VICTORY OVER SIN

I John 3:5-6 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, for there is no sin in him. So if we continue to live in him, we won’t sin either. But those who keep on sinning have never known him or understood who he is.

This truth should be taught over and over again in the church. We seemingly forget it by the way we act towards one another and some of the things we do in life. There seems to be a comfort in the presence of sin. We don’t address it like we should, letting it creep into our lives and stay there. Jesus came to take away our sin, not cohabitate with them.

There is no sin in Christ whatsoever, so how can we think that it is okay for us to let sin in our hearts? Sin is what put Jesus on the cross. It is hated by God and will not be tolerated in His presence. Where there is sin, there is broken fellowship with God.

We cannot continue to live in sin and live in Christ. We either live in Christ and stop sinning against Him, or we live apart from Him. A good indicator that someone is living in Christ is that he is not participating in the life of sin. We are not perfect and will sin, but it does not characterize the life of the believer. The will to sin is broken and changed at Calvary. There is guilt and shame associated with sinning that result in repentance.

If sinful habits persist and nothing changes, then true repentance has not taken place. There may be changes in the way one thinks about things, but the heart has not changed. It is what is in the heart that determines how we act, think and feel. If Christ lives in the heart, then we will not act like He doesn’t. Grace does not excuse sin or give us a license to sin. In Christ we are led away from sin, not towards it.

If you find that you have no victory over sin, then you need to repent and ask the Lord to change your heart. If you find you are losing more battles than you are winning against sin, then you need to take Christ more seriously and let Him be your Lord.