In 1^st John 2: 28 we read, “ And NOW, little children ABIDE in him: (why?) that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and NOT be ashamed before him at his coming.” If we are going to live our lives free from sin so that we shall not be ashamed before him at his coming, then we must ABIDE in him.

“Whosoever ABIDETH in him SINNETH NOT: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” I know that these are hard words to receive at first; at least they were for me, because I had not yet learned what to ABIDE in him actually meant. I was always taught that if you were born again, that is to say, a true believer, one who has truly repented and accepted Jesus as their personal Savior, then you were abiding in him, sort of an automatic condition. NOT SO!

Now take a look at Jude 22, 23. “And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with FEAR pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” Up to this point I have primarily dealt with the positive and compassionate approach to exhorting you, as well as myself to live our lives free from sin. I hope that it has been enough to aggressively stimulate you to strive for, and one day achieve the goal of walking free from any and all sin. Overcoming sin is a process. For some it will be almost instant. However, with others, a seemingly longer period of time may be needed. Either way it is an ongoing fight of faith. If you are faithful to stand your ground, and resist every temptation, then the fight against sin will become easier and easier.

Now if by chance more exhortation is needed to help you live your life free from sin, then keep reading. Remember the scripture says, “…and others save with FEAR, pulling them out of the fire.” The fire of hell is very real, and definitely something to be feared. Consequently, it seems that most Christians, in general, have shoved the “fear” of the Lord into the closet. Perhaps they were hoping not to be offensive, or maybe trying to avoid confronting the reality that hell is in fact the penalty of sin.

I do not what to leave the impression that if you do sin that there is no more hope for you, that is to say that there is no more forgiveness of our sins to restore our fellowship with our heavenly Father. The Bible clearly teaches us in 1^st John 1: 9, that if we confess our sins that he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

However, there seems to be a relaxed attitude toward sin in the church as a whole that says, “I am only human, God will understand how hard it is to resist temptation, after all his word does say that if I give in, and sin, all that I need to do is confess my sin, and he will be faithful to forgive me.” The following verse of scripture in 1 John 2: 1 reads, “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”. The key word here is “IF”. We are commanded not to sin, but IF we would fall into a trap of our adversary and sin, then we are assured that if we confess our sins he is faithful to forgive us.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:12,13 that because iniquity, that is sin shall abound, that the love of MANY would grow cold. Again Jesus is talking about believers here! Perhaps those who thought they could “handle it” so to speak. Jesus goes on to say in verse 13, “But he that shall ENDURE unto the END, the same shall be saved.” Only those who endure unto the end shall be saved. In other words if you do not endure your temptations to sin, that is to say, if you do not resist the temptation to sin, without giving into it, to the END of the temptation, then you will NOT be saved.

You and I were redeemed from sin. We are set free from the bondage of sin. So let not our lives be entangled in the destructive web of sin ever again. We must patiently endure, or overcome every temptation we are faced with to the very end of each temptation. The Bible assures us that if we resist the devil, then he WILL flee from us. Don’t give in, and the temptation will flee from you. Every time you give in to sin you run the risk of being forever separated from God and cast into outer darkness. Don’t be one of the MANY who were once Christians that Jesus will one day say to, “depart from me ye workers of iniquity.”

Proverbs 16: 6 says, “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the FEAR OF THE LORD men depart from evil.” It is true that God is love, but we must never forget the words found in Hebrews 12:29 that tell us that God is also a consuming fire. Judgment day is coming, and Hebrews 10:30,31 says, “…it is a FEARFUL thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Time is short, and the coming of our Lord in very near. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 4:17,18 that, “The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God, and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous SCARCELY be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" 

All through this study of God’s Holy word are scriptures that are promises to help us purge all sin totally and completely from our lives. But these by far only represent a small portion of the great storehouse of promises to be found in the Bible. Read 2^nd 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 THE LORD.” When you see the word “therefore”, then you need to find out what it is there for.

These scriptural promises are there for a reason. They are to help strengthen us in order that WE will purge our lives from ALL sin. One day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. Therefore my brother and sister in Christ Jesus work out your own salvation with great FEAR and TREMBLING. For it is God that is working in you through the Holy Spirit that places not only the desire in your heart to live your life free from sin, but also enables and empowers you to be a doer of the word and make living your life free from sin a REALITY. Right here, right now in the midst of this crocked and perverse world you can live your life free from all sin. Remember you are the light of the world; so let your light shine by setting forth the example of living your life without sin.

Going back to Romans 8:14, I would like to take a side journey, and explore an argument that is thrown around quite often as an excuse for sinning. Remember this verse in Romans says, “For as many as are LED by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” In other words, if you are not OBEYING the leading of the Holy Spirit, then you are NOT a son or daughter of God. Don’t dismiss what I am saying, for it is the word of God.

Back up one verse to Romans 8:13 “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall DIE.” In other words if you continue to sin after you have accepted Jesus as you Savior, who paid such a great price to redeem you, and set you free from sin, then you shall die in your sins. Does not the Bible say in Romans 8:23 that the wages of sin is death? Does this mean that if I sin after I have received Jesus as my Savior the there is no hope for me? No, the Bible assures us that IF we confess our sins that he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. However the Bible also says that to OBEY is better that sacrifice, which brings us to the last part of verse 13.“But IF you THROUGH THE SPIRIT do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

Over and over again throughout the word of God you will find that it always comes down to a choice, your choice. You can choose to live your life without sin. It is possible through FAITH and the Holy Spirit.

Before I continue on this side journey I would like to reaffirm the importance of keeping the scripture you are studying in the context were it is found. Now back up a few more verses to Romans 7: 14-20 “ For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not, but what I hate, that I do. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now thus it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”

Many have argued with themselves, with God, and with others that we are saved by grace, which is true. They have also argued that our own righteousness is as filthy rags, which is again true. And many have proudly stated that we are only human, which is also true. Then by putting all these true statements together along with this passage in Romans chapter seven, which we just read, there has been formed in the body of Christ a stronghold of the enemy that has kept the church in bondage to sin. This stronghold perhaps would have never been formed, if this scripture had not been taken out of context to try and excuse the laziness of the flesh.

Let me explain by paraphrasing a portion of a sermon I have heard many times from various different preachers, “Paul, one of the greatest men in the Bible had a sin problem. Don’t take my word for it just read Romans 7:14-24. So if Paul could not overcome his sin, then you certainly don’t have much of a chance.”

Have you ever-heard sermons like that? I certainly have. The problem is, those that believe, and teach that we are only human, and that it is just human nature to sin, have not rightly divided the word of God. They did not leave this passage of scripture in the context from were it was found. Keep reading and you will understand the truth that I am conveying to you.

The key verse is found in Romans 7:24 and 25, “ O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” Now notice the very next thing Paul says in verse 25, “I THANK GOD through Jesus Christ our Lord”. (Now I add) “who went to prepare a place for me”. It is through Jesus Christ our Lord, who went to the Father to prepare a place of authority for us, so that the Father would send the Holy Ghost to dwell IN us that he might enable us to overcome sin.

Don’t stop here at verse 25, but keep on reading right on in to chapter 8, because Paul is still telling us how to escape this vicious cycle of sin in chapter 8:1-14. “ There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk NOT after the flesh, BUT after the Spirit.”

If you give into sin, or in other words walk after the flesh, then there will be condemnation. However, those who do NOT yield to sin, and OBEY the LEADING of the Holy Spirit there is no condemnation. Again to obey is better than sacrifice. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are IN Christ Jesus’. ABIDE in him, and he in you. Remember the word Christ means the anointed one. In other words those who are abiding in the same anointing that Jesus had while he was in the earth, will NOT SIN, and will therefore have no condemnation.

Romans 8:6-9 says, “For to be carnally minded (that is to say the minding of the flesh) is DEATH; but to be spiritually minded (that is to say the minding of the Spirit) is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are NOT in the flesh, but in the Spirit, IF SO BE that the Spirit of God dwell IN you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Remember that Hebrews 11:6 tells us that it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God without FAITH.

Nothing would please God more than for his children to OBEY him. Willing obedience is what God desires of us. If we will but simply OBEY the voice of the Spirit of God we would not sin. However, the flesh is weak and cannot please God. You see the ONLY way to please God and live your life completely free from sin is to live by the spirit, your inner man, IF SO BE that the Spirit of God dwells in you. The only way to live your life free from sin is by FAITH. You have to believe you can before you will be able to do it.

I strongly exhort you to read Romans 8:1-18 over and over again, until you fully rest in the truth that you are made free from the law of sin and death. Know this also that when Paul said, “but how to perform that which is good I find not,” he was NOT saying he did know how to overcome sin, but rather that in the strength of his own flesh, or his own will power, so to speak, he could not find a way to keep from yielding to sin. Paul did not remain in this frustrating state of continual sinning and repenting, but he overcame the deeds of the flesh THROUGH THE SPIRIT as he tells us in Romans 8:13.

Remember the words of Jesus, “I can of mine own self do nothing” Jesus depended upon the Holy Spirit to live his life without sin, likewise we also must depend upon the SAME Holy Spirit in order to live our lives free from sin.

Yours in Christ Jesus Now and Forever,

Mark