Tag: sin nature

The Atoning Work of Salvation

1 Corinthians 6:19
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

As Christians, our bodies become sanctuaries of the Holy Spirit. This is a certain sign that we have been washed clean by the blood of Our Savior, Jesus Christ. Because God is holy, holy, holy, He cannot tolerate the presence of sin. If there were any sin in us, the Holy Spirit could not dwell within us. Thus the Holy Spirit is witness to the atoning work of salvation in our lives.

Because in the flesh, we still hold on to the sin nature, there is perfecting work ahead for the Holy Spirit. Upon His indwelling, He immediately begins in us the process of regeneration and sanctification. When He begins the good work of grace, He takes full possession of the body, mind and spirit of each of us. He supernaturally influences our lives, our bodies and our conversations. He works to insure our bodies are fit habitats for Our Savior King.

As we submit to the sanctifying process of the Holy Spirit, we can anticipate that there will be trials in our lives. Jesus Himself told us that it would be so as we followed Him. These trials that create brokenness in our lives are the experiences that the Holy Spirit uses to complete and perfect our regeneration.

Let us surrender to the perfecting work of the Holy Spirit. Let us seek the grace that we need to keep ourselves firmly on the path of sanctification that prepares us for our places in heaven.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to be temples of Your Holy Spirit. We rejoice in knowing that through shed blood of Your Son, Jesus, and through the indwelling of Your Holy Spirit in our lives that You can use us to be instruments of Your good work. We pray for the aid of the Holy Spirit to build us up in Christ so that we can endure in faith all of our trials. We ask, Father, that we may become free flowing vessels of Your redemptive work. As the Holy Spirit witnesses to Our Savior in our lives, may we witness to Our Savior in the lives of those around us. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Living by the Standards of Jesus

Romans 6:13
Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

When we were born, we inherited a sin nature through the bloodlines of Adam and Eve. Through the grace of Almighty God, we were given the choice to keep the sin that separates us from Him for all eternity or receive the atonement for our sin provided by the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is a choice that must be made. There is no place for indecision in selecting where we want to spend eternity.

When we accept Jesus as Our Savior, we are washed clean of all of the sin in our lives. Nonetheless, the sin nature remains. It then becomes the work of the Holy Spirit to lead us away from the iniquity in our lives and toward the eternal, holy resting place that we will one day find in the presence of Almighty God. Yet again with the grace of God, we are provided all that we need to overcome the sin in our lives. To receive the fullness of our eternal reward, we must measure every experience in our lives by the standards of Jesus Christ and not by our own standards. We must do right for the glory of God.

Let us seek the all-sufficient grace that we need to overcome the things of darkness that will perplex and distress us throughout our lifetime on earth. Let us walk in the strength of the Holy Spirit so that we may join Jesus in His good work for the Father. Let us rejoice and be encouraged, for in the blink of an eye on one glorious day, we will stand before the Father in the image of His Son and we will hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we ask Your forgiveness for our sins. We rejoice in knowing that Your forgiveness is certain and complete through the redemptive work of Your Son, Jesus. We thank You for allowing us to atone for the sin in our lives through Our Savior. We thank You for the Holy Spirit who stands by us as we continue to struggle with our sin natures. We pray for the grace and the strength to repent and turn away from all the sin that the Holy Spirit reveals to us. May we become instruments of Your good works. May our bodies be used to do only those things that are pleasing to You, bring glory to You and bear fruit for Your kingdom. We ask all these things in the name of Our Holy Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

By the Hand of God We are Changed

Galatians 1:1
This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.

When Paul was writing and speaking to the Galatians, he made it clear that he was on a completely different path in life when He was touched by the hand of God. Paul emphasized that it was God that changed him and not him who changed himself.

Because of our sin nature, we all begin our lives on an ill conceived path covered by darkness. Until Our Heavenly Father opens our eyes, we can not see the way, the truth and the life that is in Jesus Christ. Only when our new path has been made visible to us by the light of the Holy Spirit, can we receive the precious gift of salvation. All who are converted to be new men and women in Christ are called by the grace of God.

Upon accepting our salvation, we begin yet another journey – the journey to become holy. Just as salvation is not a work of our own hand, neither is the working out of our sanctification. The Holy Spirit within us molds our hearts so that we can submit to Jesus as Our Lord, Our Master and Our King. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to guide us to full submission to Our Savior so that God can do the work in us that is pleasing to Him. All the saved in Christ who are working on their sanctification are under the power and grace of the Holy Spirit working in them.

Let us recognize that there is nothing in this world that can bring us to victory over the darkness that the world offers. Let us be certain that we are totally incapable of overcoming the darkness of the world without the light of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let us surrender to the urgings of the the Holy Spirit as He carries out the work of sanctification in our lives. Let us rejoice in knowing that our path to holiness was guaranteed on the Cross.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your loving kindness, Your mercy and Your grace that is experienced by us through the gift of our salvation. We praise You for taking us from the darkness of our lives in the flesh into the light of Your Holy Spirit. We rejoice in being guided into full submission to Our Lord, Our Master and Our King, Jesus Christ. We pray, Father, that You will strengthen us and regenerate us as we strive to overcome the world in order to live our new lives in Christ. We ask all these things in the name of Our Most Gracious Savior, Jesus Christ.

Made Righteous in the Eyes of the Father

Romans 5:19
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

As a result of the disobedience of Adam, we were born with a sin nature. Because of Adam’s disobedience, we naturally put ourselves first in all things. This behavior alone puts us in direct violation of what Jesus taught were God’s greatest commands. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:38-39

The violation of either one of these two commands is enough to condemn us to eternal death. We cannot remove the condemning stain of this sin on our own. There is no escape or recovery from this sin except through the redemption provided through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As a result of the obedience of Jesus to the calling of His Father in heaven, we are made righteous in the eyes of the Father. God removed our sin through the sacrifice of His own Son. He removed our sin in the only way that was acceptable to Him – through the shed blood of His Son which cleanses us. We accept His mercy and eternal atonement through our surrender to His Son, Jesus Christ.

It is important to understand that God does not hold us responsible for inheriting sin. He will not condemn anyone because of the sin that was inherited. He will condemn those that refuse to accept Jesus as the only measure of deliverance from their inherited sin and their ongoing iniquities. He will condemn those who choose to live in submission to the darkness of the flesh rather than under surrender to the light of the world, Jesus Christ.

Let us strive to have those around us see that we love God above all things and that we love them as we love ourselves. Let us show the world what is only possible through Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we ask forgiveness for the sin in our lives. We pray that You will reveal to us all the places in our lives where we are living in darkness, instead of in the Light. We ask You, Lord, for the grace to be able to repent of all the sin that remains in our lives. We thank You, Father, that through Your mercy You have made a way for us to be delivered from the condemnation that we deserve. We praise Your name, Father God, because through Your perfect love we have been given an eternal inheritance that we did not and cannot earn on our own. We bless the name of Jesus who now dwells within us. We pray that we may become Light to the darkness in world around us through His presence. We ask all these things in the name of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Manifesting the Holiness of Christ in Our Lives

1 Peter 1:16
Since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Holiness is the desire and duty of every Christian. Recognizing that sustained holiness is beyond our grasp because of our sin nature, we must be mindful that it is still remains our responsibility as followers of Jesus Christ to reflect His holiness in our lives. We must seek holiness in all of our endeavors under all circumstances. We should reflect our holiness as we engage with all people.

Of course, this level of holiness is not reachable through our own efforts. We must trust in the grace of God for His holiness to be reflected in our lives. We must turn to the Holy Spirit for strength so that we can manifest the holiness that God has given us through the presence of His Son in our lives.

We shall be holy. It is a promise from Our Savior. We just will not be absolutely holy at any time in our life on earth. Absolute holiness is the final product for the disciples of Jesus Christ. We will become absolutely holy when we go to meet Our Lord for all eternity.

Let us prepare ourselves to live in the fullness of the manifest holiness of the One who dwells within us. Let us strive to have the world see us as holy.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the atonement that You have provided through Your Son which allows us to be holy, as You are holy. We rejoice in knowing that we are in perfect union with You when we are abiding in Your Son. We ask, Father, that the Holy Spirit will help us to be on guard against the sins to which we are inclined. We pray that Your countenance shine upon us and Your grace be with us always so that we may turn away from evil and obey Your will in all areas of our lives. May the world see the holiness of Your Son in our lives. We ask all these things in the name of Your Holy One, Jesus Christ.

The Light and Power We Need to Escape Darkness

Colossians 1:13
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

Sin is our nature. It never leaves our flesh. It keeps us in darkness from which there is no escape. Without Jesus Christ in our lives, we are easy prey for Satan who stands ready to exploit the power of sin in our lives at a moment’s notice.

But our merciful Heavenly Father made it part of His plan to give us the light and the power that we need to escape the darkness. He provided a way for us to be bond servants to His Son and not to be slaves to Satan. Through our relationship with His Crucified Son, we are rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God. We receive true spiritual light as Christ is revealed to us, causing the prince of darkness to flee from us and the scales of darkness and blindness to fall from our eyes.

Our only refuge from sin is Jesus Christ. By faith in Our Savior we are redeemed at the expense of His shed blood. We are forgiven of our sins so that we may become objects of the Father’s love and delight, just as His Son is.

Let us rejoice in knowing that we have been transferred into the kingdom of the Light of the World, Jesus Christ. Let us seek to become beacons of His light for the world around us. Let us humbly accept our roles as vessels of His light so that He may draw others from the darkness into His eternal light.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing a way for us to be freed from our sinful natures. We thank You, Jesus, for giving us victory over sin through Your shed blood and death on the Cross. We thank You, Holy Spirit, for standing with us and strengthening us to overcome the sin in our lives. We pray that we will come to the humble place where we recognize that we are incapable of victory over sin without the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. We rejoice in knowing that one day we will stand in the light for all eternity and darkness will never again touch us. We pray that we may become beacons of light for the world around us. We ask all these things in the name of the Great Light, Jesus Christ.

The Incomparable Love of Jesus

Ephesians 3:19
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Jesus loves each one of us unconditionally. He loves us so much that He gave up His position as Son of God to become Son of Man. He endured the pain and shame of the Cross so that He could become the sacrificial lamb that was necessary to provide the blood to wash away our sins, to make us acceptable to the Father.

He extended His unconditional love by sending the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins, so that we would understand His offer of salvation and accept it. He continues to extend His unconditional love by dwelling within each of us that have accepted Him as Our Savior, so that we may have the strength and the power to overcome the sinful nature that still tries to rule in our lives.

He continuously pours out His perfect love and forgiveness to each of us. He places no limit on the love that He pours into us because He wants it to overflow our cups. He wants us to become living vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness so that the world will know Him and know the fullness of His love.

Let us lift the name of Jesus above all other names. Let us rejoice in His incomparable love. Let us claim the fullness of life and power that comes from a relationship with the Son of God. May our changed lives proclaim His immeasurable love, so that others may be drawn to Him.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the perfect love and forgiveness that You have poured out into our lives. We exalt the name of Jesus who became the Son of Man in order to fulfill our need for a perfect sacrificial lamb. We thank You, Father, for the blood of Your Son that washes away our sin and makes it possible for us to receive and share Your perfect love. We ask that we may become instruments of Your good work and vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness for the world around us. We pray that we will live in the fullness of the life and power that is offered by You through Your Son. We ask all these things in the incomparable name of the Son of God, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.

Taking the Nature of the One Who Dwells within Us

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

When we accept our salvation, we join Jesus Christ in crucifixion. Just as He accepted death on the Cross to wash away our sins, we accept the crucifixion of our own flesh in order to set aside our old nature and take on the nature of the One who dwells within us.

Our new nature rises through the indwelling spirit of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, to bring us victory over our sin stained flesh. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we find ourselves mortified by the sin in our lives. By the grace, that is not of ourselves, we are made fully aware of our iniquities. We even can find comfort in knowing that what once ruled over us is now under control.

Unfortunately, our flesh does not go without a fight and the enemy will ramp up his efforts to turn us away from our new life in Christ. But rest assured, Our Savior put sin to death on the Cross and ushered in His endless grace for those that accept His gift of unconditional love. Even though our flesh will call us to go back to our old nature, we are equipped to overcome that call. If we learn to live in dependence upon Our Savior, we are freed to lead holy lives. By faith, not in ourselves, but by faith in Jesus Christ, we are able to relinquish our old lives in the flesh in exchange for our new lives in spiritual union with the One who loved us so much that He was willing to die for us.

Let us live by faith in the Son of God. Let us learn to live in victory over the callings of our flesh. Let us rejoice in knowing that sin in our lives was put to death on the Cross.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the new lives that You have given us through the sacrifice of Your Son on the Cross. We exalt the name of Jesus who shed His blood for all men. We rejoice in knowing that we are conquerors over our flesh through the endless flow of grace provided by Our Savior. We pray, Lord, that You will hold us steadfast in Your grace. We ask, Father, that You will give us the wisdom to toss aside any claim to our own merit and the strength to take hold of, and never let loose of, the faith in Christ that sustains us as heirs to Your kingdom. We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord, Our King, Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Walking in the Light of Truth, Faith and Holiness

John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Each and every one of us was born into darkness. We were born with an unregenerate spirit and a spirit of unbelief. We were born with a darkness in our nature that makes us totally unacceptable to Almighty God.

This did not catch God by surprise. Through His loving kindness, His mercy and His grace, He provided a plan by which each of us could remove the darkness from our lives so that we would be able to stand in His presence one day and serve Him according to His eternal will for our lives. As part of His gracious plan, the Holy Spirit was instructed to reveal to each of us that upon believing in Jesus Christ as Our Savior, Our Heavenly Father provides us with the way in which we can become acceptable to Him.

Unfortunately, because our sin nature remains with us as long we are in our earthly bodies, we will continue to make choices that are according the world’s standards and not Our Lord’s. Thus we will bring darkness back into our lives. Our compassionate Creator had a plan for this weakness as well. In our new lives in Christ, we are able to see and understand the darkness that the world is offering us. We are able to overcome our natural ignorance about sin and take our victory over sin. Through Jesus Christ who strengthens us, we are able to walk in the light of truth, faith and holiness. We are able to walk this path of enlightenment on this earth until the day we die and until our day of living in Christ’s eternal light is upon us.

Let us repent of the darkness in our lives. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us all of the areas in our lives that reflect anything but the perfect Light of Jesus Christ. Let us show the world how living in the fullness of Our Savior overcomes the pervading darkness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the way, the truth and the life that is Your Son, Jesus, so that we can have victory over the darkness in our lives. We bless the name of Jesus and pray for the wisdom, understanding and counsel that we need to rely daily on Your Son, who came as the Light of the World. May we be set free from the darkness of sin, whether it be by ignorance or error. May Your grace allow us to live in the light rather than in the misery of the darkness. May we become broken vessels that allow Your light to shine through to those around us who are still living in darkness. We ask all these things in the name of the Eternal Light, Jesus Christ.

Finding a Path of Enlightenment Through Jesus Christ

John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Each and every one of us was born into darkness. We were born with an unregenerate spirit and a spirit of unbelief. We were born with a darkness in our nature that makes us totally unacceptable to Almighty God.

This did not catch God by surprise. Through His loving kindness, His mercy and His grace, He provided a plan by which each of us could remove the darkness from our lives so that we would be able to stand in His presence one day and serve Him according to His eternal will for our lives. As part of His gracious plan, the Holy Spirit was instructed to reveal to each of us that upon believing in Jesus Christ as Our Savior, Our Heavenly Father provides us with the way in which we can become acceptable to Him.

Unfortunately, because our sin nature remains with us as long we are in our earthly bodies, we will continue to make choices that are according the world’s standards and not Our Lord’s. Thus we will bring darkness back into our lives. Our compassionate Creator had a plan for this weakness as well. In our new lives in Christ, we are able to see and understand the darkness that the world is offering us. We are able to overcome our natural ignorance about sin and take our victory over sin. Through Jesus Christ who strengthens us, we are able to walk in the light of truth, faith and holiness. We are able to walk this path of enlightenment on this earth until the day we die and until our day of living in Christ’s eternal light is upon us.

Let us repent of the darkness in our lives. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us all of the areas in our lives that reflect anything but the perfect Light of Jesus Christ. Let us show the world how living in the fullness of Our Savior overcomes the pervading darkness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the way, the truth and the life that is Your Son, Jesus, so that we can have victory over the darkness in our lives. We bless the name of Jesus and pray for the wisdom, understanding and counsel that we need to rely daily on Your Son, who came as the Light of the World. May we be set free from the darkness of sin, whether it be by ignorance or error. May Your grace allow us to live in the light rather than in the misery of the darkness. May we become broken vessels that allow Your light to shine through to those around us who are still living in darkness. We ask all these things in the name of the Eternal Light, Jesus Christ.