“But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT)
Our final victory won’t be celebrated until we close our eyes in death. In the meantime, life is war and there are always casualties in war. While Satan is a worthy foe and we often find him gloating over us as we stand at the edge of, yet another battlefield filled with our failures, sin is the real enemy with which we must reckon.
As we progress in our walk with the Lord sin will manifest itself in different, maybe even less obvious ways, but it still has an end game – our defeat. What might that look like? Perhaps the most prominent evidence of defeat in our lives as Jesus followers is discouragement.
Many of us who have walked with the Lord for many years don’t wrestle so much with the gross, outward manifestations of sin – drugs, alcohol, pornography, immorality, gossip, etc. No, our most prominent battlefields are between our ears, in our mind and heart. My temptation isn’t to be unfaithful to my wife, it’s to disrespect her by not listening carefully, not only to her words, but to her heart.
We may no longer frequent the bars or stay on the phone or other devices gossiping, but we waste time in other ways; when we should be investing in reading and studying God’s Word, in people we know who don’t know Jesus or who may just need a word of encouragement.
The point is simply this, sin is sin regardless of how we may view it. There is no “little” or “big” sin. ALL sin separates us from our Father, thus, every sin matters. That’s why I’ve mentioned in some of my articles that I intentionally keep short accounts with God. How so? As soon as He alerts me to something I’ve done, said, or thought, that was inappropriate and/or unpleasing to Him, I immediately confess that it was sin and seek His forgiveness and, if necessary, the forgiveness of whomever else I may have hurt.
Trevin Wax was on to something important when he wrote: “The victorious Christian life isn’t the sinless life; it’s the repentant life.” Yet, even as I write these words, it occurs to me that even this process can be discouraging and distracting. Living in victory, freedom from sin, can become a way of life, yes, but even not having to deal with constant sin has its own issues. The Spirit is our Guide and Protector and can enable us by His presence to overcome sin before it begins, but pride can easily sneak in while we’re inwardly congratulating ourselves.
We don’t have to live under the tyranny of ever-present defeat and discouragement. Walking with Jesus can be liberating and enjoyable as we train our heart, mind, and spirit to STAY in tune with the Holy Spirit’s voice and leadership.
When our focus is on Jesus and not on ourselves, our attention can, will, and must be on investing ourselves in His holy agenda, not ours. To the extent we’re able to follow and abide by the Lord’s directives, we’ll find peace, harmony with the Lord, and victory over sin. However, we can never, as long as this body has breath, assume we’re EVER above sin, in the sense that we’re no longer subject to or able to succumb to the temptation to disobey a clear directive of our Master.
If or when that happens, it should be a HUGE red flag that should immediately drive us to the Savior’s feet in repentance and grieving sorrow. One day soon sin will no longer be an issue, but until then we must keep our heart in check and our eyes on Jesus.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 