Living With Purpose

Think for a moment of a wrong that you’ve committed only once. For most people, the list of one-time-only sins is short because most of our sins get repeated. Whatever the temptation or attitude that leads you into the sin the first time can often come back again and again. It may have happen to you, that when God’s Spirit convicts you of something, you confess and then walk away with the naïve idea you’ll never make the same mistake again. Worse than this, is the potential of becoming comfortable with sin and figuring you can just ask for forgiveness when it happens. In both of these cases, nothing seems to get changed in terms of the influence of the habit, temptations, or attitudes that led you astray in the first place.

Ask yourself the personal question what is it that makes you stumble and fall? An honest self-assessment in this area can help you make changes to prevent “backsliding”. Past the danger of becoming idle or complacent with our daily living is that we naturally tend to drift closer to ungodliness. If you don’t spend time in daily prayer, reading your Bible, and attending a Bible-believing church on a regular basis, you will fail more often in your Christian walk. Another idea to help you keep moving forward is to surround yourself with a positive support system; one that holds you accountable for positive-living.

“Nothing in life is for certain” or so they say. But today, you can be assured of victory. You never have to forsake your call in life when you rely on Christ and stay mindful that each day you will face obstacles that are contrary to God.

Jeremiah 14:7 says, “Though your guilt testifies against you; God acts for His name’s sake. Indeed, our rebellions are many, we have sinned against Him”. Knowing this unavoidable fact we must employ a spiritual strategy to fight our spiritual battles. There are three things that can help win over sin, self, and Satan.

Salvation in Christ denounces sin. If you profess Christ as your Savior and Lord, you have the potential to possess the power needed to overcome sin. A Christian has no business in continuing a worldly way of life. God says, “Old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). The effort must be given, the desire must be present, you have to try and win over the things that make you stumble. Romans 6:6-11 says, “We know that our old life, our old sinful self, was nailed to the cross with Christ. And so was the power of sin. But now he lives and we must think of ourselves as dead to the power of sin. You have a new life because of Christ.” No person has ever gone so far as to not be able to receive forgiveness of their sin. You’ve got to desire forgiveness and ask for it. Denouncing sin doesn’t just happen. But when you choose Christ you set yourself up for success.

Secondly, surrendering to Christ dethrones self. And we do this by “presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” (Romans 12:1). Victory is promised to us when we act. Yielding everything to Him allows God’s Spirit to cleanse us and fill us with His love.

Lastly, service for Christ defeats Satan. 2 Thessalonians 2:17 says, “He will give your hearts comfort and strength to say and do every good thing.” You and I are fighting a battle against an entity that’s allusive and clever. Satan will always be your adversary, but he’s always a defeated enemy for the one who trusts in God. A Christ-follower is more than a conqueror when they live for Christ and not self (Rom. 8:37). Any smile you give, any kind word you speak, any good deed you do, and any lost soul you lead to Jesus defeats evil forces that are present among us.

It’s only through Christ that you can claim an undefeated record. Your own defeats and weaknesses can be swept away when you get serious about dealing with them. Take sin seriously, because God does. And above all, learn the truth through the Bible and ask God for a willing spirit to obey. Find a church where you can worship and study God’s Word with others.

• This weekly column is written by Matt Dobson. A graduate of Florida State University, Univ. of West Florida, and Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, he is Pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church in Jay, Florida and is a Captain (CPT) in the U.S. Army Reserves Chaplain Corp. Matt can be reached by email:  rmdobson@liberty.edu. He welcomes your thoughts concerning faith, belief, and Christian living. Visit the Living With Purpose website at www.living-with-purpose.org.