How to Overcome Sin, Part 1
First of all, be encouraged that there is a way to overcome sin in your life!
Let’s face it: most of us would really like to sin less, wouldn’t we? In fact, I would guess that even without trying to define sin, we all know and believe that sin has something to do with bad things. I also believe most of us would say sin has to do with bad things we and others do that mess up our personal and interpersonal relationships in some way that we all really hate, right?!
But, given our broken human flesh, animal nature, habits, and the subtleties of spiritual forces attacking us that we can’t even see, is overcoming sin even possible? Should we even try for it, and, if so, how do we try for it and what hope can we have of success?
In the first instance, I want you to know that overcoming sin is NOT as hard as you think! It is WAY harder than you could possibly ever think! In fact, apart from the Holy Spirit giving us insight on the subject, we would never think of The Way! We’re simply too sinful; and sin plus sin, equals sin! That is why you and I feel such despair when thinking about sin in a sinful way, or independent of thinking about sin in the Light of the True Jesus! And therein is the first, foremost, and only fundamental way to see sin overcome in our lives – Jesus, The Way! John 14:6.
To say the name of “Jesus” is to say something about every topic and person because Jesus is not only the Son of God and Son of Man, but He is the One Who created everything and sustains everyone and everything as the God/Man. Col 1:15-17.
And knowing this Truth helps make sense as to why the Father, Son and Spirit planned from all eternity to get rid of sin in Jesus if it ever came along. Col 2:8-13. Being the union between all things, everywhere, as the God/Man, only Jesus can uniquely deal with sin in a comprehensive way that truly reconciles all people and things! Rom 5:8-10.
Despite the repeated sins of you, me, and all the others, the Father, Son and Spirit have dealt with all of our sins in His Son Jesus! This crucial understanding is setting you up to accept the paradox that sin is also not as hard to overcome as you may think because, FROM THE BEGINNING IT WAS ANTICIPATED THAT YOU WOULD COMMIT SIN, AND, IT WAS NEVER EVEN A THOUGHT FROM THE TRIUNE GOD THAT YOU SHOULD OR WOULD HAVE TO OVERCOME IT BY YOURSELF!!! 2 Cor 5:21
Let this basic understanding of sin, and how it is really overcome, first humble you and stun you! Let it be instruction to you to start taking Jesus more serious than you take your sin and your own feeble attempts to get rid of it, because you simply cannot and will not overcome sin apart from Him!! There is more to this encouraging truth and I’ll pick up on that in the next post!
~Timothy Brassell
Trinity and Humanity 
Thanks Tim
Just a few thoughts!
Life to Life Devotions
A Dim View!
There are profound lessons of thought from the mind of Jesus that become embedded as strong vines of truth in our thinking.
One of these is the paradox all humans live; a constant reminder of being involved through confrontation by the Spirit in the new humanity in Jesus whether we know it or not, and our own rags to rags story, which we know, in the old creation displayed all around us including our physical bodies.
Our bodies like the creation have not been redeemed, meaning that a death needs to take place, which also implies that sin is “now” present in us even though we all have been given salvation in Jesus (Romans 7:17,20).
Since all humanity has died with Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:14) and all have been raised in new creation resurrection life. How do we live in this apparent paradox?
We don’t, Jesus does! It is the Holy Spirit who directs and counsels us into crises decision. It is the titanic clash between the flesh and the spirit, between old and new even though victory has already been fulfilled in Jesus.
When we trust and believe we are reminded of who we in Jesus, that atonement has been fulfilled, forgiveness given to all, which cements that death has been conquered. We do not need to follow the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life anymore for we are all hidden with Jesus in God (Romans 6:6,11,13,17 & Colossians 3:1-3).
The body does not need to control us anymore! Wow! What does that mean? It is the human man Jesus who stands in our stead and who has taken us under his wings of accountability. He has become wisdom, right standing, holiness and redemption for us, including our bodies.
So we can rest assured, even though now we see dimly, that we are complete in him. He has given us new and full salvation with new eternal life, his life, and will not let us exist beyond our time in our current bodies but will have them glorified, like his own. We will always be human but then come to know him face to face!
Here is another profundity! Since eternity came into time, the future, including humanity, is already realized in Jesus!
jg
0310
Thanks for that reminder Tim. In our sinful thoughts, we forget this a lot!!
When we spend too much time thinking about overcoming sin, we spend too much time with sin! There is no such thing as spending too much time with Jesus!
I’ve quoted this to you before, and I like it here, “We hate sin more than we love God”.
It’s ok to hate sin, but it’s more ok to love God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) even more than we hate sin.
The more we love God and live our lives hidden in Christ, the less sin we have to worry about and hate. Now we can spend more time loving God.
When I was taking electronics classes years ago, I struggled with the power terms “Less negative and more negative” and “Less positive and more positive”. But in this case, that makes somewhat sense.
That helps us when we bring the gospel to humanity.
First of all, we have to assume that Jesus has to already be with these people (though many churches teach otherwise) or they would not be able to understand sin. It’s like blaming the dog for barking like a dog! Or a cat for wanting to catch the birds in your tree. It’s in their nature! So if you think someone is sinning, you are right! All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But if you think they can understand that and can overcome believing they know what sin is WITHOUT CHRIST IN THEIR LIVES, you are barking at birds up the wrong tree. The best you can do is chase the cat up the tree and make it worse. And worse yet, because you think they can overcome sin and see and understand their sins without Christ, then we are guilty of sin too.
Sinful humanity cannot know what sin is unless the Father, Son and Holy Spirit reveals it to them. And the only way they reveal it, is by being with them and opening their minds with the holy spirit. So humanity HAS to be included, or they are not.
And we have heard enough of “we are not”. Jesus says that we are because He IS.
Boyd
Boyd
Hey John and Boyd! Wowsa! – What great and elaborative Gospel comments that help us see even more clearly this wonderful Gospel perspective on sin, through the lens of Jesus and the Trinity! Thanks!