Saturday, November 16, 2013

Reason Not To Sin - 1 John 4:15 - God Abides in You

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
1 John 4:15

Why not sin?

God abides in you! Formerly, the wrath of God abode on you (John 3:36), but God has not only removed the wrath because of Jesus Christ, but He now lives in you.

Formerly, the flesh was "sold under sin" (Romans 7:14, KJV); your body's master was sin. The will to do good may have been present, but without power to do it (Romans 8:3). However, Romans 8:9 says you are in the Spirit, if the Holy Spirit of God and of Christ is in you. Verse 10 says Christ is in you, and as a result, the ability to do good is present because of the resurrection power of God! (Romans 8:11)

Or did you not know that your body is described as a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? In context, 1 Corinthians 6:19 is easy to apply thus: Don't sin, because you shouldn't want to defile the temple of God. But the fact is it's an amazing thing that God dwells in you! With Him dwelling in you, you have all the power you need to forsake sin. He wants to purge that temple from the inside out—clean it of all the trappings of sin and wickedness and man-made altars (See 2 Kings 16:10-18)

Friday, November 08, 2013

Reason Not To Sin - 1 Peter 2:12, 15

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation....For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
1 Peter 2:12, 15, ESV

Why not sin?

(1) For the glory of God among the unsaved. If others accuse us of being sinful in the ways that they are, looking for weakness and hypocrisy, and don't find it, that gives credence to God and his resurrection power in our lives. When God holds them accountable for those accusations, they will give God the glory for our deeds.

(2) For the sake of conscience and not being hypocrites. The essence of the situation in this verse is that we may be accused of sin but we will be proven innocent. If we sin in ways that even the world would understand is wrong for a Christian, when accusations are made we won't be able to confidently plead innocence without being hypocrites and lying. If they suggest you do sinful actions when you go home or are alone, a clear conscience will support a heart-felt denial and cheerful demeanor. Defending yourself isn't necessary. Good deeds will do more to dispel accusations than words will.