The Lord laid something very simple but powerful on my heart years back: "When you truly get saved, your days of premeditated sin should come to an end."
That doesn't mean you'll never sin again. It doesn't mean temptation suddenly disappears or that you'll never stumble. The devil will tempt you. He'll try to catch you off guard, in fact he will catch us off guard, because he's sly as a fox and sneaky and his greatest tools are hindrances and distractions. There will be moments when the flesh gets the better of you and you have to run back to God, confess it, repent, and ask Him to help you do better. But there's a difference between falling into sin and planning to sin.
Before Christ changes our hearts, we may wake up thinking about what we want to do, where we want to go, and how we're going to satisfy our flesh without giving much thought to whether it pleases God. But salvation changes something inside of us, and we have to start living under the Holy Ghost convicting power of God.
You shouldn't wake up every morning already planning:
“How am I going to sin today?”
“What can I get away with?”
“How close to the line can I walk without crossing it?”
A heart that has been transformed by Jesus should begin asking a completely different question(s): “Lord, how can I please You today?” "Help me to walk in Your will and Your way?" "Help me to crucify the flesh today?"
Temptation Is NOT the Same as Premeditation. Jesus Himself was tempted, yet He did not sin. Temptation can come suddenly. Something can catch you in a weak moment. The enemy knows where you're vulnerable, and he will absolutely try to use those areas against you.
That's why Scripture says: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” — Matthew 26:41 KJV
But deliberately planning sin is different. Premeditated sin says, “I know this is wrong. I know God doesn't want me doing it. But I've already decided I'm going to do it anyway.”
That's dangerous territory for a believer. God's grace was never intended to become permission to deliberately continue doing what He has called us to leave behind.
Paul asked: “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” His answer was immediate: “God forbid.” in other words, "certainly not"!
No comments:
Post a Comment