Shall We Continue in Sin

2013-12-26

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1-2)

I had previously written about how one does not repent of sins to be saved. I still believe this to be very true. We must be saved before we can turn from sin and do anything for God in this life. However, we must also emphasize that, with Jesus’ strength, we must renounce our sins and choose to live in his power. It is appropriate to note that every Pauline epistle starts with doctrine, but always finishes with how we should live because of the doctrine we have learned.

Ephesians 5:11: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” Announce to God that your sins, past and present are wicked, and agree with God that your sins are sins indeed.

Romans 3:8: “And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.” There are people who really believe that personal sin does not matter anymore because Jesus cancelled the “handwriting of ordinances that was against us” (Colossians 2:14).

They say we can continue to live business-as-usual sinful lives. I was in this school of thought by default for many years because I did not know any better. This is a shallow view of sin and the Jesus’ sacrifice at best. Here, we see that the people who believed this were not even saved at all.

Galatians 5:16: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Focusing on the finished work of Jesus on the cross, and the hope of eternal life in his empty grave, empowers us to lay aside the filth of our lives and live in the newness of life.

This is only a small survey on the subject. Let us press on toward perfection, for God has set us free from sin to live a life for him.

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)