Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Sin in My Life? - The Answer is Theological

Sin is tied up with the way Christians understand the end of time. They look forward to a time when Jesus will return to this earth to make a final end of sin. The dead will be raised, the wicked destroyed, and all things will be remade so that the will of God is perfectly reflected in the world. At that time death and sin will be no more (Rev. 21:4).

Salvation is an Experience

God made Christ, who knew no sin, in infinite love and mercy to be sin for us. Therefore, in Him we might be made the righteousness of God. When we are led by the Holy Spirit we realize our need, admit our sinfulness, repent of our transgressions, and live out our faith in Jesus as our Lord Savior, as Substitute and Example. Through the divine power of the Word comes this faith. It is the gift of God's grace. We are justified through Christ, adopted as sons and daughters of God, and delivered from the lordship of sin. We are born again and sanctified through the Spirit ; our minds are renewed, God's law of love is written in our hearts, and we can live a holy life through His power. By abiding in Him (having a close relationship) we have the assurance of salvation now and in the judgment. We have become partakers of the divine nature.

The blessings of this new age have arrived because of the (first) coming of Jesus. We have passed from death to life, if we believe in Him, (John 5:24). And we can have eternal life now (John 3:16-18). Resurrection and eternal life are blessings of heaven, but the Christian can enjoy them now.

However, this enjoyment is only an anticipation of the future blessings. By pointing to baptism, Paul explains why a Christian would no longer wish to sin. We are joined with Jesus in His death (Rom. 6:4, 5) when we were baptized . and we are to believe ourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to Jesus (Rom. 6:11).

This is the secret of being a Christian. We are still in this world, and our sinful natures are still with us. But now we live according to the new realities that Jesus has made available to us. In other words, we still live in this world and becoming a Christian does not change that. We are still children of Adam. But as Christians we now have a new reality (Jesus' love) that dominates our lives. Christians are in Christ and are children of hope.

Please look up these texts.

Rom. 6:11; 2 Cor. 5:17-21; John 3:16; Gal. 1:4; 4:4-7; Titus 3:3-7; John 16:8; Gal. 3:13, 14; 1 Peter 2:21, 22; Rom. 10:17; Luke 17:5; Mark 9:23, 24; Eph. 2:5-10; Rom. 3:21-26; Col. 1:13, 14; Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 3:26; John 3:3-8; 1 Peter 1:23; Rom. 12:2; Heb. 8:7-12; Eze. 36:25-27; 2 Peter 1:3, 4; Rom. 8:1-4; 5:6-10.

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Annette Soper is a published author.
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