No More Sin?

Is it really possible for those who follow God to stop sinning completely?

It kind of seems like Scripture tells us that if we're in Christ, we shouldn't sin anymore. But, in my experience this really doesn't feel possible.

I just finished reading 1 John. In this letter, John seems to say that if we are in Christ, we don't keep on sinning.

"Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous just as He is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God." (1 John 3:7-9)

What does John mean when He says those born of God don't go on sinning? How is that possible given that we all still struggle with sin?

This seems especially strange for John to say in light of what John writes earlier:

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8)

How does that fit?

I think John's point here is more about our attitude toward sin in our lives. 

When we're not walking in God's ways, sin is no big deal to us. We're not bothered by it. Mostly, we don't even think about it. It's probably not even called sin in our lives. We just go on doing whatever it is we want to do.

But, when we're born of God, we're bothered by sin in our lives. We can't just merrily go along pretending it's all okay. We're bothered by sin and do something about it.

It's not that we never sin again. It's that we're not content to stay in our sin.

We decide to make different choices. We stop doing certain activities or going to certain places or hanging out with certain people.

We fill our time and our minds with choices that keep us from sin.

We seek out accountability and support from other Christians as we work to rid our lives of sin.

We do whatever it takes to remove that sin we've become aware of from our lives.

All We Need to Live a Godly Life

Are we really able to live godly lives?

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." (2 Peter 1:3-4)

Often it doesn't seem like we have everything we need for a godly life. It feels like what we've been given falls short of that.

Usually, the truth is actually that we haven't chosen to make use of what we've been given. We have a gift we've been given, but it's sitting there, unopened. It looks nice, but that's not what it is meant for. It was meant to be opened and used in our lives.

This gift is God's power in our lives. God has chosen to provide us with His power to live differently, to live a godly life. But, we, far too often, don't allow His power to work in us. We prevent it from doing so, and, as a result, feel weak and completely unable to live the life of godliness we say we desire to live.

God has promised us that we have the ability by His power to live a full, godly life. The problem is us. When we feel like it's impossible to do so it's because we're limited God's power.

Where have you limited God's power in your life?

Are you willing to allow God's power full access in your life?

Free to Live God's Way

"Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil, live as God's slaves." (1 Peter 2:16)

This verse falls in a section on the way Christians should live in the midst of a society that doesn't live God's way. All of Peter's instruction in 1 Peter 2 & 3 is about how to live differently from the world around us.

As Christians, we get to live as free people. Jesus has freed us from all that once bound us up. We have been given a free gift of freedom.

But, we're cautioned here not to use it as an excuse to do whatever we want just because we're freed from those rules. The freedom we have from a long list of regulations doesn't mean we have an excuse to do evil.

Peter encourages us to take our freedom and use it to live under God's rules. We have the choice - that's why Peter calls this living as free people. It's not something we have to do. It's something we choose to do.

How are you choosing to live?

How We Can Practically Do Life Together Even When it Looks Different

A few years ago, I wrote a post about a challenge that I often find comes with summer. I was rereading it recently as I was working on the series of posts I wrote about singleness and the church recently. As I read through that post again, I realized how specifically it relates to my exploration of this topic here.

I thought about just sharing the post again, but also realized I had some other thoughts that tie the post from a few years ago to the series I just finished writing. I will share those thoughts, and then I'll share the content of the original post again

At the heart of it, I realized that this old post about a challenge that often seems to come with summer, really comes down to the need to be doing life together, even when the surface of what it looks like is different. This particular post was probably the one I struggled the most to put together and wasn't completely satisfied with it when I was done, but I still felt it was important enough to share.

I think I struggled the most with it because it was difficult to explain the need for it without a clear example. I think going back to this post from a few years ago, provides the opportunity to explain a bit better what I was talking about in my more recent post about doing life together.

The challenge that comes with summer is the dramatic change in what my calendar looks like - going from having lots of stuff to do on it to having almost nothing on it. This can be even more of a struggle for me (and some other single adults I've talked to about it), because the assumption so many have is that evenings and weekends in summer are for spending with family so nothing needs to be planned. Except that gets difficult for those of who are single and don't have a family at home to spend all that time with.

These are the times when we need to practice doing life together even when it looks different. The times when we need to go beyond our assumptions of what summer looks like for everyone and welcome those who may be struggling with the dramatic change in schedule into whatever our plans in summer more. That's part of what doing life together is about.

On that note, I'm going to share the post I originally wrote about this topic, back on July 7, 2016:

It's that time of year again - the time where I often sturggle with a very empty calendar. School's out for kids and most other activities at church stop as well.

I get it. When kids aren't in school that changes a lot for people. And the weather is nicer, so people want more flexibility in their schedules to enjoy it.

But, it's also a hard time of year for some of us. The end of June doesn't mean much for me. I still get up and go to work each day. The difference being, I spend most of my evenings and weekends at home alone. The things that filled that time during the school year aren't happening and the people I would have seen during that time are busy with their own families then.

I get it. This is time you have for all the things that are filling your time.

But, it's also hard and lonely for some of us. Even though I like time for myself, five nights a week for two months get to be too much of it - especially when you add the weekends to that time as well.

If I had my way, all the Bible studies and other groups would continue all summer, so the changing of seasons wasn't signified by too much time alone. But, I know that doesn't work for many people, so I try to be flexible and understanding. I will deal with the changes that come with the end of June.

I'll spend more time alone and won't complain about it. I'll enjoy a lot of it. But, I need some help from other people too. I need you to still be available sometimes for coffee, or supper, or some sort of activity. Or an invitation to join your family for something once in a while.

Whatever it looks like, I still need people in my life and things to do. My hours outside of work still need to have something in some of them - the same as yours do. The difference is that I need you to be a part of that, because it's not something that automatically happens with other people being at home.

When I ask about planning something to be a bit more consistent over the summer, I'm not asking because I'm trying to tie you down to something. I'm asking because I need to have some things planned to get through the much more significant time alone that I have. I understand you have other things planned with family, or might be away on a vacation, and I'll work with that, but I'm also asking for some help in having things to do when I ask those things.

And when I'm disappointed that something won't work or gets cancelled, know I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. I'm disappointed that a change in my summer evenings and weekends isn't going to happen now. I'm realizing it's another night alone now because there's nothing on my calendar now. I'm not blaming you for it or trying to make you feel bad, but I'm struggling with what this means for me now. And I need the freedom to be disappointed for those moments, because it's hard.

Shielded by God's Power

". . . This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:4b-5)

Shielded by God's power

Those words struck me when I read them recently. I think they would have been significant to the original recipients of Peter's letter, just as they are today.

Peter's original recipients were Christians who had been scattered by persecution. They not only needed the reminder of their inheritance to come, the also needed this reminder that God's power shielded, or protected, them. In the midst of circumstances that left then vulnerable and attacked, this would have been a needed encouragement.

While we may not be facing the physical threat these Christians were, we often dealing with a different attack. It can leave us feeling vulnerable. We, too, are shielded by God's power.

Sometimes we don't feel very shielded. I think Peter's original recipients would have felt much the same way. They were still facing persecution and hard times. We still face hard times in our lives.

But, I don't think Peter was speaking of a physical shielding here - not an emotional one either. Peter's words were about being shielded by God's power come in the middle of a section talking about a spiritual inheritance. He's looking beyond the physical.

In the midst of attacks on our spiritual lives, we are shielded by God's power. This is a spiritual protection. We will still know of the attacks our enemy is launching at us, but as long as we choose to come under God's shielding power in those times, we will experience God's protection from those attacks.

This is our choice. We choose, in faith, to place ourselves under God's shield. We choose to hide ourselves under it.