GO AND SIN NO MORE
1 John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
There has been a great misunderstanding and misuse of these verses of scripture. And the error has caused many to live in bondage that Jesus came to free them from.
God had the plan of salvation made, even before we were made, as He knew that man would sin and already had determined the way to save them.
This He did of His own free will. He sent His only son to die for our sins and He did so, not based on our having earned this most precious gift.
But what was it Jesus was really doing when He died for us? He was dying to save us 'from' our sins, not leave us in them and simply forgive us while we were still bound in those sins. How would that have been better than the way things were under the Law of Moses?
But Jesus came to bring us a new and better way.
Hebrews 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
How could He save us 'from' our sin and cleanse us?
By taking our sins into His own body and letting that body, full of our sins, be killed. As the blood flowed from His body our sins were washed away. This work is applied to each of us, if we believe and accept Jesus as our Savior. At that point we are considered to be a part of His body, because the Word of God, (His seed) is in us. So then, as His body was cleansed from sin, we now being a part of His body, are also cleansed.
Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
If then, we have been cleansed from sin, why would we believe that we still had to live in sin?
Romans 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
It is a lie of the enemy that tells men that they cannot help but to sin, when the truth is that we have been cleansed 'from' sin. We do not have to let sin rule us and tell our bodies what to do!
Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
We are told - NOT TO - let sin rule our mortal bodies. This fact does not mean we are being saved by works. To the contrary it means that we were (past tense) saved 'from' sin and given the power to become God's sons. We have been given the power to do all things that are holy and righteous. This power was given freely to those who would be born again and surrendered to God. We did not earn either the cleansing 'from' sin, nor the power God has given us that enables us to resist the enemy and live without sinning.
1 Peter 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
When we hear the Word of God that tells us of the work of Jesus Christ, when we believe that Word and receive it into our hearts and surrender our lives to Him, we become the children of God. We have received the seed of God, which is His Word and have been born again.
Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
The seed which is the Word of God is given out to all men, but it is those whose hearts are, as it were, good ground, who will receive that Word and allow it to take root in their hearts. When he does so, the Bible tells us that that person is made new. He is new, because not only is he forgiven of the sins he has committed, but those sins are washed away, removed from him and he is given the power to become a son of God. Because his sins have been removed from him, he now is good soil, in which the Word of God can grow. So then he will begin to produce good fruit.
Matthew 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
God sanctifies us, or sets us apart from the life of sin, by cleansing us from all sin. He does this when we receive and submit to His Word. Then we are new creatures in Christ and we are given the power to live without sinning.
Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
We are not the same only forgiven.
WE ARE CHANGED! ALL THINGS ARE MADE NEW BY THE CLEANSING OF JESUS CHRIST!
We have been 'freely' given the power of God – unto – salvation. But it is up to us whether we are going to access that power and allow God to continue to work in our lives or whether we are going to yield ourselves to sin once again.
Romans 6:13-14 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Notice that it is because you are under 'grace' that sin shall not have dominion over you. It is not that because you are under grace, you are now free to sin but rather you are free from it! Now you have been given the power to resist the devil and see him flee!
Romans 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The apostles were given power over the enemy. They did not remain subject to sin and Satan, while only being forgiven. God gave us His Holy Spirit, not just to make us feel good, but to give us power to live for God, live above sin, and to do the works – yes the works – He has called us to do. The salvation was a free gift. The infilling of the Spirit of God is a free gift. Yet these enable us to DO something.
Luke 9:1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases
Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Acts 11:16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
To say that because we were saved by grace rather thant because of our works, means that we are forgiven even while we continue to sin and be controlled by it, is to give Satan place in our lives that he should not be given.
Ephesians 4:27 Neither give place to the devil.
The idea that since we received salvation by grace we have nothing whatsoever to do, that we have no work to do is ludicrous.
It is like saying that if I give you a brand new car, with a tank full of gas, that I also have to drive it for you! I may have given the car out of love and grace. I may not have given it because you did anything to earn the gift of a new car. But I would expect you to not only drive it, but to take care of it, if you appreciated and valued the gift. Because I gave it to you does not mean I am required to drive it, keep it clean and tend to all of the maintenance.
God cleansed us by His love and grace when we did not deserve it. He gave us the power to become His sons and daughter and to live free of sin. Now He requires that we take this free gift of salvation and the power of the Holy Spirit and live in obedience to Him. We still have access to Him for forgiveness and cleansing should we make a mistake, but it is up to us to come to Him for this care. The maintenance of our spiritual lives are up to us.
We can choose to seek His guidance and care and He will give it, but He will not force it. Nor will He answer all our prayers based on our demanding of Him, while we yet walk in disobedience to Him.
It is when we remain in Him and keep His Word living in us that we can ask of Him, those things that are according to His will, and He will do them for us.
John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
1 Corinthians 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
Romans 6:16 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?
1 Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
You are yet in your sins – only if – Christ did not raise from the dead.
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
We can live a life of victory and power. We can see God do mighty, even supernatural things in our lives if and when we are surrendered to Him and walk in obedience to Him.
Romans 1:5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Romans 6:16 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?
Romans 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Do not be deceived, there is something we must do. We have been given the grace and the power to do it, but do it we must. We must obey God and do His will.
James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
As a matter of fact, if the Spirit of the living God lives in you, He will give you the power to do what the Word of God tells you to do.
Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Children of God are able to do whatever is required of them because of the free gift of salvation they have received and the power of the holy Spirit.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Do not blame God, if after coming to Christ you did not continue to live in obedience and have suffered at the hand of the enemy. There is power. There is help. There are answers to be had. These are available to those who live by faith and obedience. All who submit themselves to Christ can do so by the strength and power of the Holy Spirit that is freely given.
Let us then, obey the Word that has been given us.
2 Corinthians 6:17-18 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Romans 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Remember that a father not only gives gifts to his children that they desire, but he also disciplines them, which is a great gift in itself.. So it is with Father God.
Hebrew 12:6-7 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
It is time to begin to understand the great gift that God has given us and to realize that this gift includes a freedom 'from' sin, a right relationship to God, the opportunity for continued fellowship with God and the strength and power to work the works God calls us to do.
Jesus did not require more of the woman, who was caught in the act of adultery, than he requires of us all. He told her - John 8:11 … go, and sin no more.
It is time to not be spoiled brats, trying to claim the promises of God while we give place to God's enemy, letting him motivate us to sin, which is to work against the God we claim to serve.
It is time to put on the whole armor of God and live as soldiers of the cross.
Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
1 John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
