"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die." (Genesis 3:4)
This is the same lie Satan uses today. "Go ahead...surely nothing bad will happen.
In fact, if you just do this, then everyone will be happy. It will all work out just fine."
Did Eve have a choice when she at the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? She knew what God told her, yet she ate the fruit anyway, on the advice of a serpent. Now, right away I’m thinking, if a snake in a tree starts telling me what I should do, I’m walking away from the tree and getting my head examined. But, In a day before psychologists and therapists, that wasn’t really an option. So, she chose to allow the snake to charm her; allowing evil to enter the perfect world that God created.
Was Eve deceived more by her own will or by satan’s trick. What about Adam?
Have you ever wondered why Adam listened to her? Can you imagine how beautiful she must have been? She was perfect until that point; without blemish and without sin. Adam loved her with the same love that God did. Until they fell, the love they knew was perfect. She had never lied to him, never deceived him. It’s hard to even imagine that kind of perfect love between a husband and wife in our world today.
In retrospect, we might think we could have done better. If given the opportunity to live a holy life, in perfect relationship with the God of the universe, we would like to think we would be smarter, more obedient, and more respectful of God’s laws. After all, there was only one law they had to worry about. Don’t eat from that tree. If only we had been the first humans in that beautiful garden. Surely we would have chosen better.
Somehow I don’t think so. In fact, I may not have even waited for the dreaded snake to start talking. I may have looked at that tree myself, and thought, I wonder if God will really get upset over eating that fruit. Besides, He loves me…he wouldn’t really punish someone He loves.
Actually, we are given the opportunity to live the life that Adam and Eve were first given. We can walk in relationship with God every day, listening to His voice, feeling His presence. We can live a life without willful sin. We can be holy before the God of the universe. In fact, not only can we do this, but we are instructed to do it. The Bible is clear about the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian. It is not God who tells us, “A Christian will sin no matter what, because we are first human.”
I don’t want you to believe me about this. In fact, I want you to think I am crazy, and be challenged to dig through every scripture to find the one that says we will sin after we are saved. Find the passage that tells us we can’t help it. It is just inevitable.
Truly, we all have sinned. Romans 3:23 is clear when it says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The book of Romans also tells us, none of us are righteous - no, not even one. But both of these passages are referring to our condition before Christ enters our lives - before we are washed whiter than snow. Once we are redeemed by the power of the Blood of Christ, the game changes. We are indeed new. The old things have passed away, and look…all things, not just some of them…all things are new.
Did you find those scriptures yet?
Try some of these verses that tell us we are no longer slaves to sin.
These passages serve as reminders in my heart that truly it is possible to live a Holy Life when we are in Love with the Lord and living in relationship with Him.
1 Cor. 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (NKJV)
So, we will be tempted...the temptation is common to man...but God is faithful, so we do not have to sin just because we are tempted. This passage is often taken out of context and used for consolation that God will never let more happen in our life than we can handle...but that is truly talking about the temptation to sin...we will never be given temptation without a way out of the sin. We will be able to bear the temptation...just as Jesus did in the wilderness.
1 Peter 1: 13-16 says, "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
Why is everyone so quick to say they cannot live a sinless life? Why are we so quick to deny the power of God in our lives? Why do we deny the Word of God and refuse to allow Christ to reign in us? We cannot be followers of Christ and deny His Word. The Word of God is truth.
But what about the fact that we do make mistakes? What about the Christian who makes a bad choice? No one said that not sinning makes you perfect or infallible. Making a poor decision, or making a mistake is not necessarily sin. We are not capable of having full knowledge of everything as God does. We do not have perfect wisdom; but, we are capable, because of the Spirit of God within us after salvation, to resist temptation and say no to sin.
I read this to a friend at my critique group recently. He asked me if I was a certain denomination, because apparently some of the verbiage I used sounded like theirs. I have actually never been familiar with their doctrinal statements. What I'm writing here is based on the Bible and a couple of conversations with friends. I am still studying and praying about what this looks like for my life. I certainly don't want to sin willfully. Can I examine my heart honestly and say that I don't, or haven't since the day I gave my life to the Lord? I'm afraid I can't. But, if truly allowing the work of the Holy Spirit in my life, means that I will not willfully sin, then I need to be on my face before the Father, giving up anything that would hinder the work of His spirit in my life.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic of holiness.
No comments:
Post a Comment