Put Sin to Death Before Sin Produces Death in You

This confession is initially based solely on God’s saving grace and our discipline of exercising that gift of grace by making the gospel of Jesus Christ personal to us, accepting it, and continuing to remind ourselves of it (preaching it to ourselves continually). We cannot enjoy the benefits of personal relationship with God apart from accepting His grace through Jesus Christ, which is the start of what it means to be saved…to be a Christian. We cannot enjoy the benefits of personal growth in our relationship with God apart from continually reminding ourselves about God’s grace that has saved us. Both the initial and ongoing acknowledgment of God’s grace is necessary is we are going to continue growing in our relationship with the Lord.

Secondly, that confession from 1 John 1:9 is based on at least a rudimentary knowledge of God’s Word, which reveals to us our sin through the communication of the character of God, the character of which we fall short of. It says in Rom. 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” I cannot nor will not experience initial, ongoing spiritual transformation if I am not spending time in reading and studying God’s Word. It reveals to me what I need to confess, as a starting place for continued, effective, true repentance.

That confession of 1 John 1:9 also depends upon my willingness and practice of then talking with the Lord in prayer. Simply from a logical standpoint, confession itself is acknowledging to God our sorrow over the wrong we have done and willingly surrendering that wrong practice and adopting His standard in its place. Therefore, prayer is the act of surrendering our self-sufficiency to God dependency. Through confession,we surrender our ways and replace them with God’s ways. In fact, every true prayer is that. It says in 1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” You want your prayers answered? Stop telling God what you want and asking God to take what He wants and make you want it too. “…Your kingdom come, Your will be done...” it says in the Lord’s model prayer in Matt. 6:9-13.

The true confession through prayer that was just described, is not complete until we willingly adopt God’s standards of living in place of our sinful ways of life, as the Bible reveals them to us through our reading of it. That brings us to obedience. Any routine of spiritual disciplines that we talk about throughout this year’s QUEST falls short if we are not ultimately willing to obey what God, through His Spirit and the Word of God, is teaching us about how we should relate to Him, to His creation, and to the people around us.

Although the teaching of the 10 Commandments have fell on hard times these days, in our relativistic, politically correct, “woke” culture, the first 4 commandments were all about how God’s people were to relate to Him and the last 6 were all about how God’s people were to relate to people in their lives. The problem is this, we all know that even as a Christian, we still fall short of full obedience. We do not have to work hard at learning new things God wants us to change in our lives. There are plenty of things we are already know that we struggle to do regularly and continually.

Let’s stop for a minute. I would like everyone here and everyone that is listening to this online, when I say “start,” to close your eyes for just a half of a minute. In the next half-minute (just 30 seconds), think over this week and consider just one thing you remember about your choices this week that you know God would not approve of and that He would like you to change. Are you ready, just 30 seconds. Okay, close your eyes and start now.

There are 3 questions that must be asked, just rhetorically so don’t answer these outwardly. First, how many were able to think of at least one? The second question is, how many had trouble thinking of only one? If that is you, then I suspect that you are I are in good company in this room and with those who are listening in. The last question is the most important. For those who were able to think of one or more things just this last week that God would not approve of and that He would like you to change, would you now close your eyes for the next 30 seconds, confess to God your sorrow over those things that He would not approve of and commit to Him your willingness to replace it this week with that which would please Him? As you do, ask Him now and each morning this week, to help you keep that commitment, knowing that you remain dependent upon His continued grace in your to fulfill it. Okay, let’s close our eyes and start now.

How was that? Has it focused you today on the Lord, His standards, and your relationship with Him today? My good friends, if you participated in that today, that feeling that you know have is the feeling of true worship. That is where worship starts. Now, know this, throughout this week you do not have to strive to attain victory in this new commitment, you already have victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Let me explain, true spiritual transformation from the damage of sin to the blessings of God’s salvation for all believers, demands continually remind themselves and fellow believers that they already have victory through Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 9:24; 15:57) and that God always leads them to triumph in Christ (2 Cor. 2:14-15).

So, His expectation in the Christian’s secured victory is that they now employ that victory through their actions (fragrance, 2 Cor. 2:14-15). God wants Christians, as victors, to now live like victors. Bridges asked, “Will you begin to look at sin as an offense against a holy God, instead of as a personal defeat only?”[1] We all should personally (and encourage other believers to) surrender the self-centered view of overcoming sin and replace it with an awareness of it being an affront to God that disrupts our relationship with Him.

[1] Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness (Colorado Springs, Colorado: NavPress, 2016), 4.

God has already empowered us to live in obedience, since we have been freed from the domain of sin (Rom. 5:12-21). This should reshape our approach in encouraging others, but even more importantly, should motivate us in our own approach to our pursuit of holiness.

So, I promised you 3 verses that teach us 4 ways to identify right from wrong and choose that which is right. It says in 1 Pet. 1:13-16, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””

Are you ready? Then let’s turn together to the first verse, 1 Cor. 6:12, the rest of this sermon should go fairly smooth and concise. This is not a complicated formula. The challenge is in my power that is at times in opposition to God’s grace, and my obedience which is at times in opposition to God’s will. Let’s take a slow look at this verse together. these 4 methods of discovery come in the form of 4 routine questions I must ask myself, 4 questions in 3 verses.

This formula, if you want to call it that, is not original to me, but is found early on in Jerry Bridges book, “The Pursuit of Holiness.” Rarely do I do this, but the points of this message will be taken straight from him.

Would you read this verse together with me from the screen?

1 Corinthians 6:12 NASB95

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

My concern as a true Christian should never be, “what am I allowed to do?” It should always be, “What is profitable for me to do?”

“Profitable” - Yielding benefit for my advantage; what profits me as a Christian.

The first of 4 questions to ask yourself:

1. Does this help me — physically, spiritually, and mentally?

So much of what we do is not helpful to ourselves

What destructive practices are you involved in?

As we make choices throughout each day, we must ask ourselves continually, make it into a habit, “Is this helpful to me?”

Would you be willing to commit 1 page in your journal to regularly listing things that are not helpful to you that you are willing to surrender to God in exchange for what God says is helpful? Then confess it, commit to it, and rest in knowing that “God is faithful and just to forgive you of sin and cleanse you from...” it?

Let’s look again at 1 Cor. 6:12, and read it together from the screen:

1 Corinthians 6:12 NASB95

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

“Mastered” - brought under the power of or controlled by.

This leads to the second question to make a continual practice of asking oneself.

2. Does this control me?

Eph. 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,” Dissipation - lack of concern or thought of the consequences. Instead, with the consequences in mind for what helps you, be filled with the things of the Spirit.

What controls you?

The more you maintain your control over God’s, the more you are controlled by the things of this world.

The more you surrender your control to God’s, the more you are controlled by the things of the Spirit.

Let the Spirit control you. The fruit of the Spirit (the consequences) are, Gal. 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

What things in your life, that are not from God; what controls you?

Are you willing to commit another page in your journal today to write down things that come to mind as you ask yourself this question? Write down the things of this life that are not from God that controls you, surrender it to God in exchange for actions that are in line with the fruit of the spirit, and rest in knowing that “God is faithful and just to forgive you of sin and cleanse you from...” it?

Those are 2 of 4 questions, from one of 3 verses…we are half way there already!

Look back down to Chapter 6 with me and once again read from the screen with me, 1 Cor. 6:13,

1 Corinthians 6:13 NASB95

Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.

There are no difficult terms here for us to better understand. This passage is not about food and your stomach.

Food and stomach are for an example of what is here, put in the negative, but let me put it in the positive for you first.

The body is meant for the Lord’s righteous actions and the Lord’s righteous actions are meant for the body.

This leads us to the third question we must continually ask ourselves:

3. Does this hurt me or others?

Sin can never be done in isolation, even those secret sins, those sins that we think only we know about

Sin hurts the one sinning

Sin hurts those around us

1 John 3:4-8 “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

James 1:15 “Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

Col. 3:5-7 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.”

Col. 3:12-14 “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”

Are you willing to commit yet another page and write down those things which hurt you and others, surrender it to God in exchange for actions that God would have you put on in their place, and rest in knowing that “God is faithful and just to forgive you of sin and cleanse you from...” them?

One last verse and question to go. Are you ready?

Read with me one last verse from the screen, 1 Cor. 10:31 “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

No fancy explanation needed here. This leads us to our last question and committed page in our journals, if you are willing:

4. Does this glorify God?

Does what I say and do give praise to God’s glory?

Is it in line with His will?

Does it look like something that Jesus Christ, as our example, would do?

In fact, does it conflict with any of these previous questions?

4 Steps (questions) to Know right from wrong and choose right:

Does this help me - physically, spiritually, mentally?

Does this control me?

Does this hurt me or others?

Does this glorify God?

For each one of these, I asked a simple question at the end...

Are you Willing?

From this point forward, in our QUEST for spiritual transformation, we have a simple question to ask ourselves and if we are brave enough, to ask each other. Why do I say brave, because if you ask others, they can and will ask you.

Here is the question, whether you physically do it the way we have described, or have your own method of doing it.

The question you can ask, if you are brave enough is:

How’s your journal?

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