Mom spoke about sin in her journal. We all sin. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We all screw up, make mistakes, sometimes on purpose with forethought, sometimes in the heat of the moment, sometimes without even realizing it. We are not perfect. We are fallen beings. But thank God, He provided a Savior. Thank God we are forgiven.
Temptation is not sin, it is the step before it. Yielding to temptation is sin. In Psalm 51 the Lord shows us the way to cope and handle sin.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,so that sinners will turn back to you. 14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
1. Truly admit your sin, confess honestly
2. True godly sorrow. "I am sorry."
3. Ask God's forgiveness.
4. Believe God hears you and will restore you.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1. Admit our sin.
2. Regret the action of our sin.
3. Plead the blood of Christ.
4. Believe, truly, God has done what He promised, namely, to cleanse us from our sin and to restore us to fellowship and service.
Matthew 6:25-34 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
This passage names worry as sin. We must discipline ourselves to turn away from anxiety, and temptation and choose to trust the Lord.
Matthew 12:43-45 43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
Be warned, returning to a past bondage from which you were once delivered results in deeper bondage.
Matthew 13:31-32 31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
Recognize that faith is decision and obedience rather than ability. Understand obedient faith releases Holy Spirit power to overcome sin.
From me.
Sin is our enemy. But choosing faith enables us to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome our fleshly, selfish desires. Only through obedient faith can we be the overcomers that Jesus died for us to become. It is a battle. But we have the Holy Spirit within us to empower us to victory.
Will we sin? Yes. Do we have to live in it? No. God has made a way in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!
Thank You Lord for the forgiveness You so freely offer. Thank You Lord for the love which You show us. Thank You for the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, give us the desire to walk in Your ways and the power to carry our that desire. Only through You can we have victory over sin. Sin is bondage, and we don't want to live in bondage. You alone are our very present help in trouble. You alone can bring us to victory. Thank You! In Jesus, Name. Amen
Tempted today? Call on the Holy Spirit, as much as needed to stand strong.
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