Power to Sin Not

**king'sbloomingrose** · August-15th-2011, 11:51 AM

Last night I had a dream. The substance of it runs as follows: D- is one of the shyer teenagers in our church. The church service had just finished. Our pastor had finished preaching. We were all gathered together, standing around talking when D- passed by to exit the church. Standing before the door, he paused and looked back at all of us. Then he proceeded to tell about God’s power and how He could save anyone. It sounded not unlike the kind of sermon that Peter gave on the day of Pentecost when 3,000 people were saved. In my dream, I was standing there shocked. This shy person was now boldly speaking about God’s power. Then he looked straight at me and said, If you already believe this, then live like it. (Or something to that effect) Then he turned and opened the door and I heard it slam behind him. The funny thing was that my sis left the house at the exact same instant D- left the church in my dream. So I heard our front door slam shut instead.

I remember thinking, this is all very nice and wonderful but why is he telling that to me? I was thinking about the dream this morning when I got out Oswald Chambers to read today’s devotional. Part of it reads:
“Whoever has been born of God does not sin. . .” (1 John 3:9). Am I seeking to stop sinning or have I actually stopped? To be born of God means that I have His supernatural power to stop sinning. The Bible never asks, “Should a Christian sin?” The Bible emphatically states that a Christian must not sin. The work of the new birth is being effective in us when we do not commit sin. It is not merely that we have the power not to sin, but that we have actually stopped sinning. Yet 1 John 3:9 does not mean that we cannot sin— it simply means that if we will obey the life of God in us, that we do not have to sin.
Romans 8:10-11 says this: 10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
And then again in Ephesians 3:20:

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us”

I’ve often wondered how come, God, who has the power to raise Jesus from the dead, couldn’t keep me from sinning. Or how it could be that Jesus could die on the cross and rise again, defeating sin and death and Satan forever; but yet, no one ever told me that He had the power to break the hold of sin in our life. It just occurred to me that He does have that power. That sins’ hold on us is broken the instant we get saved. That’s why Paul can say in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Romans 8:2-4 adds to this: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

God has indeed given us all power that pertains unto life and godliness. And His power is sufficient to keep us from sin. Jude 1:24 However this does not mean that we will not sin. We still have the capability to sin, because we still live on a sin cursed earth and carry our old nature around with us, but it is our own willful choice to sin if we do. That is why Jesus said in John 15 that we are to “Abide in me and I in you.” Our abiding in Christ is a choice that we have to make moment by moment, day after day. Verse 4 goes on to say, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”

When we abide in Him, His power is available for us to use. In closing I want to repeat the closing words of my dream in a little different way. If you believe that God has the power to save anyone fully and completely, then live like you believe it.

1 John 2:1-2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

**PraisingHimAlways** · August-15th-2011, 12:20 PM

!!!!!!!!!

**mattfivefour** · August-15th-2011, 08:39 PM

I have no doubt that dream was of God and I would suggest that message spoken directly to you—"then live like it!"—should be indelibly engraved upon your heart and mind for the rest of your life.

It is also a message for every one of the rest of us who call upon His name in truth.

But "living like it" means daily desiring to die to one's own will and ways. As we desire it, He can perform it. And part of what He does in our lives is bring us more and more to a point where we more and more come to desire to obey and please our Lord. This is His progressive work of sanctification in us. The original Greek of 1 John 3 makes it clear that it is not committing a sin or sins that shows we are not of Christ, but habitually, continually, living in sin that proves it. For, as the verse also says, a Christian cannot habitually keep on sinning; in other words it is not part of his or her lifestyle.

Indeed, He has given us the power! It was all accomplished at the Cross. And it is as we abide in Him, as we remain so closely attached to Him that there is no hindrance to the free flow of His nature into us, like sap into a branch, that we walk in total victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil ... just as He did. But it is not something that usually happens overnight ... as if by some form of magic. It is a walk that we learn through the things God permits in our lives, an obedience that is produced by the things we suffer. As I heard a grand old preacher once say, explaining the difference between salvation, sanctification, and glorification: "WE HAVE BEEN SAVED from the penalty of sin; WE ARE BEING SAVED from the power of sin; and WE WILL BE SAVED from the presence of sin!" Even so.

Let us all always desire to live like we believe God has the power to save anyone fully and completely! Amen!

Thanks for this awesome, convicting post, little sister! \o/

**Meg** · August-15th-2011, 09:41 PM

AMEN MATT!!!

That being said, indeed, Sanctification is progressive, tied directly to being transformed by the renewing of our minds. Holiness is, by nature, unnatural for our sinful nature, so it requires some deliberate effort on our part to overcome sin. The Holy Spirit helps us get there, but He does not and will not do it for us should we remain apathetic to Gods express will, which is how some people get into so much trouble. Again, though, the Holy Spirit will uphold us under pressure in ways that are simply not possible for us in our own strength. I have lived this, still do, and know its very real. If it helps, I have a language problem that I have been struggling with -- again -- lately. I have been aware its gotten out of hand, don't like it, and have been in prayer about it. The Holy Spirit has been coming through very strongly, helping me get that back under control. Thats an example how the theory works in actual practice. I hope that helps you some dear sister.

**Robert** · August-16th-2011, 12:25 AM

Originally Posted by Meg

AMEN MATT!!!

That being said, indeed, Sanctification is progressive, tied directly to being transformed by the renewing of our minds. Holiness is, by nature, unnatural for our sinful nature, so it requires some deliberate effort on our part to overcome sin. The Holy Spirit helps us get there, but He does not and will not do it for us should we remain apathetic to Gods express will, which is how some people get into so much trouble. Again, though, the Holy Spirit will uphold us under pressure in ways that are simply not possible for us in our own strength. I have lived this, still do, and know its very real. If it helps, I have a language problem that I have been struggling with -- again -- lately. I have been aware its gotten out of hand, don't like it, and have been in prayer about it. The Holy Spirit has been coming through very strongly, helping me get that back under control. Thats an example how the theory works in actual practice. I hope that helps you some dear sister.

God is not so much concerned about us finishing the "race" as He is how we run it. Yes, we are saved by the blood of Christ, but if we are not even trying to live according to His Word, then we are simply following our own way and not His. And what good does it do to proclaim Christ as our king if we don't live it?

Repentance is not a onetime thing, but a continual state of seeking to turn away from sin and to live for Christ and Christ alone. Yeah, we're going to fall, make mistakes and end up on our faces. We are all only human and the Lord understands that. But there's a big difference between truly trusting in the Lord and only seeking "fire insurance", and that is one's heart. As I have learned recently: God's not looking to blast us off the planet should we stumble, but He does expect us to take Him seriously. He's neither a pushover, nor a tyrant.

Hope this helps out, KBR.

**SonSeeker** · August-16th-2011, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by Robert

God is not so much concerned about us finishing the "race" as He is how we run it. Yes, we are saved by the blood of Christ, but if we are not even trying to live according to His Word, then we are simply following our own way and not His. And what good does it do to proclaim Christ as our king if we don't live it?

Repentance is not a onetime thing, but a continual state of seeking to turn away from sin and to live for Christ and Christ alone. Yeah, we're going to fall, make mistakes and end up on our faces. We are all only human and the Lord understands that. But there's a big difference between truly trusting in the Lord and only seeking "fire insurance", and that is one's heart. As I have learned recently: God's not looking to blast us off the planet should we stumble, but He does expect us to take Him seriously. He's neither a pushover, nor a tyrant.

Hope this helps out, KBR.

Excellent words, Robert!