|
Post by guest on Dec 7, 2010 13:52:27 GMT -5
Pastor mike, i am almost at a loss for words because i am not sure where to begin with this. I know i am saved, but i sure don't at like it at times. I say this because of my sin and my lack of reading his word. At times, i feel so caught up in my sin and at times i grieve over it because i hate doing it. Sometimes its just the urge and then other times i just get so upset with doing it that it almost depresses me. Part of my sin is from before when i accepted Christ and almost don't know how to give it up; its almost as they are addictions... Also, i do go to church to worship God, but thats about it. Outside of church i am not active in his word or anything having to do with God. And with all of this being said, i really want to stop with my sin and addictions and just truly focus on God and read his word. Any suggestions?
|
|
|
Post by Mike Miller on Dec 9, 2010 12:55:23 GMT -5
Hey, friend. I do have some things to say, but brace yourself. I love you enough to be straight with you, so bear with me and read all the way through.
First, you say that you know you are saved. How do you know? What is it in your life that indicates that you are born again? I will say that I see evidence in your life in that you are under conviction of your sin (your struggle seems a lot like Paul's in Romans 7:7-25), you want to read the Bible, and you're reaching out for help. I'm not trying to tell you you're not saved, then, but 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation," and 2 Corinthians 13:5 says that we should examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. This is a healthy exercise for all of us. So, did you at some time embrace Christ, turning to Him from sin, and committing to walk in obedience to Him? And since that time, have you seen evidence of the new life in yourself? I'm definitely not saying that you have to be perfect (more on this in a minute), but there should be inward and outward evidence of conversion. After all, 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 teaches that "godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation."
Now, having said all that, true Christians do wrestle with sin. All of us wrestle with some sin, though it's different for different people. I referenced Romans 7 above, where Paul pours out his heart about his own struggles, ending with, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" And then in chapter 8, he declares, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," and he goes on to explain that even though we struggle, we have been set free from sin, so we should be living by the Spirit now. In other words, yes we still struggle, but the Christian life is marked by victory. Once we are saved, the Holy Spirit begins the work of sanctification. That's the process of making us more holy--more like Jesus. It doesn't happen overnight, and at times we slip, but we should see ourselves becoming more and more like Christ as our lives progress.
Now, as to how sanctification happens, you have hit the nail on the head when you said your problem is "my sin and my lack of reading his word." Your sin is directly related to your low Bible intake. When Jesus prayed for all those who would follow Him, He said, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17). It's not that reading the Bible is some sort of magic formula for getting rid of sin, nor is it that you will no longer face temptation. Rather, the Bible is the means by which the Holy Spirit effects His work of sanctification in our lives. Just as a chisel cannot by itself produce a statue unless it is in the hand of a sculptor, nor can a sculptor make anything without the right tools, the Word of God is the tool by which the Master chips away at all the stuff in our lives that doesn't look like Jesus. If we don't read Scripture, we simply can't become more Christlike. And since we aren't the Master Sculptor, we must read the Word with absolute dependence and surrender to the Spirit. Then, He applies the Word to our lives, rebuking sin and guiding us into holiness.
Furthermore, as we read Scripture, we begin to see God more clearly, and as we do that, we fall more in love with Him. The result then is that we fall out of love with all the other things that allure us. They lose their appeal. When I fell in love with my wife, other women didn't appeal to me anymore. Similarly, as we love God more, we desire sin less.
So, is this a quick and easy solution? Nope. But you are going to have to discipline yourself to read Scripture. You must devote a portion of your life daily to this holy task. Pray, read, pray, read. And as you do, cry out to God for help. The solution you are looking for is a spiritual one. You don't have it within yourself to overcome sin. You need grace and strength supplied by the Holy Spirit. Don't depend on yourself. Depend on Him (Luke 11:5-13).
Now, here's the thing. You have two choices. You can either continue the direction you are going. Or you can start prayerfully digging into God's Word, crying out to God for help. You don't need a formula. You need Him. And the good news is that in Christ, He will supply all you need.
|
|
|
Post by guest on Dec 9, 2010 23:44:40 GMT -5
Pastor mike, thank you for being honest and real with me. I have another question with my earlier post. I understand that we should be turning from sin as we grow in Christ and this is sure evidence that we are saved, but what are other victories that we would have in our walk? Right now i am just filled with so many different emotions... like you said i just need to cry out to God. I really do and i just need to dig into his word more than ever and pray. I am desperate for him. I need to quit running away from my sin and turn to God and stop trying to do things on my own. I know that i can only find true joy and happiness in him and not things of this world.
|
|
gslou
New Member
Posts: 14
|
Post by gslou on Dec 11, 2010 8:21:36 GMT -5
1 Corinthian 10:13 says "he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also PROVIDE a way out so that you can stand up under it". However, God will not force us to take that "WAY out, we have to take it because we are convicted enough and realize that we need to take it, meaning take God's way out. In my experience with sin, and to Pastor Mike's point, the only way is through the Word of God and through regular (hopefully daily) prayer, asking God for the strength to resist and the will to turn away from the evil desires of our hearts.
|
|
|
Post by Mike Miller on Dec 12, 2010 6:20:30 GMT -5
Victory over sin is primarily what I'm talking about in our daily lives. That is seen in overcoming temptation, in having faith when faith is difficult, in obeying God's Word when it isn't easy to do so, being hopeful when all seems lost, having joy when things go wrong, etc. All those things are in one way or another overcoming our sinful desires to do the opposite. However, as Christians, we also experience a significant victory when this life is over--victory over death. See 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, the last verse telling us that because of the resurrection, we should persevere in faithful obedience.
|
|