Welcome back, my friends. At the close of my last lesson, I was more than a little harsh on the unsaved who may still be reading my posts. I can’t apologize for telling you the truth, but what I can do is once again share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with you. My prayer has always been that this time you will not only read with your mind but also your heart. I pray that your heart will be turned from stone into flesh and that you will be moved to accept His eternal offer.
Why is it important for you to understand?
- Scripture guarantees that we have all been born in Sin.
- The Sin that is inside of you, will take you straight to Hell for all eternity.
- Sin is the one thing that separates you from spending eternity in Heaven, with the Lord God of the Universe.
- Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
- Jesus is the only door you can enter through to get into Heaven
- Once you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit is sent to live inside of you to guide and teach you in your new life.
- It is the Holy Spirit who will now unlock the understanding of what the Bible truly means to the saved.
What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 1 Corinthians 2:12 (NIV)
But the man who isn’t a Christian can’t understand and can’t accept these thoughts from God, which the Holy Spirit teaches us. They sound foolish to him because only those who have the Holy Spirit within them can understand what the Holy Spirit means. Others just can’t take it in. 1 Corinthians 2:14 (TLB)
What do I mean by you can’t understand the Bible without the Spirit? Listen to what the Apostle Paul said to the church in Ephesus.
Let me say this, then, speaking for the Lord: Live no longer as the unsaved do, for they are blinded and confused. Their closed hearts are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds against him, and they cannot understand his ways. Ephesians 4:17-18 (TLB)
This is a perfect description of how you and I were born. Satan’s DNA inside of us has blinded and confused our minds against God. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can unlock God’s truths in His Word.
So, what is The Gospel of Jesus Christ (The Good News)?
The gospel of Christ is the good news of His coming to provide forgiveness of sins for all who will believe and ensuring your place with Him in eternity.
If you say with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved from the punishment of sin. Romans 10:9 (NLV)
Since the first man’s (Adam) sin, mankind has been under the condemnation of God.
This is what happened: Sin came into the world by one man, Adam. Sin brought death with it. Death spread to all men because all have sinned. Romans 5:12 (NLV)
Everyone breaks God’s perfect law by committing sin, everyone is guilty.
For all men have sinned and have missed the shining-greatness of God. Romans 3:23 (NLV)
The punishment for the crime of sin is physical and spiritual death.
You get what is coming to you when you sin. It is death! Romans 6:23 (NLV)
An eternity spent in a place of punishment.
“And they shall go away into eternal punishment,” Matthew 25:46 (TLB)
Let God’s words penetrate your heart of stone.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)
Listen to what the Lord God of the Universe is saying to you right now. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Right now, turn your back on Satan and walk away. You can do it, he has no way of stopping you. The prayer below is meant as an outline for you to use. The principles of Salvation are there, and you can tailor it to your own heart. Now my friend is the day of your Salvation.
Dear God, I realize I am a sinner in need of salvation. I know that all my own good works and religious rituals can never save me. Only Jesus can save me.
I believe that Jesus, my Savior, came to earth for me and that he died on the cross for my sins. I believe that He was buried and on the third day rose and now sits at your right hand as my advocate.
I am asking you Jesus to forgive my sins and to come into my life now and be my Lord and Master now and for all eternity. In Jesus name I pray. Amen
You are now at a crossroad my friend. You must answer the question each one of us must answer at some time in our life. You have now heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You must now answer this question.
What will you do with Jesus?
There are only two answers to the question.
- I believe who Jesus says He truly is!
- I do not believe who Jesus says He truly is!
Now, if you feel I am not telling you the truth about Jesus Christ being the only way to Salvation. Well then for me. I have only wasted my lifetime living a lie. But if what I am saying is true and you are still not going to believe it. Well then, my friend you’ve wasted an eternity.
What’s your decision?
It is my prayer that you’ve finally settled things with God, through His Son Jesus Christ. Listen to what is going on in Heaven right now.
In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. Luke 15:7 (GNT)
“A man cannot please God unless he has faith.” Hebrews 11:6 (NLV)
Let us now move on to our lesson on being Victorious over Sin. Through this lesson I want us to focus on making sure our faith is grounded in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without keeping our faith and trust grounded in Him we leave ourselves open to the waves of doubt and indecision Satan throws at us.
Let me give you an example. For me at times, and I realize that It’s driven by the left-over remnants of my old nature, but it happens anyway (I’m only human). It is called jealousy, and envy.
As you look around the world we live in, have you ever looked at the unsaved and wondered. Why can’t I have what they have? They’re happy, prosperous, healthy and everyone loves them. I’m basically asking my God, “why do good things happen to bad people?”
When these thoughts begin to creep into my mind through Satan’s whispers, my sinful nature is more than happy to jump in and assist in the process. I think things like, what benefit do I get from keeping my thoughts pure? What good is my battle to keep myself from sin?
It’s then that I realize I’ve lost my focus on Heavenly things and dropped my focus back on earthly things. I’ve allowed my faith to be influenced and disrupted by what I see happening in the world around me.
Has this ever happened to you? You’ll be happy to know that these thoughts are nothing new that the Lord God of the Universe hasn’t already heard.
Over 1,000 years before the birth of Jesus there was a man by the name of Asaph. He was a Levite musician appointed by King David to lead the worship that surrounded the covenant chest in the congregation tent. Asaph was one of the leaders of the temple choir that sounded the cymbals. (1 Chronicles 16:4–6). One of the most interesting things about Asaph was that he wrote Psalm’s 50, and 73-83. Listen to what he wrote in Psalm 73.
An Asaph Psalm a leader of one of the temple choirs.
The Good and the Sinful
73 God is so good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. 2 But I almost slipped and lost my balance. I almost fell into sin. 3 I saw that wicked people were successful, and I became jealous of those proud people. 4 They are healthy. They don’t have to struggle to survive. 5 They don’t suffer like the rest of us. They don’t have troubles like other people. 6 So they are proud and hateful. This is as easy to see as the jewels and fancy clothes they wear. 7 If they see something they like, they go and take it. They do whatever they want. 8 They make fun of others and say cruel things about them. In their pride they make plans to hurt people. 9 They think they are gods! They think they are the rulers of the earth. 10 Even God’s people turn to them and do what they say. 11 Those evil people say, “God does not know what we are doing! God Most High does not know!” 12 Those proud people are wicked, but they are rich and getting richer. 13 Clearly, then, I gain nothing by keeping my thoughts pure! What good is it to keep myself from sin? 14 God, I suffer all day long, and you punish me every morning. 15 I wanted to tell others these things, but that would have made me a traitor to your people.
16 I tried hard to understand all this, but it was too hard for me. 17 But then, God, I went to your Temple, and I understood what will happen to the wicked. 18 Clearly, you have put them in danger. You make it easy for them to fall and be destroyed. 19 Trouble can come suddenly, and they will be ruined. Terrible things can happen to them, and they will be finished. 20 Then they will be like a dream that we forget when we wake up.
You will make them disappear like the monsters in our dreams. 21-22 I was so stupid. I thought about such people and became upset. God, I was upset and angry with you! I acted like a senseless animal. 23 But I am always with you. You hold my hand. 24 You lead me and give me good advice, and later you will lead me to glory. 25 In heaven, God, I have only you. And if I am with you, what on earth could I want? 26 Maybe my mind and body will become weak, but God is my source of strength. He is mine forever! 27 God, people who leave you will be lost. You will destroy all who are not faithful to you. 28 As for me, all I need is to be close to God. I have made the Lord God my place of safety. And, God, I will tell about all that you have done. (ERV)
Asaph like me lost his focus on Heavenly things and dropped his focus back on earthly things. He allowed his faith to be influenced and disrupted by what he saw happening in the world around him.
So, as you can see our Lord has heard this jealous complaint for over 3,000 years. So, don’t beat yourself up when these thoughts cross your mind.
Our sinful remnant will always be with us until we reach glory. However, I’ve used this example to say that to be victorious over sin at all lies first in making sure your faith is grounded in the One who matters. I believe this is a key first step for every believer at whatever stage of your Christian walk.
As Asaph walked through and lived in the world of his time, he was exposed to all the worldly pleasure Satan offers to the unbeliever to keep them blinded to the Gospel. He was no different than you or me today. Satan’s number one attack on all believers is to shake the very foundation of their faith. Why is that important to him?
You are now an object of God\’s love; part of God\’s family; an escaped prisoner of Satan and a danger to him. You are a holy rebel loose in his world with access to the throne of God. Satan never knows from what direction the danger will come.
Just as Jesus walked the earth planting faith filled seeds of the Good News of the Gospel. Satan follows Him by planting seeds of doubt concerning your faith in the Good News of the Gospel. He will drop seeds of doubt in your mind such as. Why would God want to save someone like you after all the things you’ve done? You can’t trust the Bible, it’s so old and outdated. The leaders of your World Religions know more than the Bible, you need to listen to them. Are you sure you are really saved?
He started using this technique at the very beginning of creation. He worked on Eve until he got her to doubt God’s good intentions for her. By getting her to question her very faith and trust in God, he got her to eat the apple and to fall into his trap getting her to sin.
He is the seed planter of doubt in all believers and will tirelessly work to find the one thing that will shake your faith and turn you away from God. The book of Job is the best example of this battle.
So, what is this faith I’m talking about?
Man/World’s definition of Faith: (Theol.) That which is believed on any subject, whether in science, politics, or religion; especially (Theol.), a system of religious belief of any kind; as, the Jewish or Mohammedan faith; the Christian faith; also, the creed or belief of a Christian society or church.(Source Webster’s Dictionary)
Human faith can only believe what it can see, taste, hear, smell, or feel; it\’s limited to the five senses. Using natural human faith, we can sit in a chair we\’ve never sat in and believe it will hold us up. We fly in airplanes when we don\’t fully understand how they work, and we don\’t know the pilot, but we trust that everything will be okay. That takes human faith, which God gave to every person.
God’s Definition of Faith: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11-1 NIV
Simply put, the definition of faith according to the Bible, is belief in the one, true God without seeing Him. “trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove.”
When it comes to God, we must believe things that we cannot see, taste, hear, smell, or feel. You have not seen God or Satan. You have not seen Heaven or Hell. You have not seen sin; therefore, you would not know what you would look like if your sins were taken away.
However, you must believe in all these things to be born again. How can you believe in things you cannot see? The answer is that you cannot believe in invisible things with human faith. You need God\’s supernatural faith.
Where does supernatural faith come from?
“8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV
Faith is the very foundation of our salvation! Faith is a gift from God, not because we deserve it, have earned it, or are worthy to have it. It is not from ourselves it is from God. It is not obtained by our power or our free will. It is simply given to us by God, along with His grace and mercy, according to His holy plan and purpose, and because of that, He gets all the glory.
In closing, let me give you five ways to strengthen your faith. Because faith must be active in every aspect of a believer’s life. What breathing is to your body, faith is to your soul.
First, in the reading of the Word:
31 But these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith in him you may have life. John 20:31 (GNT)
Second, listening to the preaching of God\’s servants:
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 NKJV
Third, in praying:
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. James 1:6 (ESV)
Fourth, in our daily life:
7 Our life is lived by faith. We do not live by what we see in front of us. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NLV)
20 so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me. Galatians 2:20 (GNT)
Fifth, in our exit from this world:
21 To me, the only important thing about living is Christ. And even death would be for my benefit. Philippians 1:21 (ERV)
Next month will look at some of the stumbling blocks Satan has placed in your path, let us call them the enemies of your faith. I will also answer the question. What faith is not. Until next time my friend, may His mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.
The Anatomy of Sin
⇐ God\’s Grace and Compassion On A Lost World | Victory Over Sin Pt. 2: Trust & Hope ⇒
