The great enemy of the Christian life is sin. From the beginning of the world, sin has wreaked havoc upon humanity, and it still causes terrible trouble today. As Christians, God calls us to get the victory over sin. This victory is possible through Jesus Christ.
In the Garden of Eden, sin caused separation from God. It caused the loss of spiritual authority, the loss of the kingdom of God, the loss of blessing in circumstances. It gave power to the devil. Sin caused death – spiritual death (separation from God), physical death (death of the body), and the eternal death of the soul in hell. Sin still ravages people today in similar ways.
Jesus came to deal with sin. He died on the cross because of sin. He had no sin and was perfect, but he died. He died for our sins, to give us the gift of righteousness. Jesus came to deliver us from the penalty of sin, reconcile us to God, and give us eternal life.
However, Christians still sin. And sin still causes problems in our lives. It hurts ourselves, hurts others, and damages our relationship with God. Sin opens the door to attack from evil spirits.
Jesus came to give us victory over the power of sin in this life. It is possible to have victory over sin. It is possible to not sin for an extended period of time. God wants us to stop sinning. This is his will. It is never God’s will for us to sin. God wants us to be holy as he is holy (1 Peter 1:16). He commands us to be perfect as he is perfect (Matthew 5:48). God hates sin, and he wants sin eradicated out of the lives of his people.
No one has attained total victory over sin, except Jesus Christ. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Paul was trying to become perfect, according to Philippians 3:12. He didn’t get there, but his attempt shows that total victory over sin is attainable. This position is also mysteriously called “the resurrection of the dead” (Philippians 3:12). Getting total victory over sin is connected to end times events, and will only happen at the end of the age.
Our Christian life is to be a process of increasing victory over sin. This process is called sanctification. Total sanctification is God’s will for his people.
Sin starts with temptation. To get the victory over sin, we must get the victory over temptation. Temptation means testing. Each temptation that we face is a test to see if we will follow God or go against God.
We are tempted every day. There are many opportunities each day to overcome temptation, pass these tests, and grow more in God. Jesus has called us to overcome. We are more than conquerors through him because he already overcame all sin. We are not called to fall into sin repeatedly, failing all of these tests. Instead, we are called to get the victory, pass the tests, and go from one degree of glory to a higher degree of glory.
Our brother James (who was also Jesus’ half-brother— for he was the son of Joseph and Mary; whereas Jesus was the Son of God and Mary) told us to count it all joy when we fall into temptations (James 1:2). Temptations are tests, and we are Christ’s disciples or students. If we are good students, we will not shrink from tests. When they come, we will face them and seek to pass them through the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
James describes how sin begins with temptation. We are tempted when we are drawn out by our own desires and enticed by something in the world (James 1:14). We want something in the world that we should not have. When our desires connect with that thing in the world and we take that thing to ourselves, then we sin.
For example, someone may desire money. He sees a $100 bill sitting on the store counter. He knows it belongs to the store, but he is tempted to steal it. If he gives into the temptation and satisfies his desire for money with that illicit cash, then he sins. This will produce evil. However, if he gets the victory over sin, then he grows spiritually.
There are many examples of this. Someone may want peace. He’s tempted to turn to alcohol to find peace and forget his problems. If he gives into this temptation, drinks alcohol, and gets drunk, then he sins and will reap bad consequences. But if he overcomes the temptation, then he will grow in God.
Someone may want a relationship. He may be tempted to fornicate in order to satisfy this desire.
All humans have the flesh, which is full of desires that are not according to God. Even Jesus had the “likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3). He was not only God but also man. Jesus had desires. He was hungry and therefore was tempted to get food (Matthew 4:3). Jesus was sometimes tired and was probably tempted to sleep rather than minister to a needy person (John 4:6). Jesus never gave into temptation, and therefore he never sinned. He always did the will of God. Jesus came to condemn sin in the flesh and give his victory to us.
When we are tempted, if we give into the temptation and gratify our desires with something that does not please God, then the union between our desires and that illicit thing produces sin. Then sin will produce death in our lives, others’ lives, and in our circumstances (James 1:15).
Just because we are tempted doesn’t mean we are sinning. Temptation does not necessarily equal sin. Jesus was tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 9:15).
It is possible for us to endure temptation and not give in to sin (James 1:12). We can get through the test through the strength of Jesus Christ.
Satan is the tempter. He tempts us to sin. He is like an evil agent or broker who tries to match our desires with something illicit in the world. He tries to get us to gratify our desires with things that are not God’s will.
Whenever we are tempted, God promises to do two things for us. First, he won’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). God will not allow the temptation to be too strong that we will have to fail. Instead, we can overcome it. God has called us to overcome it. He will give us the strength we need to do so.
Second, God will make a way of escape for us. We will never be trapped in a condition where we have no choice but to sin. Instead, God will make sure that we can always escape. Whenever we are tempted, we need to take that escape route.
We can only overcome temptation by being in the Spirit, not in the flesh. When we are in the flesh, we will live according to our sinful desires. Instead of this, we must be in the Spirit (Galatians 5:24). Focus on the things of the Spirit. Do what God says. Feed the Spirit.
The Law is not the path of victory. The Law says do this or don’t do that. In a twisted way, the law actually increases sin. It gives the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20; Romans 7:5-11), and it strengthens the illicit desires, causing them to be stronger. The strength of sin is the Law (1 Corinthians 15:56).
Our flesh must be crucified. We are dead to the Law through Christ (Romans 7:4). When we believe in Jesus, we become dead to the Law. The Holy Spirit comes into us, and when we walk according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
God tells us not to make any provision for the flesh to satisfy its lusts (Romans 13:14). We are not to make a way to match our desires with the evil things in the world.
We live in a time when sin is very accessible. Just a few clicks on our smartphone, and we can order almost anything to come to our door within a day or two. Sometimes what we want just appears on our screens. It is harder now to overcome sin than it has been in the past, because the barriers to sin are so low in this time. Before, it would take years to get some of the things we can get now. The prices would be prohibitive, or those things wouldn’t even be available. Even kings in the past did not live like we are living now. The problem with this is that sin is now abounding and increasing. It is harder for Christians to live in victory over sin. We must not make provision for the flesh. The flesh is dead, having been crucified with Christ. We must starve out the flesh. The more we don’t give into temptation, the stronger our spiritual lives will become and the weaker our flesh will be.
When we fall into sin, we must confess our sins, and then receive forgiveness from God. He will forgive us (1 John 1:9). The death of Jesus is an infinite resource of mercy and forgiveness that is more than enough to wash away our sins. And if any Christian sins, we have an advocate with the Father who will perfectly plead our case – Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1).
We are in the process of getting the victory over sin. We are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Praise God for the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin.
Let’s keep moving forward until we reach the glorious destination set before us – being conformed to the image of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Lincoln House Churches 