Article #16 FatherSpiritSon.com
Conquering Our Sinful Nature
If we are to live according to God's plans for our lives, and unlock the full potential of obeying Him, we need to constantly engage in battles with our sinful nature. The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23 that the “wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (See V*1). I think that this verse signifies a spiritual death more-so than a physical death, although I wouldn't be surprised if it meant both. When we commit any sin against God we typically lack in faith at that particular moment, and as a result of the lack of faith we fail to resist against the temptation. We feel that any momentary pleasure or benefit as a result of the sin will outweigh God's eternal rewards or the benefits of obedience. This is quite simply put not true. Somehow we begin to fall victim to the schemes of the Devil when we allow these thoughts to engage us mentally and start justifying our sinful behavior prior to engaging in it. Even worse sometimes we just rush our feet right into evil and decide to deal with the consequences of our actions at a later time without carefully analyzing them. (See V*2).
God is a loving God and He does forgive us of our sins if we genuinely ask Him, and seek to repent of our sins. I would even venture to say that He would be extra merciful and gracious with our biggest weaknesses, which we sometimes unfortunately cling to as habitual sin. I think that when we do fall victim to our own sinful nature, we should not wallow in the guilt or self-pity for too long. This only serves to derail us even further, and there is no room for pity-parties when we have God on our side. Let Him wash away your guilt and learn to forgive yourself after you seek forgiveness from Him. This way you can continue to fight the good fight of faith with as little interruption as possible.
I also believe that God forgets our sins and separates us from our sins so that as far as the east is from the west so are our sins from us. (See V*3 & V*4). It is integral to remember that God's forgiveness is not a ticket to continue living in sin, we need to strive for progress and genuinely repent whenever possible in order to maintain our relationship with Him, set a good example for others, and realize that we are more than conquerors through Christ who gives us strength. (See V*5). This set of verses also essentially tells us that nothing can separate us from God's love. What a wonderful promise, we can rest assured that He will always be there for us no matter what circumstances come our way or what tries to hinder our relationship with Him!
We weakly try to justify all kinds of sin with fallacies such as: “This little white lie won't hurt anybody.”, “I just can't seem to get passed this one weakness of mine.”, “This will be the last time I fall into this sin.”, etc... The truth is in these and many other misguided thoughts like them we are missing the point with these poor excuses. We need to stand firm on God's truth and commands in these cases. Try to take any negative, untrue, or harmful thoughts that linger captive in the name of Jesus Christ. (See V*6).
Sometimes it helps me to resist certain sins to think of the consequences of my actions prior to engaging in “x” behavior. Unfortunately there is plenty of room to sin, if all you examine are the consequences. We mistakenly lead ourselves to believe that as long as we aren't hurting anybody else and making our own individual decision it is okay. This couldn't be further from the truth. A lot of the times we are not only harming ourselves in these cases, but overlooking the lives of others that are undoubtedly affected and closely related to our decisions. It is amazing what some of us will do in the heat of the moment for some momentary pleasure, even when the consequences are serious.
I do not personally treat breaking God's laws lightly, and certainly I struggle with certain sins myself too, but I know that God still uses me to accomplish His will despite my iniquities. He knows that we are all works in progress, and He knows how to judge the motives of your heart! Try to keep your motives pure and in line with God's will and everything will work out for the best. (See V*7).
The good news is that with God's help we can overcome the obstacle of our sinful nature and live a better, more praiseworthy life. Keep this article in mind, and more importantly the verses contained within it next time you struggle with it.
Until next time, I will keep all of you readers in my prayers! Hope you enjoyed the article. As always feel free to send any feedback or inquiries about this or any other article to: [email protected]
-Victor Nunez
Biblical References:
V*1- “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (HCSB)
V*2- “Six things the Lord hates; in fact, seven are detestable to Him: 17 arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet eager to run to evil, 19 a lying witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up trouble among brothers. Proverbs 6:16-19 (HCSB)
V*3- “For I will be merciful to their wrongdoing, and I will never again remember their sins.” Hebrews 8:12 (HCSB)
V*4- “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:11-12 (HCSB)
V*5- “Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! Romans 8:36-39 (HCSB)
V*6- “For although we are walking in the flesh, we do not wage war in a fleshly way, 4 since the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (HCSB)
V*7- “For I am not conscious of anything against myself, but I am not justified by this. The One who evaluates me is the Lord. 5 Therefore don't judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God. 1 Corinthians 4:4-5 (HCSB)
Resources/Suggested Links:
http://www.ucg.org/booklets/RL/forgiveness.asp(Talks about letting go of our sins/past, and seeking forgiveness from God. Good read.)
http://www.voneye.com/wayofchrist_012.html (Talks about the various blessings and privileges God has given us and proclaims how we are more than conquerors!)
http://bible.org/article/resting-god’s-sovereignty-proverbs-161-4