(Psalms 17:4-5) With regard to the works of man, by the word
of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. My steps have held fast to
your paths; my feet have not slipped.
(Romans 5:20-21) Now the law came in to increase the
trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin
reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
You know you sin because God's Law shows you your sin; it
defines your sin; it shines the light on your sin so that you are able to see
every contour and detail of your sin. The more you absorb God's Word and the
more you bury God's Law in your heart, the more you are aware of your sins.
This is how David avoided sin and this is how you are to avoid sin. But knowing
about your sin and even avoiding sin is not enough to save you or redeem you.
It is God's grace alone that drew you into God's kingdom, that empowers you to
live according to God's Word (i.e., avoid sin and do what is right in the eyes
of God), and that assures you of eternal life with God in heaven; all of this
through the sacrificial blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To live according to God's Word is your participation in
God's act of conforming you into the person He desires and designed you to be;
in short it is your part of your own sanctification. It is God who saved you,
it is God who conforms you, and it is God who is leading you to heaven.
Each time that you are tempted to sin today, remember that
God has filled you with His Holy Spirit both saving you from your sins and
empowering you to sin no more.
Questions For Discussion
What does it mean to bury God's Word in your heart?
Why is avoiding sin and doing what is right in God's eyes not
enough to save you?
What is sanctification?
No comments:
Post a Comment