Expecting to sin is a sin.

Expecting to sin is a sin.

It seems that there are many who consider themselves Christians who believe that sinning is part of the normal Christian experience. Many expect to sin until the day they die. Many excuses are given for this belief but none of them are truly scriptural. Let us examine what the Bible says about this.

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Rom 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Rom 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Rom 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Rom 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Rom 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Rom 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Please notice these facts concerning yourself.

1. You are dead to sin.

2. You were baptized into Christ’s death.

3. You were buried with Christ by baptism into His death and like Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, you also should walk in newness of life.

4. Your old man, your old self or your old sinful nature was crucified with Christ that your body of sin might be destroyed

5. You are commanded not to serve sin any longer.

6. You are now dead and freed from sin.

7. You are commanded to reckon yourself to be dead indeed unto sin and now alive unto God through Jesus Christ your Lord.

8. You are now dead unto sin but you are commanded not to let sin reign or rule your body.

9. You are commanded not to yield your body as an instrument of unrighteousness unto sin but to yield yourself unto God.

10. You are told that sin shall not have dominion over you.

11. You are told that you have a choice of what master you truly serve. If you chose to yield yourself to sin, even though Christ has set you free, you will become a slave of sin. If you chose to yield yourself to Christ and His obedience you will become a slave to Him.

It is obvious that you can not reckon yourself to be dead indeed to sin and still expect to sin at the same time. To think that sin is normal or something that you must live with everyday is the pure rebellion and disobedience. It is a rejection of Christ’s true provision and gift for you. Christ has totally set you free from sin but if you choose to yield
yourself to sin, you will become a slave to sin.

One reason you might not have experienced the miraculous deliverance from sin in your life is because you have not aligned yourself with the bible standards. You have lowered those standards by thinking that anger is okay, it's just human. Gossip is okay because you think, you can't get over it. All those unclean thoughts you embrace as friends, you think it's only human.

You think that a little slander, a little jealousy, you can't really help it. Those are normal human feelings and you'll always have them. Instead believing God’s word, you make excuses for your anger, gossip, sarcasm and lust. As you make excuses your whole life in Christ gradually lowers and lowers.

You may say, "I believe Christ has set me free from sin, but I am not now experiencing it."

You must now take God at His word. Anything less is a lack of faith and that is sin. You are now dead indeed to sin. Start now by calling sin, sin. Stop looking at things that you do wrong or feelings that you have that are wrong and excusing them as shortcomings or as little weaknesses in your humanity. They are not just little characteristics that occur because of your background or heredity.

You must stop making excuses and call sin, sin. You can afford to do it because you will never receive the freedom from sin that Christ has already provided by hiding behind excuses. Get real about the things in your life that are sin and see secondly that sin cannot be justified. You can't justify sin.

As long as you consider sin as normal or something that you must live with every day, you are yielding yourself to sin. If you knew that a thief was outside your house to kill, steal and destroy would you let him in? By accepting any sin as normal you are not only disobeying God, but you are yielding to sin. The scripture is clear, if you continue to yield to sin, you will become a slave to sin.

Please read "Do dead people sin"?

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CHRIST HAS SET YOU FREE - NOW OBEY

Gal. 5:1; "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

Romans 6:6, "We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed and we might no longer be in slave to sin." There was a time when even know you knew a thing was right. You didn't want to say it because of what other people would think of you, either at work or at school or at home. And you were so preoccupied with their opinion that you didn't want to say what was right, even though you knew it was right. You felt they would laugh at you or they would oppose you.

Now, God has buried that old selfish personality that is in slave to people's opinion, has buried it with Jesus and has raised you up in His son so that there is a new unselfish you that is free from people's opinions and free from what people can do to you and that you is able to say what is right whether people respect you or whether they criticize you. That is the Gospel, loved ones. The Gospel is that God has done a mighty work that has made available to you and you, you that is able to obey him.

That's why the Bible always says, "Liveth, Believeth, Liveth; Liveth, Believeth: Believeth, Liveth." Those two words are always synonymous in the Bible. Jesus actually used the word 'obey'. He said, believe, you obey. The two words are synonymous because the work has been done that has changed you and all you have to do is be that. So, you remember he always spoke to people over cripple and he said, "Stand up" He didn't say, "Do you believe that I apar (ph) to make you stand up." He said, on one occasion do you want to be clean but normally he said, stand up because that's the only right response to the mighty work that has been done in your personality.

Now, that emphasis on believe and obey is in Romans 10:16, "But they have not all heeded the Gospel for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" Now, do you see that the two words are regarded as synonymous? "But they have not all heeded the Gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord who has believed what he has heard from us." So, they have not all heeded or obeyed the Gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord who has believed what he has heard from us. In other words, if they believed it, they would heeded and if they heeded, it proves that they believe it but the two are synonymous. The two are the same.

A prisoner has been lying in a dungeon for years, shackled to the walls of his cell. While he's asleep, liberators come in and they cut the chains and they unlock the door and then they go outside into the passageway. And when the prisoner awakes, they shout into him and say, "The chains are cut, stand up. The door is unlocked, come out, you are free." Either the prisoner believes that and walks into freedom or the prisoner doesn't believe it and stays on the floor of the cell and thinks they are joking or he does believe it but doesn't want to leave the cell that he has got used to. But, those are the only three possibilities.

It is not possible for the prisoner to lie in the cell and say, "I believe you and I'm trying to escape." It isn't because the person outside the door says, "But the chains are broken, the door is unlocked, you just have to stand and walk and you'll be free." And the prisoner keeps crying, "I believe that and I'm trying to escape." The liberator says, "No, no, you are not trying to escape." The prisoner doesn't say, "I believe that you cut these chains so that I wouldn't have to escape or I wouldn't need to escape." The liberator scratches his head and says, "What!" "Well, I believe you cut the chains so that I don't need to escape." The liberator says, "No, no the very reason I cut the chains was so that you could be free."

Now, Jesus died and took your selfish perverted personality with Him to death so that you could be free. You are free; you can walk in obedience that's why the Bible always identifies belief with obedience. If you believe that I died for you and you died with me then obey me. If you don't obey me, it's because you don't believe me or you don't want to be free and loved ones, that's the Gospel. The Gospel is that God has done a work in you that has freed you from slavery to people's opinions, from slavery to physical resources for your security and you are able to be free. The Bible often talks about the experience such conversion. 'Verto vertrag' (ph) in Latin is 'to turn'. Convert is to turn around and the Bible talks of in those terms, it doesn't talk of in terms of belief and mental accent but talks of in terms of I'm walking, I'm walking towards all the things that people treasure in his life.

It's not logical. If you believe the chains are broken, you are free immediately. If you are still trying to get free, you don't believe the chains are broken. You know, the only reason I share it with you is, I think you are slaving under the old chains. I think you sit there and you do have trouble with that temper and anger and greed and envy and jealousy and you do have trouble with resentment against other people and a critical attitude towards your friends. You do and you're trying continually to get free of those things and you're continually thinking, "Well I do believe all that I believe that my old self was crucified. I believe that but I just can't make it work for me".

The truth is, you don't really believe it, because you still think you can find a remedy yourself. You're still hoping that you can get rid of envy and jealousy and greed without leaving the dungeon of your own self-directed life, that's right. Really that's it, at the end of the day, you know. You want to be able to keep some chains on that you like, they look so nice, and you want to keep the door closed and locked when you want it closed and locked, because it keeps other people out and maintains your own privacy and your right to run your life as you want.

Come out! Your chains are cut and the door is unlocked, now stand up and enjoy your freedoom.

Either you believe that and you walk into freedom or you do not believe it and you stay on the floor of the cell or you really do not want to leave the cell that you have got used to. Those are the only three possibilities.

Which is your choice????????????????

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HOW THE DEVIL USES THE PHRASE "SINLESS PERFECTION"

TO SCARE AWAY MANY SINCERE

SOULS FROM SEEKING A LIFE OF HOLINESS

Have we really grasped the fact that the Victorious Life is a gift from God? We may think of it as "the fullness of the Holy Spirit," or we may think of it as Jesus Christ dwelling in the heart. Personally, the writer finds the greatest help from the fact of the indwelling Christ, and the consciousness of this indwelling.

After all, the Holy Spirit's chief work is to take of the things of Christ, and show them to us.
HOW TO GET A GIFT

But however we may regard it, the Victorious Life is a gift. "If ye being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?"

"If thou knewest the gift of God," said our Lord to a sinful woman, "and Who it is that saith to thee, 'Give Me to drink,' thou wouldest have asked of Him and He would have given thee living water" (John 4:10).
Now what must I do to secure a gift? Just take it. If a gift is offered me for the asking, will it please the giver if, instead of taking the gift, I spend long weeks, or months, or years begging and praying and agonising for it?

Would it give pleasure to a father and mother if their children sat up all night agonising in prayer for the Christmas gift they had promised to give them?

If they did such a thing, their "agonising" would have absolutely nothing to do with their receiving the gifts. One could well imagine the distressed father telling his children that if they didn't cease their petitions and get to bed and trust him, they should get no gifts at all!

Jesus Christ is the great Christmas Day Gift. "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift" (2nd Corinthians 9:15). That gift is ours. Someone has said, "Our Lord wants our lives on earth to be one long Christmas Day of receiving His gift of Himself as our victory."

We do not need to "agonise" about it; we do not need to work for it. Provided we are wholly surrendered to God, we have simply to "receive," "take" the Gift of Christ Himself.

But did not Jesus Christ tell His disciples "to tarry in Jerusalem until [they were] endued with power from on high"? Yes, He did. "Wait," said He, "for the promise of the Father."

But that was before Pentecost.
READY FOR OUR ACCEPTANCE

We never hear of the disciples after Pentecost telling believers to "wait" for this gift. In fact, we read in the 10thchapter of the Acts that the gift of the Holy Spirit fell upon "all them that heard the word," while St. Peter was yet speaking to the household of Cornelius, although none of them was yet baptised. The Holy Spirit was given to Gentiles without delay, on simple faith in Jesus Christ. There is no need today to wait at all. If we fulfil the conditions, we can claim the gift.

The earliest disciples did not at first appreciate the value and necessity of this gift. Our Lord seems to have told "more than 500 brethren" to "tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high." Yet only 120 obeyed the command, and consequently only 120 received the gifts on the day of Pentecost - the gift meant for all.

Let us today make no mistake about this. Our Lord is longing to fill every believer with His Holy Spirit. Christ is desirous of dwelling in our entire hearts by faith. Not until we have surrendered our wills to Him and have yielded our bodies to Him as well as our souls can He fill us with Himself.

This is what Paul means when he prays "that He would grant you to be strengthened by His Spirit with power penetrating to your inmost being" (Ephesians 3:16, Weymouth). "That ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God" (Eph. 3:19), "till we all attain unto the measure... of the fullness of Christ" (4:13), "the fullness of Him that filleth all in all" (1:23).
CHRIST IN HIS FULLNESS

It is very wonderful that He should be willing to come. But it is a glorious thing that He should be willing to take absolute responsibility in our lives, because He cannot make a mistake, and He cannot fail.

It seems incredible that any believer should refuse such a gift. Again we urge you - receive Him in His fullness by faith. Do not wait for or expect any "thrill," any "ecstasy." You may feel one, and you may not. But take Christ at His word, and believe that He has come into your heart to be your life. Then rely upon Him to supply all your need.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).

Bear in mind that Christ is already in the heart of every believer - even in the heart of one who is only following afar off. But in so many cases He is not filling the WHOLE heart. He has only partial possession; He has not complete control. There are often chambers of the heart which are shut against Him. And not only closed, but with a lodger within, and that lodger a burglar waiting his time to gain entrance to other rooms within. "If any man... open the door."

We Christians sometimes sing:

"O Jesu, Thou art standing

Outside the fast closed door,

In lowly patience waiting

To pass the threshold o'er:

Shame on us, CHRISTIAN brothers,

His name and sign who bear:

Oh, shame - thrice shame upon us,

To keep Him standing there."

And with the great majority of believers this is true of some part of the heart.

But it isn't so much the "shame" as the utter folly of it. For we know that He wishes to gain access to the whole of our hearts simply to bring richest blessing.

Paul implores the Roman Christians, "Yield yourselves unto God." He himself did so, and "heard His voice," with no closed door between - words unutterable; he felt joy unspeakable and full of glory, and in the fullness of his heart he cries, "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift."
TEMPTATION AND FAILURE

"Is it possible to lose the Victorious Life?" is a question often asked. Indeed, it is possible. Temptation will certainly come, and failure may occur. A great Christian leader of men told the writer, a few days ago, how he had sometimes temporarily lost the victory. "But," said he, "whenever I've failed, it has always been through the sin of worrying." Yet there NEED be no failure. We have a perfect Savior. When we look back upon a break in this wonderful communion with Christ, we shall always have to confess that the failure need not have occurred.
SINLESS PERFECTION?

There are many saintly souls who openly declare that they never sin. They claim sinless perfection. They also claim that St. John teaches such a thing.

"We know that whosoever is begotten of God sinneth not, but He that was begotten of God (i.e., Jesus Christ) keepeth him, and the evil one toucheth him not" (1 John 5:18). "Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because His seed (Jesus Christ ) abideth in Him, and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God" (1 John 3:9).

These statements refer not to single acts of sin, but to habitual sin. The tense used in the Greek does not imply that he cannot commit one definite act of sin, but that he cannot continue sinning; he cannot make a practice of sinning, or frequently repeat acts of sin; it is not his habit to sin. John is here speaking of known and voluntary sins, not of sins of infirmity or the falling short of the glory of God.
TENDENCY OR POSSIBILITY

Any man can sin. Any man can tell a lie. But we know what we mean when we say "An honest man cannot lie." We do not accuse George Washington of untruth when he declared "I cannot tell a lie!"

Every sin is against a good man's nature. We say the "wood cannot sink." this is true. The tendency of wood is always to float. Yet there is always the possibility of its sinking. The hand of a child may submerge it; when sodden with water it will lie on the bottom. When the child releases it, it floats again. When a man is living the victorious life - a life maintained and actually lived for him by the indwelling Christ - there is no tendency to sin. He desires always to do those things which are pleasing to God. But there is always the awful possibility of his sinning. He may become absorbed in the "world;" he may allow temptation to gain entrance and the hand of Satan upon him may drag him down. So long, however, as a man is fully surrendered to Christ and in full communion with Him, he cannot sin. But such a life is a moment by moment victory through a moment by moment faith. At any time he can partially withdraw his surrender or break his communion.
IN THE FATHER'S HANDS

A railway coach attached to a moving locomotive cannot stop. But at any moment the coupling may break and a stoppage ensue. Let us, however, repeat the statement that no man need commit any known and voluntary sin. "He is able to keep (guard) that which I have committed unto Him." The marginal reading is, "He is able to guard that which He hath committed unto me" (2 Timothy 1:12).

Both statements are true - praise be to God. "He is able to keep you from stumbling" (Jude 24).

Moreover our Lord Himself says of His followers, "No man shall snatch them out of My hand" ... "And no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand" (John 10:28-29). And it is evident that our Savior has made every provision for guarding us lest we snatch ourselves out of His hand. The victory over sin which is secured from faith in Christ is, however, a moment by moment victory, and we must ever be "looking unto Jesus, the Beginner and Finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).

But thanks be to God, it isn't our "looking unto Jesus" that gives us the victory, but "His looking unto us." Peter could see the Lord despitefully used, and whilst looking at Him could curse and deny that he knew Him. But when our Savior "turned and looked upon Peter", no further denial was possible. Not our faith, but His faithfulness, is our safeguard.

The indwelling Christ is more than equal to all emergencies. So long as we trust Him fully and obey His smallest behest - so long shall we continue in victory. Why then should a man ever commit any voluntary sin? And why are we surprised when a fully sanctified Christian man tells us he never sins knowingly?
THE CAUSE OF FAILURE

The reason why even fully consecrated Christians are sometimes "overtaken in a fault" is because the majority of believers are not fully surrendered to the will of God. It would be safe to say that most Christians think very little of such sins as pride, anger, irritability, impatience, jealousy, self-seeking, un-love and suchlike. It is, therefore, such an easy thing for a man living the Victorious Life to fall into any of these sins; so many of his fellow-Christians do so unblushingly. And should he fall probably no one is in the least surprised at it! Moreover, no one but a wholly sanctified man can reprove such a one, or he will get the reply, "Physician, heal thyself," or even be referred to the "beam" and the "mote." In fact, only a "spiritual" man can help him. As St. Paul says, "If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such a one" (Galatians 6:1).

Yet how easy it is to live the life of victory when in the company of wholly sanctified men and women! Oh, that there were many more such!

Why are we surprised when a man says he has reached a state of "sinless perfection"? Well, as a rule it is perfectly obvious to anyone but himself that he has not reached such an ideal. Sooner or later he is "overtaken in a fault." A saintly Christian man was recently arguing this point at a big luncheon party, and he claimed "sinless perfection" for himself. A fellow guest quietly said, whether in sincerity or as a test I know not, "Forgive me for saying so, but I was thinking you were a little greedy over your food!" "I've never yet been accused of greed over anything," flashed out the reply, "nor will I allow YOU to accuse me!" The warmth with which the retort was made raised a smile on the faces of all who heard it; practice and profession so evidently disagreed. This little story proves both the statements made above. The "sinlessly perfect" man is sometimes irritable and angry, and when he is "overtaken in a fault" the average Christian is both amused and pleased!
SINS OR "INFIRMITIES"

The writer has had the privilege of meeting believers who claim "sinless perfection." He sat at a table with one at every meal for a week. To be quite frank he must acknowledge that he saw no outward trace of any sin. But this dear child of God took the writer to task in a kindly way for not preaching sinless perfection. This led to a long chat on the subject. My critic declared that a violent temper had been completely eradicated by the Lord Jesus. But he confessed to occasional feelings of impatience, irritability, and un-love. "These, however, I regard as INFIRMITIES and not as sins," said he.

My experience is that when men who profess sinless perfection are tackled about it, they always maintain that "little" things which WE call sins are only infirmities. Brothers, take your infirmities to Christ, and let the "strength of Christ rest upon you" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Sometimes, alas! great harm is done to the cause of Christ by men professing "sinless perfection," and boasting about it, even while allowing things in their lives which give the lie to their profession.

One such came to a friend of the writer to consult him on a business question. It was such an obvious case of sharp practice, if not of downright dishonesty, that my friend said in surprise, "How does such an act fit in with your profession of sinless perfection?" "Oh, business is business," came the impatient reply. "And I will have nothing to do with this piece of business, then," answered my friend.

We have dealt at length on this point because the devil uses the bogey of "sinless perfection" to scare away many sincere souls from seeking a life of holiness.

Our position is just this: So long as a fully surrendered believer simply trusts the Lord Jesus to keep him and to conquer his temptations for him, he need not commit wilful sin. It is, therefore, quite legitimate and right and fitting that we should pray every morning, "Grant that this day we fall into no sin." "Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin." And Christ is able to keep us even from stumbling (Jude 24, RV). And He does keep us just so long as we trust Him to do so.

Yet at any moment we may fall into sin. It is a moment by moment victory. Many who read this will gladly confess to have experienced this freedom from known sin for five minutes, for ten minutes, for an hour, and for a much longer time. But we shall all sadly confess that at times we wilfully harbour a sinful thought and sometimes even commit knowingly some sinful act, falling under some sudden temptation. As we look back upon it, we are confident that we need not have sinned. It was "our own most grievous fault." Moreover, we find that the majority of such slips are due to unchristian acts or words of other believers. They are more often due to the low level of spiritual life in fellow-Christians than to the opposition of the world.

Do not condemn us, but claim victory for yourself and so raise the standard around us.

Claim victory for yourself, and show us by practical demonstration what a glorious life can be lived by one who is wholly Christ's.

I do know myself very well, But I also Know a faithful Christ!!!

TRUST, NOT STRUGGLE

Blaze it out in letters of fire, that Christ can, and will, save us from the power of sin every day and every hour without struggling, striving and agonising. If you struggle, you do not trust.

Have not most of us learned from our own experience how useless our struggles are? Some besetting sin gets the better of us. How we struggle against it! How we agonise in prayer over it - even "standing on the promises of God" as we think. Yet we get up from our knees only to fall again and again into sin! Christ's promises cannot give us power. Even faith cannot save us. Only Jesus Christ can do it.

Are we willing to look to Him and trust Him to conquer our sin for us? He has conquered sin and Satan. HE - the Conqueror - is willing to come and fill our hearts and be OUR LIFE. "Sin shall NOT have dominion over you," says God's Word (Romans 6:14). We may be "more than conquerors" - not by struggling, but entirely "through HIM that loved us" (Romans 8:37). What does it mean? Not only that the besetting sin will be conquered - but the very DESIRE to sin will be taken away.

Only Christ can do this. It is a wonderful MIRACLE.

It is not our faith but His faithfulness that maintains the Victory!!!

freecd,

I agree with you that we have now been set free to walk in obedience to God. To obey Him, for the true believer, is our greatest joy. Because He works in us both to will and to do His pleasure.

Unfortunately you have taken Romans Chapter 6, which is supposed to be Gospel (a declaration of what God has done for us in Christ) and you have interpreted the passage as law (something to be achieved or attained)

Paul is explainig to the Roman christians the freeedom that they now possess in Christ. He is declaring who believers are in Christ. He is not talking about our experience, he is declaring facts. Here is a little commentary on Romans 6. Its a little long, but it is very telling.

Michael Horton:

[color=0000FF]In this chapter, a lot of questions converge, questions related not only to doctrine, but to questions that we often get in the Christian life about, for instance, assurance, union with Christ, baptism, a whole host of very practical questions. Paul, in his last two chapters, has been addressing the question of justification. In chapters 4 and 5, he has tried to demonstrate that the only way we can possibly possess the righteousness which God requires is if he himself gives us that righteousness – by a gift. This gift is the righteousness of none other than Jesus Christ, his son, who fulfilled all obedience for us.

Now a lot of us grew up in settings and backgrounds where we were beaten up by taboos. You were afraid of losing your salvation, or you were afraid of not getting that extra jewel in the crown or whatever. So many people got so frustrated with that theology and that way of thinking and they got rid of God’s justice altogether, and so a whole generation grew up that knew not legalism. They’re the mega-churches where you’ll never hear about sin, you’ll never hear about the law, you’ll never hear about God’s justice or judgment or his wrath. And consequently, even if you would hear about propitiation or atonement or forgiveness or justification, it wouldn’t mean very much because you have to have something to be forgiven of; you have to have something that needs propitiation; you have to have some sins that need to be pardoned, and you have to be wicked before God before you can be justified before him.

So this is our background, this is our situation when you come to Romans chapter 6 now, Paul starts to talk about our union with Christ in terms of baptism and the announcement of what he has already accomplished in Christ. Paul ends chapter 5 by saying that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. In other words, grace is always outrunning and outstripping sin and its consequences. If that’s true, then – as Paul brings up in chapter 6, the beginning of his next chapter – if this is true, then why don’t we go on sinning so that we can get more grace? Isn’t that the logic? And yet Paul answers this. He says, “Shall we say, then, let’s go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin. How can we live in it any longer?” He says that we’ve been baptized into Christ, so that his death has become our death, and his resurrection has become our resurrection. Though our physical, bodily resurrection awaits the future, we are already raised in new life with Jesus Christ and seated in heavenly places with him.

We’re born into this world in union with Adam. Everything he had, we have; everything he was, we are. He earned God’s judgment for himself and for us. Had he kept from eating the forbidden fruit, he would’ve earned for himself and for all of humanity eternal life. There would’ve been no sin, no suffering, no sickness, no pain, no guilt, no death. As it happened, Adam disobeyed and we were all identified with him in the likeness of sin. His guilt was imputed to us, and his sinful, rebellious nature shaped us in the womb, even before we committed actual sins ourselves. We were baptized into Adam, into his spiritual death, dead in transgressions and sins. But, says Paul – and this was Paul’s entire argument in chapter 5 – there came a second Adam who made it to the end without disobeying God. He was sent as the new Adam, the new representative of the new humanity. Instead of being taken to the tree in the middle of the garden, this second Adam was taken to the top of a high mountain peak. We read in Matthew 4, Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Instead of feeding, he fasted. Instead of indulging his sinful nature by eating, he denied himself. Finally, the devil – the very same serpent who was in Eden – took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” But instead of easy exaltation, “You shall be like God,” as Adam was told, Jesus, who was God, nevertheless took the long road of obedience, the slow road of suffering, the rough road of sacrifice that would lead, eventually, to Calvary. In this obedience – and the other 30 years of consistent, sinless perfection – Jesus Christ merited for us what Adam failed to earn. So the guilt imputed to us through Adam was charged to Christ, and the righteousness of Christ was imputed to us. This, folks, is the difference between the biblical view of the Christian life and so many of the other programs and methods which abound in popular evangelicalism. In this story, there’s only one victorious Christian life; there’s only one “sold out Christian,” only one totally surrendered, completely consecrated servant of the Lord. This means, folks, that Christ’s life is a lot more than a moral example to you for moral living. By faith we are baptized into his obedient life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection in such a way that even though we are still sinners, we have an entirely new identity in heaven, and as a result God raises us with Christ and seats us with him in the heavenly realms. This is our identity now, and that’s why Paul says, “Can we go on living in sin? How can we, for we have been baptized into Christ’s death and raised with him in new life.”[/color]

11. You are told that you have a choice of what master you truly serve. If you chose to yield yourself to sin, even though Christ has set you free, you will become a slave of sin. If you chose to yield yourself to Christ and His obedience you will become a slave to Him.

That is not what Paul is saying in vs. 16, 17, and 18.

Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Rom 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

Rom 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

He is saying that when we obeyed the Gospel we came into union with Christ and WE BECAME SOMETHING!

When we obeyed the Gospel, which is the Good News of What GOD HAS DONE in Christ, we WERE set free from sin and WE BECAME SERVANTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
If we are in Christ, we are a servant of righteousness...period.

Then of course, if we are honest, the question arises: If we are free from sin and we are servants of righteousness then why the struggle.

Thats' why Paul kept writing..Chapter 7 and 8, and so on...until we get to Chapter 12 where he tells us.... THEREFORE...In light of all the truth and good news I just declared to you, offer yourselves up a living sacrifice.

He does not say offer yourselves up a living sacrifice or God may some day spit you out of His mouth. No, He says, based upon Who You Are already in Christ...now offer yourself to Him out of gratitude and thankfulness.

Oh yes, and renew your mind...read the Word and find out who and what you now are...because of Christ!

I see what you are saying.

The issue I am attempting to show is so many Christians do not walk in the freedom the Christ has already provided. They are not experiencing the true reality of Him.

Many Christians do yield themselves to sin and some of them even expect to sin every day. Even though Christ has set them free they maybe in bondage to sin. There is nothing automatic about this. We do have a part to play. I do not see how it is possible to expect to keep sinning and fulfill the command to reckon ourselves dead indeed to sin.

Thanks for your input.

Goldminer wrote:

Jesus is our example...

Jesus is not our example. He is our propitiation. He is everything we are not.

So if we are told not to then the provision must have been supplied not to. His freedom is ours.

Yes, His freedom is ours, but the Holy Spirit first takes us to a place where we realize that we will never be out of bondage without Him. He must first take us to a place of death, where we experience our own inability, and many times that means coming face to face with our own sin...sometimes sin we did not even know we had.

God dealt with Sin on the Cross once and for all. If He did not, then there is no way we could start on the road of being conformed to His image.

His life is ours, His righteousness is ours, His love is ours, His peace is ours, everything He is, is ours, but the pathway of obtaining His Life is the pathway of the Cross. And that is a way that is out of our control. Paul even said, "We wait for the hope of righteousness by faith."

That's why this whole idea of God giving provision for obedience within His commands is just rubbish. ex. "If God commanded it then He will give the Grace to obey."

A statement like that reveals our lack of understanding of His ways. It is zeal without knowledge.

A snapshot of how God works the life of Christ in us is revealed in the story when Gabriel comes to Mary:

The very first thing that Gabriel has to do is calm Mary's fears by telling her that she has favor with God. He has to convince her that God is pleased with her.

Which is exactly what God has to do with us before He can take us on the road to conforming us into is image. We must be convinced that He is pleased with us because of Jesus, or we will not be able to deal with the things He will show us. Every time we see a sin or we fail, we will think He is mad, or displeased, or we are out of His will, etc.

The next thing he does is give her a promise:

31And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

He says, Mary, Christ WILL be formed in you. It's a promise. Not only will he be formed in you, He will reign in you...He will reign over that deceiver Jacob.

Then Mary, with an honest heart, asks how this will be possible because she has not been with a man. Physically and by human effort she has not done anything to contribute to Christ being formed in her.

This is exactly where the God will take us, just as he took Abraham and Sarah, just as he took Hanna, just as he took Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, and so with Mary. He will bring us to a place where we will despair of Christ ever being conformed in us by our own efforts. And then...

He will tell us what he told Mary:

35And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

And Mary responds:

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word

It's not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.

The pathway of the Cross and dying to the flesh is not something I do to myself. It is the pathway of suffering that the Holy Spirit has ordained for each and every believer. But we have a Promise to hold on to:

31And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

1Pe 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Wasn't Peter teaching/ reminding the believers (just like James) that suffering is a part of the Christian life. Because He suffered we will also. Think it not strange brethren...

He was not saying, because Jesus did not sin, neither should you.

Goldminer,

I don't disagree with you that our victory comes from abiding with Jesus. I don't disagree with you that loving Him is the safest place to be.

And I don't put it past my self that I may be misunderstanding you post altogether.

(to clarify, in describing certain teachings to be rubbish, I was thinking about some of what Charles Finney taught, not necessarily your post.)

------------------------------------------------

But what does it mean to abide? In my years being a Christian I have hear many things like:

- always praying
- always reading your bible
- being completely obedient
- loving God with all your heart
- remaining in constant fellowship with Him
- having strong faith in Him
- etc.

In John 15 Jesus was speaking to his disciples. They had walked with him for three years, and in that time there was one main thing that Jesus was trying to teach them. That, as T. Austin Sparks puts it, He is completely "Other" than them. They were learning the "Otherness" of Christ.

T. Austin Sparks:

——the first thing they learned was how other He was from them. They had to learn it. I do not think it came to them at the first moment. It was as they went on that they found themselves again and again clashing with His thoughts, His mind, His ways. They would urge Him to take a certain course, to do certain things, to go to certain places; they would seek to bring to bear upon Him their own judgments and their own feelings and their own ideas. But He would have none of it. At the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, His own mother, with an idea, said, They have no wine. His reply was, "Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come." What have I to do with thee? That is a weak translation. Far better, 'Woman, you and I are thinking in different realms; we have at the moment nothing in common.' Thus throughout their lives they sought to impinge upon Him with their mentality. No, all the time He was putting them back and showing them how different were His thoughts, His ways, His ideas, His judgments; altogether different. In the end I expect they despaired. He might well have despaired of them had He not known that this was exactly what he was doing in them. Catch that and you have got something helpful. 'Lord, why is it that I am always caught out, always making a blunder? Somehow or other, I always say and do the wrong thing, I am always on the wrong side! Somehow I never seem to come right in line with You; I despair of ever being right!' And the Lord says, 'I am teaching you, that is all; deliberately, quite deliberately. That is exactly what I am bringing you to see. Until you learn that lesson, we shall get nowhere at all. When you have thoroughly learned that lesson, then we can begin constructive work, but at present it is necessary for you to come to the place where you recognize I am altogether other than you are. The difference is such that we move in two altogether opposite worlds.'

And very shortly after he spoke to them about abiding in Him, they all would experience their greatest failure to date. All of them, yes even Peter who said he would never forsake Him, all of them forsook Jesus and denied Him.

Why, before their greatest failure, would Jesus teach them to abide in Him? Why would He tell them that they could bear no fruit apart from Him? Why would He tell them to let His word abide in them? Why would He tell them that they would wither if they did not abide in Him?

Because apart from Him they could do nothing! And they had been learning that for 3 years and were about to experience that truth in a very traumatic way.

As Christians it seems like we are always looking for the "key" to victory, or the key verses that tell us how to walk with God.

But the truth of the matter is exactly what you said...Abide with Him!

Abide with Him on the mountain when revelation seems to be pouring out of the bible.

Abide with Him in the valley when darkness seems to be all around, and Jesus seems a million miles away.

Abide with Him in our failures, and yes even our sin, because where else are we going to go.

Abide with Him when life is pretty and everything looks wonderful.

Abide with Him when life gets ugly and despairing.

Abide with Him in our unfaithfulness because He is faithful.

Abide with Him when we are faithful because its only Him working in us.

He tells us to abide, because, like Adam, when we fail we would be inclined to run and hide in some bush somewhere.

But He says, come boldly before the throne of grace to find help in your time of need.

My whole point in my post is that when we abide in Him our darkness is dispelled by His surpassing light. I know that it sounds like we have to do something to gain acceptence, but that is not what I am saying. We are accepted in the beloved, however, we remove ourselves from that honor when we stray away from Him. He doesn't remove it we do by rejecting His provision.

Goldminer:

Could you clarify what you mean by this statement?