Sanctified

“For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:5-14

Much of the power which is lacking in the lives of Christians is due to their ignorance of what took place at the cross of Christ. When He died, something so significant happened that it changed forever our relationship with God. Paul states it this way in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

This is God’s great provision for living above the power of sin. In His wisdom He does not cancel out the lure with which sin entices believer and unbeliever alike. Instead He places within us the ability to overcome temptation’s pull and sin’s dominance.

Someone has said that a great saint is made by the great temptation he steadfastly resists. If you have little temptation, who is to know what kind of character you have? If you stand against strong and consistent temptation, the grace of God is tremendously evident in your life. Allow your position as one who is in Christ to lead you to victory!

Thought for the Day:
When temptation comes knocking on your door, ask Jesus to answer it.