“What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:21-23 (NIV)
Sin separates us from a loving God. Holiness and depravity do not coexist. Sin is our choice and demonstrates the darkness remaining within us. God sent Jesus to cleanse us from these filthy rags and enable us to walk as He walked through the power of the Holy Spirit. What we were incapable of doing on our own – God did. “God made Him Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” the Apostle Paul amazingly pens in 2 Corinthians 5:21 yet so often, sadly, we refuse our only hope. Remember, sin is always our choice – not Gods.
Believers in Jesus still have that sin nature remaining within us as well as the Holy Spirit. We are to be shrinking self (sin) by His power allowing the indwelling Holy Spirit free reign in our lives. Putting to death sin – which remains until we go home to be with the Lord – and fanning into flames the giftings within through His power. And each one of us has giftings. We were all created with a purpose and it was not to simply entertain ourselves to death or to be so busy we cannot even think or listen to the leading of the Spirit’s still, small voice. God does not desire robots but those who choose Him freely and who are certain He is the Way – the very best Way - as well as the Truth and the Life. Everything else leads to vanity, darkness, disordered affections, stubbornness of the will and all evil.
We cannot fathom how low sin can go and it always progresses incrementally downward unless one turns. Not a pretty picture. It is like a beautiful landscape taken over by weeds and trash and all sorts of ugly debris. It defiles throughout as leprosy. But Jesus. He came to break that which was breaking us. Giving us a firm place to stand and the power of the Spirit within us to change the direction of our course that was leading us to ruin and destruction and turning it instead into an incremental ascension of holiness. He desires for His children to be holy because He is holy. He gives us new understanding, a new heart and new affections. The old has gone the new has come and this is amazingly wonderful news! Strengthen us Lord, through Your power for Your glory for our good.
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.” Titus 3:3-6 (NIV)