God’s Word to You is
1 Peter 3:15
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
1 John 1:8
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 Corinthians 10:13
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Romans 6:1-12
Dead to Sin, Alive to God
6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self[a] was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free[b] from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
Romans 7:15-25
15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
I want to make a serious point about who we are and who we need to be. There are so many arguments that use these verses in different ways to prove any number of certain views. Loss of salvation, condoning of lifestyles, condemnation of lifestyles, promoting one denomination over another and more, take these verses and they usually confuse more people than teach them.
We see we are not to sin. We see proposals that “if” we are His we will sin no more. We see that we are graciously forgiven our sins yet we don’t need to abuse that grace. We even see that we have a choice whether to sin or not. Yet if we are honest we know that we are not perfect. We know we can’t be. Well not by His standard. Paul even recognizes this and shares his pain at knowing he disappoints God, yet praises Him that He still has him, even in his failures.
So how do we need to approach sin?
Simple. Fight it. Don’t let pride take us where we don’t belong. Grow so close to Him, in our hearts, that we are better day by day to resist temptation. He knows I struggle. He knows you do too. But here is an amazing way to stand that keeps our hearts focused more on Him. Stand in humility. Recognize you are not perfect. Don’t expect others to be, but rather see those in sin and love them out of it.
Be a light, not a boss, judge or jury. Be a friend, not an enemy. Be an example.
Let love be your guide and His love your witness. Learn how to really love the sinner and hate the sin. There are always those who may think the same of you…
me n’ God love ya