Question: How does God forsake and pardon my sin because I can’t resist sins in my life? How do I gain eternity?
The question asked here finds its answer in the gospel of Jesus Christ and understanding God’s grace. This question is one that is asked by many believers who are fighting against their sinful fleshly natures.
The first clue to understanding you are saved and have eternal life is to recognise your “sin”. To know that you are a sinner and in need of a saviour because it is impossible to pay for our sins committed against a Holy God. Our saviour is Jesus Christ, through whom we have the forgiveness of sins. If you call upon the name of Jesus, repent of your sins, and love God, then you are saved. It is a heart condition. It is to turn from your old life and put on the new. Now, this does not mean you will be sinless from this point on, but rather that you have a redeemed spirit, which is now in battle with the flesh because you hate it.
1 John 1:8-10 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Charles Spurgeon describes it this way:
“Did you ever try to pull a bucket up a well? You know that, when it is full of water, you can pull it easily so long as the bucket remains in the water. But when it gets above the water, you know how heavy it is.
It is just so with you. While you are in sin, you do not feel it to be a burden. It does not seem to be evil. But if the Lord once draws you out of sin, you will find it to be an intolerable, a heinous evil.”
Examine yourself and your love for God. The fact that this question has been put forward shows the desire of the heart to live a holy life and be free from the sinful nature in us. Even the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 7:21–25, “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 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. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 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.”
Then it goes on to say in Romans 8:1–4, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
The fact of the matter is, while we live on this earth, there will be a constant battle between the flesh and the spirit. In this battle, it is critical to understand that you cannot achieve victory in your own effort. That will be impossible. You will never resist sins in your ability and strength. This is the very reason why Jesus says in John 14:15–17, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
Christ promises to send us a helper, to be with us forever, the Spirit of truth. Amen! To resist sin, we MUST rely on the Holy Spirit. His Spirit will enable us to do what we cannot achieve in our strength. What is impossible for man is possible with God (Luke 18:27). When we walk according to the Spirit, there is a daily transformation, making us more and more like Christ. It slowly sheds off the sinful nature as we behold Christ and find our desire in Him alone (2 Corinthians 3:18).
So, what can you do when you find it hard to resist sin? First and foremost, rely on the Holy Spirit. Pray, read the word, and let the Spirit and His word immerse your mind. As you do so, the power of God will work mightily in your life. Galatians 5:16 says, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Second, find your desire in Christ and not the fleeting sins of this world. John 14:15 says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” When you have a relationship with Christ and love Him, you want to do all that pleases Him. Remember, this action must be a result of love, not religiosity. It must come from a heart that has been transformed and is in love with Christ. We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Amen!
In conclusion, if you love Christ and have received the gift of salvation, recognise that the forgiveness of your sins is only possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. John 5:24 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
Now that you have eternal life as a gift, rely on His strength through His Spirit to overcome temptations in your life. Spend time in prayer, in the word, and adore Christ. You will then have His power to overcome your temptations and glorify God. Amen!
