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Wednesday, January 3, 2024

Defeating Sin

You can do it (with the Spirit’s help)

The Christian life is an exciting process of being obedient to God’s word, while using biblical tools to build a more God-like character. This process was outlined in the blogs just prior to this one (1 Thessalonians 1:5-7).

However, there are a number of additional issues in the Christian life that are quite important in scripture and to Christians. This blog deals with one of several of these important topics: dealing with sin.

How do we handle sin as a born-again believer?

This is a big question and plagues each of us some time in our lives. The understanding of a proper answer, based in scripture, is so important to our mental health and relationship with God.

Recurrent sin - How then does a Christian conquer, in a biblical manner, the issue of sin, real or perceived? Not only is the sin itself a problem but it often produces guilt which might further reduce the quality of relationship with God. Here are some tips from scripture and what is not in scripture. The New Testament epistles indicate the following:

· Perceived sin – Make sure your sin is actually viewed by God as sin and you’re not responding to:

o A self-imposed expectation

Social Christian expectations from family or friends
Legalism derived from other believers

For example, watching a movie is not a biblical sin but you may feel guilty based on self-imposed restrictions, your reasons for watching the film (careful: might include sin), or the perceived expectations of your church or Christian colleagues. As 1 Timothy 4:4-5 states, everything we do and use in this world should be filtered through prayer and God’s word.

Remember if you do see the movie (or do anything), do so out of faith, because anything we do without faith itself is sin (Romans 14:23). Further, only see it if you do not make fellow Christians stumble (Romans 14:13-21).

· Obey – This is the predominant response to sin for Christians in the epistles: simply obey (Romans 6:12-16; Romans 12:1-2). We are to be God’s worthy servant! Importantly, we love God and others by obeying Him (1 John 5:1-3).

· Hate sin – God hates sin as it is contrary to His righteousness (Hebrews 1:9). Sin ultimately hurts us and potentially others. Part of maturity as a person of God is understanding the ill effects of sin and to hate it as God does (Proverbs 8:13).

· Defeat sin – We are to destroy sin in our lives. We can do this for two amazing reasons:

The Holy Spirit – God gave us His powerful Spirit to help us defeat sin (Romans 8:13).

Regeneration – The Holy Spirit regenerated us (Titus 3:5) when we believed at salvation to a new person who is not bound by sin (Ephesians 2:1-3) but it’s free to serve God (Romans 6:2-16).

· We are forgiven (Romans 3:23-26; Colossians 2:13) – We do not need to ask for forgiveness because Christ covers our sins by our faith in His sacrifice on the cross for us .

Some view 1 John 1:9 as saying we should ask for forgiveness; if so, it’s the only such passage in the epistles. In context, this passage presents a foundation for fellowship among believers through our salvation in Christ, before the author proceeds to discuss in Chapters 2 through 4 how a believer acts and believes. John assumes a concept of sin (1 John 3:4-10), and of not obeying the commandments (1 John 2:2-6), as a continual action that, if it defines a person’s life, they probably are an unbeliever. Therefore, John is not using the term ‘sin’ in 1 John 1:9 as a daily sin of a believer that must ask routinely for forgiveness. The verse relates to unbelievers who need forgiveness to salvation.

Nonetheless, it is healthy to recognize our sin (Romans 8:13) before our holy Father and change our life (please see next point), but forgiveness is not in view.

· Spiritual warfare – Remember our fight is against Satan and not merely against institutions and people in this world. Our tools to defeat Satan, beyond our salvation, are:

o Be alert – Satan wishes to devour you (1 Peter 5:8).

o Remember his methods – Keep from giving him a place and ability to snare you (Ephesians 4:27), caused by:

Ø Not knowing biblical truth or being mature in Christ (Hebrews 5:14; 1 T imothy 3:7).

Ø Incorrect emotions such as anger, lack of forgiveness or temptation! (Ephesians 4:27; 1 Timothy 3:7; 2 Corinthians 2:7).

o Resist him – James 4:7; Ephesians 6:11

Ø Put on the whole armor of God – This is vital and was discussed in the blog about the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:10-17).

o Flee sin – 2 Timothy 2:22 tells us to run away from temptation. We are not to surround ourselves with tempting situations to try to measure our spiritual strength. God tells us to put on our running shoes and escape!

· What not to do – There is no need to feel guilty, kick yourself, and act defeated. Instead get up on your feet and obey the word of God! Get over it and get busy allowing God to use your good service to Him.

Bonus section, the unpardonable sin

This important passage is in Matthew 12:31-32. These verses are often misunderstood, and Christians apply them to themselves.

Remember, you should interpret the gospels through Jewish eyes! In this passage Christ was addressing the Pharisees, who were Jewish leaders. They had the witness from the Holy Spirit, descending upon Christ at His baptism (Matthew 3), which was a testimony He was the promised king bringing salvation as prophesied in the Old Testament (Isaiah 59:20-21; 2 Samuel 7:12-16).

The Pharisees rejected the testimony of the Holy Spirit and so rejected the message of the kingdom and the gospel. Of course, this was unpardonable (rejecting the gospel).

For true believing Christians, we have not rejected the gospel but are saved and secure through faith in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. Accordingly. the passage does not apply to Christians.

These mental disciplines regarding handling of sin are critical to a healthy mindset. God has graciously given us a provision of unimpeded access to Him in prayer through our forgiveness in Christ.

Thanks for joining me, please return next week for another important topic.

William C. Stewart, MD

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Disclaimer - This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Dealing with Guilt

Christians feel guilty, seemingly almost routinely. Guilt practically is accepted as a part of the Christian life. Should we feel guilty and if so, why? If not, how do we stop?

How common is it?

Teleios surveys have shown that approximately 70% of evangelical Christians feel some level of guilt. Fortunately, it appears typically mild.

Why do Christians feel guilty?

Teleios has examined this question among church attendees in an evangelical church on three levels (full report):

· A person is not a believer (5%) – This was a very small percent, but recognizes that there are people within the church community who really do not understand salvation by grace; and the Holy Spirit is probably convicting them (John 16:8-11). In this case, the guilt is appropriate and perhaps will lead to their salvation.

· Fear of loss of salvation (28%) – These Christians knew they were saved by grace but feared they could lose their salvation, perhaps by sin or disobedience. However, the scriptures indicate Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is sufficient to cover all sins, past, present, and future. For a Christian, saved by grace alone, all sins are forgiven (Ephesians 1:4-5,13; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:23-26; Romans 6:2-9; Hebrews 6:1-8).

· Fear of God’s displeasure (41%) – The greatest percent knew they were saved and secure yet somehow felt some sin, or lack of good works, would cause God to reject them, producing their guilt. This idea is also unbiblical in that we have direct access to God through the ripped veil based on Christ’s sacrifice (Hebrews 10:19-22).

What are the triggers for guilt?

What causes guilt in a true believer? We do not know precisely, but here are some suggestions:

· Lack of knowledge of God’s word – This is key! If we don’t know God’s word then we are left defenseless in determining if we hear or read something that suggests we are sinning. So not knowing, the nagging doubt if we are wrong, leads to guilt.

· Not meeting others’ expectations – Family, friends and churches may have expectations for us, that even may be dressed up in Christian jargon, that can produce guilt if we do not meet them. This issue relates directly to the first point in that if you do not know the Bible then you cannot determine if their expectations are correct.

· Self-expectations – Again, this is related to the first point that we may place burdens on ourselves which we fail to meet but may not be biblical.

· Wrong corrective response to sin – Even if we know that we are in sin, we may not respond to that sin in a biblical way. Our response may be based on social Christian tradition or expectations, such as priestly or work-based absolution, re-dedication or re-baptism, self-abasement or pleading for forgiveness from God. These efforts may reduce immediate guilt but are not biblical and would not solve most likely a long-term guilt problem (please see just below, and the last blog, over handling sin).

· Continued sin - Obviously if we are in a sin and choose willingly to continue it, this may result in feeling guilty

What is the appropriate biblical attitude regarding guilt?

· Realize guilt is not required – For a true believer who is saved by grace alone the answer is simple: ‘Don’t.’ Why is this? Let’s take it to the source, the Bible.

The Bible does not teach guilt for the believer. The New Testament epistles, the part of the biblical text that provides Christians with guidance, does not teach believers to feel guilty for acts of sin or any other reason.
Christians are forgiven by Christ’s gracious sacrifice, received by faith; His offering was fully sufficient to cover all our sins. It is given to us as a free gift. Guilt is not part of the package (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:23-26).

· God wants our obedience – This is the New Testament response to sin, to obey and mature into the worthy servant that God wants us to be. In this way we can accomplish good things, such as spreading the gospel and serving others, without being self-focused, tied up in knots over insecurity of salvation, questioning our relationship with God, and burdened by our guilt (Romans 6:12; 6:16; 12:1; Hebrews 5:11-6:3).

What is the solution for guilt?

· Make sure you are a believer – Assure that you recognize your glorious salvation is based completely on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross by faith alone and not mixed with works. Further, as time passes from when you first believed, you will see evidence of biblically based changes in your life (2 Peter 1:10). Please see our chapter on salvation for further detail. There is nothing that you can do to help God save or keep you. He does it all!

· Realize you are secure – God provides protections, both legal and morphologic, by declaring us righteous, adopted, sealed by the Spirit until Christ’s coming, and changed irreversibly into a new person. (Ephesians 1:4-5, Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:23-26; Romans 6:2-9; Hebrews 6:1-8).

· Realize you are forgiven – Certainly, in our relationship with God it makes sense to recognize our day-to-day sin with regret. However, we must realize with God that those sins graciously are forgiven already by Christ’s sacrifice (Romans 3:24-25: Ephesians 1:7).

· Access – We have bold access to God! Our only limitation is ourselves by sin that would keep us from approaching God or hindering our prayers (Hebrews 4:14-16; Hebrews 10:19-22).

· Realize the truth about guilt – The Bible does not tell believers to feel guilty but to obey and have joy and peace. Therefore, get up, obey the word, life by faith, live guilt free! A good motto for the Christian life: ‘Live by facts (i.e., the Bible) and not emotions!’ Believe scripture, and do not rely on emotions that you or others place on yourself. God is great and gives us such wonderful biblical wisdom to enrich our lives.

We have a gracious God who has provided for us forgiveness through Jesus Christ death and resurrection and access through faith. We should not be burdened by guilt but to obey and strive to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16).

Thanks for joining me, please return next week.