09/30/2022
Contrary to many legalistic/sinless perfection (heretical) beliefs, STRUGGLING with sin and PRACTICING sin are 2 very DIFFERENT things. EVERY BELIEVER “BORN OF GOD” 👉🏽STRUGGLES👈🏽 WITH SIN and IF you deny that, you are a LIAR according to scripture and the TRUTH is NOT IN you. (1 John 1:8) the word STRUGGLE in the greek is antangonizomai which means “to contend; strive AGAINST” whereas the word PRACTICE is poieo which means to “to make; to be DEVOTED to; to CAUSE to take place; to accomplish”. when a man is born again and indwelt by the Spirit of God, the STRUGGLE against sin begins. NO child of the devil “STRUGGLES” against sin, they are SLAVES to it, live in it and PRACTICE sin. a child of GOD wars AGAINST the works of his fallen sinful flesh and denies it because he has a new nature and can NO LONGER live in sin if he indeed has the spirit of God dwelling within. but even then, will still fall into sin.
However, we as the church SHOULD NEVER put ourselves in a place where we think higher of ourselves than we ought to (Rom. 12:3) or cause other believers to feel shunned away when they reach out to confess about sin they are struggling with because “unbelievers” simply DONT care about their struggle with sin, they live in it because they are slaves to it and still love it. a believer HATES their sin and strives against it just like Paul the Apostle did in Romans 7. the REAL church is called to STRUGGLE together as the Body. praise God for the Holy Spirit which CONVICTS us of sin as BELIEVERS whenever we do fall short and leads us back into repentance following Christ on this narrow path. Praise God that Jesus lived a perfect sinless life in our place that you and i could never live , and absorbed the wrath of God we deserved to receive in our place so Christ’s perfect righteousness and the forgiveness of sins could be credited to us by faith in Christ alone.
“In YOUR STRUGGLE AGAINST SIN you have NOT YET RESISTED to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you AS SONS? “MY SON, do not regard lightly the DISCIPLINE of the Lord, nor be weary WHEN REPROVED by Him. For the Lord disciplines the ONE HE LOVES, and CHASTISES EVERY SON whom HE RECEIVES” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is TREATING you AS SONS. For what son is there whom his father does NOT discipline? IF you are left WITHOUT discipline, in which all have participated, then you are ILLEGITIMATE children and NOT sons.”
Hebrews 12:4-8 ESV
WHOEVER makes a PRACTICE of SINNING is OF the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. NO ONE BORN OF GOD makes a PRACTICE of sinning, for God’s SEED ABIDES IN him; and he CANNOT keep on sinning, because he HAS been BORN OF GOD. By this IT IS EVIDENT WHO are the CHILDREN of GOD, and WHO are the CHILDREN of the DEVIL: whoever does NOT PRACTICE righteousness is NOT of God, NOR is the one who DOES NOT LOVE his BROTHER.”
1 John 3:8-10 ESV
