(All scripture I provide will be from the King James, except where noted.)
I would like to begin with one of Paul’s prayers.
Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given,
that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery,
Which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord:
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory,
to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,
that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us,
That is why I have chosen to speak to you about . . . . . .
SIN
Specifically, the purpose of sin.
Yet in Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
It is plane from this that we must accept that sin will remain with us until we sleep.
We struggle to reconcile Romans 8:28 with 1 John 1:8.
How can sin work for our good?
Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
The battlefield of the soul is the flesh.
Who shall have control?
The carnal mind?
Or the Spirit?
As long as we are in this fleshly body, sin remains.
1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
1 Corinthians 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
But what is sin?
Romans 14:23b that which is not of faith is sin.
Anything I do, which is not in direct response to God through His commandments, is sin.
Do I walk in the spirit 100% of each day?
No.
Therefore I sin each day.
Let's face it.
We don't want to admit we sin all that much.
We would like to think we do pretty good in not sinning.
After all . . .
1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
1 Corinthians 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
Yes we have great liberty.
But . . .
If you take the strict interpretation of Romans 14:23 as I have stated it,
then you come to a deeper understanding of how much Christ did for us on the Cross.
We should not get comfortable with sin.
But human nature seeks comfort and security.
We need to feel loved to accurately express love.
God, understanding our nature, first loved us,
knowing that we would never find Him,
never love Him, unless He first loved us.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Knowing that salvation is through the Lord,
then my foundation of faith is based solely on my relationship with Jesus Christ.
He is my intercessor.
My imperfection is made perfection through Jesus.
I have no righteousness, I am as filthy rags.
Yet the Father sees me through the eyes of His Son, who is my propitiation.
One definition of propitiation means substitute.
He died in my place.
It was for my sins that He died and by acceptance of His work on the Cross, all my sins are His, they are no longer mine.
Since sin is no longer the issue in relationship then what is sin?
What is the purpose of the continued presence of sin in my life?
I look to Paul for the answer to that.
During his early ministries Paul referred to himself as, Paul the Apostle called by the will of God.
Confident, almost proud, of his being chosen to be the master builder of structure for the church.
But look to his later letters.
This statement in 1 Timothy.
1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
As Paul matured he saw himself more and more sinful.
He did not come to a point in his walk with Christ that he became more confident in his ability to overcome sin.
He saw sin in his life to be even more abhorrent.
The law was given to make sin more sinful.
Romans 7:13b . . . But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
It is by our knowledge of our sin nature that we come to a desperate need for Jesus and His forgiveness of sin.
As we see how truly sinful we are, we are repulsed by sin, which drives us into the arms of Jesus for comfort, security and release from guilt.
John 15: 5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
That's what Jesus said. Without Him we can do nothing.
That makes us totally dependant on Him.
The purpose of sin in our lives is to keep us nailed to that Cross.
for without it,
without Jesus,
we cannot function,
we cannot witness,
we cannot love,
we cannot even have faith.
You see the middle wall of partition, the veil rent from top to bottom, was Christ’s flesh.
Our entering in to the Holy of Holies was made possible on the Cross of Christ.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Through the crucified body of Christ.
And here we come to an understanding of what Paul meant when he said;
1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Philippians 3
This can occur for us only on the Cross of Christ.
Romans 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
The Christian life is a co-operative effort.
We each must do our part.
People grasp that concept but usually fail to grasp what it is that God requires of them.
God requires us to get out of the way and let Him use our bodies.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
For some unfathomable reason, people can believe and fear demon possession,
where the demon causes an "innocent" person to do unspeakably horrible things,
BUT DO NOT believe the Holy Spirit's possession to do unspeakably marvelous and wonderful things through sinners.
A demon is crass, vulgar and violent in it's treatment of a human.
God is kind, loving and gentle in using the human form.
He is so gentle and loving that some do not recognize God at work at all.
They actually think they have done something, when in fact,
they have done nothing, for they are dead in Christ.
The veil tearing is the symbol of the moment in time in which Christ,
through His death on the Cross,
made a Way for us to enter into the Holy of Holies,
through the flesh, through His body,
by accepting the work of the Cross
by getting up on that Cross and dying to self.
Christ's nails were real,
they were painful,
and He suffered.
Our nails are just as real
but they are not painful,
we are nailed to the Cross by our love for God.
If we are loving and obedient, we are nailed to the Cross.
If we are unloving and self-willed, then we have removed ourselves from the cross.
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
God gave us the choice.
Love does not force itself on the object of it's affection.
NIV 1 Corinthians 13:5a It is not rude, it is not self-seeking . . .
Love must be the willing response to being loved.
John 14:23b If a man love me, he will keep my words:
It’s a choice.
A demonstration of love is our obedience to His commandments.
Love God and love one another,
Matthew 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
On these two commandments we are hung on the Cross of Christ.
One in each wrist.
Please note that there are no nails in our feet.
It is for us to walk in these commandments.
1 John 1:17 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
God bless you and thank you for sticking to the end. Amen