Victory over Sin = Pride?

Heres the basic principle.. were all born into sin. We all have sinned. We all came into this earth with a sinful nature. And, of ourselves, we can never, ever, stop sinning. If we can overcome a temptation for one day and manage to hold Satan off, he will be there tommorow, and he will be stronger than us. Lets not kid ourselves, Satan is stronger than us. He was yesterday, he is today, and he will be tommorow.

Thats the state of affairs as most Christians see it, and it is completely true. The problem is that everybody thinks thats where were going to stay forever.

Since we are all born sinners, we cant work closer to God. Trying not to sin, and even succeeding for a short time and then doing it again, cannot please God. If we were capable of any form of goodness or pleasing God in any way by our own power, Christ wouldnt have had to die. We could have simply kept trying of our own while we made mistakes, every time we made a mistake going and sacrificing a lamb or cow, until we got to the point where we had it beat, we had it down, we were good enough to please God. Thats called works.

People cant be saved by works, and no meager attempt at goodness we can ever make will please God. This is why Christ died, and why we need to be born again.

Christ was the only one, ever, who has been completely righteous. And he still is.

Christ is the only one who has ever been righteous. We cannot be righteous on our own. He lived on this earth and then died, so that we could claim his righteousness as our own. The Victory isnt about works, or about not sinning because we can withstand temptation.... we cant. No human can. Thats why we need to claim his sacrifice, his gift to us, to be able to overcome.

Christ, when he was tempted in the desert of Satan, didnt stand there and say "No" when Satan said something to him. Do you remember what he did? He replied with scripture. Every single time Satan offered a temptation, Christ responded with "it is written." He stood on the scripture and the promises of it as his foundation, not even his own power, which would have been enough. Christ was our example and our salvation in both life and death, and the only way we can claim the victory and be without sin, is by leaning on him.

We do not make ourselves without sin, we allow him to make us without sin. We are to be crucified with Christ. Of all the ways we can kill ourselves to become dead to self, Crucifixion isnt one. He must put us there. The bible says that he creates us new, that he gives to us his holy spirit, he gives to us his new nature, that he makes us his workmanship. We dont have a part in it whatsoever, all we do is accept it as done and begin claiming it as such.

We are not saved because we are sinless, we are sinless because we are saved. To use a phrase I've heard around lately, obediance is the fruit, not the root, of our salvation. We are saved by his grace, it is by his grace and mercy that we can be saved at all, since as we know, we are born sinners. It is by his grace and mercy that we are created new, it is by his grace and mercy we are allowed to claim victory over temptation, and, it is by his grace and mercy we can be without sin, obedient to him.

We do not obey to be saved, we obey because we are saved. Alot of people say that God judges the heart, and thats true, but what is a righteous heart? I would assume, that a righteous heart would be a heart that, if given the chance, would give up its sins. It would have to be, since we cannot carry our sins into heaven with us, and we must be ready and willing to get rid of them as soon as possible. A righteous heart is one that would accept the victory if it knew about it, because it longs to serve God, it wants to be free from sin, and it wants to obey.

As such, a righteous heart is one that would jump for the opporunity to claim the victory, to be without sin on earth, because again, a saved person is not a person who clings to their sins.

We could never be without sin if he didnt give us the power to. If he didnt die, we could never be without sin. The gift that he paid for with his death, the gift of being able to claim victory over sin, is the greatest showing of his mercy and his forgiveness in all the history of existence. Here we are, a sinful, useless race, completely incapable of any righteous act.. and he died so that we could become sinless. So that we could get back to the state that humanity was in before Adams transgression, to be truly, and actually, forgiven of our sins. Thats why the Victory is about mercy and forgiveness in every sense of the word... he died to forgive us of our sins. Not just a sin here and there, but sin. Sin in its every form and state. And, to forgive something, is to forget it, to treat the person as if it had never happened. If sin had never happened, we would not have fallen natures. He has given us the ability, as scripture says, to claim his nature, Christ's unfallen, perfect nature. Christ was perfect, and he tells us in Matthew to be perfect.

Some people claim it would be prideful to say we are without sin, however is it prideful to simply accept Gods promise? It would be prideful, to say we did it on out own. It would be prideful if we said through our own power, we have defeated sin, it cannot touch us. It is humble and completely scriptural, to simply accept Gods promises. One of which is, that he will make us free from sin, if we will let him.

Remember : I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. How many things?

All.

If we wanted to be without sin, if we have a righteous heart that would love to be free from sin and serve God, would he withhold that from us? Honestly, knowing God... would he not grant us that through his son?

God forbid, instead it was the entire purpose he sent his son to die on this earth... so that we could, claim his sacrifice, and through his power and forgiveness, be free.

Another thing I need to touch on... If we cant be without sin, who won? The bible says that sin was defeated by Christ on the cross. Who won if we cant be without sin? The bible says that we were bought with a price, that he destroyed the works of the devil, that being sin..

If we cannot be without sin, we are not bought. We are not free. We are not saved from bondage. How are we? What is bondage? If we are unable to stop sinning, we are in bondage to sin! Satan has us! He won! Christ came and won the battle over sin for all of us.... if we claim we cannot be without sin, how can we say that Satan did not win? Satans claim has always been that the law is impossible to keep. Christ came to prove him wrong. If we say that, in spite of scripture, we are doomed to always sin..... we agree with Satan, we say that the law cannot be kept. We say that Christ cheated, used his divinity, and the only reason he didnt sin was he was God.

If that sounded a bit harsh, its not because its untrue. And if any part of that statement was wrong then please tell me. But as it stands, if we say we cannot defeat sin through Christ, we say that Satan is right and that Christ's life meant nothing. Nothing.

That concludes this sermon/article, and if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask me. If it has not been shown that the Victory is real, that it is scriptural, that it is the greatest showing of Gods love and mercy ever revealed to mankind, then tell me. But do not dismiss it, or pass it off, or say "I agree.... in theory." Ask and it shall be given unto you, Seek, and ye shall find.

Yah bless and be with you always.

With agape,

- Luke

Philippeans 4: 13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Matthew 5: 6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

1 John 8. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Matthew 5: 48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.