1. We do not like to sin even more when we are saved by grace.
When You accept Jesus Christ as Your Saviour, you will crave less and less for sin towards holiness without efforts.
Apostle Paul had said that the good that he would do, he did not; but the evil which I do not want do, that I did instead. (Romans 7:19)
This means deep within him, and all who accepted Jesus Christ as Lord, we do not want to sin inwardly. Outwardly we feel confused since sometimes sin seems pleasurable and sucks us into bad habits.
That is a sure sign you are truly a new creation in Christ because the new nature that is working within you is at odds with your bad habits.
God’s favour upon us is so strong, that He creates a new person within us with new desires toward holiness when we believe in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). This grace has nothing to do with our own efforts or goodness, but is on His goodness because God justifies the ungodly through the Blood of His Son.
Now to him that worth is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
But to him that worth not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Romans 4:4-5 (KJV)
Therefore understand that God’s grace is never about having an excuse for us to sin. Under the grace of God, we crave even more towards holiness than towards sin because we bear the characteristics of God Himself since we are the children of God.
2. The Holy Spirit is at work within us and upon us without us needing to help Him.
We think the Holy Spirit needs help from our will-power in order to sin less or to produce miracles, but we forgot that He is the Person Who raised Jesus from the dead:
But if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:11 (NKJV)
The Holy Spirit does not overwrite our wills and possess us as though we have no control. However the Holy Spirit is more than capable to create desires within us that keeps us from sinning.
We don’t dare to let go and believe that the Holy Spirit can do for us what we cannot do, because the Holy Spirit seems intangible, mystical, and the results that come out of trusting Him seems erratic. Therefore we doubt in ourselves whether God is working in our lives by putting the responsibility on ourselves to sin less and do more good works in order to call ourselves a Christian.
Jesus did not die on the Cross to make all of us morally upright, even though being morally upright is a good thing. Jesus died for us so that dead people who were bound to death by sin may live through Him.
Remember, a dead person cannot help himself and certainly cannot help the Holy Spirit to raise himself from the dead. What we need to recognise is that the Holy Spirit works on us just as He has risen Christ from the dead; He never needed us to help Him from the beginning.
Our own efforts to help the Holy Spirit hinders Him instead, because we look upon ourselves to be responsible instead of trusting on Jesus’ credibility on the Cross.
I attest to the working power of Christ and the Holy Spirit because I really did nothing except to believe on Him that He can do what I cannot do when I was bound by pornography. It isn’t about praying more, studying the bible more and all that spiritual exercises that saved me.
When I was at the end of myself, all I know was saying unto Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” knowing full well that my sins are forgiven me for His Name’s sake and not my spiritual exercises. The inclination towards holiness grew stronger and stronger while my cravings toward sin grows weaker and weaker, and I know that the Lord is working tirelessly in me.
3. The only responsibility on our part is to believe on Jesus.
Let’s take for an example a scenario where you were tasked to wash some clothes. You had done that washing, dried it and placed it nicely on the wardrobe, and someone else tried to help you by taking the clothes you had just placed in the wardrobe for a good wash, how would you feel?
I would feel insulted, as though I have never done a good job in the first place, even though the other person was in the best of intentions to help me out.
Similarly, when we believe on Jesus, it is not about doing more that will please Him. It is about trusting Him that He has truly done a good work, and will continue to do in us what we could not do in the first place through the Holy Spirit.
Under grace, we do not do anything not because we are lazy and unwilling to be part of what God has in store for us. We cease to help God (Hebrews 4:10), because we know He has done a good work within us and is continuing to do so.
Helping God out even with our best intentions only exposes our ignorance that we do not know how great His work has been through Jesus Christ, as though He has never done a good job in the first place.
Of course I am not undermining obedience toward God. Obedience pleases God because we recognise that He is bigger than ourselves through obedience. There are times the Holy Spirit prompts me to do something and I will obey to do it even though outwardly sometimes it feels uncomfortable.
Yet true obedience never undermines the grace of God, because true obedience is all about responding in faith to His grace in the Word of God. It is an absolute honour to be able to hear the Holy Spirit and obey because we are responding to God and not to mortal men.
Understand then that being under grace is the fullest expression of our faith, because we truly trust Jesus’ work on the Cross to keep us clean and whole, the power of the Holy Spirit within us and upon us, and God’s favour because His favour bears witness to the complete work of His Son. Trusting in ourselves to produce the moral excellence from ourselves or trying to sin less in order to please God will suffocate you more than help you in your walk with the Lord.
Behold Jesus and trust Him, and the Holy Spirit will produce miracles in you and upon you which you can never do by yourself.
1. We do not like to sin even more when we are saved by grace.
When You accept Jesus Christ as Your Saviour, you will crave less and less for sin towards holiness without efforts.
Apostle Paul had said that the good that he would do, he did not; but the evil which I do not want do, that I did instead. (Romans 7:19)
This means deep within him, and all who accepted Jesus Christ as Lord, we do not want to sin inwardly. Outwardly we feel confused since sometimes sin seems pleasurable and sucks us into bad habits.
That is a sure sign you are truly a new creation in Christ because the new nature that is working within you is at odds with your bad habits.
God’s favour upon us is so strong, that He creates a new person within us with new desires toward holiness when we believe in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). This grace has nothing to do with our own efforts or goodness, but is on His goodness because God justifies the ungodly through the Blood of His Son.
Now to him that worth is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
But to him that worth not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Romans 4:4-5 (KJV)
Therefore understand that God’s grace is never about having an excuse for us to sin. Under the grace of God, we crave even more towards holiness than towards sin because we bear the characteristics of God Himself since we are the children of God.
2. The Holy Spirit is at work within us and upon us without us needing to help Him.
We think the Holy Spirit needs help from our will-power in order to sin less or to produce miracles, but we forgot that He is the Person Who raised Jesus from the dead:
But if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:11 (NKJV)
The Holy Spirit does not overwrite our wills and possess us as though we have no control. However the Holy Spirit is more than capable to create desires within us that keeps us from sinning.
We don’t dare to let go and believe that the Holy Spirit can do for us what we cannot do, because the Holy Spirit seems intangible, mystical, and the results that come out of trusting Him seems erratic. Therefore we doubt in ourselves whether God is working in our lives by putting the responsibility on ourselves to sin less and do more good works in order to call ourselves a Christian.
Jesus did not die on the Cross to make all of us morally upright, even though being morally upright is a good thing. Jesus died for us so that dead people who were bound to death by sin may live through Him.
Remember, a dead person cannot help himself and certainly cannot help the Holy Spirit to raise himself from the dead. What we need to recognise is that the Holy Spirit works on us just as He has risen Christ from the dead; He never needed us to help Him from the beginning.
Our own efforts to help the Holy Spirit hinders Him instead, because we look upon ourselves to be responsible instead of trusting on Jesus’ credibility on the Cross.
I attest to the working power of Christ and the Holy Spirit because I really did nothing except to believe on Him that He can do what I cannot do when I was bound by pornography. It isn’t about praying more, studying the bible more and all that spiritual exercises that saved me.
When I was at the end of myself, all I know was saying unto Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” knowing full well that my sins are forgiven me for His Name’s sake and not my spiritual exercises. The inclination towards holiness grew stronger and stronger while my cravings toward sin grows weaker and weaker, and I know that the Lord is working tirelessly in me.
3. The only responsibility on our part is to believe on Jesus.
Let’s take for an example a scenario where you were tasked to wash some clothes. You had done that washing, dried it and placed it nicely on the wardrobe, and someone else tried to help you by taking the clothes you had just placed in the wardrobe for a good wash, how would you feel?
I would feel insulted, as though I have never done a good job in the first place, even though the other person was in the best of intentions to help me out.
Similarly, when we believe on Jesus, it is not about doing more that will please Him. It is about trusting Him that He has truly done a good work, and will continue to do in us what we could not do in the first place through the Holy Spirit.
Under grace, we do not do anything not because we are lazy and unwilling to be part of what God has in store for us. We cease to help God (Hebrews 4:10), because we know He has done a good work within us and is continuing to do so.
Helping God out even with our best intentions only exposes our ignorance that we do not know how great His work has been through Jesus Christ, as though He has never done a good job in the first place.
Of course I am not undermining obedience toward God. Obedience pleases God because we recognise that He is bigger than ourselves through obedience. There are times the Holy Spirit prompts me to do something and I will obey to do it even though outwardly sometimes it feels uncomfortable.
Yet true obedience never undermines the grace of God, because true obedience is all about responding in faith to His grace in the Word of God. It is an absolute honour to be able to hear the Holy Spirit and obey because we are responding to God and not to mortal men.
Understand then that being under grace is the fullest expression of our faith, because we truly trust Jesus’ work on the Cross to keep us clean and whole, the power of the Holy Spirit within us and upon us, and God’s favour because His favour bears witness to the complete work of His Son. Trusting in ourselves to produce the moral excellence from ourselves or trying to sin less in order to please God will suffocate you more than help you in your walk with the Lord.
Behold Jesus and trust Him, and the Holy Spirit will produce miracles in you and upon you which you can never do by yourself.
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