know what faith is. Faith is simply to believe God:

So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  (Galatians 3:6)

God's promise to Abraham was simple: Do what I tell you and I will make you into a great nation that will be a blessing to all nations. No proof offered, simply God's word on the matter. That was good enough for Abraham. But it was a faith that cost obedience. Abraham didn't get to do what he wanted to do. He was in a covenant of obedience to God now, so when God told him to pack up, leave everything that was familiar to him and move to a strange land with strange people, Abraham did exactly that.

Some of you even call God a liar. You say, "I tried faith and it didn't work". You would never come right out and say "God's a liar" but you may as well say it. Most of us have the patience the size of a gnat. When you sign on with God then you sign on to his time table. Do you realize how many years it was between God's promise to Abraham and the birth of Isaac? Twenty-five years. That's a life-time for some people. In fact, some people can't even wait for a day. No stamina to their faith. They have conditional faith. "Do it now God or I'm jumping ship."

Do you realize that it took 20 years between David's anointing as king by Samuel and him finally becoming king over Israel? And in that time he faced giants, became a legion, was turned into a fugitive, became a leader of misfits and an enemy of the king. Even when the opportunity was at hand for David to take the kingdom by force he refused until God's appointed time. We, who claim to have faith, often mess up our lives by our impatience and doing things according to our own timeline. Then we blame God and accuse him of being a liar.

Here are the facts:

Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.  (Galatians 3:7-9)

We rob God of his glory when we refuse to live in victory according to his promises, based on the same faith Abraham had. We make God out to be a liar. It doesn't matter if it takes a few years for God to do what he promised; his timing is perfect. Our part in it is to continue in faith, believing that what he promised is coming. "Those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith." Would you dare look at Abraham and say that he was not a blessed man? Of course he was blessed, beyond our imagining. However, faith is not for the weak:

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  (Hebrews 11:1)

You have to have faith that Jesus Christ loves you and due to that love he pours out his compassion on you. His blessings flow for you every day and he desires to build you up not tear you down. That's the important thing to understand; God is interested in your good so that he will be glorified through your life. You have to be convinced of this or you will not have the perseverance you need for a life-time of serving Jesus Christ:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Faith will do you no good unless you go to the end with it. You can afford to lose everything else in your life but you can't afford to lose your faith. Without faith we cannot please God and I don't think any of us what to come to the end of our life in a condition where everything we have invested in is thrown away. It is not good enough to have faith for a period of time. Salvation is by faith and faith must be ours to the end.

So no matter the storms we face or the condition we find ourselves in; no matter if everything has been robbed from us or if we have been told to take 100 years to build a boat; no matter if God removes us from everything that is familiar or takes a while in fulfilling his promises; we have to have faith that the promises are being fulfilled, that God has our best interest at heart and that he will glorify himself through us. It is not enough to have faith for today, we must have the determination to persevere in our faith no matter what tomorrow holds for us because Jesus has promised better things are on the way. I leave you with the words Paul wrote, inspired by the Spirit of God and born of his own faith and experience:

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (2 Corinthians 4:17)










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