Dealing with Sin

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:15-23

You accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, recognizing that He paid the penalty for your sins on the cross. You know that you’re forgiven, cleansed, and righteous in God’s eyes. But still, a particular sin plagues you. You think it’s gone and the faith is over, but the temptation comes back. You cave in again at a moment of weakness or a time when your guard I down. Maybe you even wonder how God can still love you.

You’re not alone. Paul expressed the same sentiment of frustration and exasperation. He said: “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want” (Romans 7:19). Paul knew that even though he was saved, the power of sin was still there, doing daily battle with his new nature.

What is the solution? First, you must see your sin, including recurring sin, for what it is - an offense against a holy God that can only be removed by the blood of Jesus. Confess the specific sin to Him and refuse to become entangled by false guilt. You’re forgiven freely. Remember that you belong to Him completely; nothing else has the power to hold you captive. Turn to the One who frees you from sin when temptation strikes, and you will win ever time.

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” John 8:32

Caution Against Complacency

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.’” Revelation 3:14-19

If living for God with total commitment is hot water, and living for self or personal convenience is cold water, what would your temperature reading be? Almost cold? Boiling hot? Somewhere in the middle?

If it’s somewhere in the middle, that’s what God calls lukewarm water, meaning those who have lost their fervent love for Him and are consumed by other concerns. These believers do not care if they mature in the Lord, learning more about Him and His Word. They are content to enjoy the blessings He has already given and do not strive to share them with others. Loving the approval of their peers more than God’s approval, they seek ways to accommodate the world, not wanting to “rock the boat” on moral issues.

At the bottom line, a lukewarm, middle-of-the-road attitude is compromise. If taking the easy way is more important to you than seeking God’s way, you may be caught in the downward slide of complacency. God is interested in one thing - absolute faith and obedience - and He wants to rid you of the confusion of competing priorities. Ask the Lord to examine your heart and reveal your true values. He will set your heart on fire with a passion to know Him more.

Complacency is caring more about God’s blessings than you do about God.

Christ is the Cornerstone

“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 3:1-11

It was 1866 in England, and pastor Samuel J. Stone’s congregation was in an uproar. In fact, the entire Church of England was in a state of upheaval. A certain bishop had just written a book concerning the authenticity of the first five books of the Bible.

In his “intellectual” examination of these books, the bishop called their accuracy into question.. Liberals in the church sided with the bishop, while the conservative group continues to assert the inerrancy of all Scripture. The debate raged. Samuel Stone was concerned for the health and stability of his congregations. Such controversy was tearing them apart, and surely severe consequences would follow.

To combat this growing division, Stone composed a series of hymns that focused on church unity. With stirring words he celebrated Christ’s eternal position as Head of the church in his most famous hymn, “The Church’s One Foundation.”

Seeing Christ as the Cornerstone of the body of believers puts peripheral church issues into perspective. You are not swayed by every wind of philosophy and every controversy because you measure them by the Lord (James 1:6-7). On Christ’s steadfast ground, you stand prepared for every issue.

“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11

The Foundation of Your Faith

“And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

The people of Corinth were proud intellectuals. They loved to debate, philosophize, and speculate, depending on their human reasoning to work through problems and understand their world. It wasn’t long before this cultural emphasis carried over into the church.

Paul didn’t waste any time using the human arguments they were used to hearing. Instead, he says: “I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom...For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (verses 1-2). Jesus is the basis of faith. He is the one Foundation. It is through Jesus alone we are cleansed from sin, reconciled to and adopted by God.

Have you been sidetracked by side issues? Is your relationship with Jesus your top priority? Faith that relies solely on Christ makes you stable, secure, discerning. Ground yourself in Him, and He will steer you away from error, confusion, and self-reliance.

Intimacy with God

“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” John 15:10-15

The book of Hosea is a compelling love story of God’s unfailing, steadfast care for His people despite their unfaithfulness, ingratitude, and repeated rebellion. Foreseeing their eventual restoration, Jehovah God makes this endearing statement to a stiff-necked people: “‘It will come about in that day,’ declares the Lord, ‘that you will call Me Ishi and will no longer call Me Baali.’” Hosea 2:16

“Ishi” is a Hebrew word meaning “husband” while “Baali” is a Hebrew word meaning “owner.” This is not a mere play on words. It expresses the deepest desire of God’s heart for us - that we would know Him intimately as a wife knows her mate.

Jesus expresses the same sense of endearment when He tells his disciples and us that we are not simply His servants but His “friends” with whom He desires to fellowship on the deepest, most compassionate level. If you view God as your heavenly father who longs to embrace you, sustain you, and lift you up on wings of divine love, your walk of faith can soar.

Jesus is your close, concerned Friend as well as your Master. You can weep with Him, grieve with Him, laugh with Him, even complain to Him. His love for you will never fail, never wane, never subside.

The Christian should never complain of his hard fortune while he knows that Christ is his Friend.

Heaven is...

“‘Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.’ Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?’Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’” John 14:1-6

There is something deep within the human heart that values the place called home. The crown of the gospel’s good news is that heaven is the future home of the believer. It has been, is, and forever will be the abode of God; and one day He will share His home with us.

What a home it will be. Our dream home will pale in comparison to what the Chief Cornerstone and Architect of the universe has prepared for us. Its beauty and glory will light our hearts and minds with unending joy and bliss. In our heavenly abode, all pain - emotional and physical - will be extinct. The Great Physician has washed every corner with His shed blood, eliminating any defilement of sin. We will serve the Risen Lamb with delight and find our work completely satisfying. Perhaps the most important feature of our home is the presence of the eternal King - Jesus Christ - in whose radiance we will all bask.

Heaven is worth the wait. It is where God and man will dwell together in perfect union and harmony for eternity. When things on earth seem vile, think on heaven. You will be encouraged and strengthened for today’s journey.

“But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth...” 2 Peter 3:13

The God of All Comfort

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

God not only stooped down from the heavens to rescue us from sin, He continues to extend His hand to us each day to soothe our damaged emotions, our frayed nerves, our broken dreams, our heartaches.

“But He seems so distant, so remote, so detached at times,” you say. While this is often how we may feel, it is not the truth. God says that He will not “in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]” Hebrews 13:5 (Amplified Bible) What a promise! And God certainly keeps His Word. He performs this divine pledge through the Person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God inside you. He is called the comforter, meaning “one called alongside to help and aid.”

When you are down, the Holy Spirit knows exactly how to encourage you. When you are grieving, the Holy Spirit knows the balance between shedding tears of grief and gently wiping them from your cheek. He is at work to comfort you through every trial and adversity.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28