THE LORD'S BRANCH CHRISTIAN CENTRE
THE BRANCH'S WAY-Isaiah 4:2 (A WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE)
TOPIC: LIVING A SINLESS LIFE
Text:Proverbs 14:34
Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
Numbers 15:30-31 -But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
[31] Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.
In another translation ''If someone sins and knows they are doing wrong, they are rebelling against the Lord. They must be separated from their people. The same law applies to citizens of Israel and to foreigners living among them. They thought the Lord's word was not important, so they broke his commandments. That is why they must be separated from their people-they must bear the responsibility for their guilt."" (ERV)
What then is sin: Sin means to miss the mark that is the moral mark. Sin is the results of breaking the contract with God. Sin is to look for help outside God. Sin is a cancer that destroys slowly. Sin could also be defined as the power of the devil working in the children of disobedience. Sin separates us from God's presence and causes loneliness. Sin will place a wall between God and man. Many people are into sin due to its glamour and excitement, however no matter how the world and the society view sin it is wrong because in the long run sin makes us miserable. This is obvious in this country, despite the enormous natural and human resources the country is in a deplorable state.
1 John 3:8 says 'He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil'. It is not appropriate to sin willfully and still be justifying your actions. A true believer does not make a practice of sinning, nor does he or she becomes indifferent to God's moral law. The DNA (God's seed) in a believer would not allow such to make a practice of sin. A believer who commits sin should work hard to overcome it.
Romans 6:16 says 'Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness'? The coming of Jesus has provided us a way out of sin. Through His shed Blood on the cross, He has reconciled us to Himself, we who were sometime enemies of God by evil works of our minds. Jesus therefore, has become our Master. It therefore, means that if anyone is still in the habit of commiting sin such a person is yielding himself or herself to the devil who is the father of sin. The day we gave our lives to Christ we change our parenthood from the devil to God. 'Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. [13] For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. [14] For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God'(Romans 8: 1- 2). The book of Romans 8:
12-14 says we are no more to live after the flesh as born again Christians or else we die as wages of sin is death (Romans 6: 23). But we are to live and be led by the Spirit of God so as to remain the sons and daughters of God. Our new parenthood (children of God) has conferred on us all the privileges and responsibility that are in Christ Jesus such as forgiveness of sins, eternal life, freedom from guilt, being sealed with the Holy Spirit, healing, to live happily in this world. We are no longer under the bondages of sin to cringe and to live in perpetual fear. Romans 6:6-7 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. [7] For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Now that we are free from sin being crucified with Jesus, the devil will try with all his power to bring us into bondage of sin. It is left for us to try as much as possible not to succumb to all his wiles.
David said in the book of Psalm 17:3 'Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress'.
Job in avoiding the the great sin of adultery he purposefully decided never to look at a woman lustfully (Job 31: 1). Job also was innocent of both inward and outward sins no wonder God Himself was proud of him (Job 1: 8). Job enjoyed all the earthly blessings because he lived a sinless life (Job 1: 3). Joseph in the house of Potiphar in avoiding the advances of Potiphar's wife said 'how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? Can a man commit sin with God not knowing? God stood with Joseph in his travails and He later took him to the palace to reign. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's m meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Therefore, God brought Daniel into favour and love with all that mattered in Babylon (Daniel 1: 8&9)
2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Jesus wants to present to Himself a sinless and spotless church because this Paul admonished us by the mercies of God, that we should present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service (Romans 12: 1)
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE
* By not conforming to the world- And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12: 2).
* By living a holy life - For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness (1
Thessalonians 4: 7).
* By putting on a new man- Ephesians 4: 32 - And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (a new man does not steal, lie, nor allow evil communications to come out of his mouth. He has a forgiving and a kind heart, he follows all men with peace he also walk in the light of Christ.
* We should confess our sin as soon as we know we have sinned - 'He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy' (Proverbs 28:
13).
* By Having the Holyspirit in us - 'Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost' (Titus 3: 5). Jesus said 'for without me ye can do nothing' (John 15: 5b)
PRAYERS:
1. O Lord my God have mercy on me and wash me of my iniquities by the Blood of Son in Jesus name.
2. Any good thing I have lost due to sin, O Lord by Your mercy restore it to me in Jesus name.
3. Holy Spirit anchor Your Hand in mine and lead me in my life's journey in Jesus name.
Comments
Post a Comment
Your suggestions and questions here: